They Lost In This Action Colonel Needham, Who Commanded A Regiment
Called The Tower Guards, And Who Fought Very Desperately;
Captain
Cox, an old experienced horse officer, and several other officers
of note, with a great many private men, though,
As they had the
field, they concealed their number, giving out that they lost but a
hundred, when we were assured they lost near a thousand men besides
the wounded.
They took some of our men prisoners, occasioned by the regiment of
Colonel Farr, and two more sustaining the shock of their whole
army, to secure the retreat of the main body, as above.
The 14th, the Lord Fairfax finding he was not able to carry the
town by storm, without the formality of a siege, took his
headquarters at Lexden, and sent to London and to Suffolk for more
forces; also he ordered the trained bands to be raised and posted
on the roads to prevent succours. Notwithstanding which, divers
gentlemen, with some assistance of men and arms, found means to get
into the town.
The very same night they began to break ground, and particularly to
raise a fort between Colchester and Lexden, to cover the general's
quarter from the sallies from the town; for the Royalists having a
good body of horse, gave them no rest, but scoured the fields every
day, and falling all that were found straggling from their posts,
and by this means killed a great many.
The 17th, Sir Charles Lucas having been out with 1,200 horse, and
detaching parties toward the seaside, and towards Harwich, they
brought in a very great quantity of provisions, and abundance of
sheep and black cattle sufficient for the supply of the town for a
considerable time; and had not the Suffolk forces advanced over
Cataway Bridge to prevent it, a larger supply had been brought in
that way; for now it appeared plainly that the Lord Fairfax finding
the garrison strong and resolute, and that he was not in a
condition to reduce them by force, at least without the loss of
much blood, had resolved to turn his siege into a blockade, and
reduce them by hunger; their troops being also wanted to oppose
several other parties, who had, in several parts of the kingdom,
taken arms for the king's cause.
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