#roundhead

Dive into the mystical realm of the Roundhead Gamefowl, where each feather tells a story, and every crow echoes through the centuries of Philippine cockfighting history. Let this post be your quill, inscribing the enchanting narrative of a breed that dances between tradition and triumph.

📜 Chapter I: "Feathering the Origin Story" Begin the journey with the enchanted pen of John Madigin, an American cockfighter whose strokes of brilliance birthed the Roundhead. Explore the artistry behind the creation, where grey and red intertwine to form a mythical gamefowl, a living embodiment of strength and tenacity.

🕰️ Chapter II: "Time-Traveling to Colonial Cockpits" Close your eyes and transport yourself to the dawn of the 20th century. Feel the echoes of American colonialism as the Roundhead alights on Philippine shores, unintentionally sowing the seeds of a tradition that would captivate generations.

🌌 Chapter III: "Cockpit Constellations: A Champion Emerges" Navigate through the cosmic cockpits scattered across the archipelago as the Roundhead evolves from being a celestial breeding star to a constellation of championship brilliance. Each feathered battle becomes a celestial dance, a testament to the breed's cosmic endurance.

🎨 Chapter IV: "Feathered Strokes: Traits in Technicolor" Peer into the palette of the Roundhead's distinctive traits through kaleidoscopic illustrations and vivid strokes. Let the colors unfold the ferocity, tenacity, and endurance that make the Roundhead a mesmerizing masterpiece in the canvas of Philippine cockfighting.

The King Fails to Press his Advantage

Cavalry at the First Battle of Newbury. Source: Newbury History website

AS SUMMER became autumn in 1643, the military position of Parliament was decidedly poor. Not only had the Earl of Newcastle conquered most of the north of the country for the King, but the Roundhead Western Association army had been obliterated at Roundway Down, and even the Parliamentary strongholds of the eastern counties were under strategic threat, presenting a terrifying prospect of a Royalist advance on London from both the west and the north. Even Parliament’s naval supremacy was no longer guaranteed, with the creation of a new Royalist navy, following Prince Rupert’s capture of Bristol and its vessels at dock. Within the House of Commons itself, a peace party was gaining prominence, which the ailing Pym was struggling to control. However, the Parliamentary leadership was not willing to give up the fight yet and in August, voted £20,000 to raise a new Eastern Association army under Edward Montague, the Earl of Manchester, to protect East Anglia from Royalist incursion. The establishment of this force was to have a significant impact on Parliamentary fortunes in the long term.

Once again, however, Charles failed to press his advantage. He could not know of course, just how infirm Parliamentary resolve had become, but a concerted assault by Newcastle’s forces from the north in combination with those of Rupert in the west would, in all probability, have led to a collapse of morale in Parliament and the surrender of London. The King took a more cautious view and wished to ensure any Royalist advance was not undermined by attacks to the rear of his armies from either Gloucester or York, the two cities in Yorkshire and the west respectively, who maintained strong Parliamentary garrisons. Charles then personally led his forces to Gloucester, hoping to turn the young Edward Massey and achieve a successful capture of the city without bloodshed. Massey however proved resolute and after repelling an initial Royalist assault, a siege of attrition ensued. Encouraged by this unusual display of Parliamentary boldness, Essex was despatched with a force of 15,000 men, including the London Trained Bands, to relieve the garrison. When Essex approached Gloucester, signalling his arrival with an artillery barrage from Prestbury Hill, Charles broke off the siege, and Essex entered the city in triumph on 8th September, signalling a rare Parliamentary success, after a siege of four weeks.

Although the failure to take Gloucester was galling, the Royalist command saw opportunity in the reverse. Albeit unintentionally, the attack on Gloucester had lured what amounted to the sole Parliamentary field army left standing, out into the open. The King and his advisers hoped that if they could bring Essex to battle and inflict a similar defeat on him as suffered by Waller at Roundway Down, the war could indeed be brought to an early conclusion. Essex was alive to the danger and marched rapidly south east, taking Royalist Cirencester after a brief fight, and aimed to push onto London. Rupert however cut the Parliamentary route off, with the cavalry of both armies clashing at Aldbourne Chase, before the Royalists advanced into Newbury on 19th September, occupying the town and blocking any further progress by Essex’s army towards London without a battle.

Plan of the First Battle of Newbury by Walter Money and CCK (1877). Source: Newbury History website

The terrain outside Newbury consisted of rough hedgerows and lanes, bounded by the Endbourne River and surmounted by a rise called Round Hill. Despite their occupation of the town, Rupert’s force did not occupy this tactically advantageous position, instead permitting Essex, who roused his army at dawn on 20th September, to do so. When Rupert reconnoitred the field and discovered the Roundheads in occupation of Round Hill, he immediately conferred with his commanders and divided the Royalist army into three attacking segments. To the north, a relatively small infantry force advanced through the Kennet River valley; in the centre, the majority of the Royalist infantry marched on Round Hill in an effort to dislodge the Parliamentarians fortified there, while Rupert himself led a southern cavalry detachment against Essex’s horse close to the Endbourne River, known as Wash Common.

The northern portion of the battle saw a small but vicious fight between Royalist foot marching through unpromising hedgerow terrain until they clashed with their opposite numbers, suffering severe losses. The Royalists retreated and a potential Parliamentary flanking movement was only prevented by the intervention of Charles’ own mounted Life Guards, who succeeded in scattering the advancing Parliamentary infantry. The Royalist assault in the centre of the battlefield became a hard fought “push of the pike” between the opposing forces, until Royalist cavalry forced the Parliamentary line and briefly gained the summit of Round Hill. At that point, a Parliamentary mounted counter attack, consisting of volley fire and charge, drove their opponents off and the fighting returned to a stalemate. In the south of the field, Rupert’s 6,000 cavalry charged those of Sir Philip Stapleton and, this time, the Parliamentary cavalry held, driving back the first two of Rupert’s attacks. A third charge however forced Stapleton’s horse to withdraw. The potentially fatal gap that opened up in the Roundhead ranks at Wash Common, was unexpectedly filled by the Trained Bands, the supposed weak link in the Parliamentary army. The Bands held their positions in the face of protracted musket fire, artillery bombardment and cavalry charges and despite suffering heavy casualties, refused to withdraw. Ultimately however, the pressure told and the Bands began to break, but Essex, seeing the danger, personally led his cavalry to steady the line. The Bands rallied and were able to stave off further Royalist assault until dusk. The stand of the Trained Bands and Essex’s own personal leadership and bravery at this point of greatest danger, almost certainly prevented what would have been a catastrophic Parliamentary defeat.