XXXI
Of the Second Siege of Pontefract Castle
Now, those who rejoiced that the investment of the Castle had come to so speedy an end were considerably disappointed when they found that Sir Marmaduke Langdale and his men were under the necessity of speedily retreating southward again, which they did in a few days, thus leaving the relieved garrison once more to the mercy of the Parliamentarians, who at once began collecting in the neighbourhood and preparing for another siege. But those few days of relief were made full use of by the garrison, which set itself earnestly to the task of procuring such store of provision as should enable it to withstand further assaults of the enemy. Excursions were made every day into the surrounding country, and great stock of live and dead food exacted from the farmers in all the neighbouring villages. Here and there these contributions were given cheerfully, for the King had many followers in those parts; but the garrison, if they found any who were disposed to resist seizure, made a virtue of necessity and carried away grain or cattle without more to-do, and, indeed, the Parliamentarians did likewise. As for myself, I drove twelve good head of cattle into the Castle with my own hands, and, moreover, sent in twelve loads of my best wheat, for I had no mind to see those who were fighting for his Majesty reduced to starvation.
At this time it became a question with me as to whether or no I should join the garrison which was maintaining Pontefract Castle for the King. I was doing no good at home, for it was not a busy season, and I could do nothing single-handed against the Roundheads, who rode into my yard whenever they pleased and seized upon whatever they wanted, pig, horse, or cow. I had no fears on account of the women now, for the experiences of the first siege had shown me that the Parliamentary army was in the main sober and well conducted, and zealously watched by its officers, so that no excess of any kind might occur. Moreover, my mother, who was exceedingly loyal and spent many an hour praying for the success of the King’s cause, was all for me to go into the Castle and help its defenders, who, as I have previously told you, numbered amongst themselves some of the noblest and most honourable gentlemen of Yorkshire. But though my natural inclinations were all for volunteering, I lingered in some slight indecision until Ben Tuckett, who was always showing himself in some curious light, prompted me to make up my mind quickly.
For Benjamin, presenting himself before us one afternoon in the middle of March, 1645, announced with no little pride that he was about to distinguish himself.
“Will,” quoth he, as he stood before the fire in our great kitchen, and looked round upon all of us with a commanding air, “Will, I am going to do a great thing. Nay, but I am indeed, and it will be well for you if you do take example by me. I am going to join the garrison in the Castle.”
“Oh!” said Lucy, “he will be killed.”
“I hope not,” said Ben. “However, as well be killed inside as outside. It is no use attempting to do my own business with two armies fighting all round me. And between thee and me, Will, I love not these Roundhead knaves. Faugh! I cannot abide them, I tell you. For they are forever quoting Scripture unto me, and at the same time they will enter my shop and steal from it such goods as take their fancy, without so much as a ‘by your leave.’ So I am going into the Castle. What! there are four or five aldermen gone in already and have sworn to defend it. Can I do better than follow an alderman’s example?”
“No, Ben, certainly you cannot do better.”
“Why, then, I’ll tell thee what I have done, Will. I have conveyed all my goods into the Castle and handed them over to the Governor for the use of the garrison, merely hinting to him that if ever the King should have his own again I shall expect some little trifling reward, such as a knighthood or a baronetcy. ’Tis no slight present I have made them, Mistress Dale, I assure you.”
“I am sure you will have been kind to them, Ben,” answered my mother.
“Yea, indeed I have,” said Ben. “Twenty-four sacks of best flour, and sixteen York hams, all my stock of foreign spices and suchlike things, with fruits and preserves, and all that had been left to me by those Roundhead rogues, who, to tell truth, did pillage me very unmercifully, and made matters worse by exhorting me to repentance. Well, I suppose I shall have my share of what I have carried in to the garrison. But there will be many mouths to fill, and ’tis said the Roundheads will starve us out in the end. I like not that word starvation. But what can a man do? I have already had one cannon-shot through my roof, and there will be more to follow it presently. And thou seest, Will, from what I can make out, a man is not so liable to accidents within the Castle—there are so many nooks and corners where one can get out of the way of a bullet.”
“Oh, fie, Master Ben!” said Rose. “You are surely not afraid of a bullet or two?”
“I am not afraid of ten thousand bullets,” answered Ben, “if only they do not come near me. Why any man should want to stand in the way of a bullet I cannot think. Nay, I am hoping to come off with a whole skin, and shall be wise and prudent. But now, Will, are you going to join the garrison?”
“If I do, Ben, I am afraid I shall be constantly in the way of bullets.”
“Oh,” said he, “you were always ready for fighting. However, if you get shot, I will nurse you.”
It was in this way that both Ben and myself joined the garrison at the beginning of the second siege, which began, as near as I can reckon it, about the 21st of March in that year. On that day a body of the Parliamentary forces took possession of the upper part of the town and engaged some of our troops in battle, whereby we lost one or two killed, while others were taken prisoners. For a while, however, the lower town was in our hands, and from it we drew further supplies of wood and provisions, thus strengthening ourselves more securely against the siege. It soon became evident to us that the Parliamentarians intended to force us to surrender by means of a blockade rather than by an assault. They commenced a regular series of entrenchments and outworks, and finally surrounded us with a complete circle of forts, guards, and trenches, from which their operations were zealously conducted. We did not suffer them to pursue the making of these works in peace, but continually hampered them with a heavy fire from our towers and battlements, so that there was hardly a day passed in which they did not suffer loss of their men.
Now, if I were to tell you all that happened during the time that I was in the Castle as one of its defenders, I should have to occupy your time somewhat more fully than you would expect, for there were fresh adventures every day, and from one reason or other I was always mixed up with them. Ben and I had joined the division of volunteers serving under Sir John Ramsden, and here we found some very good company, Mr. Shillito, the Mayor of Pontefract, being of us, together with Aldermen Lunn and Wilkinson and other gentlemen of the town, who had banded themselves together to defend the King’s cause. None of us, I think, were disposed to allow the enemy to blockade us in peace, and we were always ready to sally forth and attack them in their trenches and works. Even Ben Tuckett, growing braver every day, did pluck up such spirit that he was never behindhand, and fought with as much bravery as the rest of us.
As for the sallies that we made from the Castle during the next few weeks, they were legion, and in every one of them the enemy came off second best, invariably losing a goodly number of men. On the 4th of April we went out, ninety strong, and charged against Alderman Rusby’s house and killed an officer and three men, after which we set the house and barns on fire. The next day a great party of us, horse and foot, went out under Captains Walkington, Beale, and Smith, and had a brush with the enemy, during which we took two loads of fresh meat that were being carried into the town, and conveyed them safely into the Castle. On Easter Sunday a still greater body of us went out of the Swillington Tower and sallied up Northgate to attack the works situated there; while another party, equally large in numbers, went out from the lower gate and attacked the enemy’s trenches on the south side of the town by the Halfpenny house. In these encounters the Parliamentarians suffered considerably, for though we only lost two men ourselves, we killed one hundred and thirty of our enemies and took one man prisoner, together with a quantity of muskets and swords.
So the struggle went on, never a day passing that did not see some fresh development of hostilities. The Parliamentarians worked steadily at their trenches and forts, and kept up a steady fire at us, and we on our part never ceased to harass and worry them by resolute sallies, in which we always came off with success. Indeed, upon some of these occasions we had a good deal to fight for, for our store of fresh meat was quickly exhausted, and if it had not been for our occasional seizure of cattle we should have had to go without any. Now and then, however, we caught sight of small herds being driven into the town, and on these occasions a body of us would sally forth and fight for them, and we generally did so well that we brought the cattle safe into our courtyard and thus staved off starvation for a few days longer.
At these times nobody fought more keenly or fiercely than Ben Tuckett, whom necessity had succeeded in making a thorough man of war. He would rush upon the enemy with the most terrible cries and shouts, brandishing his sword so vigorously that the Roundheads often flew from him before he had well reached them. Then nobody would rejoice more than he did, and he would return to the Castle driving the captured cattle as if they were some great prize, as indeed they were, fresh meat being ofttimes rare with us.
“You see, Will,” said he one day, as we stood watching the enemy from the Barbican, “I cannot abide to see cattle going as it were by our very door when we have such need of it inside, and I feel that I must strike a blow for the possession of it, or die. ’Tis such a terrible feeling, that hungering for a slice of good beef or mutton, and thou knowest there have been one or two days when we could not get even a thin shaving of either.”
“There will be a good many days, Ben, in the time that is coming, when I dare say we shall be glad enough of a crust of dry bread.”
“Alas!” said he. “ ’Tis sad to think of. However, what must be, must be. But when I think of thy mother’s larder, Will, and what I have often seen it contain, alack! I am like to weep. Dost thou remember, for instance, the meat pasties that Lucy makes? I would give the King’s crown for one of those meat pasties at this moment.”
I laughed to hear him talk in that fashion, but there was something in what he said, for provisions were not great, and they had to be given out very carefully or else they would not have lasted many days. For myself I cared little, for though I am a big man and have always been able to play a good part with knife and fork, I was never very nice about my food, and could satisfy my hunger on dry bread, whereas poor Ben had been so petted and pampered by the women that he had gotten a craving for all sorts of delicacies, and was forever sighing after the fleshpots of Egypt.
During April and May the siege went on as it had begun, the Parliamentarians surrounding us with a complete ring of trenches and forts, while we never ceased to harass them by our fire and by resolute sallies. They were constantly receiving reinforcements from various parts of the country. On the 18th of April six hundred Scotch arrived under the command of Colonel Montgomery, and received a warm reception from us, for we fired our cannon into their midst and killed several of their officers and men. On the 26th of the same month a hundred and fifty men came over the high ground beyond Ferrybridge to join the Roundheads, and about a fortnight afterwards they were further strengthened by a troop of horse, which came from Doncaster and joined the main guard at the New Hall. Reinforcements indeed were constantly arriving, so that the number of our assailants became considerably increased, and we were completely surrounded by them on all sides. Nevertheless our spirits never drooped, nor did we relax our efforts, and our hopes of ultimate victory were raised by the good news which we occasionally received. On the 22nd of May the Governor received letters from the King and from Sir Marmaduke Langdale, by which we learnt that an army was coming to our relief, which news was heartily and gladly welcomed by us. Then we heard from the garrison besieged in Sandal Castle that it had secured a fresh supply of provisions and would be able to hold out yet awhile, and from Scarborough Castle came news of a great sally there made by the besieged, who had driven away the Parliamentarians with great slaughter and had spiked all their cannon. This and other favourable news spurred us on to fresh endeavours, and raised our hope that we should be able to hold the Castle of Pontefract until help arrived. It was indeed only a question of food and provisions with us, for the place was so strong and so well fortified that an army of twenty thousand men could not have dislodged us unless hunger had come to help them in their work.