Lord Lieutenant Oliver Cromwell’s Regiment of Horse
Active | 1649 to 1660? |
Country | England |
Allegiance | Parliamentarian |
Conflicts | Irish Confederate War |
Type | Horse |
Colonel | Oliver Cromwell |
Richard Cromwell | |
Edmund Ludlow | |
Area Raised | |
Flag Colour | |
Flag Design | |
Field Armies | Cromwell 1649-50 |
Later Colonel Richard Cromwell’s, then Colonel Edmund Ludlow’s Regiment of Horse
Oliver Cromwell’s own Regiment of horse raised in England for service in Ireland
Service History
1649
- March: Oliver Cromwell commissioned to raise a regiment of horse for service in Ireland
- August: Shipped to Ireland
- September: Siege of Drogheda
- November: Battle of Glascarrick
1650
- Half the regiment goes to form Colonel Thomas Shelburne’s Regiment of Horse
1651
- Serving in Ireland
1652
- Serving in Ireland
1653
- Serving in Ireland
1654
- Serving in Ireland
1655
- Serving in Ireland
1656
- Serving in Ireland
1657
- Serving in Ireland
1658
- Regiment passes to Richard Cromwell after his father’s death
1659
- July: Lt General Edmund Ludlow made colonel
Notes
A history of the regiment is given in The Regimental History of Cromwell's Army by Sir Charles Firth and Godfrey Davies, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1940
In preparation for his Irish campaign of 1649 Cromwell raised a new regiment of horse, consisting of fourteen troops. They accompanied Cromwell to Ireland, remaining there until the Restoration. The regiment was split into two in 1650. One half remained Oliver Cromwell’s regiment and was commanded in the field successively by Majors Jerome Sankey, Daniel Redman and Henry Owen. In 1658 the regiment likely passed to Richard Cromwell, then in 1659 to Edmund Ludlow.
Flags and Equipment
Notable Officers
Oliver Cromwell
Richard Cromwell
Edmund Ludlow
Thomas Shelburne
From Buckinghamshire, he had fought in the First Civil War and commanded a troop in Aylesbury in 1648. He was Lt Col. of the regiment in 1649 then formed Colonel Thomas Shelburne’s Regiment of Horse in 1650 from half of Cromwell's regiment.
Jerome Sankey
Jerome Sankey (d 1687) (or, variously Hierome Zanchey) originally from Shropshire was educated at Cambridge but excelled mainly in cudgelling and foot-ball-playing. He served in Sir William Brereton’s regiment of horse, leading the Colonel’s troop in 1645. Major of Cromwell’s horse at the start of the Irish campaign, he was promoted to Colonel of Horton’s regiment in the October.
Strength
- 1649: 14 Troops
- 1650: 6 to 8 troops