Colonel Thomas Rainsborough’s Regiment of Foot

Later Colonel Grey’s Regiment of Foot

Parliamentarian regiment of Foot of Manchester’s Eastern Association

• May: Raised at Lincoln
• June: Equipment ordered for the regiment
• October to December: Siege of Crowland

• March: At Grantham
• May: Grey appointed Colonel

• May: Grey commissioner for surrender of Newark
• June: Grey's Colonelcy ends

A number of officers and men in Rainsborough's regiment had returned from New England to fight for Parliament, including Lieutenant-Colonel Israel Stoughton, Major Nehemiah Bourne and Captain John Leverett. Rainsborough's family was connected by marriage to the Winthrops of Massachusetts. His sister Martha was briefly married to John Winthrop, governor of Massachusetts, while another sister, Judith, was married to Winthrop's son Stephen, who served in Rainsborough's regiment.

A mention of Rainsborough's in red coats likely refers to his embryonic New Model Army regiment, not this regiment which was soon handed over to Col. Grey.

A list of the regiment’s officers is shown in Laurence Spring’s Regiments of the Eastern Association¹⁾

Thomas Rainsborough Republican officer who served in Parliament's army and navy.

According to Spring, this was James Grey, previously a captain in Col. Thomas Grey's Foot. However evidence uncovered by Ivor Carr suggests that Henry Grey, previously Lt Col of Lord Grey of Groby's Regiment of Foot succeeded Rainsborough.

(Lieutenant Colonel of 09/02/44 - 22/09/44; Colonel 04/04/45 - 25/08/46. His service as Colonel is stated as having been in Lincolnshire. This suggests that we may be maybe dealing with two different regiments. In fact it appears Grey took over Colonel Thomas Rainsborough’s Regiment of Foot and that Spring is mistaken in giving this to Col James Grey)

• Captain Henry Higgins (03/05/44 - 29/08/44)²⁾

In May 1645 Parliament ordered that commissions be issued to various officers under Col. Henry Gray in Lincolnshire (Officers marked * had junior officers commissioned under them)

• Colonel Henry Gray* -Captain Lieutenant Robert Russell
• Lieutenant Colonel William Chandler
• Major Peter Stubber
• Captain Andrew Ruddock
• Captain Richard Lewis (for the company previously under Captain Tooleday)
• Captain [Owen] Cambridge*
• Captain [Robert] Bee*
• Captain [Samuel} Playford*

Chandler, Stubber, Cambridge, Bee and Playford had all served under Rainsborough. Stubber however claimed to have served in Col. Rossiter's otherwise unknown regiment of Foot during the period in question. He later led Colonel Peter Stubber’s Regiment of Foot in Ireland.

Thomas Rainsborough's regiment of foot, New Model Army