Colonel Edward Montagu’s Regiment of Foot

Flag Illustration	1)
Active	1645 to 1660
Country	England
Allegiance	Parliamentarian
Conflicts	First Civil War
	Glencairn’s Rising
	Booth’s Rising
Type	Foot
Colonel	Edward Montagu
	John Lambert
	Sir William Constable
	John Biscoe
	George Fleetwood
	Sir Henry Cholmley
Area Raised	East Anglia
Coat Colour	Red lined blue
Flag Colour	Blue
Flag Design	Unknown
Field Armies	NMA 1645-6
	Monck 1654
	Lambert 1659

Later Colonel John Lambert’s, Sir William Constable’s, John Biscoe’s, George Fleetwood’s and Sir Henry Cholmley’s Regiment of Foot

New Model Army regiment of foot, serving in the First Civil War, then mainly in garrisons, with an excursion to Scotland to suppress Glencairn’s rising

• April: Formed from Colonel Edward Montagu’s Regiment of Foot of Manchester’s army
• June: Battle of Naseby
• June: Siege of Leicester
• July: Battle of Ilminster (det)
• July: Battle of Langport
• July: Siege of Bridgewater
• July to August: Siege of Sherborne Castle?
• August to September: Siege of Bristol
• September: Siege of Devizes
• September to October: Siege of Winchester
• October: Storm of Basing House
• October: Taking of Langford House
• Montagu resigns, replaced by Colonel John Lambert
• October to April: Siege of Exeter?

• January: Siege of Dartmouth
• February: Battle of Torrington
• March: At Hopton’s surrender at Truro
• May to June: Siege of Oxford?

• July: Lambert given command in the north
• December: Sir William Constable appointed Colonel

• January: Garrison of Gloucester

• Garrison of Gloucester

• Garrison of Gloucester, Bristol and Wallingford

• October: Voted that six of the ten companies should be disbanded

• February: Recruited up from 700 to 1200 men
• April: Ordered to Scotland (7 coy)
• May: Arrive in Scotland
• September: Skirmish at Dumbarton?
• December: Recalled to England

• June: Constable dies
• December: Lt Col John Biscoe promoted to Colonel

• July: One company in Dunkirk garrison

• August: Battle of Winnington Bridge (4 coy)
• Garrison of Chester (2 coy)
• December: Sent to besiege Portsmouth (5 coy), but join Hesilrigge

• February: Biscoe replaced as Colonel by George Fleetwood
• May: At York
• June: Fleetwood replaced as Colonel by Sir Henry Cholmley
• October: Disbanded

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.

Montagu’s regiment was formed from his own Regiment of Foot of Manchester’s army. They fought at Naseby, under Cromwell’s command at a series of sieges, and on Fairfax’s Western campaign.

Montagu resigned from the army at the end of 1645, command passing to John Lambert then to Sir William Constable in 1647. In the Second and Third Civil Wars the regiment remained in garrison, mostly at Gloucester.

1654 saw the regiment sent to Scotland to put down Glencairn’s rising. In 1658 one company was in garrison at Dunkirk and in 1659 four companies helped defeat Booth’s rising in Cheshire. After a succession of Colonels they were disbanded in October 1660.

Montagu's regiment received red coats lined with blue on joining the New Model Army²⁾. The regiment were paid for ten new flags in April 1645, and were noted as flying blue flags at the storm of Basing House in October of that year³⁾. The designs of the flags are unknown.

Edward Montagu, later Earl of Sandwich, not to be confused with Edward Montagu, the Earl of Manchester

John Lambert

Sir William Constable

Previously Lt Col of the regiment.

George Fleetwood

Sir Henry Cholmley

More detailed lists of officers for April and May 1645, December 1646, May and August 1647 and May 1649 are shown in Reconstructing the New Model Army. Volume 1, Regimental Lists April 1645 to May 1649 by Malcolm Wanklyn, Helion & Co. 2015. ISBN 978-1-910777-10-7.

From Anglia Rediviva⁴⁾

• Colonel: Edward Montagu
• Lieutenant Colonel: Mark Grymes
• Major: Thomas Kelsey, replaced by Wroth Rogers
• Captain: Francis Blethin
• Captain: Lawrence Nunney
• Captain: John Biscoe
• Captain: Wroth Rogers promoted Major and replaced by Samuel Ross?
• Captain: William Wilkes replaced by Matthew Cadwell
• Captain: Thomas Disney
• Captain: Giles? Sanders

• 1645: Established at 1000 men in ten companies (probably not up to strength)
• 1651: Six companies ordered to disband (appear to have re-formed later)
• 1654: Ordered to recruit from 700 up to 1200 strong

Montagu's are re-enacted by Montagu's Regiment of the English Civil War Society.