Eastern Association

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The Eastern Association of counties was a Parliamentarian or 'Roundhead' army during the English Civil War. It was formed from a number of pro-Parliamentary militias in the east of England in 1642, including a troop of cavalry led by Oliver Cromwell. It was initially led by Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, one of Parliament's Major-Generals, after the dismissal of Lord Grey Of Warke.

Contents 1 The foundations of "the best equipped army of the Civil War" 2 The Eastern Association during the Civil War 2.1 Military Personnel of the Eastern Association 2.2 Regiments within the Army of the Eastern Association

[edit] The foundations of "the best equipped army of the Civil War"

The army was composed of units raised in Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Lincolnshire. This was one of the richest agricultural parts of England; meaning that the Eastern Association was of the best financed and equipped armies on either side in the early part of the civil war - widely influencing the sophisticated detail and command of the later New Model Army.

[edit] The Eastern Association during the Civil War

Early in the war, in the winter of 1642-43, it established Parliamentary control over East Anglia and in subsequent campaigns, it moved against Royalist controlled Yorkshire. The Eastern Association fought in the Parliamentary victory at the battle of Marston Moor in June 1644 and then at the drawn second battle of Newbury,joining forces with the Earl of Essex and Sir William Waller's London and Southern Association armies in October of that year. This missed opportunity was an early factor toward some military commanders, including Cromwell, doubting the ability of Manchester as a commander. This was the last major battle the army was ever to take part in. In early 1645, it was disbanded under the Self-Denying Ordinance and incorporated, along with the Parliamentarian armies of the Earl of Essex and William Waller, into the New Model Army.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Military Personnel of the Eastern Association

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• Major-General: Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
• Lieutenant-General of Horse: Oliver Cromwell
• Sergeant Major-General of Foot: Lawrence Crawford
• Commisionary-General: Bartholomew Vermuyden
• Quartermaster-General: Henry Ireton
• Lieutenant-Colonel of Dragoons: John Lilbourne

[edit] Regiments within the Army of the Eastern Association

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Cavalry

• The Earl of Manchester's
• Cromwell's Ironsides
• Bartholomew Vermuyden's
• Charles Fleetwood's
• Sir John Norwich's (temporarily for the Second Battle of Newbury, while Fleetwood's stayed in the Eastern counties)

Infantry

• The Earl of Manchester's
• Lawrence Crawford's
• Edward Montagu's
• Sir Miles Robart's
• John Pickering's
• Francis Russell's
• Thomas Rainsborough's
• John Lilbourne's
• Valentine Walton Snr's

Dragoons

• The Earl of Manchester's
• John Lilbourne's
• Bartholomew Vermuyden's