Osprey Warrior 44 : Ironsides : English Cavalry 1588-1688

Many types of cavalryman are established in the imagination of the British public, but the Ironside retains his place as symbolic of the one occasion when the army took an active role in British politics. One reason is that he represents a unique period when ordinary people displaced the established order to take political control into their own hands. In the nineteenth century a rash of historical publications, paintings and statues with a civil war theme reflected the political divisions of Victorian society and Royalist and Parliamentarian causes were argued over again, reflecting the sub text of contemporary political struggles. This book attempts to take a wider view of the Ironside as a warrior who evolved from the experiments of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries to combine firepower with the armoured cavalryman. It reflects his wider service in the Royalist as well as the Parliamentarian armies and beyond the civil wars. Text by John Tincey with illustrations by Graham Turner.

Contents

• Introduction
• The Evolution of the Ironside
• The Growing Offensive Power of Infantry
• The Role of Cavalry in Sieges
• The Rise of 'Light Horsemen'
• The Armada Crisis of 1588
• The Making of an Ironside
• The Arms of the Ironside
• The Ironside in Battle
• Motions of the Cavalry
• Campaign Life
• The Ironside and Religion
• The Ironside and Politics
• The Restoration of the Monarchy
• Disbandment and Life after Service
• Bibliography
• Colour Plate Commentary