John Pickering (soldier)

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John Pickering
Lincoln's Inn, where Pickering trained as a lawyer
Commissary-General, Army of the Eastern Association
In office
August 1643 – February 1644
Personal details
Bornbaptised 3 December 1615
Titchmarsh, Northamptonshire, England
Died24 November 1645(1645-11-24) (aged 29)
Ottery St Mary, England
Cause of deathTyphus
Resting placeLyme Regis castle
Alma materSt Catharine's College, Cambridge
Gray's Inn
OccupationLawyer, soldier, and religious radical
Military service
AllegianceParliamentarian
Years of service1642 to 1645
RankColonel
Battles/wars

Colonel John Pickering (baptised 3 December 1615, died 24 November 1645) was a member of the landed gentry from Northamptonshire who served with the Parliamentarian army in the First English Civil War. Like his elder brother Sir Gilbert Pickering, a close ally of Oliver Cromwell, he was a religious Independent, known for his devout faith and radical views. Appointed colonel of an infantry regiment in the New Model Army, he died of fever at Ottery St Mary on 24 November 1645.

Personal details

John Pickering, baptised 3 December 1615, was born in

Puritans, and Sir John was arrested in January 1627 for refusing to pay "loans" imposed by Charles I. Although released from prison a few months later due to illness, he died in January 1628.[1]

Pickering's elder brother,

MP for Northamptonshire from 1640 to 1659. Considered to be Oliver Cromwell's closest civilian ally,[2] he sat on the English Council of State under The Protectorate, and was appointed Lord Chamberlain in 1655.[3] Pickering also had a younger brother, Edward (1617–1698), and a sister Mary (1615–?);[1] he never married, and does not appear to have had children.[4]

Career

Pickering attended

Covenanter allies in Scotland, a role he continued into 1643.[6]

In August 1643, he was appointed head of the

dragoons. In March 1644, he was wounded in an assault on Hillesden House led by Cromwell, and was rewarded by being made colonel of a new infantry regiment, which fought under the Earl of Manchester at Marston Moor in July, then Second Newbury in October.[4] In the recriminations that followed alleged failures of command in both battles, Pickering was one of the witnesses on whom Cromwell relied in the attack that led to Manchester's removal under the Self-denying Ordinance.[7]

In April 1645, Sir

Protestants as a result.[9] The Lords replaced Pickering and all of his company commanders with officers from another regiment, before pressure from the House of Commons led them to approve the original list by one vote.[10]

John Pickering (soldier) is located in England
Exeter
Exeter
Bridgwater
Bridgwater
London
London
Bristol
Bristol
Titchmarsh
Titchmarsh
Naseby
Naseby
Marston Moor
Marston Moor
Basing House
Basing House
Lacock Abbey
Lacock Abbey
Sherborne Castle
Sherborne Castle
Hillesden
Hillesden
Newbury
Newbury
class=notpageimage|
Pickering's war; key locations mentioned in text

While based at

Ordinance that restricted preaching to authorised chaplains only.[4]

Despite this inauspicious beginning, the unit was seen as particularly close to Cromwell, and was described as one of the 'chiefest praying and preaching regiments in the army'.

Regicides of Charles I in January 1649. The regiment fought at Naseby, then took part in the 1645 autumn offensive against Royalist strongholds in South West England, including the capture of Sherborne Castle, Lacock Abbey, Bridgwater, Bristol and Basing House.[14] Pickering fell ill during the siege of Exeter, probably with typhus, and died at Ottery St Mary on 24 November 1645.[4] At the request of his brother Gilbert, he was buried in Lyme Regis castle,[4] with John Hewson taking over as colonel.[15]

Legacy

"John Pickering's Regiment of Foote" forms part of the modern Sealed Knot society, an Historical reenactment group dedicated to the English Civil War.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b Moseley & Sgroi 2010.
  2. ^ Worden 2012, p. 199.
  3. ^ Vennings 2004.
  4. ^ a b c d e Roberts 2004.
  5. ^ Jones 2010, p. 93.
  6. ^ Firth & Raitt 1911, pp. 45–46.
  7. ^ Hamilton 1890, p. 155.
  8. ^ Gentles 1992, pp. 16–17.
  9. ^ Preheim, Rick (19 June 2004). "Atonement For 2 Centuries Of Persecution". Washington Post. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  10. ^ Wanklyn 2014, pp. 117–118.
  11. ^ Turnbull, Mark (24 January 2020). "English Civil War slaughter at Abingdon recalled on anniversary". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  12. ^ Chandler, Andrew. "Politics, Economics and Religion in the formation of the New Model Army 1644-1645". Chandler Consultants. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  13. ^ Childs 2022, p. 207.
  14. ^ Childs 2022, p. 208.
  15. ^ Durston 2004.
  16. ^ "Colonel John Pickering, His Regiment of Foote". Colonel John Pickering. Retrieved 19 December 2022.

Sources

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