During the Second Civil War, Royalists gained control of Pontefract Castle and started to plunder and capture prominent local Parliamentarians. To counter the threat, the Parliamentary committee of the militia of Yorkshire appointed Sir Edward with Sir Henry Cholmley to levy troops and advance on Pontefract Castle. They were ordered to invest the castle, but if their forces were insufficiently strong to besiege of the castle, then they to endeavour to keep in the garrison in the castle and to protect and preserve the surrounding countryside. It seems that Cholmley took overall command while Rodes commanded the cavalry, as Sir Rodes was ordered by Oliver Cromwell to pursue the Duke of Hamilton, the commander of the combined English Royalist and Scottish Covenanter armies after his defeat by Cromwell and the New Model Army at the Battle of Preston.