Battle of Gainsborough The Battle of Gainsborough was a battle in the English Civil War , fought on 28 July 1643 . Prelude . When the English Civil War was declared , Gainsborough in Lincolnshire lay in an area which supported Parliament , but the town itself had Royalist sympathies . The town was of strategic importance to both sides , sited as it was on a crossing of the River Trent , lying on important roads leading south and north . In March 1643 Sir John Henderson sent a raiding party from the Royalist base at Newark to capture Gainsborough for the King . The town was surrounded and quickly surrendered without any resistance . The town was put into the charge of the Earl of Kingston and was used as a base to harass the Parliamentarians in Lincolnshire . Royalist attacks at Louth and Market Rasen , together with the capture of gunpowder intended for Rotherham , provoked Parliament into action . Lord Willoughby of Parham launched a surprise night attack on Gainsborough on 16 July 1643 and captured it . The Earl of Kingston was later killed by a cannonball from his own men as he was being taken as prisoner down the river to Hull . Willoughby ' s triumph was short - lived . The Royalists immediately sent Charles Cavendish with a force to retake Gainsborough . Parliament sent forces from Nottingham under Sir John Meldrum and Colonel Oliver Cromwell from Cambridgeshire to relieve and reinforce the town . The two forces met on 27 July at North Scarle , ten miles south of Gainsborough , where they were joined by a detachment from Lincoln . The battle . The next day , 28 July 1643 , the 1200 strong force marched north . At the village of Lea , just south of Gainsborough , they met an advanced guard of 100 horse , part of Cavendish ' s army . After a short skirmish the horsemen were driven back to Cavendish ' s main body which was drawn up on top of " Foxby Hill " to the east of the town . The Royalists consisted of three regiments of Horse with a further regiment in reserve , and they had the strategic advantage . The Lincoln troops were ordered to advance up the steep and sandy gradient , and upon reaching the top they came face to face with the Royalist Horse . As the Lincolners were forming up , Cavendish attacked . Cromwell , seeing this , charged with his own cavalry to meet Cavendish . After some fierce horse to horse fighting , the Royalist Horse gradually began to fall back , eventually fleeing from the battlefield pursued by the Parliamentary cavalry . With the Parliamentary Horse gone , Cavendish took advantage by counter - attacking the remaining Lincoln troops with his reserve regiment . But Cromwell was still on the field with a reserve of three troops of Horse . He charged into Cavendish ' s rear , forcing the Royalists down the hill and into the flat marshy land of the Trent , where 300 Royalists were slaughtered . Cavendish was knocked off his horse and killed by a sword thrust in the chest . The place where he was killed was later known as " Cavendish Bog " . Aftermath . With the battle over , Cromwell rode into Gainsborough with supplies for Willoughby ' s garrison . While this was being done , news arrived that a small Royalist force was marching on Gainsborough from the north . Cromwell and Meldrum , thinking this was a remnant of Cavendish ' s force not yet engaged , rode out to meet them with 600 of Willoughby ' s foot soldiers . At Morton they drove off two troops of Horse . Then climbing a hill , they were shocked to discover the army of Lord Newcastle consisting of about 30 regiments of Foot and a great body of Horse , who were marching on Gainsborough to retake it for the King . Willoughby ' s foot soldiers fell back in disorder . With his own men and horses exhausted by the recent battle , Cromwell ordered a withdrawal . In a disciplined rearguard action , two parties of Horse , one from Cromwell ' s regiment and one from the Lincolners , stood firm and retired alternately in order to cover the main force . With the loss of only two men , they held back the Royalists until finally reaching the safety of Lincoln . Meanwhile Newcastle was besieging Gainsborough , and fired on the town with cannon , setting fire to part of it . After a three day siege , Willoughby surrendered on 31 July . Newcastle then turned his forces around and headed north to besiege Hull , leaving a Royalist garrison at Gainsborough . With the town back in Royalist hands , raiding parties once more started to harass Parliamentary held areas .