The New Model Army (known contemporaneously as the New Modelled Army or the Parliaments Army) was a standing army raised by the Parliamentarians in 1645 during the First English Civil War. The first English standing army, it differed from other armies which served in Wars of the Three Kingdoms in that New Model Army troops were liable for service anywhere rather than being limited to a single region or garrison. To establish a professional officer corps, the army's officers were prohibited from having seats in either the House of Lords or House of Commons to encourage their separation from the political or religious factions among the Parliamentarians. The New Model Army played a major role in leading the Parliamentarians to victory in the first civil war in 1646.
Recruits for the New Model Army came from both veteran troops and conscripts, with many of the army's soldiers holding dissenting religious beliefs or radical political views unique among British armies, though the New Model Army's senior officers did not share many of their soldiers' more extreme stances. In 1648 the army spearheaded the Parliamentarian victory in the Second English Civil War and carried out Pride's Purge to purge Parliament of MPs considered hostile to the New Model Army. Following Charles I's execution in 1649 the Kingdom of England was transformed into the Commonwealth of England. Under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell, the New Model Army conquered Scotland and then Ireland between 1649 and 1653 before serving in the West Indies and Flanders as part of the Anglo-Spanish War of 1654–1660. In 1660 the New Model Army was disbanded following the Stuart Restoration, although many of the army's veterans joined the English Army when it was raised in 1661.
Foundation
The forces raised in 1642 by both Royalists and Parliamentarians were based on part-time militia known as Trained bands. Founded in 1572, these were organised by county, controlled by Lord-lieutenants appointed by the king, and constituted the only permanent military force in the country. The muster roll of February 1638 shows wide variations in size, equipment and training; the largest and best trained were based in London with 8,000, later increased to 20,000. When the First English Civil War began in August 1642, many of the largest militia were based in Parliamentarian areas like London, while Royalist counties like Shropshire or Glamorgan had fewer than 500 men.
The weakness of this system was the reluctance of locally raised troops to serve outside their "home" areas, a problem for both sides during the war. On 19 November 1644, the Parliamentarian Eastern Association announced that they could no longer meet the cost of maintaining their forces, which then comprised about half the field force available to Parliament. In response, the Committee of Both Kingdoms conducted a wide-ranging review of further military needs and recommended the establishment of a centralised, professional force. On 30 January 1645, committeemen of the Eastern Association discussed their concerns at the Bury Conference at Bury St Edmunds. On 17 February 1645, the New Model Army Ordinance became law, with Sir Thomas Fairfax being appointed Captain General, or commander in chief, and Philip Skippon being appointed Major General of the Foot.
The review coincided with increasing dissatisfaction as to the conduct of certain senior commanders; in July 1644, a Parliamentarian force under Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell secured control of Northern England by victory at Marston Moor. However, this was offset first by defeat at Lostwithiel in September, then lack of decisiveness at the Second Battle of Newbury in October. The two commanders involved, Essex and Manchester, were accused by many in Parliament of lacking commitment, a group that included moderates like Sir William Waller as well as radicals like Cromwell.
In December 1644, Sir Henry Vane introduced the Self-denying Ordinance, requiring those holding military commissions to resign from Parliament. As members of the House of Lords, Manchester and Essex were automatically removed, since (unlike MPs) they could not resign their titles, although they could be re-appointed, 'if Parliament approved'. Although delayed by the Lords, the Ordinance came into force on 3 April 1645. Since Cromwell was MP for Cambridge, command of the cavalry was initially given to Colonel Bartholomew Vermuyden, a former officer in the Eastern Association who was of Dutch origin and wanted to return home. Fairfax asked that Cromwell be appointed Lieutenant General of the Horse in place of Vermuyden, making him one of two original exceptions to the Self-denying Ordinance, the other being Sir William Brereton, commander in Cheshire. They were allowed to serve under a series of three-month temporary commissions that were continually extended.
Other Parliamentarian forces were consolidated into two regional armies, the Northern Association under Sydnam Poyntz and the Western Association under Edward Massey.
Establishment and character
Parliament authorised an Army of 22,000 soldiers, most of whom came from three existing Parliamentarian armies; that commanded by the Earl of Essex, Waller's Southern Association and the Eastern Association under the Earl of Manchester. It comprised 6,600 cavalry, divided into eleven units of 600 men, 14,400 foot, comprising twelve regiments of 1,200 men, and 1,000 dragoons. Originally, each regiment of cavalry had a company of dragoons attached, but at the urging of Fairfax on 1 March they were formed into a separate unit commanded by Colonel John Okey. Although the cavalry regiments were already up to strength, the infantry was severely understrength and in May 1645 was still 4,000 men below the approved level.
By creating fewer but larger regiments, the re-organisation greatly reduced the requirement for officers and senior NCOs. Fairfax had more than double the number of officers needed to fill his 200 vacancies and those deemed surplus to requirements were either discharged or persuaded to re-enlist at a lower rank. Essex and Manchester raised objections to around 30% of those on the list, for reasons that are still debated, but ultimately only five changes were approved. In addition, several Scots officers refused to take up their appointments, including John Middleton, originally colonel of the Second Regiment of Horse.
The standard daily pay was eight pence for infantry and two shillings for cavalry, who also had to supply their own horses, while the administration of the Army was more centralised, with improved provision of adequate food, clothing and other supplies. At the same time, recruits were also supposed to be motivated by religious fervour, as demonstrated in the "Soldier's catechism", written by Robert Ram. On 9 June 1645, Sir Samuel Luke, one of the officers discharged, wrote the Army was "the bravest for bodies of men, horse and arms so far as the common soldiers as ever I saw in my life". However, he later complained that many soldiers were drunk and their officers were often indistinguishable from enlisted men.
The extent to which the Army can be seen as a hotbed of religious and political radicalism is disputed, particularly since many of those now viewed as radicals, like Thomas Horton or Thomas Pride, were not considered such at the time. It is generally agreed that Fairfax, himself a moderate Presbyterian, sought to achieve a balance, while Essex and Manchester tried to remove those they viewed as unsuitable. What is debated is whether they did so for military reasons, favouring the retention of established officer cadres, or to eliminate personal enemies and those considered too radical. Ultimately they failed and Fairfax successfully achieved his objective.
Name The Oxford English Dictionary dated the earliest use of the phrase "New Model Army" to the works of the Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle in 1845, and the exact term does not appear in 17th- or 18th-century documents. Records from February 1646 refer to the "New Modelled Army"—the idiom of the time being to refer to an army that was "new-modelled" rather than appending the word "army" to "new model".
Original order of battle The order of battle was as follows: