Articles of Impeachment

Die Mercurii, 15 Novemb. 1643.

THe humble Petition of Clement Walker and William Prynne, Esqs concerning Mr. Nathaniel Fiennes and the surrender of Bristol, was this day read-in the House of Commons, and Articles of Accusation of the said Mr. Fiennes, touching the surrender of the said city of Bristol and castle, was this day likewise presented to the said House; A Letter from Master Prynne to Mr. Nathaniel Fiennes was was likewise read.

Ordered by the House of Commons, That they shall be careful, that there be a a fair and equal Trial of Mr. Nathaniel Fiennes.

Resolved, &c.

That these Articles, entitled, Articles of Accusation and Impeachment against Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes, late Governor of the castle and city of Bristol, touching the dishonorable surrender thereof to the Enemy, contrary to his trust and duty, by Clement Walker and William Prynne Esqs shall be now read. The said Articles and Impeachment were accordingly read.

The Petition and Articles were signed, Clement Walker and William Prynne; and they were both called in at the Bar; being demanded whether the Names subscribed, were of their hand writing; They did avow the Names to be of their own handwriting, and did avow the said Petition and Articles.

Ordered that a copy of the Articles attested under the Clerks hand, be forthwith sent to my Lord General.

H: Elsynge, Cler. Parl. D. Com.

ARTICLES OF Accusation and Impeachment, Against Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes,

Late Governor of the City and Castle of Bristol, touching his dishonorable surrender thereof to the enemy, contrary to his Trust and Duty, by Clement Walker and William Prynne Esq.

1. INprimis, That he the said Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes, did suddenly apprehend, imprison, & remove Colonel Thomas Essex, late Governor of the said City and Castle from his government there, upon pretence that he intended to deliver up the same (not then fully fortified, or sufficiently provided to withstand any long siege) into the hands of the common enemies of the Kingdom and Parliament; contrary to the trust reposed in him▪ and that hereupon, he the said Col. Fiennes obtained the government of the said City and Castle for himself, and undertook to defend and keep the same, to the uttermost extremity against the said enemy, for the use of the King and Parliament, and not to surrender the said City and Castle, or either of them to the said enemies, or to any other person whatsoever, without the previous consent and order of the Parliament.

2. Item, That the said Colonel, soon after he became Governor of the said City and Castle, did by Martial law, apprehend, condemn and execute some chief Citizens thereof; Namely, Master Yeomans, Master Butcher, and others, only for intending to deliver up the same to Prince Rupert, when he came first before Bristol (not then fully fortified and stored) though they did not actually surrender the same.

3. Item, That he the said Colonel did put the Parliament, Kingdom, Country and City, to a vast expense in fortifying and furnishing it, and the Castle thereof with Forts, Sconce, Canons, Ammunition, Arms, Victualls, Provision of all sorts, and with Garrisons sufficiently able to defend and maintain the same for Three months space or more, against all the power of the Enemies, that might or did come against the same; and did likewise promise and undertake to divers Gentlemen and Inhabitants thereof, to defend the same for so long space or more, in case they should be besieged.

4. Item, That he the said Colonel, notwithstanding the said premisses, when the enemy came before the said City and Castle, with no extraordinary Forces or Ammunition able to force the same, and besieged them not above four days at the most, did before ever the enemy had taken any of the out Forts, or Sconces about the same; or had made so much as the least battery or assault upon the walls of the said City or Cast • e, or any mine or breach into any of the Forts thereof, contrary to his former trust, promises, duty, and the honor of a Soldier, most dishonourably, cowardly, and traitorously delivered up the said City and Castle, with all the prisoners, Canons, Ammunition, Artillery, Arms, Military Provisions, Magazines, Victualls therein, and the very Colours too, without, and against the consent of the Parliament, or his Excellency their General, into the hands and power of Prince Rupert, and other common enemies of the Kingdom and Parliament, to the extraordinary great danger, dishonor, loss and prejudice of the whole Kingdom and Parliament, the evil examples of other Governors and Towns, the loss of most of the Western parts of England, and great encouraging, enriching, and strengthening of the said enemies, both by Land and Sea, and that upon very dishonorable Articles, to which he was no ways necessitated, and had no care to see them punctually performed by the enemy, when complaint thereof was made to him for relief, to the great prejudice and impoverishing of the Inhabitants and Garrison sou diers there.

5. Item, That the said Colonel, without the privity or consent of any Council of War, did of his own head, send out for a parley with the enemy, when the Officers and soldiers advised and persuaded the contrary, and would have repulsed the enemies, and defended the said City and Castle to the utmost, that the surrendering up of the same was principally occasioned by earnest persuasion, advice, and cowardice of the said Governor, contrary to his trust and duty to keep the same: And that the said Governor, when as the Council of war unanimously voted upon the parley, that it was neither safe, nor honorable for them to depart the Town, unless they might march thence with half their Arms at least, and with their Colours; thereupon, after some private conference with Colonel Ierrard, one of the enemies Commanders, in the Garden, without the privity, and contrary to the Vote of the said Council, did make & insert the last Article, that they should leave all their Canon and Ammunition, with their Arms and colors behind them, and returning to them out of the Garden, told them plainly, that they must now deliver up all to the enemy, but what was expressed in the Articles, he then produced, and leave their Arms and colors behind them, to the said councils and fouldiers great discontent. And whereas by those very Articles, the said Town and castle were not to be delivered up till nine of the clock the next morning, nor the enemies to enter them, till the soldiers, and other Gentlemen were marched out, the said Governor was so over hasty to surrender up the same, that he delivered them up to the enemy above one hour, or more, before the hour agreed on; and suffered the enemies to enter and possess them before the soldiers were marched out, whereby many of the soldiers were pillaged in the castle and town, and divers of the Inhabitants best affected to the Parliament, plundered before the hour of surrender came, to their great loss and undoing.

6. Item, That he the said Colonel, during the four days siege of the said City and castle, did not give any such encouragement to the soldiers and Officers (who bravely defended the same, and slew near one thousand of the enemies best men, by his own printed Relation, with the loss only of eight persons) which much discouraged them, as his duty and place required, and they expected; and that when a small number of the enemies, not two hundred (who gave themselves for lost,) had entered the Line of Commumication at the weakest place, which was worst guarded; On Wednesday morning the 26. of July last (being bravely repulsed by the Soldiers with great loss in all places else) he the said Colonel for two hours space or more (during which time no more Enemies entered or approached the said Breach) both neglected and refused to command or encourage the Officers and Soldiers, who offered to beat them out in due time, as he was advised and pressed to do by Captain Bagnall, Livetenant Colonel Damson, and divers others, who would have undertaken that service; and instead of incountering the said Enemies (against whom the very women offered to go on with their children to dead the Canon, if the Soldiers were afraid, rather then the City and Castle should be yielded) called off the Soldiers and Officers from the Line and Out-works (that the Enemies might the better enter them without resistance) upon pain of death, much against their wills, who should and would have hindered and repulsed the Enemies, and discouraged and hindered such as were forwards to have cut them off, sounding a parly when the Enemies were so beaten that they threw down their Arms, and ready for quarter, insomuch that divers of the Soldiers and Inhabitants, cried out they were betrayed, and some of the Soldiers brake their Arms in discontent, swearing they would serve the Parliament no more.

7. Item, That the said Governor, notwithstanding his promises to defend the said City and Castle, and dispute it to the last, had yet a real intention to deliver up the same to the Enemy before ever they were Besieged by them, and no thought at all to defend it to the uttermost, or till it might be relieved by his Excellency, as appears by the premised Articles, by the said Governors refusal to send the Prisoners formerly taken out of the said Castle, before the Enemy approached, when moved to it, saying to Sir William Waller and others, that he would detain those prisoners still there, to make his own Conditions and Composition the better with the Enemy, if they came before it, by his commanding Master Hassard the Master Gunner there, to lay aside a Reserve of Thirty Barrells of Powder, with Match and Bullet answerable, to which when he was reduced, he would then Treat with the Enemy, (which he did before he was reduced to this large Reserve) by other speeches to the like effect, And by his moving Sir William Waller to depart from Bristol, before it was besieged, who otherwise would have adventured his life in its defense.

8. Item, That he the said Governor, when he surrendered the said Castle to the Enemy, had at least sixty Barrells of Powder therein (besides what was in the City and Forts) being ten more then were in Gloucester when it was first besieged, Five hundred Canon shot, fifty great Granadoes, fourteen hundred weight of Match or more, great store of Musket Bullets, and Tin to make more, A Match-maker, a Bullet-maker, with materials to make Match and Bullets, and all manner of provisions and Victuals, sufficient to maintain one Thousand men for three or four months space at least, Eleven Canons therein Mounted, (besides 44. Canons mounted in the City and Forts) All which were surrendered to the Enemy before any Battery or assault made against the said Castle (though he had men more then enough by his own relation to defend it) contrary to his promise made to divers Inhabitants of the said City, best affected to the Parliament, to defend the same to the uttermost, and to dispute every foot thereof with the Enemy, and to keep it, or to lay his bones therein; who thereupon sent in their Estates, with provisions for them and their families, for three months or more, into the said Castle, where the said Colonel promised to secure and defend the same, most of which their Estates, were there seized on by the Enemy to their undoing, By reason the said Colonel admitted the Enemies into the said Castle, and delivered up the keys thereof unto them, before the hour agreed on in the Articles, such was his extraordinary haste, to quit the same.

9. Item, That the said Colonel, to aggravate this his dishonorable action, hath presumed to justify the same, not only before the Honorable House of Commons, by word of mouth, but likewise before the whole Kingdom and world in Printed Relations and Letters, wherein he hath laid an extraordinary great Blemish both upon the Honorable Houses of Parliament, and his Excellency the Earl of Essex, their Lord General, by publishing in Print, That had he Manfully held out the said City and Castle to the last, yet he could not have expected any relief from them in six or eight weeks space at the least, when as Gloucester since Besieged with a far greater force then Bristol was, yet relieved by them in less then half the time (as Bristol doubtless might and would have been) and held out a full mone • hs siege or more, as Bristol might have done, though he the said colonell to add to his former offense, and hinder or anticipate the Relief of Gloucester, that it might be lost as Bristol was, gave out in speeches to some Members of the house of Commons and others, and namely to Master Samuel Brown, and Master John Sedgwick, that he would lose his head, or be hanged, if Gloucester could or would hold out three days siege, if the Enemy once came before it, or words to the like effect.

10 Item, That the said city and castle were so cowardly and unworthily delivered up to the enemies, that they have since published in print, and given out in speeches that the said Colonel Fines did bestow the same upon his Majesty, that they were delivered up to them beyond their expectation, and that they could not have taken the same, had it been defended by the Governor, who eventually at least if not intentionally, did but strongly fortify, and plentifully store the same, with all manner of provisions to make it Tenable, at the Kingdoms and the Countries extraordinary expense, to render up the same to the Enemies with great advantage to them, and far more prejudice and damage to the Commonwealth, as soon as it was made defensible.