Lucy Hutchinson (1620–1681). Memoirs of Colonel Hutchinson. 1906.
Appendix XVII: Account of a Skirmish in January 1644
At the time that Sir Thomas Fairfax commanded out the troop there came a woman with a note to the governor from Sir Miles Hubbard, intimating a design he had to fall upon Newark, and desiring that Nottingham and Derby with all the horse and dragoons they could make would fall upon Muscam and Kellam bridges and break them up to prevent any assistance from coming to them on this side. Between Nottingham and Derby there were about 800 or 1,000 horse and dragoons prepared ready for the design, and the plot was laid and all things necessary for the design made ready, and it was given out that they went to Winkfield Manor. The horse were marched out and the dragoons horsed to follow them, when the gentlewoman came again from Sir Miles Hubbard to let the governor know that Newark had surprised 300 of their horse so that the design could not go forward at that time, whereupon the governor dismissed most of the dragoons, and sent to the horse that they should go to Mansfield to gather a cessment (ceazement) there and to Derby men that the design held not. The horse went to Mansfield but did not gather their cessment, and Captain White sent that night a messenger to the governor to desire him to send some dragoons and some carts to fetch away my Lord Biron’s goods at Newstead, which he did, and there the horse met them and came along homeward with them, but when they were within four or five miles of home the horse came all away except about forty, whom they left with the dragoons and carriages: there were when they were together between five and six hundred horse and dragoons, but they had not left above six score with the carriages and most of them dragoons without so much as a captain with them, and in the evening as they were at Bescod Park a hundred of the enemy’s horse fell into their rear-guard, but the dragoons got behind the pale and shot at them, and killed four of them dead upon the place. As the soldiers were stripping two of the slain Colonel Frecheville charged rashly among them, and was engaged so that he had been taken prisoner, if his captain-lieutenant had not ridden in and rescued him, who was himself made a prisoner for his pains. Sir Henry Humlock was wounded in the arm, and Frecheville cut in the hand. Some of our horse by this time were returned to them, which when the Cavaliers saw, without stop or stay they ran as fast as they could.