Qualla: Battle of Sedgemoor https://qualla.com/battle-of-sedgemoor en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:13 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/j/f/battle-of-sedgemoor-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Sedgemoor https://qualla.com/battle-of-sedgemoor Battle of Sedgemoor: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-sedgemoor/ Photo credit Alex Liivet from Chester, United Kingdom, CC0. By the night of 5 July 1685 the Duke of Monmouth had run out of options. His army of West Country Protestants, around 3,500 strong, was hemmed in at Bridgwater. Most of them were nonconformist artisans and farm workers carrying scythes and pitchforks. Six hundred royal troops camped a few miles east at Westonzoyland, supported by fifteen hundred militia and a train of artillery. Monmouth could see them from the tower of Bridgwater's parish church. He made a decision that would echo for centuries: a night attack, across open moor cut by deep drainage ditches, guided by a farmer's servant who knew the lanes. They marched out at ten in the evening. By dawn, it was over, and the battlefield held the last pitched battle that would ever be fought on English soil.

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Image: Alex Liivet from Chester, United Kingdom | CC0

]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/j/f/battle-of-sedgemoor-wp/gcjf-battle-of-sedgemoor-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Sedgemoor: An Illegitimate Claim https://qualla.com/battle-of-sedgemoor/ Photo credit Jan Wyck, Public domain. James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, was Charles II's eldest illegitimate son - handsome, Protestant, and beloved by the West Country crowds who had welcomed him on a goodwill tour in 1680. When Charles died on 2 February 1685, the throne passed to his Catholic brother James, and the d...

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Image: Jan Wyck | Public domain

]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/j/f/battle-of-sedgemoor-wp/gcjf-battle-of-sedgemoor-an-illegitimate-claim.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Sedgemoor: The Royal Forces Assemble https://qualla.com/battle-of-sedgemoor/ Photo credit Saffron Blaze, CC BY-SA 3.0. Against this hastily armed crowd, King James assembled the professionals. The Royal Regiment of Horse rode under Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford. The Queen's Regiment of Horse came under Sir John Lanier. The King's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons was led by John Churchill, the...

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Image: Saffron Blaze | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/j/f/battle-of-sedgemoor-wp/gcjf-battle-of-sedgemoor-the-royal-forces-assemble.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Sedgemoor: The Long March in the Dark https://qualla.com/battle-of-sedgemoor/ Photo credit Leon Howe, CC BY-SA 3.0. At about ten on the night of 5 July, Monmouth led his troops out of Bridgwater. Their guide was Richard Godfrey, a local farmer's servant who knew the field lanes. They took the old Bristol road toward Bawdrip, then turned south along Bradney Lane and Marsh Lane onto the open moo...

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Image: Leon Howe | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/j/f/battle-of-sedgemoor-wp/gcjf-battle-of-sedgemoor-the-long-march-in-the-dark.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Sedgemoor: Outflanked at Dawn https://qualla.com/battle-of-sedgemoor/ Photo credit Chris McKenna (Thryduulf) (photographs and merged image), CC BY-SA 4.0. The professionals did what professionals do. The royal cavalry outflanked the rebel line. The royal artillery, well-positioned, opened on Monmouth's untrained troops. The pitchforks and scythes were no answer to musket volleys delivered by men who had drilled for years. Hundreds ...

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Image: Chris McKenna (Thryduulf) (photographs and merged image) | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/j/f/battle-of-sedgemoor-wp/gcjf-battle-of-sedgemoor-outflanked-at-dawn.mp3 0:06 5 full Battle of Sedgemoor: The Bloody Assizes https://qualla.com/battle-of-sedgemoor/ Photo credit Martinvl, CC BY-SA 4.0. What followed was, for the West Country, worse than the battle. Judge George Jeffreys arrived in Taunton in September 1685 to try Monmouth's supporters. The trials became known as the Bloody Assizes. Around 320 people were condemned to death. About 800 more were sentenced to pena...

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Image: Martinvl | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/j/f/battle-of-sedgemoor-wp/gcjf-battle-of-sedgemoor-the-bloody-assizes.mp3 0:06 6 full Battle of Sedgemoor: Three Years Later https://qualla.com/battle-of-sedgemoor/ Photo credit Wmpearl, CC0. James II spent his political capital harshly. He pushed Catholics into senior positions, tried to repeal the Test Act, raised the standing army. In 1688, when a Catholic heir was born to him, the Protestant establishment turned to William of Orange. The Glorious Revolution put Ja...

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Image: Wmpearl | CC0

]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/j/f/battle-of-sedgemoor-wp/gcjf-battle-of-sedgemoor-three-years-later.mp3 0:06 7 full