]
[Sidenote a: A.D. 1649. May 7.]
At Banbury, in Oxfordshire, a Captain Thompson, at the head of two hundred
men, published a manifesto, entitled "England's Standard Advanced,"
in which he declared that, if Lilburne, or his fellow-prisoners, were
ill-treated, their sufferings should he avenged seventy times seven-fold
upon their persecutors. His object was to unite some of the discontented
regiments; but Colonel Reynolds surprised him at Banbury, and prevailed
on his followers to surrender without loss of blood.[1] Another party,
consisting of ten troops of horse, and more than a thousand strong,
proceeded from Salisbury to Burford, augmenting their numbers as they
advanced. Fairfax and Cromwell, after a march of more than forty miles
during the day, arrived soon afterwards,[a] and ordered their followers to
take refreshment. White had been sent to the insurgents with an offer of
pardon on their submission; whether he meant to deceive them or not, is
uncertain; he represented the pause on the part of the general as time
allowed them to consult and frame their demands; and at the hour of
midnight, while they slept in security, Cromwell forced his way into the
town, with two thousand men, at one entrance, while Colonel Reynolds,
with a strong body, opposed their exit by the other.
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