Daniel Axtell
Encyclopedia
Colonel Daniel Axtell was Captain of the Parliamentary Guard at the trial of King Charles I
at Westminster Hall in 1649. Shortly after the Restoration
he was hanged, drawn and quartered
as a regicide
.
He was a Baptist
from Berkhamsted
in Hertfordshire
who apprenticed as a grocer. He joined the New Model Army
, serving in John Pickering
's regiment of Foote and rose to the Rank of Colonel. Apart from his participation in the regicide, he is best remembered for his participation in Pride's Purge
of the Long Parliament
. His defence at his trial as a Regicide, that he was only obeying orders at the trial of the King, was refuted by several witnesses who testified that Axtell had behaved discourteously towards the King encouraging his men to jeer at or shout-out the King when he tried to speak in his own defence. He was executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered. His commanding officer Colonel Francis Hacker
who had also been condemned as a Regicide was also executed. Axtell went to his execution unrepentant declaring "If I had a thousand lives, I could lay them all down for the [Good Old] Cause
".
. In October 1650 Axtell led the Parliamentarian army to victory at the battle of Meelick Island (a Crannog
on the Shannon
, on which the Connaught
Irish army was camped) after launching a sudden attack on the Irish army on October 25 under cover of darkness. After fierce hand to hand fighting, the Parliamentarians were victorious, killing several hundred of the Irish soldiers and capturing their weapons and equipment. After the conflict however it was alleged that many of the Irish had been killed after the promise of quarter. Axtell was court-martialled for this by Henry Ireton
and sent back to England. It is possible that Axtell was a scapegoat: Cromwell
had committed similar atrocities a year earlier at Drogheda
and at Wexford
, in the sense that no quarter had been offered. It is possible that the leaders of the Parliamentarian forces in Ireland (if not the Parliamentarian leadership in Britain) felt that 'shock' tactics initially adopted in Ireland were counter-productive. For example, Ireton's request for lenient surrender terms to be made known by Parliament were refused. Axtell's actions may have run counter to a less ruthless strategy putatively adopted by Ireton in the field.
after his house in Stoke Newington
was searched for seditious libels. He died in 1687.
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
at Westminster Hall in 1649. Shortly after the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
he was hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
as a regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
.
He was a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
from Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted
-Climate:Berkhamsted experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Castle:...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
who apprenticed as a grocer. He joined the New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
, serving in John Pickering
John Pickering (soldier)
John Pickering , parliamentarian: brother of Sir Gilbert Pickering; of Gray's Inn, 1634; commanded a regiment in the Earl of Manchester's army and in the New Model Army.-References:Attribition...
's regiment of Foote and rose to the Rank of Colonel. Apart from his participation in the regicide, he is best remembered for his participation in Pride's Purge
Pride's Purge
Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents...
of the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
. His defence at his trial as a Regicide, that he was only obeying orders at the trial of the King, was refuted by several witnesses who testified that Axtell had behaved discourteously towards the King encouraging his men to jeer at or shout-out the King when he tried to speak in his own defence. He was executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered. His commanding officer Colonel Francis Hacker
Francis Hacker
Colonel Francis Hacker was an English soldier who fought for Parliament during the English Civil War and one of the Regicides of King Charles I of England....
who had also been condemned as a Regicide was also executed. Axtell went to his execution unrepentant declaring "If I had a thousand lives, I could lay them all down for the [Good Old] Cause
Good Old Cause
The Good Old Cause was the retrospective name given by the soldiers of the New Model Army for the complex of reasons for which they fought, on behalf of the Parliament of England....
".
The Civil War
Axtell played a big part in the Civil War after being recruited by Parliament in 1643. He fought as an infantry man and was present at the siege of Lindon (1644, May), the siege of York (1644, June) and was at the battle of Marston Moor and many other sieges and battles. Axtell was a keen puritan and in 1646 he and some other puritan soldiers started preaching in churches in Oxford. At that time it was illegal to preach unless you were a qualified clergyman so he had to force the clergymen to give way.Ireland
Axtell was a figure of some prominence in the Cromwellian conquest of IrelandCromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
. In October 1650 Axtell led the Parliamentarian army to victory at the battle of Meelick Island (a Crannog
Crannog
A crannog is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters of Scotland and Ireland. Crannogs were used as dwellings over five millennia from the European Neolithic Period, to as late as the 17th/early 18th century although in Scotland,...
on the Shannon
River Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
, on which the Connaught
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
Irish army was camped) after launching a sudden attack on the Irish army on October 25 under cover of darkness. After fierce hand to hand fighting, the Parliamentarians were victorious, killing several hundred of the Irish soldiers and capturing their weapons and equipment. After the conflict however it was alleged that many of the Irish had been killed after the promise of quarter. Axtell was court-martialled for this by Henry Ireton
Henry Ireton
Henry Ireton was an English general in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. He was the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell.-Early life:...
and sent back to England. It is possible that Axtell was a scapegoat: Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
had committed similar atrocities a year earlier at Drogheda
Siege of Drogheda
The siege of Drogheda at the outset of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The town of Drogheda in eastern Ireland was held by a combined English Royalist and Irish Catholic garrison when it was besieged and stormed by English Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell...
and at Wexford
Sack of Wexford
The Sack of Wexford took place in October 1649, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, when the New Model Army under Oliver Cromwell took Wexford town in south-eastern Ireland. The English Parliamentarian troops broke into the town while the commander of the garrison was trying to negotiate a...
, in the sense that no quarter had been offered. It is possible that the leaders of the Parliamentarian forces in Ireland (if not the Parliamentarian leadership in Britain) felt that 'shock' tactics initially adopted in Ireland were counter-productive. For example, Ireton's request for lenient surrender terms to be made known by Parliament were refused. Axtell's actions may have run counter to a less ruthless strategy putatively adopted by Ireton in the field.
Granny Castle
Granny Castle beside the river Nore is an imposing ruin. Its early history is identified with that of its founders and proprietors the earls of Ormond. "In the civil wars" writes Grosse "it was strongly garrisoned for the King and commanded by Captain Butler, Colonel Axtell the famous regicide who was governor of Kilkenny dispatched a party to reduce it, but they returned without accomplishing their orders; upon which Axtell himself marched out with two cannon and summoned the castle to surrender on pain of military execution. Without any hope of relief it is no wonder the garrison submitted."(Grose Antiquities Vol. II p. 79)Miscellaneous
In 1678 Daniel Axtell, the son of the regicide, fled to CarolinaProvince of Carolina
The Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...
after his house in Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
was searched for seditious libels. He died in 1687.
Further reading
- Col. Daniel Axtell, Regicide
- Excerpts from his trial
- The History of Berkhamsted
- British Civil Wars: Daniel Axtell, Soldier, Regicide, d.1660
- The Diary of Samuel Pepys Friday 19 October 1660