Edward Sexby
Encyclopedia
Colonel Edward Sexby or Saxby (1616 – 13 January 1658) was an English Puritan soldier and Leveller
in the army of Oliver Cromwell
. Later he turned against Cromwell and plotted his assassination.
in 1616 but little else is known about his life before the English Civil War
. Reportedly he was a son of a gentleman, had been an apprentice as a grocer in London and may have had family connections to Cromwell. In 1643 he was a trooper in Cromwell's Roundhead cavalry
regiment. He adopted Leveller ideals, was involved in the Putney Debates
and resisted attempts to come into an agreement with Charles I
. He may have been involved in the capture of the king at Holdenby House
in 1647.
Later that year he opposed the idea of disbanding the army and left but later reappeared as a captain in 1649. He was appointed as governor of the isle of Portland
. In 1650 he was sent to Scotland
as a commander of an infantry
regiment
and also raised a regiment to fight in Ireland. He took part in the siege of Tantallon Castle
. In July 1651 he was accused of keeping money that should have gone to his subordinates. This crime led to him being removed from the command of his regiment and it being passed to Thomas Reade. The same year he was sent to Bordeaux
to support the Fronde
rebellion but achieved little; he returned to England in August 1653.
Sexby opposed Cromwell's dismissal of the Rump Parliament
in April 1653 and turned against him. He claimed that Cromwell had betrayed the Commonwealth and had become an apostate and a tyrant
. He plotted with John Wildman
and Richard Overton
to overthrow the Protectorate but had to leave in 1655 when the conspiracy
was discovered.
On the continent he began to negotiate with Spain in the hope of raising an invading army to oust Cromwell's government. He even tried to convince exiled English Royalists
that he was one of them, with mixed results.
In June 1656 Sexby visited England in disguise to assess the situation. On returning to Flanders
, he met another ex-soldier Miles Sindercombe
who had also fallen foul of Cromwell's policies. Together they plotted the assassination of Cromwell in the hope that they could step into the following power vacuum
and restore the Commonwealth to its former state.
Sindercombe returned to England, gathered a group of men to his cause and made various unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Cromwell. However, Cromwell's chief of intelligence John Thurloe
found out about the scheme and the conspirators were captured on 8 January 1657. Sindercombe was imprisoned in the Tower of London
where he committed suicide.
Sexby secretly visited England a couple of times to create a new conspiracy
. He was captured on one such visit on 24 July 1657. Cromwell interrogated Sexby and enticed him to confess authorship of a pamphlet
titled Killing No Murder
. The pamphlet advocated the political assassination
of Cromwell as a legitimate act of tyrannicide. The authorship of the document is usually attributed to Silius Titus
but cannot be confirmed because it was published under the pseudonym
of William Allen. Upon Sexby's "confession" Cromwell imprisoned him in the Tower where he developed a fever, and apparently went insane then died 13 January 1658..
in the 2008 television drama The Devil's Whore
, with several significant changes to the facts of his biography.
Sexby appears in the novel Rebels and Traitors
by Lindsey Davis
.
Levellers
The Levellers were a political movement during the English Civil Wars which emphasised popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law, and religious tolerance, all of which were expressed in the manifesto "Agreement of the People". They came to prominence at the end of the First...
in the army of Oliver 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....
. Later he turned against Cromwell and plotted his assassination.
Life
Edward Sexby was born in SuffolkSuffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
in 1616 but little else is known about his life before the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Reportedly he was a son of a gentleman, had been an apprentice as a grocer in London and may have had family connections to Cromwell. In 1643 he was a trooper in Cromwell's Roundhead cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
regiment. He adopted Leveller ideals, was involved in the Putney Debates
Putney Debates
The Putney Debates were a series of discussions between members of the New Model Army – a number of the participants being Levellers – concerning the makeup of a new constitution for England....
and resisted attempts to come into an agreement with Charles I
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...
. He may have been involved in the capture of the king at Holdenby House
Holdenby House
Holdenby House is a historic country house in Northamptonshire, traditionally pronounced and sometimes spelt Holmby. The house is situated in the parish of Holdenby, six miles northwest of Northampton and close to Althorp....
in 1647.
Later that year he opposed the idea of disbanding the army and left but later reappeared as a captain in 1649. He was appointed as governor of the isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
. In 1650 he was sent to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
as a commander of an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
and also raised a regiment to fight in Ireland. He took part in the siege of Tantallon Castle
Tantallon Castle
Tantallon Castle is a mid-14th-century fortress, located east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth...
. In July 1651 he was accused of keeping money that should have gone to his subordinates. This crime led to him being removed from the command of his regiment and it being passed to Thomas Reade. The same year he was sent to Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
to support the Fronde
Fronde
The Fronde was a civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The word fronde means sling, which Parisian mobs used to smash the windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin....
rebellion but achieved little; he returned to England in August 1653.
Sexby opposed Cromwell's dismissal of the Rump Parliament
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....
in April 1653 and turned against him. He claimed that Cromwell had betrayed the Commonwealth and had become an apostate and a tyrant
Tyrant
A tyrant was originally one who illegally seized and controlled a governmental power in a polis. Tyrants were a group of individuals who took over many Greek poleis during the uprising of the middle classes in the sixth and seventh centuries BC, ousting the aristocratic governments.Plato and...
. He plotted with John Wildman
John Wildman
Sir John Wildman was an English soldier and politician.-Biography:Wildman was born in the Norfolk town of Wymondham, the son of Jeffrey and Dorothy Wildman. His father was a butcher. John was educated as a sizar at Corpus Christi College University of Cambridge taking an MA in 1644...
and Richard Overton
Richard Overton
Richard Overton was an English pamphleteer and Leveller during the Civil War. Little is known of the early life of Overton, but he is believed to have matriculated at Queens' College, Cambridge, before working as an actor and playwright in Southwark. Here he picked up Leveller sympathies, and...
to overthrow the Protectorate but had to leave in 1655 when the conspiracy
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
was discovered.
On the continent he began to negotiate with Spain in the hope of raising an invading army to oust Cromwell's government. He even tried to convince exiled English Royalists
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
that he was one of them, with mixed results.
In June 1656 Sexby visited England in disguise to assess the situation. On returning to Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, he met another ex-soldier Miles Sindercombe
Miles Sindercombe
Miles Sindercombe was the leader of a group that tried to assassinate Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell during the period of the British Commonwealth in 1657.-Early military career:...
who had also fallen foul of Cromwell's policies. Together they plotted the assassination of Cromwell in the hope that they could step into the following power vacuum
Power vacuum
A power vacuum is, in its broadest sense, an expression for a condition that exists when someone has lost control of something and no one has replaced them. It is usually used to refer to a political situation that can occur when a government has no identifiable central authority...
and restore the Commonwealth to its former state.
Sindercombe returned to England, gathered a group of men to his cause and made various unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Cromwell. However, Cromwell's chief of intelligence John Thurloe
John Thurloe
John Thurloe was a secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for Oliver Cromwell.-Life:...
found out about the scheme and the conspirators were captured on 8 January 1657. Sindercombe was imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
where he committed suicide.
Sexby secretly visited England a couple of times to create a new conspiracy
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
. He was captured on one such visit on 24 July 1657. Cromwell interrogated Sexby and enticed him to confess authorship of a pamphlet
Pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound booklet . It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths , or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddle stapled at the crease to make a simple book...
titled Killing No Murder
Killing No Murder
Killing No Murder is a pamphlet published in 1657 during The Protectorate period of the English Interregnum era of English history. The pamphlet of disputed authorship advocates the assassination of Oliver Cromwell. The publication was in high demand at the time of its distribution...
. The pamphlet advocated the political assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of Cromwell as a legitimate act of tyrannicide. The authorship of the document is usually attributed to Silius Titus
Silius Titus
Silius or Silas Titus , of Bushey, was an English politician, captain of Deal Castle, and Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King Charles II.-Early Life:He was born in London, the son of Silas Titus, a salter and Constatia Colley...
but cannot be confirmed because it was published under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of William Allen. Upon Sexby's "confession" Cromwell imprisoned him in the Tower where he developed a fever, and apparently went insane then died 13 January 1658..
Fictional portrayal
A character based on Sexby was portrayed by John SimmJohn Simm
John Simm is an English stage and screen actor. In recent years he is best known for his roles as Sam Tyler in the detective drama Life on Mars and as The Master in the revival of the science fiction series Doctor Who, but he has also starred in many highly acclaimed award-winning television...
in the 2008 television drama The Devil's Whore
The Devil's Whore
The Devil's Whore is a four-part television series set during the English Civil War, produced by Company Pictures for Channel 4 in 2008. It centres on the adventures of the fictional Angelica Fanshawe, and the historical Leveller soldier Edward Sexby...
, with several significant changes to the facts of his biography.
Sexby appears in the novel Rebels and Traitors
Rebels and Traitors
Rebels and Traitors by British historical novelist Lindsey Davis was published by Random House in September 2009 . In contrast to the ancient Roman setting of the Falco books and Course of Honour, this book is set in the English Civil War period of the 17th century...
by Lindsey Davis
Lindsey Davis
Lindsey Davis is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire.-Biography:...
.