George Fleetwood (regicide)
Encyclopedia
George Fleetwood was an English Major-General and one of the Regicide
s of King Charles I of England
.
Fleetwood was one of the commissioners for trial of Charles I, 1648–9; member of last Commonwealth Council of State and M.P. for Buckinghamshire, 1653; for Buckingham, 1654; member of Cromwell's Upper House, 1657; joined General George Monck, 1660, and though condemned to death at the Restoration (England), was never executed.
on the death of his father.Some older sources such as Dictionary of National Biography
(1889) "Fleetwood, George, Volume xix" pp. 265,266 state that George Fleetwood was the son of Sir Georg Fleetwood, knt., of the Vache
, near Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire, and Catherine, daughter of Henry Benny of Waltham, Essex; and that in the will of Sir George Fleetwood, who died December 1620, George Fleetwood is described as his third son, but Edward and Charles, his elder brothers, appear to have died without issue. While John Bernard Burke
publishing in the 1830s lists George Fleetwood (regicide) as a brother of Charles Fleetwood
(parliamentary general), and George Fleetwood (Swedish general)
as their uncle, brother of Sir William who is listed as their father (John Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions Or High Official Rank: But Uninvested with Heritable Honours, Volume 4, Colburn, 1838. p. 522)—This is unlikely as Burk's family tree does not explain how George the regicide came to inherit (and lose) the Vache when there were others closer in line to inherit the estate, but several other old sources also include this relationship, for example Mark Noble
(1798) in The lives of the English regicides: and other commissioners of the pretended High court of justice, appointed to sit in judgement upon their sovereign, King Charles the First, Volume I, p. 243.
In Mercunrius Aulicua, 7 December 1643, it is stated that "Young Fleetwood of The Vache" had raised a troop of dragoons for the parliament, to defend the Chiltern parts of Buckinghamshire; and in an ordinance of 27 June 1644 the name of Fleetwood appears in the list of the Buckinghamshire committee.
Fleetwood entered the Long Parliament
in July 1647 as member for Buckinghamshire. In 1648 he was appointed one of the commissioners for the trial of the king, attended two sittings of the court, and was present also when sentence was pronounced, and signed the death-warrant.
In 1649 and 1650 Fleetwood was colonel of the Buckinghamshire militia, and was chosen a member of the eighth and last council of state of the Commonwealth from 1 November to l0 December 1653. He represented the county of Buckingham in the assembly of 1653
, and the town in the parliament of 1654
Cromwell knighted him in the autumn of 1656, and summoned him to Cromwell's Upper House in December 1657.
On the occasion of Sir George Booth
's rising parliament authorised Fleetwood to raise a "troop of well-affected volunteers". He refused to assist John Lambert
against George Monck, opposed the oath of abjuration in parliament, was entrusted with the command of a regiment by Monck in the spring of 1660, and proclaimed Charles II
at York on 11 May 1660.
When the regicides were summoned to surrender he gave himself up on 16 June 1660, but was excepted from the Act of Indemnity At his trial (October 1660) Fleetwood pleaded guilty, was sentenced to death, and said, weeping, that he had confessed the fact, and wished he could express his sorrow.
A saving clause in the Act of Indemnity suspended the execution of those who claimed the benefit of the king's proclamation, unless their conviction was followed by a special act of parliament for their execution. Fleetwood accordingly petitioned parliament, stating that his name was inserted in the list of commissioners without his knowledge and against his will, and that his signature to the warrant was extorted by Cromwell, "whose power, commands, and threats (he being then young) frighted him into court". He produced certificates from Monck and Ashley of his services in forwarding the Restoration, enlarged on his early and continued repentance, and begged "to be represented to his majesty as a fit object of his royal clemency and mercy to hold his life merely by his princely grace". His life was spared, but his estate of The Vache confiscated and given to the Duke of York
.
Sources are unclear what happened to Fleetwood from 1664. In 1664 a warrant was issued for Fleetwood's transportation to Tangiers, but it may have been suspended at the solicitation of his wife. According to Noble he was finally released and went to America.
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...
s of King Charles I of England
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...
.
Fleetwood was one of the commissioners for trial of Charles I, 1648–9; member of last Commonwealth Council of State and M.P. for Buckinghamshire, 1653; for Buckingham, 1654; member of Cromwell's Upper House, 1657; joined General George Monck, 1660, and though condemned to death at the Restoration (England), was never executed.
Biography
George Fleetwood was the grandson of Sir George Fleetwood who died December 1620, and the son of Charles Fleetwood who died 1628 and inherited the family estate of the VacheThe Vache
The Vache is an estate near Chalfont St. Giles in Buckinghamshire.The Vache was the family seat of the Fleetwood family. In 1660 George Fleetwood was found guilty of the regicide of King Charles I in January 1649, and although his life was spared, his estate of The Vache was confiscated and given...
on the death of his father.Some older sources such as Dictionary of National Biography
Dictionary of National Biography
The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
(1889) "Fleetwood, George, Volume xix" pp. 265,266 state that George Fleetwood was the son of Sir Georg Fleetwood, knt., of the Vache
The Vache
The Vache is an estate near Chalfont St. Giles in Buckinghamshire.The Vache was the family seat of the Fleetwood family. In 1660 George Fleetwood was found guilty of the regicide of King Charles I in January 1649, and although his life was spared, his estate of The Vache was confiscated and given...
, near Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire, and Catherine, daughter of Henry Benny of Waltham, Essex; and that in the will of Sir George Fleetwood, who died December 1620, George Fleetwood is described as his third son, but Edward and Charles, his elder brothers, appear to have died without issue. While John Bernard Burke
Bernard Burke
Sir John Bernard Burke, CB was a British officer of arms and genealogist.-Personal life:He was born in London, and was educated in London and in France. His father, John Burke , was also a genealogist, and in 1826 issued a Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the...
publishing in the 1830s lists George Fleetwood (regicide) as a brother of Charles Fleetwood
Charles Fleetwood
Charles Fleetwood was an English Parliamentary soldier and politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1652–55, where he enforced the Cromwellian Settlement. At the Restoration he was included in the Act of Indemnity as among the twenty liable to penalties other than capital, and was finally...
(parliamentary general), and George Fleetwood (Swedish general)
George Fleetwood (Swedish general)
-Life:He was second son of Sir Miles Fleetwood of Cranford and Aldwinkle, Northamptonshire, receiver of the court of wards, and brother of Charles Fleetwood, the parliamentary general. George was baptised at Cople, Bedfordshire, 30 June 1605...
as their uncle, brother of Sir William who is listed as their father (John Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions Or High Official Rank: But Uninvested with Heritable Honours, Volume 4, Colburn, 1838. p. 522)—This is unlikely as Burk's family tree does not explain how George the regicide came to inherit (and lose) the Vache when there were others closer in line to inherit the estate, but several other old sources also include this relationship, for example Mark Noble
Mark Noble (biographer)
Mark Noble was an English clergyman, biographer and antiquary.-Life:He was born in Digbeth, Birmingham, the third surviving son of William Heatley Noble, a merchant there...
(1798) in The lives of the English regicides: and other commissioners of the pretended High court of justice, appointed to sit in judgement upon their sovereign, King Charles the First, Volume I, p. 243.
In Mercunrius Aulicua, 7 December 1643, it is stated that "Young Fleetwood of The Vache" had raised a troop of dragoons for the parliament, to defend the Chiltern parts of Buckinghamshire; and in an ordinance of 27 June 1644 the name of Fleetwood appears in the list of the Buckinghamshire committee.
Fleetwood entered 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...
in July 1647 as member for Buckinghamshire. In 1648 he was appointed one of the commissioners for the trial of the king, attended two sittings of the court, and was present also when sentence was pronounced, and signed the death-warrant.
In 1649 and 1650 Fleetwood was colonel of the Buckinghamshire militia, and was chosen a member of the eighth and last council of state of the Commonwealth from 1 November to l0 December 1653. He represented the county of Buckingham in the assembly of 1653
Barebones Parliament
Barebone's Parliament, also known as the Little Parliament, the Nominated Assembly and the Parliament of Saints, came into being on 4 July 1653, and was the last attempt of the English Commonwealth to find a stable political form before the installation of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector...
, and the town in the parliament of 1654
First Protectorate Parliament
The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House....
Cromwell knighted him in the autumn of 1656, and summoned him to Cromwell's Upper House in December 1657.
On the occasion of Sir George Booth
George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer
George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer , known as Sir George Booth, 2nd Baronet, from 1652 to 1661, was an English peer.-Civil War:...
's rising parliament authorised Fleetwood to raise a "troop of well-affected volunteers". He refused to assist John Lambert
John Lambert (general)
John Lambert was an English Parliamentary general and politician. He fought during the English Civil War and then in Oliver Cromwell's Scottish campaign , becoming thereafter active in civilian politics until his dismissal by Cromwell in 1657...
against George Monck, opposed the oath of abjuration in parliament, was entrusted with the command of a regiment by Monck in the spring of 1660, and proclaimed Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
at York on 11 May 1660.
When the regicides were summoned to surrender he gave himself up on 16 June 1660, but was excepted from the Act of Indemnity At his trial (October 1660) Fleetwood pleaded guilty, was sentenced to death, and said, weeping, that he had confessed the fact, and wished he could express his sorrow.
A saving clause in the Act of Indemnity suspended the execution of those who claimed the benefit of the king's proclamation, unless their conviction was followed by a special act of parliament for their execution. Fleetwood accordingly petitioned parliament, stating that his name was inserted in the list of commissioners without his knowledge and against his will, and that his signature to the warrant was extorted by Cromwell, "whose power, commands, and threats (he being then young) frighted him into court". He produced certificates from Monck and Ashley of his services in forwarding the Restoration, enlarged on his early and continued repentance, and begged "to be represented to his majesty as a fit object of his royal clemency and mercy to hold his life merely by his princely grace". His life was spared, but his estate of The Vache confiscated and given to the Duke of York
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
.
Sources are unclear what happened to Fleetwood from 1664. In 1664 a warrant was issued for Fleetwood's transportation to Tangiers, but it may have been suspended at the solicitation of his wife. According to Noble he was finally released and went to America.