The first battle of the English Civil War. Charles I’s Royalists, marching south from Shrewsbury, with the eventual aim of recapturing London, clashed with the Parliamentarians under the 3rd Earl of Essex, at Edgehill, near Banbury. Prince Rupert and his Royalist cavalry gained an early advantage, but the brunt of the fighting was borne by both infantries. Darkness, and the exhaustion of the troops ended the struggle, with no clear victor and heavy losses on both sides.