English Civil War Fortifications 1642–51

Peter Harrington

May 2013 · Fortress Book 9 · Bloomsbury Publishing

About this ebook

The techniques of European warfare were transformed during the 15th and 16th centuries by the use of gunpowder and by substantial progress in the effectiveness and destructive power of artillery. The series of conflicts in the 1640s, known collectively as the English Civil War, was the first in the British Isles that reflected this new reality. Sieges that aimed at isolating and reducing fortified places became the dominant instrument for prosecuting the war and protective fortifications were vital, for both the besieged as well as the besieger. This title describes how both the Parliamentarians and the Royalists made use of new fortification techniques throughout the course of this conflict.

About the author

Peter Harrington is Curator of the Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection at Brown University Library in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. A native of Manchester, England, his research interests include the archaeology of the English Civil War, and artists and war, and he has written numerous articles and books.

Donato Spedaliere was born in 1967 in Lausanne, Switzerland, and moved to Tuscany at the age of 10, where he still lives. Having studied at the Instituto Nazionale di Belle Arti in Florence, he then served in the Italian Army as a paratrooper. Since 1995 he has worked as a professional illustrator for publishers in Italy and abroad and he is the chief illustrator of Alina Illustrazioni, the company he founded with his wife in 1998.