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William Goffe

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William Goffe
Judges' Cave, where Goffe andEdward Whalleyreputedly hid during the early part of their exile inNew England
Member of Parliament
forHampshire
In office
September 1656 – February 1658
Rule of the Major-Generals,responsible forBerkshire,SussexandHampshire
In office
November 1655 – January 1657
Member of Parliament
forYarmouth
In office
September 1654 – January 1655
Personal details
Bornc.1613 to 1618
Uncertain, probablySussex
Diedc. 1679
New England
Resting placeThought to beHadley, Massachusetts
NationalityEnglish
SpouseFrances Whalley (c.1650)
ChildrenAnne; Elizabeth; Frances
Military service
RankMajor General
Battles/wars

William Goffe,c.1613/1618 - 1679/1680, was anEnglishsoldier fromLondonwho fought forParliamentduring theWars of the Three Kingdoms.A religious radical nicknamed “Praying William” by contemporaries,[1]he approved theExecution of Charles Iin January 1649, but escaped prosecution as aregicideby fleeing toNew England.

Goffe held several senior military and political positions under theCommonwealth,including administrator ofBerkshire,SussexandHampshireduring theRule of the Major-Generalsfrom 1655 to 1657. A close associate ofOliver Cromwell,to whom he was distantly related by marriage, he lost most of his political influence afterRichard Cromwellresigned asLord Protectorin April 1659.

Shortly before theStuart Restorationin May 1660, Goffe sailed forBostonwith his father-in-law and fellow regicide GeneralEdward Whalley.Sheltered byPuritansympathisers in New England, little is known for certain of his life there. It was once suggested he was theAngel of Hadley,a figure who in 1675 allegedly helped repulse an attack byNative Americans,but this is disputed on various grounds. He died sometime after April 1679, the date of his last known letter to his wife, and is thought to have been buried inHadley, Massachusetts.

Personal details

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William Goffe was the fourth of five sons born toThe ReverendStephen Goffe (1575–after 1628), and his wife Deborah (1587–1626). The precise date and location of his birth are uncertain; his father wasrectorofBramber,Sussex,but lost this position in 1607 for his part in organising aPuritanpetition toJames I.[2]

His eldest brotherStephen(1605–1681), was baptised in the nearby village ofStanmer,while his mother was buried there in 1626, so Sussex seems most likely.[a]William was probably born between 1613 and 1618, since he became an apprentice in 1634, the maximum age for which was 21, and admitted to theWorshipful Company of Grocersas a freeman in 1642, the minimum age being 24.[3]

St Nicholas church,Bramber,where Goffe's father served as parish priest untilc.1607

The two elder sons, Stephen and John, attendedMerton College, Oxford,and followed their father aspriestsin theChurch of England,but took different paths from their younger brother. Stephen acted as aRoyalistagent in Europe during theWars of the Three Kingdoms,and wasordainedas aCatholicpriest in 1654.[4]John was removed from hislivinginHackington,Kent,for refusing to subscribe to thePresbyterian-inspired 1643Solemn League and Covenant.[5]His other brothers were alsoLondonmerchants; James (1611–1656), became a member of theWorshipful Company of Leathersellers,while Timothy (1626-after 1649), was reportedly aShip chandler.

Sometime around 1650, Goffe married Frances Whalley (1635–1684?), daughter of GeneralEdward Whalley,a cousin ofOliver Cromwell;they had three daughters, Anne, Elizabeth, and Frances.[2]

Wars of the Three Kingdoms

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In 1634, Goffe was contracted as anApprenticeto William Vaughan, aPresbyterianLondondrysalter,and member of the Company of Grocers.[6]In early 1642, he was briefly imprisoned for organising a petition demanding that control of theLondon Trained Bandsbe transferred fromCharles ItoParliament.[2]TheFirst English Civil Warbegan in August, and by July 1643 Goffe was serving as acaptainin an infantry regiment led byColonelHarry Barclay, a Scottish veteran of theThirty Years' War.Raised in autumn 1642 to reinforce theParliamentarianfield army commanded by theEarl of Essex,in 1643 this unit helped lift theSiege of Gloucesterand fought at theFirst Battle of Newbury.During the 1644 Western Campaign, it was among the 5,000 troops forced to surrender atLostwithielin August, but released in time for theSecond Battle of Newburyin September.[7][b]

William Goffe is located in England
Exeter
Exeter
Bridgwater
Bridgwater
London
London
Bristol
Bristol
Preston
Preston
Naseby
Naseby
Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel
Stanmer
Stanmer
Torrington
Torrington
Pembroke Castle
Pembroke Castle
Berkeley
Berkeley
Oxford
Oxford
Newbury
Newbury
Gloucester
Gloucester
Langport
Langport
Dunbar
Dunbar
Worcester
Worcester
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Key locations mentioned in article

Along with his regiment, Goffe transferred to theNew Model Armyin April 1645, withEdward Harleytaking over from Barclay as colonel.[9][c]Over the next year, this formation served in numerous actions, including the battles ofNaseby,LangportandTorrington,as well as the sieges ofBridgwater,Bristol,Berkeley CastleandExeter.[10]The surrender ofOxfordin June 1646 brought the First Civil War to a close, with the exception of a few isolated Royalist garrisons that held out until 1647.[11]

However, victory resulted in increasingly bitter disputes over the post-war political settlement between radicals within the New Model like Cromwell, and moderateMPsin Parliament, the most prominent beingDenzil Holles.[12]In July 1647, Goffe was part of a military deputation which demanded Parliament suspendeleven MPsidentified as key opponents of the army. As well as Holles, they included Harley, who was replaced as colonel byThomas Pride,with Goffe promoted tomajor.[13][d]

Like fellow New Model officers such as GeneralsThomas HarrisonandRobert Overton,both members of the Christianmillennialistsect known as theFifth Monarchists,Goffe was convinced theSecond Comingwas imminent. This belief influenced his interventions in thePutney Debates,held in late 1647 to reconcile competing demands from different army factions on the details of the peace settlement. Goffe argued Charles I should be put on trial, and suggested those in favour of continuing negotiations with him were preventing the return ofJesus Christby "thwarting God's will".[14]Since these discussions were being led by Cromwell, who strongly believed all his actions were directed by God,[15]he demanded an apology from Goffe for what he considered a personal insult.[2]

When theSecond English Civil Warbroke out in 1648, Goffe's regiment was part of the force which put down the rising inSouth Wales,including the recapture ofPembroke Castlein April. This was followed by the defeat of the ScottishEngagerarmy atPrestonin August, which effectively ended the rebellion.[16]Now a Lieutenant Colonel, Goffe and others argued the renewed fighting was "God's punishment" for failing to bring the king to "justice", a viewpoint which had been adopted by Cromwell. In December 1648,Pride's Purgeexcluded MPs who opposed doing so, and the reduced body known as theRump Parliamentaccordingly voted to putCharles on trial.Goffe was one of the fifty-nine judges who approved hisexecutionin January 1649.[2]His Royalist brother Stephen, then serving as chaplain to the exiledStuartcourt inThe Hague,was chosen to informCharles IIof his father's death.[17]

Although Charles was king of bothScotlandandEngland,the Scottish government was not consulted. In 1650, they responded by crowning his son king of Scotland, andagreeingto restore him to the English throne, leading to theAnglo-Scottish War.[18]Goffe commanded Cromwell's own infantry regiment atDunbarin September 1650, and was subsequently promoted its colonel, then fought atWorcestera year later, two victories that ended the war.[19]Charles IIescapedto theDutch Republic,but defeat resulted in Scotland being incorporated into theCommonwealth of Englandin 1653, and confirmed Cromwell's position as leader of the newrepublic.[20]

The Interregnum

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Oliver Cromwell,c. 1649;Goffe was one of his most loyal supporters

Rewarded for his service with grants of former Crown lands inHertfordshire,Goffe backed the dismissal of the Rump in April 1653, and its replacement with a nominated body known asBarebone's Parliament.However, he supported Parliament's dissolution in December 1653, and Cromwell's subsequent appointment asLord Protector.These actions marked his break with former New Model colleagues, both Fifth Monarchist sympathisers like Thomas Harrison, and republicans such asEdmund Ludlow.[e]Goffe became one ofThe Protectorate's most loyal supporters, and was elected MP forGreat Yarmouthin the 1654First Protectorate Parliament.[6]

In early 1655, he helped suppress the pro-RoyalistPenruddock uprising,and was promotedmajor generalin October 1655; during theRule of the Major-Generals,he served as administrator for the region composed ofBerkshire,Sussex, andHampshire.The regime proved both unpopular and expensive, and when elections for anew Parliamentwere held in September 1656, Goffe was returned as MP forHampshire.[2]This failed to resolve disputes over the constitutional settlement; one solution was tomake Cromwell king,an offer he ultimately refused.[22]Whether Goffe actively supported the idea, or simply accepted it, is unclear.[23]

The new constitution included a second chamber for the first time since the abolition of theHouse of Lordsin 1649. Known asCromwell's Other House,it included 63 nominated individuals, including Goffe.[6]However, only 42 of the 63 accepted, while Parliament was determined to kill the Other House at birth. As a result, it was dissolved in February 1658 without anything other than a preliminary meeting.[24]When Cromwell died in September, Goffe transferred allegiance to his son and successor as Lord Protector,Richard Cromwell,whose inability to control either Parliament or the New Model led to his resignation in May 1659.[25]This ended Goffe's period of influence, although during their struggle with the re-installed Rump Parliament, the military-backedCommittee of Safetymade him part of a four-man delegation sent in November to seek support fromGeorge Monck,military governor in Scotland. This proved unsuccessful.[2]

Exile and death

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Memorial commemorating the location inHadley, Massachusetts,where Whalley & Goffe are alleged to have been sheltered

In negotiations leading up to the 1660Stuart Restoration,a general pardon was agreed for all "crimes" committed since 1642, with certain exceptions, including the regicides. Aware that they faced prosecution and probable execution, Goffe and his father-in-law Edward Whalley sailed forBoston, Massachusettson 13 May 1660, one day before warrants were issued for their arrest.[26]Arriving on 27 July, one writer has claimed "they were the most prominent public officials from the Mother country ever to land in New England".[27]They initially lived openly inCambridge,where they stayed withDaniel Gookin,a prominent member of thecolonialadministration.[28]

However, at the end of November it was confirmed that they had been excluded from theIndemnity and Oblivion Actpassed by Parliament in August,[f]making it impolitic for the Massachusetts authorities to openly protect them.[29]In March 1661, the two fugitives moved ontoNew Haven, Connecticut,where they were later joined by another regicide,John Dixwell.[30]Here they were housed by the local Puritan minister,John Davenport,before Royalist agents arrived in May seeking to arrest them. Forewarned by local sympathisers,Goffe and Whalleyevaded their pursuers by hiding inJudges' Cave,where they spent most of the next few years.[31]

In 1664, fresh efforts to arrest Whalley and Goffe meant they relocated toHadley, Massachusetts,where they were sheltered byJohn Russell.[32]Thereafter, very little is known for certain of their life, although Goffe's letters to his wife Frances make it clear he retained his religious and political convictions.[2]Based on these letters and papers discovered a century later, he and Whalley built up a small trading business, and were prosperous enough for Goffe to tell Frances not to send any more money.[33]Whalley died sometime between 1674 and 1675.[34]

In the 19th century, Goffe was suggested as a candidate for being theAngel of Hadley,who in 1675 supposedly helped repulse an attack on the town byNative Americans.[35]However, whether this incident even took place remains disputed, let alone Goffe's involvement.[36][37]In 1676, he reportedly left Hadley forHartford, Connecticut;his last letter to Frances is dated April 1679, and he probably died shortly thereafter.[38]He is thought to have been buried next to his father-in-law in an unmarked grave at Hadley.[2][g]

Legacy

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Various towns in New England have streets commemorating Dixwell, Whalley and Goffe, including Hadley and New Haven.[39]Goffe and Whalley are protagonists in British authorRobert Harris’s 2022 novelAct of Oblivion,which depicts their flight across New England.[40]

Footnotes

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  1. ^One 19th century researcher claimed his birthplace wasHaverfordwestinWales,a suggestion repeated by authorRobert HarrisinAct of Oblivion,but this appears to be based on misreading "Goffe" as "Gough"
  2. ^Surrender terms allowed the prisoners free passage back to Parliamentarian-held territory[8]
  3. ^The influence of political and religious radicals within the New Model officer corps meant theCovenantergovernment viewed it with considerable suspicion, and ordered Scots like Barclay to resign their commissions as a result[9]
  4. ^This may have simply formalised the existing situation, since Harley missed the Naseby campaign after being wounded in April 1645, then served as Governor ofCanon Fromefrom August 1645 to February 1646
  5. ^Ludlow later described him as "Cromwell's creature"[21]
  6. ^The original draft of the bill listed only nine regicides as being liable to prosecution, neither Goffe or Whalley being among them
  7. ^In his 1848 "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution", Benson Lossing sketched the alleged gravestones of the three regicides in the churchyard attached to the Center Church on the Green. Goffe's marker is inscribed "80 M G", the "M" supposedly being an inversion of "W", his first initial

References

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  1. ^Manganiello 2004,p. 225.
  2. ^abcdefghiDurston 2008.
  3. ^Wallis 2019,pp. 247–281.
  4. ^Cooper 2004.
  5. ^Greaves 2004.
  6. ^abcNoble 1797,p. 424.
  7. ^Wanklyn 2015,pp. 47–48.
  8. ^Wanklyn 2014,p. 109.
  9. ^abWanklyn 2015,p. 48.
  10. ^Plant, David."Colonel Edward Harley's Regiment of Foot".BCW Project.Retrieved7 January2023.
  11. ^Royle 2004,p. 387.
  12. ^Gentles 2002,pp. 144–150.
  13. ^Wanklyn 2015,p. 158.
  14. ^Wilson 1987,p. 520.
  15. ^Hutton 2021,p. 328.
  16. ^Royle 2004,p. 457.
  17. ^Jordan & Walsh 2012,p. 63.
  18. ^Furgol 2002,pp. 66–69.
  19. ^Wilson 1987,p. 521.
  20. ^Royle 2004,p. 587.
  21. ^Ludlow 1888,p. 62.
  22. ^Royle 2004,p. 732.
  23. ^Reece 2013,p. 227.
  24. ^Royle 2004,p. 736.
  25. ^Royle 2004,p. 745.
  26. ^Wilson 1987,p. 522.
  27. ^Wilson 1987,p. 518.
  28. ^Wilson 1987,p. 523.
  29. ^Wilson 1987,pp. 527–528.
  30. ^Wilson 1987,p. 535.
  31. ^Wilson 1987,p. 531.
  32. ^Jordan & Walsh 2012,p. 307.
  33. ^Jordan & Walsh 2012,p. 309.
  34. ^Jordan & Walsh 2012,p. 318.
  35. ^Jordan & Walsh 2012,p. 319.
  36. ^Wilson 1987,pp. 545–546.
  37. ^Jordan & Walsh 2012,p. 1.
  38. ^Wilson 1987,p. 548.
  39. ^"Goffe St".Google Maps.Retrieved17 January2023.
  40. ^Preston, Alex (30 August 2022)."Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris review – a master writer leads us on a 17th-century manhunt".The Guardian.Retrieved18 January2023.

Sources

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Further reading

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