Cromwell was a country gentelmen, a farmer of Huntingdonshire, with no desire to be known in the world. He had wanted to leave England and find a new home in America where he would be free to worship as he wished, but the king had forbidden him to leave England. He had been in Parliament, a rough, ungraceful figure, unskilful as a speaker but known for his strength of character and his deep sincerity and religious feeling. Cromwell saw that if the Parliament army was to be victorious it must not only be as fearless and as full of faith in its own cause as the Cavaliers were in theirs, but it must be as well trained as Charlers's army - and, if possible, better trained. He went to the eastern countries and gathered soldiers there, men specially picked for their courage, strength, horsemanship and religious feeling. He said: "A few honest men are better than numbers. If you choose
good, honest men to be captains of horse, honest man will follow them". He trained his men in complete obedience, filled them with the desire to fight for freedom, Parliament and religion, combining the spiritual and the practical as in his famous order: "Trust in God, and keep your powder dry." Then when they were ready he led them into battle, and on that day his army - the Ironsides as they came to be known - did not give way. For the first time the Cavaliers had been held. Several battles were won by Parliamentarians, and finally at Naseby, 1645, the king's forces were completely defeated. Cromwell was now leader of the whole Parliamentary forces; the king's army was scattered and the king himself was in flight. Seeing that his cause was lost, he gave himself up, and was imprisoned in Carisbrooke Castle in the Isle of Wight. Finally he was brought to trial in London for having made war on his people and for being an enemy of his country. He was found guilty and sentence with a calm courage. Cromwell now became ruler of England, and for ten years he ruled England firmly but well. He could be merciless - his treatment of Ireland is one of the blots on his character - yet he loved mercy, and in an age that was bitter with religious intorelance he was nobly tolerant. It was he who really united England, Scotland and Ireland, who enforced justice and order at home and made England stronger and more respected abroad than she had ever been before in the whole of her history. His rough, harsh nature, like his stern, harsh face, did not inspire affection, but his strength, honesty and his sincere religion made him respected as one of the greatest Englishman.