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Edward Sexby was born in Suffolk in 1616 but little else is known about his life before the English Civil War. Reportedly he was a son of a gentleman, had been an apprentice in London and may have had family connections to Cromwell. In 1643 he was a trooper in Cromwell's Roundhead cavalry regiment. He adopted Leveller ideals, was involved in the Putney Debates and resisted attempts to come into an agreement with Charles I. He was involved in capture of the king at Holdenby HouseHoldenby House is a historic large house in Northamptonshire, built from 1583 by Sir Christopher Hatton. who was financially ruined by its expense. It passed to the Crown in 1605, and was used by James I. On February 16 1647, Charles I was brought here by in 1647Events March 14 Thirty Years War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm. August 8 The Battle of Dangan Hill, Irish forces are defeated by British Parliamentary forces. August Peter Stuyvesant appointed Director of New Amsterdam by the.
Later that year he opposed the idea to disband the army and left but appeared as captain in 1649Events January 30 King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is beheaded. His widow Henrietta Maria resides in her native France. January 30 The Commonwealth of England, a republican form of government, replaces the monarchy as the form of government. He was appointed as governor of Portland . On 1650Events June 23 Claimant King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland arrives in Scotland, the only of the three Kingdoms that has accepted him as ruler. August 23 Colonel George Monck forms Monck's Regiment of Foot forerunner of Coldstream Guards Nove he was sent to ScotlandScotland or in Scottish Gaelic, Alba is a country and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom. Scotland occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scotland took part in a p as a commander of infantryInfantry (or Infantrymen are soldiers who fight primarily on foot, using personal weapons. They may arrive on scene in various ways, and are deployed either in formations or as skirmishers and guerillas. In the modern period, the term "infantryman" is res regimentA regiment is a military unit, typically consisting of around 500-700 soldiers. The term came into use in Europe around the end of the 16th century, when armies evolved from a collection of retinues following knights to a more formally organized structure and also raised a regiment to fight in Ireland. He took part of the siege of Tantallon Castle . In July 1651Events January 1 Charles II crowned King of Scotland in Scone. This is his first crowning. June 28 June 30: The biggest battle of the 17th century, Battle of Beresteczko, between Poles and Ukrainians, won by Poles. September 3 English Civil War: Battle of he was accused of keeping money that should have gone to his subordinates. Same year he was sent to Bourdeaux to support Fronde rebellion with very few results and returned to England in August 1653.
Sexby opposed Cromwell's dismissal of the Rump Parliament in April 1653 and turned against him. He claimed that Cromwell had betrayed the Republic and had become an apostate and tyrant. He plotted with John Wildman and Richard Overton to overthrow the regime but had to leave 1655 when the conspiracy was discovered.
In the continent he began to negotiate with Spain in hope of raising an invading army to oust Cromwell's government. He even tried to convince exiled English Royalists that he was one of them, with mixed results.
In June 1656 Sexby visited England in disguise to judge the situation. Back in Flanders, he met another ex-soldier Miles Sindercombe who had also fell afoul of Cromwell's policies. Together they plotted the assassination in Cromwell in the hope that they could step into the following power vacuum and restore Republic in its former form.
Sindercombe returned to England, gathered a group of men to his aid and made various unsuccessful attempts of assassination. However, Cromwell's chief of intelligence John Thurloe found out about the scheme and the conspirators were captured on January 8 1657. Sindercombe was imprisoned in the Tower of London where he committed suicide.
When the plot became public, Sexby defended his views in pamphlet Killing Noe Murder, Briefly Discourst in Three Questions where he defended political assassination as a way to tyrannicide. He used a pseydonym William Allen. The pamphlet appeared in London in May 1657. Afterwards he secretly visited England couple of times to create a new conspiracy. He was captured on his visit on July 24 1657.
Cromwell interrogated Sexby and imprisoned him in the Tower. He became feverous, apparently went insane and died January 13 1658.
Sexby, Edward Sexby, Edward