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He was imprisoned in 1642 for his share in the petition to give the control of the militia to the parliament. By his marriage with Frances, daughter of General Edward Whalley, he became connected with Oliver Cromwell's family and one of his most faithful followers. He was a member of the deputation which on July 6 1647 brought up the charge against the eleven members. He was active in bringing King Charles I to trial and signed the death warrant. In 1649 he received the honorary degree of M.A. at Oxford.

He distinguished himself at DunbarThe Battle of Dunbar ( 3 September, 1650) was a battle of the Third English Civil War. The Parliamentary forces under Oliver Cromwell defeated Charles Stuart's Scottish army commanded by David Leslie. After defeating a Scottish invasion of England at the, commanding a regiment there and at WorcesterThe Battle of Worcester was the final battle of the Second English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Scottish forces of Charles II of Scotland on September 3, 1651 at Worcester, England. See Also English Civil War Wars of th. He assisted in the expulsion of Barebone's parliament in 1653, took an active part in the suppression of Penruddock 's rising in July 1654, and in October 1655 was appointed major-general for BerkshireFor other places named Berkshire, see: Berkshire (disambiguation Berkshire (pronounced Barkshe(e)r sometimes abbreviated to Berks is a county in the south of England, to the west of London and also bordering on Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Greater London, SussexThis article refers to the county in England. traditional county. Sussex is a traditional county in southern England, divided for administrative purposes into the two counties of West Sussex and East Sussex and the city of Brighton and Hove. It correspond and HampshireHampshire is a county on the south coast of England. The 2001 census gave the population of the administrative county as 1. 24 million; the population including Portsmouth and Southampton was around 1. It borders on Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey an. Meanwhile he had been elected member for YarmouthGreat Yarmouth is a town on the Norfolk, England coast. It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea. It is the main town in the borough of Great Yarmouth. Other towns and villages include Hopton-on-Sea. in the parliament of 1654 and for HampshireHampshire is a county on the south coast of England. The 2001 census gave the population of the administrative county as 1. 24 million; the population including Portsmouth and Southampton was around 1. It borders on Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey an in that of 1656. He supported the proposal to bestow a royal title upon CromwellCromwell is the name of some places: Cromwell, New Zealand Cromwell, Connecticut, United States of America Cromwell, Indiana, United States of America Cromwell, Iowa, United States of America Cromwell, Minnesota, United States of America Cromwell Township, who greatly esteemed him, was included in the newly-constituted House of Lords, obtained Lambert 's place as major-general of the Foot, and was even thought of as a fit successor to Cromwell.

As a member of the committee of nine appointed in June 1658 on public affairs, he was witness to the protector's appointment of Richard Cromwell as his successor. He supported the latter during his brief tenure of power and his fall involved his own loss of influence. In November 1659 he took part in the futile mission sent by the army to Monk in Scotland, and at the Restoration escaped in 1664 with his father-in-law General Edward Whalley to Massachusetts.

The two fled for New Haven, Connecticut when their safety was compromised, where John Dixwell, also condemned as a regicide, was living under an assumed name. They were housed by Rev. John Davenport. After a reward was offered for their arrest, they pretended to flee to New York, but instead returned by a roundabout way to New Haven. In May, the Royal order for their arrest reached Boston, and was sent by the Governor to William Leete , Governor of the New Haven Colony, residing at Guilford. Leete delayed the King's messengers, allowing Goffe and Whalley to disappear. They spent much of the summer in Judges' Cave at West Rock. The three regicides are commemorated by three intersecting streets in New Haven (" Dixwell Avenue", " Whalley Avenue", and "Goffe Street"), and in some neighboring Connecticut towns as well.

Goffe's political aims appear not to have gone much beyond fighting "to pull down Charles and set up Oliver"; and he was no doubt a man of deep religious feeling, who acted throughout according to a strict sense of duty as he conceived it. He was destined to pass the rest of his life in exile, separated from his wife and children, dying, it is supposed, about 1679.

This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.