Battle of Babylon Hill

Battle of Babylon Hill
Part of the First English Civil War
Date 7 September 1642 Location Babylon Hill, near Yeovil 50°56′33″N 02°35′42″W / 50.94250°N 2.59500°W / 50.94250; -2.59500 Result Nominal Parliamentarian victory
Belligerents
Royalists	Parliamentarians
Commanders and leaders
Sir Ralph Hopton	Earl of Bedford[a]
Strength
c. 350	c. 350
Casualties and losses
estimated 15–60	estimated 3–16
class=notpageimage| Location within Dorset

The battle of Babylon Hill was an indecisive skirmish that took place between Royalist and Parliamentarian forces near Yeovil, in South West England, on 7 September 1642, during the early stages of the First English Civil War. The engagement occurred after a failed Parliamentarian siege of nearby Royalist-held Sherborne. After the Parliamentarians had retreated to Yeovil, a force of around 350 Royalists was sent to reconnoitre their movements. Under the command of Sir Ralph Hopton, the Royalist detachment established itself on Babylon Hill, on the outskirts of Yeovil.

Around half an hour before sunset, the Royalists decided to withdraw and began marching their infantry off the hill. As they were doing so, they spotted Parliamentarian soldiers approaching, and Hopton hurriedly recalled the infantry and set his men to meet the attack. The battle became chaotic, mostly due to the inexperience of the soldiers involved. The Parliamentarian force, which also numbered around 350, made a three-pronged cavalry attack, which the Royalists were able to repel, though sections of both forces were routed. In the confusion, they were eventually able to pull back under the cover of darkness.

Neither side suffered heavy casualties; although both sides claimed they had killed sixty or more, a modern estimate suggests that the Royalists lost around twenty, and the Parliamentarians five. The Parliamentarians subsequently withdrew from Yeovil to Dorchester to the south, while around two weeks later the Royalists retreated from the area entirely.

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