General Notes

REFN: 5441
Sir William Waller was a leading Parliamentary commander i
n southern England during the first three years of the Civi
l War (1642-51).
Waller fought for Bohemia in the early campaigns of the Thi
rty Years' War (1618-48) and was knighted in 1622. Electe
d to the Long Parliament in 1640, he became a colonel in th
e Parliamentary army upon the outbreak of the Civil War. I
n September 1642 he captured Portsmouth and, soon after, se
veral other towns of southeastern England, thereby earnin
g the nickname "William the Conqueror." Promoted to the ran
k of general, he seized Hereford, Herefordshire, in April 1
643. Nevertheless, on July 13 Sir Ralph Hopton severely def
eated him at Roundway Down, Wiltshire. Waller prevented th
e Royalists from invading Sussex in January 1644 and stoppe
d Hopton's advance on London in March, but he was defeate
d by King Charles I near Banbury, Oxfordshire, in June. Th
e setbacks suffered by Waller and other talented commander
s led to demands for a reorganization of the Parliamentaria
n forces. Waller was evidently the first to suggest the cre
ation of a professional army. This New Model Army was forme
d in February 1645, and two months later Waller resigned hi
s commission.
Waller was a leader of the Presbyterians in Parliament duri
ng their unsuccessful struggle (1645-48) with the army, whi
ch was dominated by Independents (radical Puritans). For op
posing Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth regime, he was impris
oned several times between 1649 and 1659. Although electe
d to the Convention Parliament of 1660, Waller never took h
is seat and subsequently received no political encouragemen
t from King Charles II.
(Encyclopedia Britannica)