bound by the Covenant unedifying. Little military support existed for Charles II and this was rapidly suppressed by the Parliamentarians. A force of 1,500 from the Isle of Man gathered in Lancashire under the Earl of Derby and attempted to join the Royalist army, but they were intercepted at Wigan on 25 August by Parliamentarian troops and defeated. The largest single English contingent to join the army was only 60 strong. The English Council of State called up all the troops it could. Large musters took place at Northampton, Gloucester, Reading and Barnet. The London trained bands assembled 14,000 strong on 25 August and Fairfax secured Yorkshire. Parliamentarian forces concentrated around the Scottish army, where by the end of August Cromwell had 31,000 men against the 12,000 in the Scottish army. . Battle of Worcester The English not only far outnumbered the Scots, but were better trained, better equipped, better supplied and cut the Scots' line of retreat. Worcester was a naturally strong defensive position and was well fortified, and so Cromwell moved his forces into position deliberately. On 3 September 1651 he attacked from the south. The Scots attempted a desperate counter attack, but Cromwell moved his reserves to reinforce the threatened sector and the Scots were beaten back. The Parliamentarians broke into Worcester and captured it after fierce house-to-house fighting. The historian Barry Coward wrote "It was a divided enemy that Cromwell fought after Dunbar and decisively defeated at Worcester". The defeated army lost more than 2,000 killed, and more than 6,000 Royalists were captured that day, nearly all Scots. The prisoners were either sent to work on drainage projects in the Fens or transported to North America to work as forced labour. Leslie, along with most of the Royalist commanders, was captured. Charles II managed to escape to the continent. In the aftermath of the battle, Worcester was looted by the Parliamentarian army. Around 3,000 Scottish cavalry escaped northwards; en route back to Scotland they were harried by the English and most were captured or killed. Aftermath The Battle of Worcester was the last significant pitched battle in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Before Worcester, the Commonwealth faced widespread international hostility evoked by the execution of Charles I. The victory strengthened their position, since it was clear the English people were willing to fight to defend the republic and capable of doing so effectively. The reliance