Colonel Charles Essex’s Regiment of Foote..

Second unit painted, and the first of the Parliamentarian infantry has joined the project..
 
Colonel Charles Essex’s Regiment of Foot was originally raised for service in Ireland but instead served with Essex’s army at Edgehill, and had a very short shelf life indeed as it was routed at Edgehill during the first charge of Rupert's horse - basically, they got caught up in the rout of the Parliamentary horse..

It is documented in various sources, that that at the end of the battle, the remains of the regiment did play a part in stopping the remains of the Royalist cavalry charging the rear of the Parliamentary infantry...

According to Scott et al the regiment numbered about 600 (Edgehill: The Battle Reinterpreted
By Christopher L. Scott, Alan Turton, Eric Gruber von Arni)

Their Colonel, Charles Essex, was the son of Sir William Essex (no family connection to the Earl  and General). Somewhat interestingly, said father served as captain of one of the company's in his son's regiment! His father was captured and made prisoner after the battle, but Charles was killed..

Not much known about Charles to be honest - his career was short lived but clearly he was a man of substance - I can't imagine Essex handed out brigade commands to just anybody...  I did find this snippet though - my highlights..

"part of the Enemy make Of Rebels there were slain besides Lord Saint Johns Colonel Charles Essex the Soldier of whom they had the best Opinion and who had always till this last Action preserved a good Reputation in the World which was now the Worse over and above the Guilt of Rebellion by his having sworn to the King of Bohemia by whose Intercession he procured leave from the Prince of Orange to go into England That he would never serve against the King" 

from An Impartial History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England: During the Reign of King Charles the First, with the Precedent Passages and Actions that Contributed Thereto and the Happy End and Conclusion Thereof by the Restoration of King Charles II... Jacob Hooper 1738

Clearly he had served in a military capacity on the continent then during the 30 Years War - and I have to assume that as he had to request permission to leave he must have been in a fairly important role...

After the battle the regiment seems to have been present at the stand off at Turnham Green, but shortly after was disbanded, with the remnants being drafted into Colonel Henry Bulstrode’s Regiment of Foot.

At Edgehill they were part of Charles Essex's Brigade (Front left of the Parliamentary line) (along with Sir Henry Cholmley's regiment, Lord Mandeville's regiment and Lord Wharton's regiment)

Sources show the regiment were issued tawny coats lined yellow in September 1642 so I went with that - now I've always assumed tawny is a browny orange and I got spectacularly lucky with a particular shade of Rowney Deller ink ("Red Earth") that came out just right in my eyes..  pleased with these..

No details of the standard the regiment carried, so I went with yellow purely as a result of the yellow lining on the coats, but that's purely supposition...

24 figures - painted Feb 2019 - make Peter Pig..

Sources:
http://wiki.bcw-project.org/parliamentarian/foot-regiments/charles-essex
http://www.battleofedgehillexhibitionradway.org.uk/documents/english-heritage-1995-edgehill.pdf