The Battle of Edgehill (Oct 23, 1642) was the first pitched battle of the English Civil War. The armies were unprofessional and ill-trained and neither side was able to claim victory. The battlefield- a stretch of flattish farm-land between the ridge of Edgehill and the little town of Kineton- is now largely owned by the Ministry of Defence.
Captain Henry Kingsmill was a casualty of the battle- "unhappily slaine by a Cannon Bullet"- which probably means a piece of case shot- whilst "manfully fighting in behalf of his king and country". His battered monument (his legs and the top of his head are missing) was erected by his mother in 1670. It is now housed in the otherwise unremarkable Victorian church at Radway on the edge of the battlefield.