Maurice was present with his elder brother,
Rupert, at the
siege of Breda in 1637. He then accompanied Rupert, to support their uncle
Charles I in the
English Civil War in 1642. Maurice served under Rupert with the cavalry at the
Battle of Powick Bridge, where he was wounded, and the
Battle of Edgehill. He accompanied his uncle Charles in the occupation of Oxford on 29 October 1642. He commanded the army in Gloucestershire which engaged
Sir William Waller in several battles in 1643, including the victory of Ripple Field (13 April), culminating in the Royalist victory at the
Battle of Roundway Down (13 July). By 1644, Maurice was appointed lieutenant-general south of the Thames, assuming command of the army in Cornwall and spending the rest of the year campaigning there. He also led his army into Dartmouth during the English Civil War and stayed until the town surrendered. He based himself and his army at Milton Farm on the outskirts of the town and the town mayor at the time reported large quantities of claret and beer being requested on the evening of their victory. Maurice
besieged Lyme Regis in April 1644, but he was compelled to end the siege in June, at great cost to his military standing. At the
Battle of Lostwithiel and the
Second Battle of Newbury, he participated as a subordinate; at the
Battle of Naseby, he fought under Rupert's command. Maurice attempted to defend Rupert's surrender of
Bristol in 1645 to Charles. While unsuccessful, he did not share in Rupert's disgrace. Banished with Rupert in October 1646, he served with the
French army in
Flanders, but rejoined Rupert in 1648 as vice-admiral of his fleet. In 1649, while in exile, Maurice was made a Knight of the Garter. In 1652, while sailing for the
West Indies, he was caught in a hurricane near the Virgin Islands and went down with his flagship,
HMS Defiance. ==References==