A Time of Troubles

A Time of Troubles. Struggling. Civil war raged in England during the 1640s between King Charles I and his opponents in Parliament. Maryland's proprietary government, led by Lord Baltimore and other Catholics, sided with the King. Many of the first colonists in Maryland, however, were Protestants who favored the cause of Parliament., Richard Ingle, the Protestant captain of a Virginia vessel, sailed up the St. Mary's River early in 1645 and succeeded in overthrowing the Maryland government., Ingle had a fort built around the governor's house, which became the stronghold of the rebellion, the only military action in North America related to the English Civil War. Governor Leonard Calvert fled across the river to Virginia with some of his followers, and the population of Maryland dwindled briefly to only about a hundred people., Two years later, the occupation ended peacefully. Leonard Calvert returned from exile and with the assistance of mercenary soldiers, reclaimed control of Maryland., [Captions:] , Margaret Brent acted as the executor of Governor Leonard Calvert's business affairs upon his death and attempted to restore order to the colony after Ingle's revolt., The fort built around Leonard Calvert's house became known as Pope's Fort. It was named for Nathaniel Pope, a Protestant settler in Maryland who aided Ingle and his men., Pope's fort was built as a tall palisaded fence with a large ditch around the outside. The dirt from the ditch was piled against the palisade for extra protection., This piece of body armor, known as a tasset, was found in the ditch that had been dug around Pope's Fort. Artifacts like this are the only evidence of the English Civil War in America., The English Civil War pitted King Charles I and his supporters against Parliament. Most Catholics sided with the King, most Protestants with Parliament., [Timeline:] , 1634 140 Colonists Arrive in Maryland , 1640s English Civil War , 1645 Ingle's Revolt Nearly Destroys Colony , 1646 Governor Leonard Calvert Returns from Virginia , Proprietor Regains Control of Colony , 1647 Leonard Calvert Dies, [Aside:] , "...upon the Occasion and insurrection and Rebellion in our said Province of Maryland Begun and fomented by that Notorious and ungrateful Villain Richard Ingle and his Complices... , Archives of Maryland, Vol III, p 236