k upon Rushall Hall; and notwithstanding the gallant defence of
Mistress Leigh, in the absence of her husband, its lord, took and held it
for the King, putting in as governor Sir Edward Leigh's neighbour,
Colonel Lane, of Bentley. With a garrison of 100 to 200 men, he held
Rushall Hall for some months, having some exciting times, chiefly in the
plundering of the enemy's stores, and the private merchandise of carriers
passing along the great Watling Street over Cannock Chase.

On May 10th, 1644, the Earl of Denbigh, after a vigorous attack,
recaptured Rushall, finding there thousands of pounds' worth of stolen
goods, and taking among other prisoners William Hopkins, of Oakeswell
Hall, Wednesbury. It was then Captain Tuthill became commander of the
garrison.

In the same month the Stafford Parliamentarian Committee ordered the
seizure of all the horses and cattle belonging to that staunch Royalist,
Squire Lane, and of all the other cavalier landowners around Bentley.
The seizure was duly made, and realised by sale at Birmingham. As a
set-off to this it must be recounted that at the beginning of the year
Colonel Lane had fallen upon a Parliamentary escort convoying stores and
provisions to Stafford, routed the enemy, and taken no less than sixty
horses, fifty-five of their packs containing ammunition. Hence, the
reprisal at this first opportunity.

In the September of the year (1644) a remarkable episode occurred. The
governor of Dudley Castle, Sir Thomas Leveson, employed one of his trusty
tenants, a yeoman named Francis Pitt, of Wednesfield, to make a secret
attempt to bribe Captain Tuthill to betray Rushall and its garrison into
his hands. A number of letters passed between Leveson and Tuthill, for
the latter pretended from the outset to fall in with the treacherous
proposal, with the object of recovering some prisoners; which having
accomplished, he seized Pitt, the go-between, and delivered him up to the
Parliament.

Colonel Leveson, unconscious of this treachery, came according to
arrangement to Rushall, but instead of finding an easy entrance, had two
"drakes," or small cannons, fired upon him, killing a number of his
troops. The letters of Leveson and Tuthill will be found printed in full
in Willmore's "History of Walsall." The unfortunate messenger, Francis
Pitt, was tried in London by "Court Martial," and hanged at Smithfield on
October 12th. It transpired at the trial that he was selected by Colonel