Ironside (cavalry)

The Ironsides were troopers in the Parliamentary cavalry trained by English political and military leader Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century, during the English Civil War. The name came from "Old Ironsides," one of Cromwell's nicknames. It was after the battle of Marston Moor on 2 July 1644 that Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the commander of the Royalist Army, "first gave the nickname to his enemy of 'Old Ironsides' because his ranks were so impenetrable--the name originated with the man and passed on to his regiment" .

Cromwell first mustered a troop of cavalry (then referred to as "horse") at Huntingdon in Huntingdonshire, on 29 August 1642, early in the Civil War. John Desborough was quartermaster. They were part of the Edgehill formations but it was unclear whether they were involved in the fighting.