Siege of Newcastle
The siege of Newcastle occurred during the First English Civil War, when a Covenanter army under the command of Lord General Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven besieged the Royalist garrison under Sir John Marlay, the city's governor. Eventually, the Covenanters took the city of Newcastle upon Tyne by storm, and the Royalist garrison who still held castle keep surrendered on terms.
This was not the first time that Newcastle upon Tyne had changed hands during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The Scots had occupied the city during the Second Bishops’ War in 1640.
Invasion and siege
A Covenanter army from Scotland under the command of Lord General Leslie crossed into England in January 1644. As Leslie moved his army south he left six regiments under the direction of Lieutenant General James Livingstone, 1st Earl of Callander, to lay siege to the city of Newcastle upon Tyne beginning 3 February.Battle of Marston Moor
The city was not continually invested at that time. In a complicated situation, the Earl of Callander diverted his troops to take surrounding towns like Newburn, as the main Covenanter army pressed south. In the meantime, the royalist governor reinforced his position and also sent forces south where the Royalist and the main Covenanter-Parliamentarian allied armies clashed at the Battle of Marston Moor.The defeat of the Royalist field army at Marston Moor on 2 July ultimately decided the fate of Newcastle and all the other Royalist strongholds in the North East of England as all such garrisons would be separated from any possibility of relief during a siege.