Henry Ireton fought for the parliamentary army at Edgehill, Gainsborough, Newbury, Naseby, Bristol and Oxford. By the time the siege of Oxford had concluded he had married Bridget Fleetwood, daughter of Oliver Cromwell and was a member of parliament for Appleby. His ability on the battlefield coupled with his choice of wife led to a close affiliation between Ireton and Cromwell.
Ireton was one of the 59 men who signed the death warrant of King Charles I in 1649. Later in the year Ireton accompanied Cromwell to Dublin to lead the conquest of Ireland. After Cromwell returned to England, Ireton acted as lord-deputy of the New Model Army in Ireland. The conquest was met with fierce resistance on many levels; battles were fought against Confederate and Royalist forces but it was the guerrilla warfare adopted by Irish fighters in the countryside that put a great strain on Ireton and his army. His frustrations led to increasingly brutal tactics, the reverse of this medal reads ‘Justice and Necessity Command’ and this statement attempts to pardon Ireton for his aggressive and violent methods. The exhausting campaign weakened Ireton who eventually fell ill and died of from a fever in November 1651.