William Brereton
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Sir William Brereton, (September 13 1604 – April 7 1661) (baronet), English soldier and politician.
Elected MP for Cheshire in 1628, he relinquished his seat to travel, to Scotland, Ireland and Holland. In Holland, he took a keen interest in military matters and studied siege warfare there at first hand. Re-elected to Parliament in 1639, he took a stand against the monarchy. In 1642, he joined the Parliamentarian forces, and was appointed to be Major-General of the Parliamentarian army for the region of Cheshire and Shropshire, where he quickly established a formidable intelligence network of spies and agents.
Brereton masterminded the defeat of Sir Thomas Ashton at the Battle of Nantwich in 1643.