The war of the roses
The War of the Roses.
The Prehistory
It was in this year [1411], that
Richard Plantagenet was born to Richard, fifth Earl of Cambridge and Anne
Mortimer. His father was the son of Edmund, the first Duke of York, who was in
turn the fourth son of Edward III. If Henry VI had died before 1453, the year
of the birth of Edward, Prince of Wales, then Richard would have undoubtedly
been crowned King of England, since there was no other noble (since the death
of Henry VI's uncle and heir Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, who had died in
1447) with such a strong claim to the throne at that time, other than Richard
himself.
Being so highly placed in the royal
household, Richard was destined to play a significant role in the Government and
politics of England throughout his lifetime and in England's affairs in France
during the later stages of the Hundred Years War. He was appointed Lieutenant
of France in 1436. Throughout his service in Europe, he had to pay for the
services of his men and finance the army in France from his own personal funds.
Although York was a wealthy man in his
own right, (York was the sole benefactor of the childless Edmund Mortimer, who
had died of plague in Ireland in 1425). It was his marriage to Cicely Neville in
1438 (who was known as 'The Rose of Raby'), daughter to Ralph Neville, Earl of
Westmoreland and sister of Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, which had
brought him great wealth. Thus, he was able, albiet unhappily in doing so, to
fund the English army overseas. By the time he left France, York had forwarded
some £38,000 of his own money to maintain English interests in France. To
add insult to injury, in 1445 he was replaced as Lieutenant of France by Edmund
Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. It is not to be doubted that it was on Somerset's
advice (who was Henry VI cousin, and someone Henry trusted more than the Duke
of York) that Henry VI created York Lieutenant of Ireland, which was in
reality, exile by office. Somerset was no doubt fearful of York, a fear enhanced
by the fact that Somerset, a man whom York equally detested, and a favourite of
Henry VI was forwarded funds to the sum of £25,000 to sustain the king's
army in France.
Not only did York detest Somerset
because of his favouritism with the king, but he also detested the fact that he
had been given the office he had previously held in France and the funds to
support it, despite his inability as a soldier. York's fears over the
management of the campaign in France was soon realised, as the war began to go
badly for the English. The Duke of Somerset was personally responsible for the
surrender of the strategic town of Rouen which subsequently led to the fall of
Normandy to Charles VII of France. Because of this, Somerset became distinctly
unpopular at home. However, because he retained the king's favour, he
maintained his prestigious position at court. In June 1451, Bordeaux in France,
and Gascony, were lost to the French. This was disastrous news for the English
and the King, Henry VI, took the loss very badly. York in turn, was quick to
blame Somerset for the disaster and, with support for the king and his
adherents at such a low point (due mainly to English failings in France), York,
decided to risk all and attempt to wrest control from the king by force of arms
and arrest the Duke of Somerset, thus removing him from his position as the
king's most senior advisor.
Doubtless this move was not only
inspired by York's fear for the conduct of the war in France, but also because
he was equally fearful that Somerset might take over the very position that
York felt was his own, that of the most likely heir to Henry in the absence of
the king having any children of his own. Thus York, believing that he had more
popular support than he actually had, sailed from Ireland and landed in North
Wales, gathered his forces and travelled straight for London and the encounter
at Blackheath.
The Wars of the Roses Begin
After York's release from custody,
there then followed several years of relative peace. However, by the year 1453,
the political storm clouds were once again gathering over the country. By this
year, England's possessions in France had been almost lost as the disastrous
Hundred Years War had all but come to an end . It was this - it is said - that
brought about the first bout of madness in Henry VI. What form this illness
took is not recorded, but it seems that it manifested itself in a form of
paralysis. York, with the king incapacitated, was made protector of England and
took the opportunity to seek revenge on his earlier enemies, namely the Duke of
Somerset, who was sent to the Tower on a revised charge of treason (for his
poor management of the war in France) in September 1453. The Earl of Salisbury,
Richard Neville and his eldest son Richard, Earl of Warwick, also took the
opportunity afforded by the king's illness and, under the cover of their
kinsman's protectorate began to seek their revenge against the Percy family,
the Earls of Northumberland, with whom, they had held a long running feud, over
the issue of ownership of property in Northumberland and Yorkshire .
Thus, England was plunged into a series
of minor wars between the land's most powerful lords to which the Duke of York,
as protector was able to use his authority to the advantage of his family and
supporters. However, this all came to an end when the king recovered from his
illness in January 1455. Somerset was released from the Tower, and immediately
formed a natural alliance with Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland (and Percy's
ally in the north Lord Clifford), against the Duke of York - who was stripped
of his powers as protector - and his supporters, namely the Earl of Salisbury
and the Earl of Warwick. With this the battle lines for the 'Wars of the Roses'
were drawn. The pact between Somerset, Northumberland and Clifford, supported
by the king would in later years go by the name of Lancastrians, taken from the
family name of the House of Lancaster to which the lineage of Henry VI was
derived. While the followers of the House of York, Warwick, Salisbury and the
Duke of York himself became known as the Yorkists.
1455-1464
First
St. Albans, Northampton, Wakefield, Mortimer's Cross, Second St. Albans, Towton
and Hexham.
In May 1455 the queen and Somerset
summoned a Council, to which no prominent Yorkist was invited, and ordered a
gathering of the peers at Leicester to take steps for the king's safety. York
marched south to secure a fair hearing from the king, while the court moved
towards Leicester, escorted by a large number of nobles and their retainers.
The king and Somerset did not learn of York's actions until they were en route
to Leicester. They tried
to assemble an army, but there was insufficient time; at nightfall on 21 May,
when the two sides camped only 20 miles apart, the king's 'army' still
consisted of just his escort and their retainers.
Both sides decided to advance against
their adversary during the night, and these marches became a race for the chief
town of the area, St. Albans. The king's army arrived there at 7am, and York halted
at Key Fields, east of the town, at about the same time. There followed a pause
of three hours while reconciliation was attempted, York offering to withdraw if
the king would surrender Somerset, whom York considered a traitor. The king
(i.e. Somerset!) refused, and York ordered the attack(see map).
Warwick was to lay down a barrage of
arrows in support of flank attacks by York and Salisbury. However, these
attacks were repulsed and Warwick therefore ordered his archers to concentrate
on their own front.
He
then attacked the center, broke through to the Chequers, and here established a
rallying point. Falling back to prevent their divided forces from being
outflanked by Warwick, the Lancastrians weakened their defense of the Sopwell
and Shropshire Lanes, and the forces of York and Salisbury almost immediately
burst into the town. The Lancastrians began to falter, panicked, and broke, to
be pursued up St. Peter's Street by the triumphant Yorkists.
Somerset and some retainers took cover
in the Castle Inn while Lord Clifford, with Percy, Harington and some other
knights and esquires, fought on outside the inn. When those outside were slain,
Somerset led his men in one last charge. He killed four men before being felled
by an axe. The king, the Duke of Buckingham, and the Earls of Devon and Dorset
were captured; Clifford, Somerset, Stafford, Percy and Harington were amongst
those killed.
York was appointed Protector in October
and Warwick became Captain of Calais, the city which possessed the only
standing army of the king. For the next three years there was an uneasy peace.
York lost the protectorship at the beginning of 1456 and returned to Ireland.
Margaret gained control of court and government, but Warwick refused to
surrender Calais to her, and this city thus became a refuge for the Yorkists,
from which an attack might be launched at any time.
In the late summer of 1459 both sides
began arming again, and in October York's forces were defeated at Ludford –
mainly due to the treachery of Andrew Trollope, captain of a body of
professional soldiers sent over from Calais by Warwick. York was forced to flee
to Ireland again and his troops dispersed.
In June 1460 Warwick landed at Sandwich
with 2,000 men of the Calais garrison, accompanied by the Earl of Salisbury and
York's son Edward, Earl of March. The king and queen were at Coventry when they
received news of the landing. Hastily gathering an army from his chief
supporters – the Percies, Staffords, Beauforts, Talbots and Beaumonts – the
king began to march south. However, in the meantime the men of south-east
England had flocked to the standard of the popular Warwick, and on 2 July he
entered London with 5,000 men. Only the Tower, commanded by Lord Scales, held
out for the king and, hearing that London had gone over to the Yorkists, the
king halted at Northampton and took up a defensive position to await
reinforcements.
Pausing only to establish a siege force
round the Tower, Warwick led his army northwards, arriving between Towcester
and Northampton on the 9th. Early the next morning - 10 July 1460 – he deployed
for battle, but first attempted to negotiate a settlement. At 2pm, no agreement
having proved possible, Warwick gave the order to advance, with the three
'battles' in 'line astern'.
It was raining hard as the Yorkists
arrived and Edward's 'battle', consisting entirely of men-at-arms, made slow
progress over the sodden ground. As they came within bow range they were met by
a fierce barrage of arrows and this, together with a ditch and stakes, prevented
the Yorkists from getting to close quarters. At this critical moment Lord Grey
suddenly displayed Warwick's ragged staff badge and ordered his men to lay down
their weapons. Indeed, the men of Grey's command actually assisted their
enemies over the defenses and, once established within the defenses in
sufficient numbers, Edward and Warwick led their men-at-arms behind the king's
archers in the center to strike Buckingham in flank and rear. Unable to
maneuver within the narrow confines of the defenses, the Lancastrians soon
broke and fled, many being drowned in the shallow but wide river at their
backs. The Duke of Buckingham, Earl of Shrewbury, Thomas Percy, Lord Beaumont
and Lord Egremont were among the Lancastrian dead. The king was captured again,
taken to London, and compelled to sanction a Yorkist government.
York arrived from Ireland in
mid-September and in October put forward a claim to the throne. The peers
rejected his claim (while Henry lived) but made him Protector in view of the
king's periods of insanity.
The queen and her son, who had remained
at Coventry, fled to north Wales, then to the North, where she began to gather
a new army. With these forces she overran Yorkshire, and a large number of
Lancastrian supporters from the West Country began to march across the Midlands
to join her. York sent his son Edward, Earl of March, to the Welsh borders to
recruit an army and to handle the minor local troubles stirred up by the Earl
of Pembroke. He left Warwick in London to ensure the capital's support and
guard the king; and on 9 December he led the Yorkist army northwards to deal
with the queen. He took with him his younger son Edmund and all the artillery
then available at the Tower of London.
On the 16th York's 'vaward battle'
clashed with the West Countrymen, suffered heavy losses, and was unable to
prevent the Lancastrians from moving on to join the queen. Learning that
Margaret's main force was at Pontefract Castle, York marched to his castle at
Sandal, two miles south of Wakefield and only nine from Pontefract. He arrived
at Sandal Castle on the 21st and, learning that the queen's army was now almost
four times as numerous as his own, remained in the castle to await
reinforcements under Edward. The Lancastrian forces closed round the castle to prevent
foraging.
On 30 December 1460 half the
Lancastrian army advanced against Sandal Castle as if to make an assault, but
under cover of this movement the 'vaward battle', commanded by the Earl of
Wiltshire, and the cavalry under Lord Roos, unobtrusively took up positions in
the woods flanking the open fields.
York, believing the entire Lancastrian
army to be before him, and much smaller than he had been told, deployed for
open battle, and led his troops straight down the slope from the castle to
launch an attack on Somerset's line. The Lancastrians fell back before the
advance, drawing the Yorkists into the trap, finally halting to receive the
charge.
The Yorkist charge almost shattered
Somerset's line and the Lancastrian reserve under Clifford had to be committed
to stem the advance. But then Wiltshire and Roos charged from the flanks, and
the battle was over. York, his son Edmund, his two uncles Sir John and Sir Hugh
Mortimer, Sir Thomas Neville (son of Salisbury), Harington, Bourchier and
Hastings were among those killed. The Earl of Salisbury was captured, and
subsequently beheaded by the Percies because of their feud with the Nevilles.
The death of Richard of York was a
severe blow to the Yorkists; but Warwick in London and Edward, now Duke of York,
in the Welsh Marches, were both raising new armies. In the Welsh Marches, in
particular, men flocked to Edward's banner to avenge Richard and their own
lords who had died with him, and by the end of January 1461 Edward had a
fair-sized army gathered round Hereford.
From here he set out to unite with
Warwick, probably at Warwick Castle, in order to halt the queen's march on the
capital. However, shortly after starting out he learned that the Earls of
Pembroke and Wiltshire were moving towards Worcester from the west with a large
force and, in order to avoid being caught between two Lancastrian armies,
Edward moved northwards 17 miles to Mortimer's Cross, not far from Ludlow and
only three and a half miles from his own castle at Wigmore, ancestral home of the
Mortimers. Here the River Lugg, flowing south to join the Wye, was bridged for
the main road from central Wales and the Roman road from Hereford, the two
roads meeting close by the bridge. Edward deployed his army at this important
crossroads and river crossing early on the morning of 2 February 1461.
The Lancastrians deployed for battle on
the morning of the 2nd and advanced against the Yorkist line about noon. After
a fierce struggle the Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond succeeded in forcing
Edward's right flank back across the road (see map), but at the same time
Pembroke's 'main battle' was completely defeated by Edward. Ormond's 'battle'
reformed and moved on to the center to support Pembroke but, finding him
already defeated, for some inexplicable reason halted and sat down to await the
outcome of the fighting on the other flank.
Owen Tudor's 'battle' was the last to
become engaged, having swung right in an attempt to outflank the Yorkist
position. In carrying out this maneuver the Lancastrians exposed their own left
flank, and the waiting Yorkists promptly seized the opportunity to charge,
cutting the Lancastrians in two and scattering them in all directions. A
general retreat by the Lancastrians in the direction of Leominstcr followed,
quickly transformed into a bloody rout by the Yorkists. Owen Tudor was captured
and later executed.
After the battle of Wakefield the
queen's army of borderers, Scots, Welsh and mercenaries had begun to march on
London, pillaging as it went and leaving a 30-mile-wide swathe of ruin in its
wake: Margaret, whose aim was now to rescue the king, was unable to pay her
army and had promised them the whole of southern England to plunder in
compensation. London was panic-stricken, and Warwick found himself faced with
the problem of being unable to raise enough men either to stop the Lancastrian
advance or to defend the city. Edward's victory at Mortimer's Cross solved this
problem, for men flocked to Warwick's banner when news of the battle reached
London on about 10 February; and on the 12th Warwick was able to leave London
with a force large enough to attempt to halt the queen, sending word to Edward
to join forces as soon as possible.
Warwick marched to St. Albans and began
to prepare a defensive position there with a three-mile front barring the two
roads to London which passed through Luton and Hitchin. Detachments were also
placed in St. Albans and Sandridge to watch the flanks, and in Dunstable to
guard the Watling Street approach to St. Albans.
The queen left York on 20 January,
marching down Ermine Street towards London. At Royston she swung left and moved
south-west as if to prevent a junction between Edward and Warwick. On 14 or 15
February the queen received details of Warwick's deployment from Lovelace, who
had commanded the Yorkist artillery at Wakefield but who had been spared by the
Lancastrians. Margaret allowed the borderers to continue ravaging the
countryside due south from Hitchin to divert Warwick's attention, and took the
rest other army on a hard march south and west past Luton to Dunstable,
intending to follow this with another march against St. Albans from the west,
so turning Warwick's defensive line.
The queen's army arrived at Dunstable
late on the 16th, took the Yorkists detachment there by surprise, and killed or
captured every man. After a brief halt the Lancastrians set out on a 12-mile
night march to St. Albans, arriving on the south bank of the River Ver before
dawn. After a short pause to rest and organize an attack, at about 6am on 17
February 1461 the 'vaward battle' crossed the river and entered the town. The
Yorkists were again taken by surprise but, as the Lancastrians rushed up George
Street towards the heart of the town, they were halted by a strong detachment
of archers left in St. Albans by Warwick, and eventually were driven back to St
Michael's church.
Shortly afterwards scouts reported an
unguarded entrance through the defenses via Folly and Catherine Lanes, and at
about loam the town fell to the Lancastrians. The king was found in a house in
the town.
Warwick's defense line had been
rendered useless and he was now faced with the task of re-aligning his army in
the presence of the enemy. His 'rearward battle', stationed by Beech Bottom
Ditch, was wheeled to face south, and Warwick then rode off to bring up the
'main' and 'vaward battles'.
The Lancastrian army now attacked the
Yorkist 'rearward battle' which, after a long and brave struggle, finally broke
and fled towards the rest of the army. Warwick was already on his way to
reinforce them with the 'main battle', but this now broke up as the fugitives
streamed past, joining in the general flight. Warwick rode off to bring up his
'vaward battle', but on reaching it he found that Lovelace's detachment had
deserted to the enemy and the remainder was badly shaken. Somehow Warwick
managed to form a new line and held off further Lancastrian attacks until dark,
when he managed to extricate about 4,000 of his men and march westwards to join
Edward.
Margaret waited nine days at St. Albans
while negotiating the surrender of London, only 20 miles away. London,
panic-stricken by the behavior of the queen's army, which looted St. Albans
after the battle, refused to open its gates to the queen and her king. The
borderers began to desert in droves; and with Edward and Warwick united and
advancing rapidly from the west, Margaret finally abandoned her attempt on the
capital and withdrew to York with the king. Twelve days after second St. Albans
the united forces of Edward and Warwick entered London: on 4 March Edward was
proclaimed king by the Yorkist peers and by the merchants and commons of
London.
Edward set off in pursuit of Margaret
and Henry on 19 March, but his advance guard was defeated by a Lancastrian
delaying force at Ferrybridge on the River Aire on the 27th. At dawn on the
28th the Yorkists forced their way over the bridge and all that day fought to
push back the Lancastrian rearguard towards Towton, reaching the village of
Saxton by nightfall. The next morning the queen's army, commanded by Somerset,
was seen drawn up less than a mile away (see map).
At 9am on 29 March 1461, with heavy
snow falling, the two armies advanced towards each other. When they were about
300 yards apart the Yorkists halted to discharge one volley of heavy
armour-piercing arrows which, aided by a following wind, hit the Lancastrian
line and caused some casualties. The Yorkist archers then fell back a short
distance. The Lancastrians responded with several volleys, using the lighter
flight arrows not normally used at all except short range. Impeded by the wind,
these arrows fell short by some 50 yards, but the Lancastrians continued to
discharge their arrows until their quivers were empty. The Yorkist archers then
advanced again and poured a barrage of arrows into the Lancastrian ranks.
Unable to respond, the Lancastrians moved forward to contact as quickly as
possible.
The battle raged all day, but at about
3pm Lord Dacres, one of the senior Lancastrian commanders, was killed, and at
the same time the Duke of Norfolk's force of several thousand men arrived to
reinforce the Yorkist right flank. The Lancastrians began to ease off, the
slackening of pressure increased to a withdrawal, and suddenly their whole line
collapsed. About 12,000 Yorkists were killed or died of wounds and exposure,
while some 20,000 Lancastrians were killed, making Towton the bloodiest battle
ever fought on English soil. It was also the most decisive battle of the wars,
in the very heart of Lancastrian country, and firmly established Edward IV on the
throne. The queen, Henry, and their son Prince Edward fled to Scotland.
The first years of Edward's reign were
pro-occupied with stamping out all remaining Lancastrian opposition. Pembroke
and Exeter remained at large in Wales, but the Earl of Oxford was executed in
1462 for an attempted landing on the cast coast. The bulk of the surviving
Lancastrians retired to the Scots border with Margaret and Henry, seeking
support from Scotland and holding the powerful border castles.
In April 1464 a Yorkist force under
Lord Montagu, Warwick's younger brother and Edward's lieutenant in the north,
clashed with a Lancastrian force under the Duke of Somerset at Hedgeley Moor.
The two Lancastrian wings, commanded by Lords Hungerford and Roos, promptly
fled, but the men under Sir Ralph Percy stood fast and were annihilated.
Montagu was unable to pursue, as he was escorting a Scottish delegation to York
to discuss a peace. Somerset led his forces to Hexham and made camp two miles
south of that town. As soon as Montagu had carried out his mission, he moved
southwards to confront the Lancastrians again.
Early on the morning of 15 May 1464
Montagu attacked the Lancastrian camp, smashing through Somerset's center with
a rapid downhill charge. Once again the two wings broke and fled. Somerset was
captured and executed, along with Hungerford and Roos, among others. These
executions almost completed the extinction of the old Lancastrian faction, and
virtually ended Lancastrian resistance; and even the queen gave up, and fled to
Anjou.
1469-1471
Barnet and
Tewkesbury.
The great northern strongholds of the
Lancastrians – Ainwick, Norham, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh fell soon after the
battle of Hexham, and within a year Henry VI, who had been hiding in a
monastery, was betrayed and placed in the Tower. Apart from Harlech Castle and
Berwick-on-Tweed, Edward was now truly king of all England.
In November 1464 Edward secretly
married Elizabeth Woodville, without the consent and against the wishes of
Warwick (who was engaged at the time in trying to arrange a French marriage for
the king). Warwick, trying to assume dictatorial powers over the new king, fell
from favor, and Elizabeth's numerous relatives rose swiftly in rank and office
as Edward formed his own Yorkist party: his father-in-law became Earl Rivers,
his brother-in-law Lord Scales, Elizabeth's son by her first marriage became
Earl of Dorset, while old supporters were also advanced – William Herbert was
made Earl of Pembroke, Humphrey Stafford Earl of Devon, and the Percies were recruited
in alignment against the Nevilles by restoring to them the earldom of
Northumberland. In 1467 Edward openly broke with Warwick by repudiating a
treaty with France and an alliance with Burgundy which Warwick had just
negotiated. Enraged and humiliated, Warwick enlisted the aid of Edward's
brother, George of Clarence, and from the security of Calais declared against
Edward because of his oppressions.
At about this time Warwick engineered a
Neville rising in the north, which began with the so-called rebellion of Robin
of Redesdale. When the rising was well under way Warwick landed in Kent with a
force from Calais but, before he could reach the scene of operations, the royal
army was defeated at Edgecotc in Northamptonshire (6 July 1469). Edward was captured
and handed over to Warwick, who executed many of Edward's leading supporters,
including Queen Elizabeth's father, her brother John, and the newly created
Earls of Pembroke and Devon.
Edward was confined for some weeks in
Middleham Castle, but was released when he agreed to accept new ministers
nominated by Warwick. But at the first opportunity Edward took his revenge. In
March 1470 a Lancastrian uprising occurred in Lincolnshire. Edward gathered a
force to suppress the rising, carefully calling to his standard all those peers
with grudges against Warwick or who were not tied to him by family alliances.
Edward defeated the rebels at the battle of Lose-Coat Field and the rebels'
leader, Sir Robert Welles, confessed the rising was part of a plot by Warwick
to make Clarence king. Unable to oppose Edward's army, Warwick and Clarence
fled to France, where they allied themselves with Margaret and the Lancastrian
cause.
In September Warwick arranged a rising
in Yorkshire and, as soon as Edward moved north, landed with Clarence and a
small force at Dartmouth. Devon rose to support them, Kent followed suit, and
London opened its gates.
Edward, returning south in a hurry,
found himself caught between Warwick's growing army in the south and the rising
in the north. His army began to melt away, and Edward was forced to take ship
at Lynn and flee to the Netherlands.
Henry VI was released and restored to
the throne, but Margaret did not trust her old enemy Warwick, and refused to
leave France: Prince Edward remained with her.
Meanwhile, Clarence began to seek
reconciliation with Edward; and on 15 March 1471, with a body of some 1,500
German and Flemish mercenaries lent to him by the Duke of Burgundy, Edward
landed at Ravenspur in the Humber estuary. Marching swiftly southwards, Edward
evaded an army under the Duke of Northumberland and reached Nottingham, where
he learned that Warwick was gathering an army at Coventry. The Earl of Oxford
was at Newark with another army, but Edward managed to slip between them, gathering
adherents to his cause all the way to the capital. The most important of these
was Clarence, who joined him with a force originally raised for the Lancastrian
cause.
Edward reached London on 11 April,
closely followed by the now united armies of Oxford, Northumberland and
Warwick, and on 14 April 1471 was fought the battle of Barnet (see map).
The battle began at dawn in a heavy
fog, with the right wing of each army overlapping the left wing of the other.
Both the Yorkist and Lancastrian left wings were defeated. Consequently both
armies swung to a new position, almost at right angles to their original lines,
and in the fog the Lancastrian right under Oxford blundered into the rear of
his own center, causing some casualties. Cries of treason rang out, and many of
Oxford's men now quit the field, followed by some of those from Somerset's
'main battle'. At this moment Edward charged between Somerset and Warwick with
about a 100 horsemen of his reserve. Warwick's men slowly gave way, eventually
breaking and fleeing, and a general Lancastrian rout then ensued. Warwick, on
foot, was cut down and killed. With him died his brother Montagu.
On the same day Queen Margaret and
Prince Edward landed at Weymouth. Learning of the battle, the queen marched
through the West Country, collecting men and heading for the Lancastrian
strongholds in Wales. Edward, keeping his army intact, marched from London to
prevent this new Lancastrian force from reaching Wales.
Gloucester, with its crucial first
bridge over the Severn, closed its gates to the queen at Edward's request, and
Margaret had no option but to bypass the city and move further up river to
Tewkesbury. Here Edward caught up with her on 3 May after a series of forced
marches.
The next day – 4 May 1471 – the outnumbered
Lancastrians took up a strong position on a slope between two brooks (see map).
The Yorkists deployed some 400 yards away, with their left flank under Richard
of Gloucester apparently 'in the air'. Somerset took his personal command away
to the right to attack Richard in the flank, giving Lord Wenlock orders to
advance as soon as he saw Somerset attacking, thus pinning Richard in position.
In the event Wenlock failed to advance;
Richard turned to face Somerset, who
was now faced by the entire Yorkist left; and at the same time some 200
spearmen, placed on the extreme flank by Edward to guard against such a move,
advanced to attack Somerset in the flank. Somerset's force gave ground, then
broke and fled. Somerset escaped to confront Wenlock, and in a rage slew him
with his battleaxe. The 'main battle' now began to give ground, and when
Edward's center began a general advance the Lancastrian army broke and ran.
Most of the Lancastrian nobles were
captured and slaughtered, among them Prince Edward and Edmund, Duke of
Somerset, the last male Beaufort. Queen Margaret was captured and placed in the
Tower, where she remained for five years until ransomed by her father. Henry VI
was murdered in the Tower shortly after the battle.
Edward proclaimed his seven-month-old
son Edward Prince of Wales and sent Hastings with a strong force to take
possession of Calais. Richard of Gloucester was rewarded with Warwick's lands
and offices, while Clarence received the lands of Courtenay in the West Country
and the Lieutenancy of Ireland.
1483-1487
Bosworth,
Stoke, Blackheath and Exeter
Edward IV
died in April 1483 when his son and heir, Edward V, was only twelve. Inevitably
rival factions immediately emerged – the boy king and the court controlled by
the queen mother and her relations, and Edward's favorites Lord Hastings and
Thomas Lord Stanley, opposed by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, now the most
powerful man in the kingdom, whom Edward IV had intended should be regent.
Richard acted swiftly. Moving south, he
joined forces with Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and seized Edward V en
route to London in the care of Lord Rivers, the queen mother's brother. Her
son, Dorset, at once fled the country, while the queen mother sought sanctuary
in Westminster Abbey. Within a month of Edward IV's death, Richard was
Protector of the Realm.
In June Hastings was suddenly arrested
and executed. Two weeks later Richard informed Parliament that Edward's
marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was invalid due to an earlier marriage, and
therefore Edward V was a bastard – which left Richard the rightful successor.
Richard became Richard III, Lord Rivers was executed, and Edward V and his
younger brother Richard, Duke of York, were placed in the Tower.
That autumn there was a revolt in the
West Country, led by Buckingham, apparently in conspiracy with the exiled Henry
Tudor, Earl of Richmond and now head of the House of Lancaster. (Henry could
claim the throne, in right of his mother, Margaret Beaufort, as surviving male
representative of the House of Lancaster, the Beauforts being descended from
John of Gaunt.) Buckingham was supported by the Woodvillcs and Courtenays.
Richard quickly and efficiently crushed the revolt, and Buckingham was
executed. Henry Tudor withdrew to France, but in 1485, with about 3,000 French
mercenaries, he landed in Pembrokeshire, where his uncle Jasper was earl. He
marched quickly through Wales and the Marches, picking up considerable support
on the way, and confronted Richard in battle for the throne at Bosworth in Leicestershire
on 22 August 1485.
The two main forces drew up facing each
other but both Henry Tudor and Richard III looked anxiously for support from
the forces of the two brothers Stanley: those of Sir Willaim Stanley were
visible to the north-west of the battlefield, and those of Lord Stanley to the
southeast.
The battle commenced without the
Stanleys, the opposing forces both making a bid for Ambien Hill. Richard's
troops reached the ridge first, and his 'vaward battle' deployed on it in a
defensive position. The 'main battle' followed, while the 'rearward battle' was
ordered to take position on the left of this line as soon as possible, and to
face due south.
Henry advanced to engage in an archery
duel at long range, and Richard looked in vain for his 'rearward battle': the
Earl of Northumberland had decided to avoid action until the Stanleys showed
their hands.
As the archers began to run out of
arrows, the two armies advanced to melee, and only now did the Stanleys move –
to attack both flanks of Richard's line, while Northumberland remained
immobile. Richard mounted, collected his bodyguard around him, and rode into
the center of the enemy, intent on killing Henry Tudor or dying like a king.
Unhorsed in the marsh, Richard was soon overwhelmed by superior numbers and
killed. The battle ceased when his death became known, and his army melted away
with little or no pursuit. Lord Stanley took the circlet indicating Richard's
rank from the dead king's helmet and, placing it on Henry Tudor's head,
proclaimed him King Henry VII.
In May 1487 Lovel landed in Ireland
with some 2,000 Swiss and 1,500 German mercenaries, supplied by Margaret of
Burgundy and commanded by the Swiss captain Martin Schwarz, accompanied by
John, Earl of Lincoln, and about 200 other exiled Yorkists. This revolt was in
the name of Edward, Earl of Warwick, son of Clarence, but as he was a prisoner
in the Tower a 'double' named Lambert Simnel played his part.
The invaders were welcomed by most of
the Irish lords and 'Clarence' was crowned Edward VI at Dublin. Within a few
weeks Lincoln had recruited some 4,000 – 5,000 Irish soldiers under Thomas
Fitzgerald. These forces now sailed for England, landing in Lancashire.
However, few Yorkists had joined the invaders by the time Henry VII brought
them to battle at Stoke, near Newark, on 17 July 1487. Despite fierce resistance
by the foreign mercenaries the rebels were routed, Lincoln and Fitzgerald
killed, and Simnel captured. Lovel disappeared.
For the next four years Henry enjoyed a
relatively peaceful reign, but then Yorkist conspiracies began once more to
thicken. Ever since 1483 it had been rumored that one or both of Edward IV's
sons had escaped from the Tower: Henry Tudor claimed they had been murdered by
Richard HI, but no bodies had ever been found or displayed as proof of their
death. One Perkin Warbeck, a citizen of Tournai, was chosen for his similarity of appearance to
Edward IV, and declared to be Richard, Duke of York.
He gained some support in Ireland, and
was recognized as York by Margaret of Burgundy and Maximilian of Austria. For
two years Warbeck followed the Imperial court while his patrons intrigued with
English malcontents; but in the winter of 1494-5 Henry's spies infiltrated the
conspiracy and large numbers of the conspirators were arrested, including Lord
Fitz Walter and Sir William Stanley. The latter was beheaded, as were several
others, while the remainder were hanged or imprisoned.
Nevertheless, in July 1495 Warbeck
sailed from Flanders with 2,000 exiles and German mercenaries. He attempted to
land at Deal, but his vanguard was destroyed by Kentish levies and he drew off
and made for Ireland. Henry had anticipated such a move, and had already sent
to Ireland Sir Edward Poynings, who had suppressed the Irish supporters of
Warbeck.
Warbeck landed at Munster, but only the
Earl of Desmond came to his support. Unable to face Poynings' forces, Warbeck
sailed to Scotland. With James IV he raided Northumberland in 1496, but a
pretender backed by Scottish spears was not acceptable to the English
borderers, and not one man rallied to the Yorkist banner.
However, discontent over the taxes
imposed to pay for the war with Scotland did lead to rioting in the south-east
counties, and in Cornwall open rebellion broke out. A rebel army marched on
Eondon, sweeping over five counties unopposed and collecting recruits en route,
and was only stopped by a hard fight at Blackheath.
Warbeck, hearing of the rising, landed
in Devon in August. Gathering together 8,000 rebels, he marched on Exeter. The
city closed its gates against him and, after an attempt to besiege the city,
Warbeck had to march away to confront a royal army dispatched to relieve
Exeter. When he reached Taunton Warbeck found his followers so dispirited that
disaster was inevitable. He took sanctuary on the abbey of Beaulieu, and later
confessed his fraud in exchange for his life. In 1498 Warbeck escaped from the
Tower but was recaptured and thereafter confined in a dungeon. The next year he
planned another escape, together with the unfortunate Edward of Clarence, but
spies in the Tower betrayed this. Henry allowed the plot to proceed almost to
completion, then had both Edward and Warbeck executed for planning rebellion.
The last real fighting of the Wars of
the Roses had taken place at Blackheath and the siege of Exeter, but Clarence
had been a true male heir of the House of Plantagenet and all the time he lived
he was a threat to the House of Tudor. His death truly marked the end of the
Wars of the Roses, and thereafter Henry VII’s reign was peaceful apart from a
few minor and futile plots by the exiled Edmund, Earl of Suffolk, younger
brother of John, Earl of Lincoln, and the last possible Yorkist claimant to the
throne of England.
Appendix 1 Armies
In 1341
Edward III had revolutionized the structure of European armies by instituting
in England a system of written indentured contracts between the Crown and
prominent military leaders. Under this system the military leaders, or
'captains' and 'lieutenants', contracted with the king to provide an agreed
number of men for military service, promising to bring them to a place of
assembly by a certain date. The indenture set out precisely how long the men
would have to serve, their rate of pay, obligations and privileges. The
captains were responsible for paying these men, the king giving securities to
repay the money at a later date.
These captains raised their companies
by making a series of similar contracts with knights and man-at-arms, again
stipulating the terms of service and the types of soldiers they would be
expected to contribute. The captains usually sought these 'sub-contractors'
amongst their friends, kinsmen, tenants and neighbors.
These companies, composed entirely of
volunteers, created in effect a royal standing army; for the men were
professional soldiers who, although raised, led and paid by their captains,
regarded themselves firstly as English soldiers, owing allegiance to their king
and fighting only his enemies.
Inevitably, many of the most powerful
captains were of the nobility, for they had the position at court, the wealth,
and the connections to raise large contingents. In order to be able to satisfy
at once any request by the king for a company, such lords frequently maintained
a permanent force, contracting their sub-contractors for life with annuities.
These men often held offices (such as chamberlain or steward) in the magnate's
household or on his estates, and probably provided in their turn the key
contingents in his company.
This system was introduced to deal with
the demand for expeditionary forces to invade France during the Hundred Years'
War, and the need to maintain permanent royal garrisons in the castles and
towns across the channel. But it had the effect of creating large forces
commanded by the great barons, and during the course of the Hundred Years' War
these magnates became virtually petty kings within their own domains: the great
northern families of Percy and Neville, for example, fought each other in the
Wars of the Roses as much for supremacy in the North as for who should control
the government of all England.
The three greatest landowners of the
second half of Henry VI's reign were the Earl of Warwick and the Dukes of
Buckingham and York. Humphrey Stafford (died 1460), 1st Duke of Buckingham, had
a personal retinue often knights and 27 esquires, many of whom were drawn from
the Staffordshire gentry. These men were paid annuities to retain their loyalty
(hence 'retainers'), the best-paid in Buckingham's retinue being Sir Edward
Grey (died 1457) who was retained for life in 1440 at £40 per annum. Two
knights (Sir Richard Vernon and Sir John Constable) received annuities of
£20 p.e., but £10 was the customary annuity for a knight, with
esquires paid from £10 to £40 marks per annum.
These knights and esquires were the
subcontractors, and each would have provided a contingent of archers and
men-at-arms. When their contingents were amalgamated, considerable armies could
be gathered. For example, in January 1454, 2,000 badges of the Stafford knot
were produced for distribution to Buckingham's men; in 1469 the Duke of Norfolk
fielded 3,000 men and some cannon; while a great soldier and statesman of the
ability and ambition of Warwick would have been able to count on thousands of
men scattered over no fewer than 20 shires.
Note the predominance of archers. The
contemporary Paston letters give a good idea of the value of the longbowman
during the Wars of the Roses. When Sir John Paston was about to depart for
Calais, he asked his brother to try to recruit four archers for him: 'Likely
men and fair conditioned and good archers and they shall have 4 marks by year
and my livery', (i.e. they were to be permanent retainers, on annuities).
These were ordinary archers, as opposed
to an elite or 'de maison' archer who would serve permanently in the household
troop of a great lord. Warwick considered such men to be worth two ordinary
soldiers – even English ones! In 1467 Sir John Howard hired such an archer,
offering him £10 a year – the annuity paid to knights – plus two gowns
and a house for his wife. As an extra inducement he gave the man 2s. 8d., two
doublets worth 10s. and a new gown (a term often applied to the livery coat).
When Sir John bought himself a new bow, for which he paid 2s., he bought for
this elite archer four bows costing 5s. 11.5d. each, a new case, a shooting
glove, bowstrings, and a sheaf of arrows which cost 5s.: at that price they
were probably the best target arrows available.
Edward IV's leading captains for his
1475 expedition to France had the following retinues:
Duke
of Clarence
|
10
knights 1,000 archers
|
Duke
of Gloucester
|
10
knights 1,000 archers
|
Duke
of Norfolk
|
2
knights 300 archers
|
Duke
of Suffolk
|
2
knights 300 archers
|
Duke
of Buckingham
|
4
knights 400 archers
|
This contract system still existed in
the mid-15th century, and the end of the Hundred Years' War in 1453 flooded
England with large numbers of men who had no trade other than that of soldier.
Returning to England, these men now assumed the aspect of mercenaries,
unemployed and troublesome. Bored and hungry, they eagerly sought employment
with the great barons. Such large private armies were extremely dangerous to
the king. Lacking a standing army of his own, he could now only control unruly
or even disloyal barons by using the private armies of those barons who
remained loyal. Of course, loyal barons were rewarded with valuable offices and
vast estates – which enabled them to hire even larger armies until, as with
Warwick, they became powerful enough to attempt the overthrow of their
benefactor.
This
weakness in the royal authority led to corruption in high offices, and
especially in the judiciary system. Whenever the interests of a landowner were
involved in a legal case, rival bodies of armed men, wearing the liveries and
badges of the lords who maintained them, would ride into the county town and
bribe or intimidate judge and jury.
During the regency of Henry VI's reign
the legal system finally collapsed, and the barons began to resolve their
quarrels over land and inheritances by making war against each other: might was
right, and it became commonplace for heiresses to be abducted, minor lords to
be imprisoned or even murdered, and for 'evidence' to be procured by bribery or
threat.
Since justice was no longer obtainable
by fair means, many of the yeoman farmers and smaller landowners of the lesser
gentry now turned to the barons for their personal protection and for the
protection of their lands and rights. This led to the polarization, which is
such a feature of the Wars of the Roses.
The yeomen and lesser gentry entered
into another form of contract, known as 'livery and maintenance', whereby they
undertook to wear the baron's livery – i.e. a tunic in his colors and bearing
his household badge – and to fight for him in times of need. In return they
received his protection whenever they needed it.
From the above can be seen that an
'army' of the Wars of the Roses might consist of a magnate's personal or
household troops (or bodyguard – usually of knights, sergeants and archers),
plus his tenants, together with paid mercenaries or contract troops – both
English and foreign specialists such as gunners and hand gunners – and 'livery
and maintenance' men who were unpaid but who had a personal stake in the
fighting.
The only forces under the king's
personal command were his bodyguard of knights and sergeants and the large,
professional body of men who formed the royal garrison at Calais. Edward IV
also had a permanent bodyguard of archers, and one of Henry VII's first actions
on seizing the throne was to found the Yeomen of the Guard, a body of some
2,000 archers under a captain. These first saw active service in 1486, when
they were used in the suppression of northern rebels.
Finally, in times of great need, the
king might also use Commissions of Array to call out the local militia. In
theory the king's officials chose the best-armed men from each village and town
to serve the king for up to 40 days, the men's provisions being provided by
their community. In practice, the king's authority was frequently misused, and
great landowners often sent letters to the lesser landowners and councils of
towns where they had influence, reminding those in authority of past favors and
hinting at benefits yet to come.
An example is given in the contemporary
Stonor letters and papers for the Oxfordshire half-hundred of Ewelme, which
provided from its 17 villages a total of 85 soldiers, 17 of whom were archers.
Eweime itself produced six men: 'Richard Slythurst, a harness [i.e. armored]
and able to do the king service with his bow. Thomas Staunton [the constable],
John Hoime, whole harness and both able to do the king service with a bill.
John Tanner, a harness and able to do the king service with a bill. John
Pallying, a harness and not able to wear it [presumably it did not fit him].
Roger Smith, no harness, an able man and a good archer'. Other men without
harness are described as 'able with a staff.
Muster rolls are another source of such
information. The muster on 4 September 1457 before the king's officials at
Bridport, Dorset, shows that the standard equipment expected was a sallet,
jack, sword, buckler and dagger. In addition, about two-thirds of the men had
bows and a sheaf or half a sheaf of arrows. There was a sprinkling of other
weapons – poleaxes, glaives, bills, spears, axes and staves; and some odd pieces
of armour – hauberks, gauntlets, and leg harness. Two men also had pavises, and
the officials recommended more pavises be made available.
In May 1455 the mayor of Coventry was
ordered by royal signet letter to supply a retinue for the king. The town council
decided to supply a hundred men with bows, jacks and sallets, and a captain was
elected to lead them.
The retinues supplied for Edward IV's
expedition to France are divided into 'lances' in the Continental manner, but
it is most unlikely that the forces engaged in the Wars of the Roses were ever
formally divided in this manner. Rather they were grouped by weapon and armour,
by companies and under the banners of their captains, and grouped into
'vaward', 'main' and 'rearward battles' under the standard of a major figure.
The army as a whole would often be commanded by the leading political figure,
assisted by military advisers. In the case of the king's armies the
commander-in-chief would be the lieutenant or captain of the region: officers
such as the Warden of the Marches, Lieutenant of Ireland, or Lieutenant of the
North, the latter post being granted to Fauconberg in 1461 and to Warwick in
1462.
Many of the commanders, particularly at
company level, were not knights but experienced soldiers, though many of them
were subsequently knighted on the field of battle. Lovelace was only an
esquire, but rose to be Captain of Kent through his military skills. Trollope
was another soldier who rose to high command, and was rewarded for his services
by a knighthood at Second St. Albans. Men such as Trollope were frequently the
military brains or 'staff officers' behind the magnates who led the 'battles'.
On the other hand, constables of towns played a key role in recruiting
contingents, and they may often have commanded companies, as may sheriffs. Such
men may not have had any military skill.
Although the wars started with small
armies of experienced soldiers, as time went on the proportion of veterans
diminished and, generally speaking, the armies had insufficient cohesion for
elaborate tactics: most battles began with an archery duel, which tended to
cancel out the value of the longbow, followed by a vast and contused melee on
foot. The commander of an army could do little once the melee commenced, though
he might hold back a small mounted reserve under his personal command, or
detach a formation prior to the battle to use in an outflanking maneuver.
Large numbers of the troops were
mounted – not just the knights and esquires, but many of the men-at-arms. Some
of these 'mounted infantry' were used as mounted scouts, flank guards and the
like, but apart from an occasional mounted reserve of only 100 men or so, the
armies dismounted to do battle, all horses being sent to the rear with the
baggage. Primarily this was because of the weapons used and the facts that few
mounted men were sufficiently experienced to fight effectively on horseback.
However, the fact that many men of all arms were mounted did tend to lead to
the formation of special vanguards of all-mounted troops, who were used to
spearhead movement prior to a battle.
Because of the fear of treachery, it
was essential that the major commanders fight on foot to indicate their
willingness to stand and die with their men. It was for this reason that so
many of the nobles were so easily killed or captured once their army was
defeated. The mounted reserves therefore tended to be composed of lesser
knights or bodyguards, and were led by minor commanders, such as Sir John Grey
of Codnor, an experienced soldier but a knight of low rank and position, who
led the Lancastrian cavalry reserve at Second St. Albans.
Appendix 2 Characters.
Henry V (1387 - 1422) - King of England
|
Years
lived:
1387 - 1422
Years ruled: 1413 - 1422
Son of: Henry IV and Mary de Bohun
Married to: Catherine de Valois
Children: Henry VI
|
Henry V, a member of the House of
Lancaster, was crowned king in 1413 at the age of 26. Henry spent most of
his reign campaigning in France in order to regain territories claimed by
his ancestors. The highlight of his three invasions of France (1415,
1417-1421, and 1422) was the Battle of Agincourt fought on October 25, 1415
during the Hundred Year's War. In a span of a few short hours, Henry
crushed a much larger French army leaving him in control of Northern
France. Henry died at the age of 35 of an unknown illness, leaving the
crown to his infant son, Henry VI.
|
|
Richard III, King of England 1483 - 1485
|
Years
lived:
1452 - 1485
Years ruled: 1483 - 1485
Son of: Richard, Duke of York, and Cecily Neville
Married to: Anne Beauchamp Neville (1472)
Children: Edward, Prince of Wales
|
|
|
|
|
Richard
III, the younger brother of Edward IV, was made duke of Gloucester at age
nine. He fough for Edward at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury in 1471. When
Edward died in 1483 he took control of Edwards heirs, Edward V and his
brother Richard. The young brothers were held in the Tower of London and
murdered in June 1483. Richard III was crowned king that year. He was killed
by Henry VII at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
|
Appendix 3 Genealogies
House of Lancaster
The Lancastarian claim to the throne
was via Edward III's third son John of Gaunt. In October 1460, an Act of Accord
designated that the royal succession would move to the house of York after
Henry VI's death. The houses of Lancaster and York were united when Henry VII
married the Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.
Sons of Edward III (1312-1377)