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On July 10, 1460, during the Wars of Roses, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick defeated King Henry VI at Northampton. An excerpt from the article:
"Account of the Battle of Northampton:
Behind the fence and ditch on the northern perimeter of the Delapré Abbey Deer Park, the Lancastrian army was formed with the Earl of Shrewsbury’s men on the left and Lord Beaumont’s men next to them, in the left centre.
The Duke of Buckingham’s armed retainers and followers stood on the right centre.
The Lancastrian right flank was held by the troops commanded by Lord Edmund Grey of Ruthin. Lord Grey’s men wore his badge of a Black Staff on a Green Field. Grey’s banner carried the same device.
The Lancastrian line was reinforced by the presence of a number of guns.
As the Yorkist army arrived from the south, it was put into battle array by Lord Scrope and Lord Stafford, riding ahead and already on the field.
Lord Fauconberg’s van filed off to form the right wing of the Yorkist attack.
The Earl of Warwick’s men took the Yorkist centre and Edward, Earl of March the Yorkist left.
It took until midday on 10th July 1460 for the Yorkist army to be in place.
Once the Yorkist army was formed up, the Earl of Warwick rode along the line, speaking to the Yorkist soldiers and emphasising to them that they were not fighting against King Henry VI. Their purpose was solely to overcome the King’s corrupt Lancastrian advisers and remove them. Warwick meant the Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Egrement and Lord Beaumont.
Warwick returned to his men in the centre and the Yorkist attack began.
As the Yorkists advanced there was a sudden sharp squall, with heavy rain sweeping across the battlefield.
On the Lancastrian side, the guns were ready to fire. While the discharges of ball and the early form of grape shot were unlikely to do a great amount of damage to the Yorkists, due to the slow rate of fire, the deep booms and clouds of smoke from the canon shots would be a great morale booster for the Lancastrian troops and frightening for the attacking Yorkists.
By each gun, the gun powder charges were in cloth cartridges and open barrels contained the charges to be ladelled into the touch holes.
The downpour of rain soaked the charges and powder in the open barrels, ensuring that the guns could not be fired, with a heavy adverse impact on Lancastrian morale.
It was still a hard-fought battle and the result hung in the balance for some while.
The Yorkists were subject to a discharge of longbow arrows as they advanced on the Lancastrian line.
On the Yorkist right and in the centre, Fauconberg’s and Warwick’s men reached the ditch and fence and attempted to storm them but were repelled.
If this pattern was repeated with Edward, Earl of March’s men on the Yorkist left, the battle would have gone to the Lancastrians and the Yorkists forced to withdraw, many of their men deserting and returning home.
The Earl of Warwick was in secret communication with Lord Edmund Grey of Ruthin. An offer of land to extend Lord Grey’s estates was sufficient to cause him to change sides and to conceal his defection until the battle.
Lord March warned his men not to attack any man wearing the Grey badge of the Black Staff on a Green Background.
Grey’s men were expecting to change sides and as March’s men reached the ditch and fence, instead of meeting a hail of arrows and blows from above, they were assisted across the ditch and through gaps in the fence by the erstwhile Lancastrian defenders.
The combined forces of Lord March and Lord Edmund Grey turned on the remaining Lancastrian forces and rolled them up from their right flank.
Coa
As the Lancastrians were driven away from their defensive line, the Yorkists of Warwick and Fauconberg burst through and joined the attack.
The Lancastrian army dissolved in flight, many men in armour drowning as they attempted to cross the Nene River to escape.
After a vigorous pursuit by the victorious Yorkists, the battle ended and the Yorkist army gathered at Delapré Abbey.
Lord Fauconberg supervised the collection of the casualties left on the battlefield. The prominent bodies were put aside to be collected by their families for burial in the family vaults. The common soldiers were buried in a mass grave."
"Account of the Battle of Northampton:
Behind the fence and ditch on the northern perimeter of the Delapré Abbey Deer Park, the Lancastrian army was formed with the Earl of Shrewsbury’s men on the left and Lord Beaumont’s men next to them, in the left centre.
The Duke of Buckingham’s armed retainers and followers stood on the right centre.
The Lancastrian right flank was held by the troops commanded by Lord Edmund Grey of Ruthin. Lord Grey’s men wore his badge of a Black Staff on a Green Field. Grey’s banner carried the same device.
The Lancastrian line was reinforced by the presence of a number of guns.
As the Yorkist army arrived from the south, it was put into battle array by Lord Scrope and Lord Stafford, riding ahead and already on the field.
Lord Fauconberg’s van filed off to form the right wing of the Yorkist attack.
The Earl of Warwick’s men took the Yorkist centre and Edward, Earl of March the Yorkist left.
It took until midday on 10th July 1460 for the Yorkist army to be in place.
Once the Yorkist army was formed up, the Earl of Warwick rode along the line, speaking to the Yorkist soldiers and emphasising to them that they were not fighting against King Henry VI. Their purpose was solely to overcome the King’s corrupt Lancastrian advisers and remove them. Warwick meant the Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Egrement and Lord Beaumont.
Warwick returned to his men in the centre and the Yorkist attack began.
As the Yorkists advanced there was a sudden sharp squall, with heavy rain sweeping across the battlefield.
On the Lancastrian side, the guns were ready to fire. While the discharges of ball and the early form of grape shot were unlikely to do a great amount of damage to the Yorkists, due to the slow rate of fire, the deep booms and clouds of smoke from the canon shots would be a great morale booster for the Lancastrian troops and frightening for the attacking Yorkists.
By each gun, the gun powder charges were in cloth cartridges and open barrels contained the charges to be ladelled into the touch holes.
The downpour of rain soaked the charges and powder in the open barrels, ensuring that the guns could not be fired, with a heavy adverse impact on Lancastrian morale.
It was still a hard-fought battle and the result hung in the balance for some while.
The Yorkists were subject to a discharge of longbow arrows as they advanced on the Lancastrian line.
On the Yorkist right and in the centre, Fauconberg’s and Warwick’s men reached the ditch and fence and attempted to storm them but were repelled.
If this pattern was repeated with Edward, Earl of March’s men on the Yorkist left, the battle would have gone to the Lancastrians and the Yorkists forced to withdraw, many of their men deserting and returning home.
The Earl of Warwick was in secret communication with Lord Edmund Grey of Ruthin. An offer of land to extend Lord Grey’s estates was sufficient to cause him to change sides and to conceal his defection until the battle.
Lord March warned his men not to attack any man wearing the Grey badge of the Black Staff on a Green Background.
Grey’s men were expecting to change sides and as March’s men reached the ditch and fence, instead of meeting a hail of arrows and blows from above, they were assisted across the ditch and through gaps in the fence by the erstwhile Lancastrian defenders.
The combined forces of Lord March and Lord Edmund Grey turned on the remaining Lancastrian forces and rolled them up from their right flank.
Coa
As the Lancastrians were driven away from their defensive line, the Yorkists of Warwick and Fauconberg burst through and joined the attack.
The Lancastrian army dissolved in flight, many men in armour drowning as they attempted to cross the Nene River to escape.
After a vigorous pursuit by the victorious Yorkists, the battle ended and the Yorkist army gathered at Delapré Abbey.
Lord Fauconberg supervised the collection of the casualties left on the battlefield. The prominent bodies were put aside to be collected by their families for burial in the family vaults. The common soldiers were buried in a mass grave."
Battle of Northampton
Posted from britishbattles.com
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The continuing story of the Wars of the Roses. Dan Jones reveals how in 1461, six years after the conflict began, Henry VI had his crown snatched away by the...
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