1470-71: Key Battles

Question 1

When was the Battle of Barnet? What was the weather like?

Answer 1

14th Apr 1471 (Easter)
very misty

Question 2

Which nobles participated in the Battle of Barnet?

Answer 2

Edward IV, Gloucester & Hastings
vs
Warwick, Montagu, Exeter & Oxford

Question 3

How many men were on either side in the Battle of Barnet?

Answer 3

10-12,000 Yorkists
vs
15-20,000 Lancs

Question 4

What happened BEFORE the Battle of Barnet?

Answer 4

1) 14th Mar 1471, Edward IV lands at Ravenspur and marches S to London (reaches on 11th Apr)
2) Moves N to Barnet to meet Warwick, avoids warfare in city
3) Yorkists arrive late on 13th Apr
4) Due to dark + mist, misalign when facing Lancs

Question 5

What happened DURING the Battle of Barnet?

Answer 5

1) Battle begins at 4:30am, cannons + arrows fired through mist
2) due to misalignment, Gloucester flanks Exeter on right. Exeter retreats to reform
3) Similarly, Oxford flanks Hastings on left. Hasting + 3,000 flee S to Barnet, Oxford chases
4) Since Exeter dropped back, battle rotates 90*. Oxford returns, unknowing to new orientation
5) Montagu’s forces confuse Oxford’s badge (star with rays) with Edward IV’s (sun in splendour), and fire arrows on allies
6) Oxford flees, claiming treachery.
7) Montagu’s death and rumoured death of Exeter (false) spread, and Lancs break and flee

Question 6

What happened AFTER the Battle of Barnet?

Answer 6

• Edward IV tries to capture Warwick alive, but killed by Ed’s men
• no more internal Yorkist resistance, Warwick + Montagu dead

Question 7

When was the Battle of Tewkesbury?

Answer 7

4th May 1471

Question 8

Which nobles participated in the Battle of Tewkesbury?

Answer 8

Edward IV, Gloucester & Hastings
vs
Edward of Lanc, Somerset, Devon & Wenlock

(Edmund Beaufort., 2nd son of Edmund B.)
(John Courtenay, 3rd son of Thomas C.)

Question 9

How many men were on either side in the Battle of Tewkesbury?

Answer 9

5-6,000 Yorkists
vs
6,000 Lancs

Question 10

What happened BEFORE the Battle of Tewkesbury?

Answer 10

1) 14th Apr 1471, Marg + Edward of Lanc land at Weymouth, Dorset
2) Plan to march N to Wales, to meet Jasper Tudor with Lanc forces
3) reach Bath on 30th Apr. Visited Bristol for supplies, before feinting at Sodbury Hill and instead heading N overnight to Berkeley Castle (2nd May)
4) Marg attempts to cross at Gloucester, denied by Richard Beauchamp on Ed IV’s orders
5) caught up at Tewkesbury crossing of River Severn

Question 11

What happened DURING the Battle of Tewkesbury?

Answer 11

1) Deployed in formation seen in pic.
2) Harrassed Somerset’s forces with arrows + gunfire
3) Somerset charged (miscalculation?), repelled by Gloucester and ambushed by 200 Yorkist spearmen hidden in trees
4) Somerset retreats to centre. Suspecting Wenlock’s treachery (former Yorkist), smashes his head in with a battleaxe
5) Lanc line disintegrates. Devon, Wenlock and John Beaufort killed

Question 12

What happened AFTER the Battle of Tewkesbury?

Answer 12

• Clarence executed Edward of Lancaster in small grove, despite pleas to be spared
• Somerset dragged out of Tewkesbury Abbey, tried and executed
• Margaret surrenders into Yorkist custody. Spared
• on 21st May 1471, Ed IV returns to London and executes Henry Vi
• no more Lanc resistance