Battle of Barnet
April 14, 1471
After a brief spell in exile Edward IV, the Duke of Gloucester and about 500 other exiles set sail from Holland with an army of some 1,500 mercenaries landing at Ravenspur on the Humber estuary. From here they marched to York.
Edward then quickly headed south
avoiding elements of Warwick's army whilst being reinforced on the way by a
large numbers of his retainers at both Doncaster and Nottingham. At Banbury,
Edward met up with his brother, the Duke of Clarence, who was at the head of a
considerable force and they men marched on London. There they freed a number of
prominent Yorkist prisoners and captured Henry VI.
In the meantime the Earl of Warwick, his brother the Marquis of Montague, the Duke of Exeter and the Earl of Oxford had gathered their forces together at Coventry and were marching on London. Edward having received news of Warwick's approach marched out of London on April 13, 1471 with some 12,000 men. They camped on Hadley Green just north of Barnet and awaited Warwick's army, which numbered about 15,000 men.
The following morning both sides deployed for battle somewhere between Kitts End and Old Fold Manor. Due to a thick mist both armies were not properly aligned and their right wings were slightly overlapping each other. When Edward's army advanced, his right wing outflanked Warwick's left under Exeter, but Edward's left was similarly outflanked and routed by Warwick's right wing under the Earl of Oxford. Somehow Edward managed to shore up his left with his reserve and weighed into Warwick in the centre.
Oxford, who had pursued some of the routing Yorkist army towards Barnet, began to make his way back towards the raging battle and in the mist, came upon Warwick's right flank. In the confusion of battle Montague's men mistook Oxford for Yorkists and fired upon them. With shouts of treason, Oxfords men withdrew and Edward IV threw in the last of his reserve, which finally broke Warwick's army.
In the subsequent rout Warwick
and Montague were killed. Exeter was left for dead on the battlefield. In total
about 3,000 men were killed on both sides.
Yorkists Lancastrians
|
Isaru de la Berina, Lord de Gensac, killed in battle |
William Viscount Beaumont |
|
Walter Blount, Lord Mountjoy |
Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter, wounded |
|
Humphrey Bourchier, Lord Cromwell, killed in battle |
Sir Louis John, killed in battle |
|
Sir Humphrey Bourchier, killed in battle |
Sir John Marney |
|
Sir Robert Chamberlain |
John Myslent, killed in battle |
|
Sir Gilbert Debenham |
William Myslent, escaped |
|
Sir Walter Devereaux, Lord Ferrers |
George Neville, Archbishop of York, taken prisoner and pardoned |
|
Gaillard de Durefort, Lord Duras |
John Neville, Marquis Montagu, killed in battle |
|
William Fiennes, Lord Saye, killed in battle |
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, killed in battle |
|
Lord de la Force, killed in battle |
John Paston, III, wounded but survived |
|
Henry Lord Grey of Codnor, rewarded |
Sir John Paston, escaped |
|
Sir James Harrington |
Sir William Tyrell, killed in battle |
|
John Harper, killed in battle |
Sir George de Vere, escaped |
|
Sir Ralph Hastings |
John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, escaped |
|
William Lord Hastings |
Sir Thomas de Vere, escaped |
|
John Lord Howard |
|
|
Thomas Howard |
|
|
Thomas Huddleston, killed in battle |
|
|
John Milewater, killed in battle |
|
|
Sir William Norris |
|
|
Thomas Parr, killed in battle |
|
|
Sir William Parr |
|
|
Edward IV, King of England |
|
|
George, Duke of Clarence |
|
|
Richard, Duke of Gloucester |
|
|
Thomas, Lord Stanley |
|
|
Sir William Stanley |
|
|
Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers |
|
|
Christopher Worslsey, killed in battle |
ŠThe Richard III Foundation, Inc.
