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Second Battle of St Albans
The Second Battle of St Albans was fought on 17 February 1461 during the Wars of the Roses in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England (the First Battle of St Albans had been fought in 1455).
The army of the Yorkist faction, under the Earl of Warwick, attempted to bar the road to London north of the town. The rival Lancastrian army used a wide outflanking manoeuvre to take Warwick by surprise, cut him off from London and drive his army from the field. The victors also released the feeble King Henry VI, who had been Warwick's prisoner, from his captivity, but they ultimately failed to take advantage of their victory.
The Wars of the Roses were fought between the supporters of two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty: the House of Lancaster, represented by the mentally-unstable King Henry VI, and those of the rival House of York. Richard of York quarrelled with several of Henry's court during the late 1440s and the early 1450s. He was respected as a soldier and administrator and was believed by his own supporters to have a better claim to the throne than Henry. York and his friends rebelled in 1455. At the First Battle of St Albans, York gained a victory but that did not resolve the causes of the conflict. After attempts at reconciliation, fighting resumed in 1459. At the Battle of Northampton in 1460, Richard of York's nephew, the Earl of Warwick, defeated a Lancastrian army and captured King Henry, who had taken no part.
York returned to London from exile in Ireland and attempted to claim the throne but his supporters were not prepared to go so far. Instead, an agreement was reached, the Act of Accord by which York or his heirs were to become king after Henry's death. That agreement disinherited Henry's young son, Edward of Westminster. Henry's wife, Margaret of Anjou, refused to accept the Act of Accord and took Edward to Scotland to gain support there. York's rivals and enemies raised an army in the north of England. York and his brother-in-law, the Earl of Salisbury (Warwick's father), led an army to the north late in 1460 to counter these threats but they underestimated the Lancastrians. At the Battle of Wakefield, the Yorkist army was destroyed; York, Salisbury, and York's second son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, were killed or executed after the battle.
The victorious Lancastrian army began advancing south towards London. It was led by comparatively young nobles such as the Duke of Somerset, the Earl of Northumberland and Lord Clifford, whose fathers had been killed by York and Warwick at the First Battle of St Albans. The army contained substantial contingents from the West Country and the Scottish Borders and largely subsisted on plunder as they marched south.
The death of Richard of York left his 18-year-old son, Edward, Earl of March, as the Yorkist claimant for the throne. He led one Yorkist army in the Welsh Marches while Warwick led another in London and the south-east. Naturally, they intended to combine their forces to face Margaret's army, but Edward was delayed by the need to confront another Lancastrian army from Wales, which was led by Jasper Tudor and his father, Owen Tudor. On 2 February, Edward defeated Tudor's army at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross.
Warwick, with the captive King Henry in his train, meanwhile moved to block Queen Margaret's army's route to London. He took up position north of St Albans astride the main road from the north (the ancient Roman road known as Watling Street), where he set up several fixed defences, including cannon and obstacles such as caltrops and pavises studded with spikes. Part of his defences used the ancient Belgic earthwork known as Beech Bottom Dyke. Warwick's forces were divided into three "Battles", as was customary at the time. He himself led the Main Battle in the centre. The Duke of Norfolk led the Forward (or Vaward) Battle on the right and Warwick's brother John Neville commanded the Rear Battle on the left.
Although strong, Warwick's lines faced north only. Margaret knew of Warwick's dispositions, probably through Sir William Lovelace and his cousin, Sir Henry Lovelace, the steward of Warwick's own household guard. The Lovelaces had been captured by the Lancastrians at Wakefield but had been spared from execution and released and it is believed that they were then given the noble vacancies in and including the Earldom of Kent as a reward for betraying Warwick. Late on 16 February, Margaret's army swerved sharply west and captured the town of Dunstable. About 200 local people under the town butcher tried to resist them but were easily dispersed. Warwick's "scourers" (scouts and patrols and foraging parties) failed to detect the move.
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Second Battle of St Albans
The Second Battle of St Albans was fought on 17 February 1461 during the Wars of the Roses in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England (the First Battle of St Albans had been fought in 1455).
The army of the Yorkist faction, under the Earl of Warwick, attempted to bar the road to London north of the town. The rival Lancastrian army used a wide outflanking manoeuvre to take Warwick by surprise, cut him off from London and drive his army from the field. The victors also released the feeble King Henry VI, who had been Warwick's prisoner, from his captivity, but they ultimately failed to take advantage of their victory.
The Wars of the Roses were fought between the supporters of two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty: the House of Lancaster, represented by the mentally-unstable King Henry VI, and those of the rival House of York. Richard of York quarrelled with several of Henry's court during the late 1440s and the early 1450s. He was respected as a soldier and administrator and was believed by his own supporters to have a better claim to the throne than Henry. York and his friends rebelled in 1455. At the First Battle of St Albans, York gained a victory but that did not resolve the causes of the conflict. After attempts at reconciliation, fighting resumed in 1459. At the Battle of Northampton in 1460, Richard of York's nephew, the Earl of Warwick, defeated a Lancastrian army and captured King Henry, who had taken no part.
York returned to London from exile in Ireland and attempted to claim the throne but his supporters were not prepared to go so far. Instead, an agreement was reached, the Act of Accord by which York or his heirs were to become king after Henry's death. That agreement disinherited Henry's young son, Edward of Westminster. Henry's wife, Margaret of Anjou, refused to accept the Act of Accord and took Edward to Scotland to gain support there. York's rivals and enemies raised an army in the north of England. York and his brother-in-law, the Earl of Salisbury (Warwick's father), led an army to the north late in 1460 to counter these threats but they underestimated the Lancastrians. At the Battle of Wakefield, the Yorkist army was destroyed; York, Salisbury, and York's second son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, were killed or executed after the battle.
The victorious Lancastrian army began advancing south towards London. It was led by comparatively young nobles such as the Duke of Somerset, the Earl of Northumberland and Lord Clifford, whose fathers had been killed by York and Warwick at the First Battle of St Albans. The army contained substantial contingents from the West Country and the Scottish Borders and largely subsisted on plunder as they marched south.
The death of Richard of York left his 18-year-old son, Edward, Earl of March, as the Yorkist claimant for the throne. He led one Yorkist army in the Welsh Marches while Warwick led another in London and the south-east. Naturally, they intended to combine their forces to face Margaret's army, but Edward was delayed by the need to confront another Lancastrian army from Wales, which was led by Jasper Tudor and his father, Owen Tudor. On 2 February, Edward defeated Tudor's army at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross.
Warwick, with the captive King Henry in his train, meanwhile moved to block Queen Margaret's army's route to London. He took up position north of St Albans astride the main road from the north (the ancient Roman road known as Watling Street), where he set up several fixed defences, including cannon and obstacles such as caltrops and pavises studded with spikes. Part of his defences used the ancient Belgic earthwork known as Beech Bottom Dyke. Warwick's forces were divided into three "Battles", as was customary at the time. He himself led the Main Battle in the centre. The Duke of Norfolk led the Forward (or Vaward) Battle on the right and Warwick's brother John Neville commanded the Rear Battle on the left.
Although strong, Warwick's lines faced north only. Margaret knew of Warwick's dispositions, probably through Sir William Lovelace and his cousin, Sir Henry Lovelace, the steward of Warwick's own household guard. The Lovelaces had been captured by the Lancastrians at Wakefield but had been spared from execution and released and it is believed that they were then given the noble vacancies in and including the Earldom of Kent as a reward for betraying Warwick. Late on 16 February, Margaret's army swerved sharply west and captured the town of Dunstable. About 200 local people under the town butcher tried to resist them but were easily dispersed. Warwick's "scourers" (scouts and patrols and foraging parties) failed to detect the move.