First Battle of St Albans
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| First Battle of St Albans | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Wars of the Roses | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
 House of York |
 House of Lancaster |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| Richard, Duke of York, Richard, Earl of Warwick |
Edmund, Duke of Somerset† | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000 | 2,000 | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| Unknown | 300 | ||||||
| Wars of the Roses |
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| 1st St Albans – Blore Heath – Ludford Bridge – Northampton – Wakefield – Mortimer's Cross – 2nd St Albans – Ferrybridge – Towton – Hedgeley Moor – Hexham – Edgecote Moor – Lose-coat Field – Barnet – Tewkesbury – Bosworth Field – Stoke Field |
The First Battle of St Albans was the first battle of the Wars of the Roses and was fought on May 22, 1455 in the town of St Albans. Richard, Duke of York and his ally, Richard, Earl of Warwick defeated the Lancastrians under Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, who was killed. York captured Henry VI and had himself appointed Constable of England.
In an attempt to avoid becoming outflanked by the 3,000 strong Yorkist army, Henry's army of 2,000 troops pulled back into the town and built barricades in Holywell Hill and St Peter's Street to defend against a Yorkist attack from the fields to east. The bulk of Henry's forces were surprised and fully occupied by the speed of Richard's attack; most of the army was expecting a peaceful resolution like the one at Blackheath in 1452, and the leaders had been negotiating minutes before the attack. However, two frontal assaults down the narrow streets made no headway and resulted in heavy casualties for the Yorkists.
Warwick took his reserve troops through an unguarded part of the town's defences, following a path through back lanes and gardens. Suddenly the Earl appeared in the Market Square where the main body of Henry troops was sitting around talking and resting. There is evidence they were not yet expecting to be involved in the fighting, as many were not even wearing their helmets. Warwick charged instantly with his small force of reserves and smashed the Lancastrian line in two, making military history.
The Earl then ordered his archers to shoot at the men around the King, killing some and injuring many nobles including the King and his commander the Duke of Buckingham. Warwick killed one of his own enemies, the Duke of Somerset outside the Castle Inn. The men manning the barricades realising the enemy was in the main square and fearing an attack from behind abandoned them to the Yorkists who soon climbed over and joined the rout.
The First Battle of St Albans was trivial in military terms, with perhaps 300 dead, but the battle was a complete victory for York in political terms: he had captured the King, returning himself to complete power; his rival Somerset was dead; and the Neville's arch enemies Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland and Lord de Clifford both fell during the rout.
