First Battle of St Albans

First Battle of St Albans
Part of the Wars of the Roses
Date 22 May 1455 Location St Albans in Hertfordshire, England Result Decisive Yorkist victory
Belligerents
House of York	House of Lancaster
Commanders and leaders
Richard, Duke of York, Richard, Earl of Warwick	Edmund, Duke of Somerset †
Strength
3,000	2,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown	300

Wars of the Roses 1st St Albans Blore Heath Ludford Bridge Sandwich Northampton Wakefield Mortimer's Cross 2nd St Albans Ferrybridge Towton Hedgeley Moor Hexham Edgecote Moor Losecoat Field Barnet Tewkesbury Bosworth Field Stoke Field

The First Battle of St Albans, fought on 22 May 1455 at St Albans, 22 miles (35 km) north of London, traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Richard, Duke of York and his ally, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, defeated the Lancastrians under Edmund, Duke of Somerset, who was killed. York also captured Henry VI, who appointed him Constable of England.

Contents 1 Fighting 2 See also 3 References 4 Notes

Fighting

The Lancastrian army of 2,000 troops arrived at St Albans first, and proceeded to defend it by placing troops along the Tonman Ditch and at the bars in Sopwell Lane and Shropshire Lane. The 3,000-strong Yorkist army arrived and camped in Keyfield to the east. Lengthy negotiations ensued with heralds moving back and forth between the rival commanders. After several hours, Richard, despairing of a peaceful solution, decided to attack. The bulk of Henry's forces were surprised by the speed of Richard's attack; most of the army was expecting a peaceful resolution similar to the one at Blackheath in 1452. However, two frontal assaults down the narrow streets against the barricades 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, through back lanes and gardens. Suddenly the Earl appeared in the Market Square where the main body of Henry's troops were 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 force, routing the Lancastrians and killing the Duke of Somerset. ^[1]

On the Earl's orders, his archers then shot at the men around the King, killing several and injuring the King and the Duke of Buckingham. The Lancastrians manning the barricades realised the Yorkists had ouflanked them, and fearing an attack from behind abandoned their positions and fled the town.

The First Battle of St Albans was relatively minor in military terms, but politically was a complete victory for York and Warwick: York had captured the King and restored himself to complete power, while his rival Somerset and Warwick's arch-enemies Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, and Lord de Clifford both fell during the rout.

Shakespeare's history play Henry VI, Part 2 ends with the result of this battle.

See also

• History of St Albans
• Second Battle of St Albans
• Percy-Neville feud

References

• Burley, Elliott & Watson, The Battles of St Albans, Pen & Sword, 2007, ISBN 9781844155699
• Burne, A.H. The Battlefields of England, Classic Penguin, 2002, ISBN 0-141-39077-8
• History of Verulam and St. Alban's S. G. Shaw, 1815, Pages 63-64, at Google Books

Notes

1. ^ Popular legend has it that he was killed outside an inn called The Castle, fulfilling a soothsayer's warning years earlier to beware of castles.

Wars of the Roses Red Rose of Lancaster White Rose of York Tudor Rose Key figures Monarchs of England Henry VI Edward IV Edward V Richard III Henry VII Lancastrian Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence Yorkist Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent Thomas Neville Battles Lancastrian victories Battle of Ludford Bridge Battle of Wakefield Second Battle of St Albans Battle of Ferrybridge (Indecisive) Battle of Edgecote Moor Battle of Bosworth Field Battle of Stoke Field Yorkist victories First Battle of St Albans Battle of Blore Heath Battle of Sandwich Battle of Northampton Battle of Mortimer's Cross Battle of Ferrybridge (Indecisive) Battle of Towton Battle of Hedgeley Moor Battle of Hexham Battle of Lose-coat Field Battle of Barnet Battle of Tewkesbury See also Act of Accord Percy-Neville feud Issue of Edward III of England Book:Wars of the Roses Category:Wars of the Roses Portal:England / Monarchy