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First Battle of St Albans

 

 
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First Battle of St Albans
 
 
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The First Battle of St Albans was the first battle
Battle

Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, wherein each group will seek to defeat the others within the scope of a military campaign, and are well defined in duration, area and force commitment....
 of the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars fought in England between supporters of the Houses of House of Lancaster and House of York....
 and was fought on May 22, 1455 in the town of St Albans
St Albans

Saint Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans....
, 22 miles (35 km) north of London
City of London

The City of London is a geographically small city status in the United Kingdom within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which, along with Westminster, the modern conurbation grew....
. Richard, Duke of York
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York

Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York was a member of the English royal family, who served in senior positions in France at the end of the Hundred Years' War, and in England during Henry VI of England's madness....
 and his ally, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick

Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and 6th Earl of Salisbury , known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an England nobleman, administrator, and military commander....
, defeated the Lancastrians
House of Lancaster

The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century....
 under Edmund, Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset

Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset , sometimes styled 2nd Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and an important figure in the Wars of the Roses and in the Hundred Years' War....
, who was killed. York also captured Henry VI
Henry VI of England

Henry VI was Kingdom of England 1422?1461 and then 1470?1471, and King of France as the de jure monarch from 1422 to 1429....
 and had himself appointed Constable of England.

The Lancastrian army of 2,000 troops arrived at St Albans
St Albans

Saint Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of 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.






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The First Battle of St Albans was the first battle
Battle

Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, wherein each group will seek to defeat the others within the scope of a military campaign, and are well defined in duration, area and force commitment....
 of the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars fought in England between supporters of the Houses of House of Lancaster and House of York....
 and was fought on May 22, 1455 in the town of St Albans
St Albans

Saint Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans....
, 22 miles (35 km) north of London
City of London

The City of London is a geographically small city status in the United Kingdom within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which, along with Westminster, the modern conurbation grew....
. Richard, Duke of York
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York

Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York was a member of the English royal family, who served in senior positions in France at the end of the Hundred Years' War, and in England during Henry VI of England's madness....
 and his ally, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick

Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and 6th Earl of Salisbury , known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an England nobleman, administrator, and military commander....
, defeated the Lancastrians
House of Lancaster

The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century....
 under Edmund, Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset

Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset , sometimes styled 2nd Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and an important figure in the Wars of the Roses and in the Hundred Years' War....
, who was killed. York also captured Henry VI
Henry VI of England

Henry VI was Kingdom of England 1422?1461 and then 1470?1471, and King of France as the de jure monarch from 1422 to 1429....
 and had himself appointed Constable of England.

The Lancastrian army of 2,000 troops arrived at St Albans
St Albans

Saint Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of 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
House of York

The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three of whom became List of monarchs of England in the late 15th century....
 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
Blackheath, London

Blackheath is an area in southeast London, centred around a section of open public grassland and straddling the boundary of the London Borough of Lewisham and the London Borough of Greenwich....
 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.

The Earl then ordered his archers to shoot at the men around the King, killing several and injuring the King and the Duke of Buckingham
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham

Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham Order of the Garter was best-known as a military commander in the Hundred Years' War and in the Wars of the Roses....
. 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: he had captured the King and returned himself to complete power; his rival Somerset was dead; and Warwick's arch-enemies Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland

Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, was the son of Henry 'Hotspur' Percy and his wife Elizabeth de Mortimer, daughter of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and Philippa Plantagenet....
 and Lord de Clifford both fell during the rout.

Shakespeare's play Henry VI, Part 2
Henry VI, part 2

The Second Part of King Henry the Sixth, or Henry VI, Part 2, is a history play by William Shakespeare believed written in approximately 1590-91....
 ends with the result of this battle.

See also

  • History of St Albans
    History of St Albans

    St Albans is in southern Hertfordshire, England, around 22 miles north of London, beside the site of a Catuvellauni settlement and the Roman Britain tonwn of Verulamium....
  • Second Battle of St Albans
    Second Battle of St Albans

    The Second Battle of St Albans was a battle of the English Wars of the Roses fought on February 17, 1461 at St Albans. The army of the house of York faction under the Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick attempted to bar the road to London at Saint Albans....
  • Percy-Neville feud
    Percy-Neville feud

    The Percy-Neville feud was a series of skirmishes, raids and vandalism between two prominent northern English families and their followers that helped provoke the Wars of the Roses....