Around of the Royal army had been killed. These numbers of dead are very high.
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Few battles on English soil have numbered this many dead. Of the battles of the Wars of the Roses only the Battle of Towton stands out as having significantly more: This is credited by English Heritage to an anonymous herald.
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And from thence, on the Friday, the King, understanding that his enemies and rebels drew towards Newark ward, passing by Southwell and the far side of the Trent, the king with his host removed thitherwards, and lodged that night beside a village called Ratcliff [i. Radcliffe], nine miles out of Newark. That evening there was a great scry, which caused many cowards to flee; but the earl of Oxford and all the nobles in the foreward with him, were soon in a good array and in a fair battle, and so was the King and all the very men that there were.
And in this scry I heard of no man of worship that fled but rascals. The Earl of Lincoln meanwhile had entered Yorkshire with the other rebels, proceeding slowly and offering no harm to the local inhabitants, for he hoped some of the people would rally to his side. But when he saw his following was small he resolved none the less to try the fortunes of war, recalling that two years earlier Henry with a small number of soldiers had conquered the great army of King Richard: Thus placing his trust in the fortunes of war, the Earl began to make his way out of Yorkshire towards the town called Newark, situated on the bank of the River Trent, so that, having augmented his troops there, he could march directly on the King.
But before he came to this place, King Henry on the evening of the day preceding the battle set off to meet the enemy and came to Newark.
He did not tarry there for long but marched three miles beyond the town and there encamped for the night. Accepting the chance, the Earl led forward his troops and, at a given signal, gave battle.
Both sides fought with the bitterest energy. Those rugged men of the mountains, the Germans, so practised in warfare, were in the forefront of the battle and yielded little to the English in valour; while Martin Schwarz their leader was not inferior to many in his courage and resolution. On the other hand the Irish, though they fought most spiritedly, were nevertheless in the tradition of their country unprotected by body armour and, more than the other troops engaged, suffered heavy casualties, their slaughter striking no little terror into the other combatants.
Thereupon the remaining enemy troops turned to flight, and while fleeing were either captured or killed. Indeed it was only then, when the battle was over, that it was fully apparent how rash had been the spirit inspiring the enemy soldiers: Lambert the false boy king was indeed captured, with his mentor Richard [Simons]: Irish Invasion of England.
Nottinghamshire County Council — Heritage guide. First Battle of St. Margaret provided financial and military support in the form of German and Swiss mercenaries, under the commander Martin Schwartz. The Yorkists decided to sail to Ireland, where the Yorkist cause was popular, to gather more supporters. The Yorkist fleet set sail and arrived in Dublin on 4 May On landing on 4 June , Lincoln was joined by a number of the local gentry led by Sir Thomas Broughton. In a series of forced marches, the Yorkist army, now numbering some 8, men, covered over miles in five days.
On the night of 10 June, at Bramham moor, outside Tadcaster , Lovell led 2, men on a night attack against Lancastrians, led by Lord Clifford.
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The result was an overwhelming Yorkist victory. Lincoln then outmanoeuvred King Henry's northern army, under the command of the Earl of Northumberland by ordering a force under John, Lord Scrope to mount a diversionary attack on Bootham Bar , York , on 12 June. Lord Scrope then withdrew northwards, taking Northumberland's army with him. Lincoln and the main army continued southwards. There followed three days of skirmishing through Sherwood Forest. Lincoln forced Scales back to Nottingham , where Scales' cavalry stayed to wait for the main royal army.
However, the fighting had slowed down the Yorkist advance sufficiently to allow King Henry to receive substantial reinforcements under the command of Lord Strange by the time he joined Scales at Nottingham on 14 June. Rhys ap Thomas , Henry's leading supporter in Wales, also arrived with reinforcements. Henry's army now outnumbered the Yorkists. In addition, it was "far better armed and equipped" than the Yorkist army. Around nine in the morning of 16 June, King Henry's forward troops, commanded by the Earl of Oxford, encountered the Yorkist army assembled in a single block, on a brow of Rampire Hill surrounded on three sides by the River Trent at the village of East Stoke.
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Henry's army was divided into three battles , of which Oxford led the vanguard. As at Bosworth, the king left the direction of the fighting itself to Oxford. The Yorkists, arrayed in a single concentrated formation, were assaulted by arrows. Suffering from the arrows, they chose to surrender the high ground by immediately going on to the attack in the hope of breaking the Lancastrian line and rolling up the enemy army. Though outnumbered overall, the Yorkists had the advantage of a "core of well-trained foreign mercenaries", [5] and their concentrated force outnumbered Oxford's vanguard, which was the only part of the Lancastrian army engaged.
The vanguard was badly shaken, but Oxford was able to rally his force. The battle was bitterly contested for over three hours, but eventually, sheer attrition told against the Yorkists after they failed to break the Lancastrian position early on. Henry chose not to commit his other "battles", leaving the struggle to the vanguard, [6] which was probably repeatedly reinforced as Lancastrian contingents came up, directed by Jasper Tudor.
Though the German mercenaries were equipped with the latest handguns, the presence of large numbers of traditional archers in the Lancastrian army proved decisive. The skilled longbowmen were able to shoot volley after volley into the Yorkist position. The lack of body armour on the Irish troops in particular meant that they were cut down in increasing numbers by repeated showers of arrows.
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Unable to retreat with the river on three sides , the German and Swiss mercenaries fought it out. According to Jean Molinet , by the end of the battle they were "filled with arrows like hedgehogs". Only Lord Lovell may have escaped. He disappeared after the battle and was never seen again. He may have gone to Scotland, as there is evidence of a safe conduct pass being granted him there, but his later fate is unknown.
Simnel was captured, but was pardoned by Henry in a gesture of clemency which did his reputation no harm. Henry realised that Simnel was merely a puppet for the leading Yorkists.
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He was given a job in the royal kitchen, and later promoted to falconer. The Irish nobles who had supported Simnel were also pardoned, as Henry believed he needed their support to govern Ireland effectively. However, Henry later persuaded the Pope to excommunicate the Irish clergy who had supported the rebellion. Symonds was the man who had introduced Lincoln to Simnel; Payne had preached the sermon at Simnel's coronation.