April 14th, 1471 - The Battle of Barnet

Conflict: The War of the Roses (1455-1487)

Combatants: Lancastrians vs. Yorkists

Location: England (UK)

Outcome: Yorkist victory

On this day in 1471, Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick (aka the Kingmaker), led a Lancastrian army against Edward IV's Yorkists twelve miles north of London. A heavy fog caused confusion in the ranks. Edward's right wing drove back the Lancastrian left then turned about and struck Warwick's center. The battle transformed into a rout for the Lancastrians.

Battle of Barnet by unknown artist

When the battle was over, nearly one thousand knights lay dead on the field and the Earl of Warwick was himself overtaken and killed in the rout.

Death of the Kingmaker by James William Edmund Doyle

Points of Interest:

• A second Lancastrian army landed at Weymouth on the same day as the defeat at Barnet.

• Richard Neville was initially a Yorkist general, but switched to backing Henry VI who was recrowned in 1470.

Richard Neville, the 16th Earl of Warwick by an unknown artist

Edward IV Plantagenet by Lucas Horenbout

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Sources:

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.