Activity 8
Who won the Battle of Barnet?
Your Task
In Activity 6 you visited Warwick Castle and examined the preparations for battle as Richard Neville the 16th Earl of Warwick was fitted with his armour and the troops were provisioned for battle. What happened when the earl and his Lancastrian army went up against King Edward IV and his Yorkist army?
Carefully examine the following sources and answer the questions below or in this Word Doc version to save your answers.
Source A
Battle Facts
Battle: Barnet
War: Wars of the Roses
Date of the Battle of Barnet: 14th April 1471
Place of the Battle of Barnet: At Barnet in Hertfordshire, to the north of London
Combatants at the Battle of Barnet: Lancastrians against the Yorkists
Commanders at the Battle of Barnet:
- The Earl of Warwick, with the Duke of Somerset, the Earl of Oxford and the Duke of Exeter, commanded the Lancastrian army.
- King Edward IV, with his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III) and Lord Hastings, commanded the Yorkist army.
Size of the armies at the Battle of Barnet: The Lancastrian army - some 10,000 men
Yorkist army - some 8,000 men.
Winner of the Battle of Barnet: That is for you to work out!
King Edward IV returned to England from exile in 1471 resolved to see his traitorous mentor, the Earl of Warwick, removed from power.
SOURCE B
Portraits of the leaders
King Edward IV
The Earl of Warwick
SOURCE C
Uniforms, arms and equipment
- Commanders and their noble supporters and knights rode on horseback, in armour, with sword, lance and shield
- Mounted men-at-arms, in armour, and armed with sword, lance and shield
- Forces of longbowmen
- Artillery
Cannon in action: Battle of Barnet on 14th April 1471 in the Wars of the Roses.
Source: https://www.britishbattles.com/wars-of-the-roses/battle-of-barnet/
SOURCE D
Map of the Battle
Map of the Battle of Barnet on 14th April 1471 in the Wars of the Roses: map by John Fawkes.
SOURCE E
Battle background
- Edward IV returns from exile in France and lands in Yorkshire and marches on to York. He continues south and gathers forces at Leicester where he reconciles with his brother, George, Duke of Clarence.
- 11th April Edward and the Yorkist army enter London unopposed where he is recrowned.
- 13 April Edward IV leads his army from London and makes his way to Barnet, aware of the movements of the Earl of Warwick’s forces.
- Edward has several goals:
- to protect the City of London
- to defeat the opposing army wishing to restore King Henry to the throne. - Edward sets up camp at the town of Barnet before Warwick’s forces can do so forcing them to camp in the open on high ground below which was a marshy heath. To the east of the heath was a wood.
- Edward marches his men close to the Lancastrian camp.
- The two armies fire artillery to intimidate their opposing forces.
Battle of Barnet on 14th
April 1471 in the Wars of the Roses
SOURCE F
The Battle plays out
- On the morning of 14th April the Yorkists attack the Lancastrians. The western flank of the Yorkist advance fails and are forced back to Barnet by the Earl of Oxford.. However fate intervenes in the form of the fog and the Lancastrians then become confused in battle and attempt to return to their own forces.
- As the troops return they are mistaken by their own for enemies who have switched sides in the heat of the battle? Why else would they return having pressed the advantage?
- Yorkist forces take the initiative turning initial defeat into victory, thanks largely to the weather. The Lancastrian forces are crushed.
- Edward has defeated the Earl of Warwick who is later found unable to mount his horse and make his escape. He is slain as was his brother.
- Both armies suffered more than 1000 dead.
King Henry VI and King Edward IV praying
over the bodies of the slain Neville brother
SOURCE G
Maps
Map 1 Early stages of the battle
Map 2 Later stages of the battle
Image Source: Wikimedia