Warwick back at the helm! But not for long!
‘The throne is akin to a game of musical chairs!
But does this not confuse the rightful line of heirs!
Firstly it was Henry VI who sat on the throne, succeded by Edward IV and now Henry is back perched on his old seat.
The throne of England.
Warwick was back at the helm for the moment, but his grip was still rather tenuous. There were potential threats from within and without! At home, many were troubled by the alliance with France. Abroad, Edward IV assisted by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgandy was preparing to invade England. Everything seemed to hang in the balance. On March 14th 1471 Edward’s fleet landed at Ravenspur in Yorkshire.
Edward IVs fleet landing at Ravenspur.
Edward then ordered that the fleet be burnt.
‘Let every timber and sail be set alight and burn!
Let all men know that we will not take a backward turn!’
We have landed here at Ravenspur!
Our mission to hunt down Warwick, the wretched cur!’
Edward was letting Wawick know that this would be a duel to the death. He meant business and it was also personal, very personal.
Edward IV is back!
As he received reports of Edward proceeding south, one can only imagine what was going on inside Warwick’s head.
On April 3rd, Warwick learned that the fickle Duke of Clarence had deserted his standard for that of his brother, the king.
‘Blood is thicker than water!
Clarence’s steps in following Warwick did somewhat falter!’
Warwick digested the unwelcome news with a feeling of utter disgust. On April 11th, King Edward entered London to a great welcome from the citizenry. Of course, the king enjoyed a joyful reunion with the queen and their children but there were pressing matters of a grave nature awaiting him. Namely dealing with the threat from Warwick. In this endeavour, he wasted little time in approaching the problem. King Edward marched north of London to engage Warwick who was proceeding southwards.
‘For Warwick was now caught in a closing Yorkist net!
The location of which was at the village of Barnet!’
On April 14th 1471, near Barnet, King Edward led his Yorkist army against Warwick’s Lancastrian force. of the armies, Warwick’s was larger, numbering 15,000 men compared with Edward’s 10,000. However superiority in numbers does not always guarantee victory as the final outcome of the battle made clear.
Hostilities broke at about 5.00am in the morning, it was Easter Sunday. Throughout the night, the Lancastrian artillery had launched a barrage of canon fire. However they misjudged the Yorkist position and the canon balls fell well away from the intended target.
The battle was characterised by savage hand to hand combat.
At one point, Lancastrian archers mistook their own side for Yorkists and began to fire on them. In the confusion, the cry of ‘treason’ was heard coming from the Lancastrian ranks and many of their soldiers chose to desert the field. With his army hemorrhaging troops, Warwick tried to block the Yorkist advance but his efforts were in vain. The earl realising that further resistance was futile decided to flee the field but was killed in the attempt to do so.
The death of Warwick.
King Edward IV had won a great victory. However, threats to his throne still existed and would have to be dealt with.