First Battle of St Albans

Background

The incapacitation of Henry VI by mental illness in 1454 had led to the recall to court of Richard of York, his closest adult relative. Back in 1447, York had been assigned as Lieutenant of Ireland, basically in exile away from England, while his long time rival, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and favorite of the king, had been given the charge of Lieutenant of France. After Somerset's own failure in France, York unexpectedly returned to London with large amount support from not only the nobility, most of whom saw the incompetence of Somerset's efforts in France, but also the public. He presented himself as a champion of the law and kept urging the king to have Somerset tried and held accountable for his failures. York formed an armed force to try and force the issue in 1452, and after meeting with the council of war and the king, who desperately wanted to avoid a conflict, York's demands were agreed on. He disbanded his army as a result, but in no way did he expect to be arrested and held prisoner for three months. An execution had been avoided as the King was nervous about rousing trouble as the Duke of York was very popular and an individual known for being a man of honor. York was only released after he agreed to swear an oath at St. Paul's Cathedral that he would never take up arms against the King again.

After the English army led by Sir John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, was routed in the Battle of Castillion, Henry VI suffered a complete mental breakdown and was unable to perform his royal duties. Somerset had attempted to take control of the country and sought to make himself Lord Protector. However, Somerset underestimated the Duke of York's influence and popularity, as many nobles on the council, including York's closest allies, his brother-in-law Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury and Salisbury's son Richard, Earl of Warwick, were on York's side. And so York was given the appointment to govern England as Lord Protector and First Councillor of the realm while the king remained unfit. He used this position to move against his chief rival and express any bitterness which accumulated over the years, and thus the Duke of Somerset was imprisoned. It was during this 14 months that the sides were clearly forming. There wasn't only conflict between the Duke of York and Somerset; in fact, the two prominent and rich families from the north, the Percys and Nevilles, were having their own conflicts. The Percys were, and still are to this day, the Earls of Northumberland, while the Nevilles possessed both Salisbury and Warwick (which he received from marriage) and was one of the richest families in all England. The Nevilles were also related to the Duke of York by marriage, as the Duchess of York was Cecily Neville, the daughter and later sister of the Duke of Salisbury. Much of the fighting was over land and money, but both were clearly choosing sides, the Percys for Somerset and the Nevilles for York.

By Christmas of 1454, King Henry had recovered from his illness, removing the basis for York's authority. Somerset was released and restored to his former position of power. Having reconvened the court at Westminster by mid-April 1455, Henry and a select council of nobles decided to hold a great council at Leicester. York and his closest allies anticipated that Somerset would bring charges against them at this assembly. They gathered an armed retinue and marched to stop the royal party from reaching Leicester, intercepting them at St Albans.

Fighting

The Lancastrian army of 2,000 troops arrived at St Albans first, with the elderly Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham in command, and proceeded to defend it by placing troops along the Tonman Ditch and at the bars in Sopwell Lane and Shropshire Lane. The reassignment of Buckingham from Somerset as Commander of the Army had been a last minute decision by Henry VI, whether by fear of Somerset's past failures, or of animosity of the Duke of York. The 7,000-strong Yorkist army arrived and camped in Keyfield to the east. Lengthy negotiations ensued with heralds moving back and forth between the rival commanders. After a few hours, it was believed in the Yorkist camp that King Henry VI knew nothing of the letters of negotiation.

The Duke of York had made his intentions clear: he wanted Somerset punished and then executed. In a message to Henry VI he states:

"... surrender to us such as we will accuse, and not to resist til we have him which deserve death."

This was dangerous territory that York was playing on, as he was demanding much from the King and setting the rules himself. The very act of displaying such an aggressive front to the King was treasonous, but his popularity kept York confident and supported. In a fit of uncharacteristic regency, Henry refused, replying:

"By the faith that I ow to St. Edward and the crown of England I shall destroy every mother's son and they shall be hanged, and drawn and quartered."

After several hours, Richard, despairing of a peaceful solution, decided to attack. Although his army might have been unwilling to attack King Henry, the Royal Standard was not visible and might even have been negligently propped against a wall by the royal standard-bearer, the Earl of Wiltshire. The bulk of Henry's forces were surprised by the suddenness of Richard's attack; most of the army was expecting a peaceful resolution similar to the one at Blackheath in 1452. However, two Yorkist frontal assaults down the narrow streets against the barricades near St Peter's Church, which were commanded by Lord Clifford, made no headway and resulted in heavy casualties for the Yorkists. The whole of the battle didn't last longer than a half-hour and was due mostly to the element of surprise that Warwick placed charging into the town when the Lancastrians were unprepared.

Warwick led a reserve force through an unguarded part of the town's defenses, 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. Somerset, knowing very well that York would never let him live, had sought refuge at the Castle Inn. When the Yorkists surrounded the building, Somerset decided to try and fight his way out. He charged onto the main street, over the bodies of the defenders, and killed four men before being struck down. The Earl of Northumberland was killed trying to get to the refuge at Castle Inn. Lord Clifford of Skipton, an ally of Percy's, was hacked to death in the main street.

On the earl's orders, his archers then shot at the men surrounding the king, killing several and injuring the king and the Duke of Buckingham. The Lancastrians manning the barricades realized the Yorkists had outflanked them and, fearing an attack from behind, abandoned their positions and fled the town.

Result

The first battle of St Albans was relatively minor in military terms,‹See TfD› but politically was a complete victory for York and Warwick: York had captured the king and restored himself to complete power, while Somerset and the Nevilles' northern rivals Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland and Lord Clifford both fell during the rout. Among the wounded were Buckingham, Thomas, Earl of Devon, Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, half-brother of the king, and Somerset's son Henry Beaufort, Earl of Dorset. The sudden attack and bravery in the 25-year-old Earl of Warwick began his famous military career and later would help form his nickname "the Kingmaker".

The next day, York escorted King Henry back to London, where he was appointed as Protector of England by the parliament a few months later.

In literature

Shakespeare's historic play Henry VI, Part 2 ends with the conclusion of this battle. "Trinity" the second book of the Wars of the Roses series by Conn Iggulden, dramatises this battle as a moment of indecision for Richard of York but a powerful victory for the Neville faction in the Neville-Percy feud.