Battle of Ferrybridge
| date | March 28, 1461 |
|---|---|
| place | Ferrybridge , Yorkshire |
| output | draw |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| unknown | unknown |
| losses | |
|
3000 |
unknown |
St Albans - Blore Heath - Ludlow - Northampton - Wakefield - Mortimer's Cross - St Albans - Ferrybridge - Towton - Hedgeley Moor - Hexham - Edgecote Moor - Losecote Field - Barnet - Tewkesbury - Bosworth Field - Stoke
The Battle of Ferrybridge on March 28, 1461 was a minor clash between the forces of the House of York and House of Lancaster prior to the great Battle of Towton , during the Wars of the Roses .
After Edward IV made himself king, he gathered a large army and marched north towards the Lancastrian position behind the River Aire in Yorkshire .
On March 27, the then 33-year-old Earl of Warwick crossed the River Aire with the vanguard , as the bridge had already been destroyed by the Lancastrians. He lost many men in the process, either by freezing them to death in the cold water or by a small unit of Lancastrians shooting arrows at them on the other bank of the river. After the crossing was made and the Lancastrians disappeared, Warwick had the bridge repaired by his men, while camp was made on the north bank of the river.
Early the next morning the Yorkists were surprised by a large group of Lancastrians led by 25-year-old Sir John Clifford and Lord Neville de Raby (Warwick's half- great- uncle). Due to the great surprise and confusion, Warwick's troop lost many men. Warwick Vice-Commanding Officer Lord Fitzwalter was fatally wounded trying to gather his men (he died a week later). The Salisbury bastard, Warwick's half-brother, was slain and during the retreat, Warwick himself was injured when an arrow hit him in the leg. Jean de Waurin , a historian, reports 3000 deaths.
After the battle, Edward and the main army reached the bridge, and together with Warwick he found that it was in ruins. Warwick sent his uncle, Lord Fauconberg, upriver with the Yorkist cavalry, where they crossed a ford , caught Lord Clifford there by surprise, and defeated him within sight of the Lancastrian army. Clifford was killed by an arrow that struck him in the throat after removing his collar that was supposed to prevent that from happening.
literature
- Christopher Gravett : Towton 1461: England's Bloodiest Battle . Osprey Publishing, 2003, ISBN 1-84176-513-9 , pp. 32-33.
- Philip A. Haigh: The Military Campaigns of the Wars of the Roses . Sutton Publishing, Stroud 1995, ISBN 0-7509-1430-0 .
- John A. Wagner: Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Roses. ABC Clio, 2001, ISBN 1-85109-358-3 , p. 242.
- Alison Weir: Lancaster and York. The Wars of the Roses . Jonathan Cape, London 1995, ISBN 0-224-03834-6 .
Coordinates: 53 ° 42 ′ 45 ″ N , 1 ° 16 ′ 25 ″ W.