Thursday, 2 April 2020

The Lancastrian Commanders at the Battle of Northampton

The Beaufort Coat of Arms



The Lancastrian forces at Northampton were nominally under the command of King Henry VI. Henry had been born the son of King Henry V in 1421, which made him 39 at the time of the battle. He was only nine months old when he inherited the crown of England from his father. He grew up to be a kindly and devout man, but his childish nature and simple mind made him a weak king. Henry slipped into periodic bouts of insanity which made his grip on government even less secure.
Henry was no more fit to lead an army than to rule a kingdom, so real command fell to Humphrey Stafford Duke of Buckingham, the most experienced diplomat and commander at the battle. Born in 1402, Buckingham was 58 when he drew up his men outside Northampton. Through his mother, Buckingham was a great grandson of King Edward III, yet another royal relative active in the Wars of the Roses. His father had died when he was barely a year old, leaving him the title of Earl of Stafford and a handsome income of £1260 a year, not bad when the average worker would get a penny a day. He was knighted in 1421 and became a Privy Councillor to the infant Henry VI in 1424. In 1430 he went to Normandy to take part in the fighting against the French and although he did not have an independent command, he did gain valuable experience of the business of war.
When his mother died in 1438 he inherited her lands, tripling his income at a stroke, and the title of Earl of Buckingham. He was now one of the richest and most noble men in England. As such he was made a Knight of the Garter and entrusted with a string of diplomatic missions. His military experience was broadened by being made Captain of Calais, effectively commander of the English forces in northern France, as well as Warden of the Cinque Ports (a naval command) and Constable of Dover Castle.
When the disputes between Somerset and York broke out in earnest, Buckingham played the role of peace-keeper between his two truculent cousins. By way of family links, Buckingham had a foot in both camps. His daughter was married to Somerset’s son while he himself was married to a cousin of Warwick. Buckingham declared himself to be a firm supporter of Henry VI, and sought constantly to push for good government and impartial justice. He quarrelled constantly with Somerset, but refused to accept the more radical solutions of York.
At the Battle of St Albans in 1455 he had commanded King Henry’s bodyguard. He was slightly wounded and captured by the Earl of Warwick. Buckingham continued to try to find common ground between the two sides, expressing shock that the dispute had come to blows and seeking to bring people to their senses. Finally realising that Margaret and York were unwilling to find any sort of compromise deal, Buckingham decided to remain loyal to King Henry, even though that meant siding with Margaret.
In October 1459 he led a Lancastrian army to Ludford Bridge in Shropshire, where his friendship with several of the lesser nobles in York’s army persuaded them to change sides or slip away in the night. As a result Buckingham was able to drive York into exile in France almost without striking a blow. He took the Duchess of York and her three youngest children into his own care, being careful not to pass them on to the vengeful Queen Margaret. Henry VI rewarded Buckingham with estates confiscated from those who had gone into exile with York. He was in London through the winter of 1459-60 trying to muster men and money for the cause of King Henry, but finding his efforts largely thwarted by the unpopularity of Queen Margaret. He had nevertheless mustered a reasonably large army by the standards of the day, and marched it north away from pro-York London two or three weeks before Warwick and Edward Earl of March got to the city.
Serving under Buckingham was Lord Edmund Grey of Ruthin. By his family links Grey was firmly linked to the Lancastrian cause. By his mother he was a great grandson of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and therefore a cousin to Henry VI. He married Lady Katherine Percy, daughter of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland. The Percys had a long running feud with the Nevilles, the family of the Earl of Warwick. However, Grey had got involved in a bitter dispute with Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter and a key supporter of Queen Margaret. Exeter was bad tempered and particularly rapacious when it came to exploiting contacts at court for his own benefit. Exeter had made a bid to seize control of the wealthy manor of Ampthill, Bedfordshire, from Grey on rather dubious grounds and was busily using bribery and pressure to get his way. Nevertheless, Grey had remained a staunch supporter of Buckingham in his efforts to find a compromise peace and to be loyal to the anointed King, Henry VI, come what may.
Grey, like Buckingham, had seen extensive service in the French wars. He had fought in the Aquitaine campaigns of 1438-40 and been knighted as a consequence. He sat on the Council of Regency from 1456 to 1458 and was notable for his refusal to get dragged into supporting either York or Queen Margaret. At the time of the Battle of Northampton he was 44 years old. 


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