Two royal families ruled England during most of the fifteenth century. The House of
York, whose badge was a white rose, and the House of Lancaster who would later be
linked to a red rose. The families were closely related and both had a claim to the
throne though Henry IV. This war would last for 30 years and later be named the War of
the Roses due to the families association with the roses. There was three phases of the
war that almost led to the extinction of English nobility.
The first battle of the War of the Roses took place at St. Alban’s on May 22nd 1455
when the Yorkists tired to confront King Henry VI. “The King had by his side the Dukes
of Somerset and Buckingham, Lords Pembroke, Northumberland and Devon and around
2,000 Lancastrian men.” (“Wars of the Roses”) The Yorkists led by the Earls of Salisbury
and Warwick attacked the town. Warwick was able to get into the town by an unguarded
area and attacked the Lancastrian barricades. While the battle was small it left Henry
wounded and captured. Lord Northumberland, Clifford and the Duke of
Somerset where dead.
“Led by Richard Earl of Salisbury the Yorkist in the north mobilized an army and headed
south to meet the Duke of York at Ludlow.” (“Wars of the Roses”) On September 23rd
1459 at Blore Heath in Shropshire Salisbury was cut off by a Lancastrian army led by
Lord Audley. Audley was killed and the Yorkists had won the battle.
But this didn’t last long. On October 1459 the Earl of Warwick and a combined army
of Yorkist attacked the Kings army at Ludford Bridge. Some of the men refused to fight
their king and the Yorkist army was defeated. Timesref states “Richard Duke of York and
his younger son escaped and fled to Ireland...
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... Richard III was killed and the
rest of his army lost the will to fight. It is said that “Henry was crowned on the battlefield
after Richard’s crown was found in a bush”. (“War of the Roses, 1455-1485”)
Henry Tudor became King Henry VII. He married Elizabeth of York, the daughter of
Edward IV’s. This united the Yorkist and the Lancastrians claim to the throne.
History.com states “This event is seen as marking the end of the War of Roses; although
some Yorkist supported in 1487 an unsuccessful rebellion against Henry.” (“The War of
the Roses”) Henry brought the war to an end when he defeated this rebellion at Stoke.
In conclusion, the 30 year old war was over. The actual toll of the War of the Roses will
no doubt never be known. Few noble families actually died out, but several generations
suffered many losses in the fighting or soon thereafter.
Henry had no means of knowing how much support the rebels might attract when they landed. This suggests that Henry was not fully aware or informed of the rebellion and therefore was unsure what to do. Without knowing fully about the challenge the success with which he could deal with the challenge was severely undermined. Henry raised an army to answer the rebellion and on the 16th June, the two armies met at East Stoke; just outside Newark.
The Battle of Bannockburn happened in 1314 just outside of Stirling, Scotland. It was a war between the large English army and the much smaller Scottish army. The Scottish showed they were a force to be reckoned with when they took Stirling Castle for ransom. The English were trying to get the castle back from the Scottish which caused the Battle of Bannockburn
... Regulars were misdirected by the locals and steered away from the smaller militia supply caches that remained in the town. While the searches were being conducted in the town of Concord, two companies of Regulars were trying to maintain the North Bridge. The Regulars were engaged by approximately 400 militiamen. After the engagement, the Regulars retreated back towards the town of Concord. Lieutenant Colonel Smith heard the gunfire coming from the North Bridge area and sent two grenadier companies to reinforce the infantry companies at the North Bridge. The two grenadier companies were able to link up with the three decimated infantry companies. This action left the companies of Regulars conducting the searches isolated and the road leading to Concord without protection. At this time Lieutenant Colonel Smith gave the orders to begin the march back towards Boston.
Suetonius Paullinus was at an island in north Wales when he heard of the rebellion. He made haste for Londinium with Legio XIV, but his journey was slow and when at length he arrived in Londinium he realised that he did not have enough troops to defend it, and so the largest town in Britain was abandoned. Verulamium too could not be held and so the army retreated.
French Admiral de Grasse, stationed in the West Indies, would sail with his fleet to the Chesapeake Bay and secure the mouth of the York River. Meanwhile, Washington and Rochambeau would march south to Yorktown and form a semicircle around the city. The plan was simple in concept, but it would take great military skill to execute.
-A huge British force arrives in New York Harbor with hopes of crushing the rebellion.
A letter from John Hawkins (the Rear Admiral of the English Fleet) to Francis Walsingham (the Principal Secretary to the Queen) describes the events from the 21st to the 29th of July, including the...
The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) consisted of numerous small raids between local armies in which the French suffered many losses. Two of these losses included the battles at Crecy and Poitiers. However, over time, the French rebounded after the victory at the battle in Orleans in 1429, which was led by 17-year old French peasant, Joan of Arc. Before going into battle, Joan sent a letter to the English demanding that they leave France. Joan’s letter to the king of England in 1429 and her role in the battle at Orleans played a symbolic role and affected the French’s success in the Hundred Years’ War by increasing French spirits and showing the weakness of the English.
... his soliloquy by proving that he is an admirable leader, and fulfils his solemn oath to kill Hotspur which makes his word honorable. Prince Henry completes his rite of passage after his defeat of Hotspur. Henry entered the battle field as a boy and has formed into a responsible adult and an adequate heir to throne.
—. Biography of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne (1593-1676). n.d. Web. 10 April 2014.
Castille and won. This would be edward’s last victory and major battle. He turned over
Concerning the contextualization of A Rose of Family as a sign of the times of women at that point, where cultural norms of women lead to a life in domestication. The recognition of the rose here as it is carefully placed in the title of the piece as well bears significance to the physical rose and what it meant to the young women in the South during the 1800s (Kurtz 40). Roses are generally given as tokens of love and affection by males to females. There are even remnants of it today where young lads also profess their love to women with roses; women still see it as an act of endearment towards them.
In the late 1400’s the House of York fought the House of Lancaster for the English crown. Because Lancaster’s heraldic badge
“Have not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself.” (Mabillard 1). The Wars of the Roses was a furnace that was boiling, it caused many changes for England from rebellions and overthrowing multiple kings and queens, to new dynasties and causing England to change for the better with ambition and thus becoming what it is today.
The War of the Roses was the struggle from 1455 - 1485 for the throne of England between the houses of Lancaster (whose badge was a red rose) and York (whose badge was a white rose). In the mid 15th century, the weak Lancastrian king Henry VI was controlled by William de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, Edward Beaufort, duke of Somerset, and Margaret Of Anjou, Henry's queen. They were opposed by Richard, duke of York, who gained support from the popular unrest caused by the anger over the Hundred Years War and by the corruption in the court. York was appointed protector during the king's insanity from 1453 - 1454, but was excluded from the royal council when the king recovered. He then resorted to fighting. The factions met at St. Albans (1455), the Yorkists won, and York again became protector from 1455 - 1456. The wars, however, continued. In 1460 the Yorkists captured the king at Northampton and struck a compromise whereby Henry remained king and York was named his successor. Queen Margaret, whose son was thus disinherited, raised an army and defeated the Yorkists at Wakefield in 1460. Here York was killed, and his son Edward assumed his claim. Margaret's army rescued the king at the second battle of St. Albans in 1461, but Edward meanwhile was victorious at Mortimer's Cross and assumed the throne as Edward IV. Henry was recaptured in 1465 and the Yorkists seemed to be in command. A quarrel then developed over the king's marriage, and Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, and the king's brother George, duke of Clarence, deserted Edward. They allied in 1470 with Queen Margaret, drove Edward into exile, and restored Henry VI as king. Edward soon returned and triumphed at Barnet and Tewkesbury in 1471. Margaret was imprisoned and Henry VI died, probably slain on Edward's orders. After 12 years of peace, his 12-year-old son Edward V succeeded Edward in 1483, but the boy's uncle Richard, duke of Gloucester, usurped the throne as Richard III.