The Wars of the Roses; or, Stories of the Struggle of York and LancasterEdgar, John G. (John George)
History
The Wars of the Roses; or, Stories of the Struggle of York and Lancaster
Edgar, John G. (John George)
Great Britain -- History -- Wars of the Roses, 1455-1485
The insurgents, however, were not to have it all their own way. Lord
Montagu commanded in the district; and he prepared to put down the
rising with that vigor and energy which had hitherto characterized
his military operations. Accordingly, he hastened to bring them to
an engagement. A skirmish took place; the insurgents were scattered;
and Hulderne, their leader, having been taken, was sent by Montagu to
immediate execution. Nevertheless, the insurgents continued in arms;
and, having been joined by Lord Fitzhugh and Sir Henry Neville, the
son of Lord Latimer, one a nephew, the other a cousin of Warwick, they
placed Sir John Conyers, a soldier of courage and experience, at their
head, advanced toward London, denouncing the Woodvilles as taxers and
oppressors, and loudly demanding their dismissal from the council.
Edward now roused himself from voluptuous lethargy, and prepared
to defend his crown. Without delay, he gave commissions to William
Herbert, whom he had created Earl of Pembroke, and Humphrey Stafford,
to whom, on the execution of Hugh, Earl of Devon, at Salisbury, he had
given the heritage of the Courtenays, to march against the rebels. At
the same time, Edward buckled on his armor, and advanced to Newark.
There, however, he thought it prudent to halt; and, finding his army
utterly weak and unsteady, he retreated to Nottingham. Hitherto he
had thought England none the worse for Warwick's absence; but now he
dispatched a message to Calais, beseeching the earl and Clarence to
come to his assistance. Having thus bent his pride, Edward waited the
result with anxiety.
Meanwhile, Herbert and Stafford were in the field. Hastily assembling
seven thousand men, most of whom were Welsh, the two Yorkist earls
moved against the insurgents; but they had hardly done so, when an
unfortunate dispute involved them in serious disasters.
It was at Banbury, when the royal army approached the insurgents, that
the quarrel took place. It appears that the Yorkist earls had agreed,
in the course of their expedition, that when either took possession of
a lodging, he should be allowed to keep it undisturbed. On reaching
Banbury, on the 25th of July, Stafford took up his quarters at an inn,
where there was a damsel for whom he had a partiality. Herbert, who was
so proud of the king's letter that he could hardly contain his joy,[9]
insisted upon putting Stafford out of the hostelry; and Stafford, whose
spirit was high, took offense at being so treated by an inferior. Angry
words passed, and the consequence was that Stafford mounted his horse,
and rode from the town, with his men-at-arms and archers. Herbert,
alarmed at being left alone, hastened to the hill on which his soldiers
were encamped, and expressed his intention of abiding such fortune as
GOD should send.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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