At that time King Henry VI. was at Coleshill, in Warwickshire, and Queen Margaret {25a} and Edward the young Prince of Wales {25b} were at Eccleshall, in Staffordshire; and by her orders, or by those of her council, James Touchet Lord Audley, {25c} with a superior force, raised principally in Cheshire and Shropshire, amounting, as we are told, to as many as 10,000 men, took up a position on the road to Drayton, in order to intercept the earl in his march. {25d} The earl’s army was inferior in number to that of his antagonist, which was strongly posted, as will be more fully explained afterwards, with a small stream in its front. This stream had rather steep banks, which rendered it very hazardous for the earl and his army to cross it, and attack the Lancastrians, with a fair prospect of success. In consequence of those difficulties, the earl resorted to a military stratagem, with the most fortunate result. Early on the morning of Sunday, the 23rd of September, 1459 (St. Tecla’s day), he caused his archers to shoot flights of arrows against the Lancastrians. He then feigned a retreat with his army, which induced Lord Audley, in his eagerness to pursue them, to pass over the stream with a considerable portion of his forces, and whilst they were on the ascent of the ground on the other side of the stream, and were disordered with effecting the passage, and before he could get the remainder of his forces over it, or put that portion which had crossed into order, they were so vigorously attacked by the Yorkists, that the Lancastrians were completely defeated, and Lord Audley, with 2400 of his forces, perished on the field. There were slain in the battle, besides Lord Audley, Hugh Venables of Kinderton, Thomas Dutton of Dutton, Richard Molyneux {26a} of Sefton, William Troutbeck, {26b} John Legh of Booths, John Done of Wickington, and John Egerton of Egerton, Knights; Richard Done of Croton, and John Dutton [called Duttes by Stow], Esquires; and many other persons. {27a} The battle was most disastrous to the Cheshire men, the greatest loss having fallen upon persons of that county, who had received the young Prince’s badge of the silver swan, which had been distributed by Queen Margaret amongst the principal partisans of the Lancastrian party. {27a} John Lord Dudley was wounded, {27b} and he, and several knights and gentlemen of the Lancastrian party, were taken prisoners. {27c} Sir John Neville {27d} and Sir Thomas Neville, {27d} sons of the Earl of Salisbury, were wounded in the battle, and were, with Sir Thomas Harrington, travelling to the north, when they were taken by some of the Lancastrians, and sent prisoners to Chester; but in consequence of a message from the Welsh marchmen, there being good reason to anticipate that the prisoners would be rescued by force, they were speedily set at liberty. {27e}