The Battle of Barnet was fought on the 14th of April, 1471, at a place formerly called Gladmore Heath, but which is now completely enclosed, about a mile north-west from Barnet, in the county of Middlesex, between the Yorkists, under King Edward IV., and the Lancastrians, commanded by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, [205] the King-Maker, in which the latter was slain, and the Yorkists were completely victorious.
I visited the field of battle on the 9th of July, 1856. The accounts of the battle given by the old historical writers are so imperfect, that they do not throw any light upon the precise positions which the hostile armies respectively occupied; and I could not, when upon the spot, obtain much new information of moment, relative to the battle.
After Edward IV. had returned from the Continent, and had landed at Ravenspur, in Yorkshire, he proceeded to York, and from thence towards London; and the Earl of Warwick, who was posted with his forces at Coventry, marched from it in pursuit of him:—
Warwick.—“I will away towards Barnet presently,
And bid thee battle, Edward, if thou dars’t.”Shakespeare’s Henry VI. part iii. act v. scene 5.
The Earl of Warwick expected that the city of London would hold out against Edward, until he could arrive to its relief. On his march, he received the disastrous tidings, that Edward had been joyfully received into London; that Henry VI. was a prisoner; and that Warwick’s son-in-law, George Duke of Clarence, [206a] had renounced his engagements, and had gone over, near the town of Warwick, with all his forces, to Edward.
The Earl of Warwick was now in a situation of great peril, and, under other circumstances, would probably have attempted a retreat, but he was in the face of a superior army, and was some days’ march from any place of safety; he was too far advanced to retreat; and, although Clarence offered his mediation between Edward and Warwick, the latter proudly rejected it, and resolutely prepared for battle.
Edward had the superiority of numbers, as his army had become greatly increased, since Clarence had deserted the Earl of Warwick, and had joined the Yorkists.
During the night preceding the battle, the Earl of Warwick and the Lancastrians were encamped on Gladmore Heath, on the north-westward side of Barnet, and they had posted a small advanced guard in that town. Edward, having advanced from London to Barnet, dislodged the few Lancastrian forces posted in it, and drove them towards the main body; he, however, did not suffer his men to remain in the town, but encamped in the open field, nearer his enemies than they were aware; and one old writer states, that he caused his people to keep as silent as possible, in order to prevent the Lancastrians from knowing the exact position of his army. [206b]
Both parties used artillery; [206c] and some historians state, [a/][206c] that they fired at each other, in the course of the night. We are also told, that the guns of the Earl of Warwick, were constantly fired at Edward’s forces during the night, but with little effect, in consequence of overshooting them, from their lying nearer than was supposed. [207a]
On Easter Sunday, the 14th of April, 1471, the day commenced with a thick fog, and both armies were placed in order of battle. On Edward’s part, the van was commanded by Richard Duke of Gloucester; [207b] the middle, by Edward in person, assisted by the Duke of Clarence (having with them King Henry as a prisoner); and the rear was under the command of Lord Hastings; [207c] besides which, Edward had a considerable body of men in reserve.