During the 15th century Wars of the Roses, in the struggle for power between the rival houses of Lancaster and York, the Kingmaker, Earl of Warwick led a 15,000 strong Lancastrian army against his former ally Yorkist Edward IV.
Under the shelter of an early morning mist Edward’s army advanced and in the confusion that followed, Warwick’s forces fled and the Kingmaker himself was killed. In just a few short weeks King Edward would meet the depleted Lancastrians again at the Battle of Tewkesbury.
Click here for a battlefield map.
Key Facts:
Date: 14th April, 1471
War: Wars of the Roses
Location: Barnet, near London
Belligerents: Lancastrians and Yorkists
Victors: Yorkists
Numbers: Lancastrians around 15,000, Yorkists around 10,000
Casualties: Lancastrians around 1,000, Yorkists around 500
Commanders: Edward IV of England (Yorkists), Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (Lancastrians)
Location:
More Battles in the Wars of the Roses
| The First Battle of St Albans | 22 May, 1455 |
| Battle of Blore Heath | 23 September, 1459 |
| Battle of Northampton (1460) | 10 July, 1460 |
| The Second Battle of St Albans | 17 February, 1461 |
| Battle of Towton | 29 March, 1461 |
| Battle of Barnet | 14 April, 1471 |
| Battle of Tewkesbury | 4 May, 1471 |
| Battle of Bosworth Field | 22 August, 1485 |
| Battle of Stoke Field | 16 June, 1487 |
| Background to the Wars of the Roses |
