Sir Humphrey Bourchier, Kt., of West Horsley

Sir Humphrey Bourchier of West Horsley

Biography:

Third son of Sir John Bourchier of West Horsley, 1st Lord Berners (d. 1474). Married Elizabeth Tilney. Together with his father, Joint Constable of Windsor Castle for life in 1466. Chief Carver to Queen Elizabeth Woodville. Fought on the Yorkist side at the Battle of Barnet in 1471, where he was killed.

Arms: Quarterly; 1 and 4, Argent a cross engrailed Gules between 4 bougets Sable; 2 and 3, Gules billetty Or a fess Argent; overall a label Azure each point charged with 3 lions passant guardant Or; all within a bordure invected quarterly Gules and Argent.

Reference:

Coveney, 1997, Heraldic Banners of the Wars of the Roses (S-Y), Pg. 13.

From the English Wikipedia page on the Battle of Barnet:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Barnet

Commanders

Yorkist

King Edward IV was normally at the forefront of his armies. Standing more than 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) tall, he was an inspiring figure in combat, attacking foes while wearing a suit of gilded armour. Mediaeval texts describe the king as handsome, finely muscled with a broad chest.[19] He was personable and charismatic, easily winning people to his cause.

Edward was a capable tactician and leader in battles. He frequently spotted and exploited defensive frailties in enemy lines, often with decisive results.[20] By 1471, the young king was a highly respected field commander.[21]

He received some criticism, however; after winning the throne in 1461, he proved indecisive about putting down rebellions.[20] Historian Charles Ross praises Edward's leadership and skill in close combat rather than his strategies and tactics.[22]

With his good looks and capable leadership, Edward was popular among the common people, especially compared to Henry VI.[23] His trade policies, which aimed to expand and protect markets for English commerce, pleased local merchants, who were also won over by the young Yorkist king's personality.[24]

By 1469, Edward's groundswell of popular support had eroded away. The euphoria of a change in government had ebbed and the people blamed Edward for failing to "bring the realm of England in[to] great popularity and rest" and allowing Yorkist nobles to go unpunished for abuses.[25] When Edward invaded England in 1471, not many common people openly celebrated his return.[26]

Edward was joined at Barnet by his brothers, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and George, Duke of Clarence.

Unlike his eldest brother, Gloucester was slender and seemingly delicate.[27] He was 18 years old at the Battle of Barnet, his first major engagement. His military prowess, however, was well respected; many historians judge him a capable warrior and military leader.[20]

Clarence was not as well regarded as his brothers, especially in matters of loyalty. When Edward became king, Clarence was chosen as his heir; however, the births of Elizabeth of York (1466) and Edward V (1470) displaced the duke in the line of succession to the throne.[28] Hence, Clarence participated in Warwick's schemes, marrying the earl's daughter Isabella, believing he could gain his brother's throne. Clarence lost faith in the earl when Warwick defected to the Lancastrians and married off his other daughter, Anne, to their prince in order to cement his new allegiance. When Edward launched his campaign to retake England, Clarence accepted his brother's offer of pardon and rejoined the Yorkists at Coventry on 2 April 1471.[29]

The last of the Yorkist commanders was Lord William Hastings, a loyal subject since the start of the wars. Hastings had accompanied the young king in exile and supported his return. The courtier was rewarded for his faithfulness, gaining the lieutenancy of Calais in 1471, and becoming Edward's lord chamberlain and primary confidant.[30]

Lancastrian

The Earl of Warwick had fought for the House of York since the early stages of the Wars of the Roses and alongside his cousin, Edward IV, in many of the battles. His years of loyalty earned him the trust of the Yorkists, and his victories—both political and military—and popularity with the common people made him an important figure.[31] He had powerful influence over the line of succession, earning him the nickname "the Kingmaker".

Early historians described him as a military genius, but by the 20th century his tactical acumen was reconsidered; Philip Haigh suspects that the earl largely owed some of his victories, such as the First Battle of St Albans, to being in the right place at the right time.[32] Christopher Gravett believes the earl was too defensive and lacked mental flexibility.[33]

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Prelude

On 14 March 1471, Edward's army landed at Ravenspurn. Gathering more men as they went, the Yorkists moved inland towards York.

Edward's march was unopposed at the beginning because he was moving through lands that belonged to the Percys, and the Earl of Northumberland was indebted to the Yorkist king for the return of his northern territory. Furthermore, Edward announced that he was returning only to claim his father's title of Duke of York and not to contest the English crown.[53] The ruse was successful: Montagu, who was monitoring Edward's march, could not convince his men to move against the Yorkist king.[54]

Once Edward's force had gathered sufficient strength, he dropped the ruse and headed south towards London. Fighting off Exeter's and Oxford's attacks, he besieged Warwick at Coventry, hoping to engage the earl in battle. Although Warwick's force had more men than Edward's army, the earl refused the challenge. He was waiting for the arrival of Clarence, who wanted to use their combined strength to overwhelm the Yorkists.

When he learned of this, Edward sent Gloucester to entreat Clarence to return to the House of York, an offer that Clarence readily accepted. Reconciled, the royal brothers moved towards Coventry, and Clarence urged Warwick's surrender.[55] Infuriated with his son-in-law's treachery, Warwick refused to speak to Clarence. Unable to fight the earl at this time, Edward turned again towards London.[56]

Reinforced by Montagu, Oxford, and Exeter a few days later, Warwick followed the Yorkists' trail.[58] He hoped that London, under Somerset's control, would close its gates to Edward, allowing him to catch the Yorkist army in the open. The city, however, welcomed Edward warmly; Somerset had left the city, and the London populace preferred the young Yorkist king to Henry VI.[59][60]

The old king greeted his usurper warmly and offered himself into custody, trusting "[his] life to be in no danger in [Edward's] hands."[61] Lancastrian scouts probed Barnet, which lay 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of London, but were beaten off. Their main army took up positions on a ridge of high ground north of Barnet to prepare for battle the next day.

Warwick arrayed his army in a line from east to west, on either side of the Great North Road running through Barnet.[62] Oxford held the right flank and Exeter the left. Montagu commanded the centre, and Warwick readied himself to command from among the reserves.[63] The earl displaced his entire line slightly to the west; a depression at the rear of his left flank could impede Exeter's group if they had to fall back.[64]

Warwick's army heavily outnumbered Edward's, although sources differ on exact numbers. Lancastrian strength ranges from 10,000 to 30,000 men, with 7,000 to 15,000 on the Yorkist side.[65][66][67] Facing this disadvantage, Edward hurried to meet the Lancastrians with a surprise attack.[65] He brought Henry VI along to prevent the Lancastrians from retaking their king.

Edward reached Barnet in the evening, and without knowing the precise location of his foes, prepared the battle line.[68] The Yorkist king deployed Hastings on the left and entrusted Gloucester to lead the right flank. Clarence would fight alongside Edward in the centre, although this was not due to faith in his ability—it was easier for the Yorkists to keep an eye on their twice-defected prince there.

A contingent of reserves was kept at the rear, ready to deploy at Edward's call.[69] As night fell, Edward put his plan for surprise morning attack in motion. Under a strict order of silence, the Yorkist army crept closer to the Lancastrians.[70] During the night, neither commander spotted the opposing army, an event that proved crucial in the battle the next day.[62][71]

During the night, Warwick ordered his cannons to continually bombard the estimated position of the Yorkists' encampment. The Yorkists, however, had sneaked in close, and the Lancastrian artillery overshot their enemies. The Yorkist cannon, meanwhile, kept quiet to avoid betraying their location.[62]

As the armies settled down to rest, Montagu approached his brother and advised him of the troops' low morale. He suggested that, as the highest-ranking commanders, the brothers should fight on foot throughout the battle instead of riding on horse. The soldiers believed that mounted commanders tended to abandon them when the situation deteriorated. By staying on foot, the Nevilles would show that they were prepared to fight to the death with the men, inspiring the troops to stand and fight harder. Warwick agreed and the horses were tethered to the rear, near Wrotham Wood.[72]

Fighting in the mist

At around 4 o'clock in the morning, both armies woke. Edward had planned for an early attack, however, and quickly roused his men to engage the Lancastrians.[65]

Both sides fired their cannon and arrows before laying into each other with swords and axes. The morning fog was thick and the night movements of the two forces had displaced them laterally with each other. Neither group was facing the other; each was offset slightly to the right. This displacement meant that the right end of either army could outflank the other by wrapping around the opposing left end.

The Lancastrians were the first to exploit this advantage; Oxford's group quickly overwhelmed Hastings'. Yorkist soldiers fled towards Barnet, chased by the Lancastrians. Some of Hastings' men even reached London, spreading tales of the fall of York and a Lancastrian victory. Oxford's group disintegrated as they split off to loot the fallen enemies and plunder Barnet.[73] Yelling and chasing after his men, Oxford rallied 800 of them and led them back to the battle.[65]

Due to the fog, visibility was low and the two forces failed to notice Oxford's victory over Hastings. As such, the collapse of the Yorkist left wing had little (if any) effect on morale of either side.[65] The battle fought between Montagu's and Edward's groups was even and intense. The Lancastrian left wing, however, was suffering treatment similar to that Oxford had inflicted on its counterpart; Gloucester exploited the misaligned forces and beat Exeter back.[69]

Progress for Edward's brother was slow because his group was fighting up a slight slope.[74] Nonetheless, the pressure he exerted on the Lancastrian left wing rotated the entire battle line. Warwick, seeing the shift, ordered most of his reserves to help ease the pressure on Exeter, and took the rest into fighting at the centre.[69] Gradually, the battle line settled to an orientation that slanted north-east to south-west.[75]

Oxford retraced his steps through the fog back to the fight. His group arrived, unexpectedly, at Montagu's rear.[76] Obscured by the fog, Oxford's "star with rays" badge was mistaken by Montagu's men, who believed it was Edward's "sun in splendour".[77] They assumed their allies were Edward's reserves and unleashed a volley of arrows.

Oxford and his men immediately cried treachery; as staunch Lancastrians, they were wary of Montagu's recent defection. They struck back and began withdrawing from the battle. Their shouts of treason were taken up and spread quickly throughout the Lancastrian line, breaking it apart as men fled in anger, panic, and confusion. As the fog started to dissipate, Edward saw the Lancastrian centre in disarray and sent in his reserves, hastening its collapse. Cries of Exeter's demise from a Yorkist axe resounded across the battlefield from the Lancastrian left, and amidst the confusion, Montagu was struck in his back and killed by either a Yorkist or one of Oxford's men.[78]

Witnessing his brother's death, Warwick knew the battle was lost. He made for the horses in an attempt to retreat. Edward recognised his victory was at hand, and—deciding that Warwick was more valuable alive than dead—sent the order and dispatched his guards to bring back the earl alive.[79]

Several chroniclers have suggested that the king thought Warwick would again be a valuable ally if persuaded back to the Yorkist cause. Historian Michael Hicks, on the other hand, suggests that Edward wanted to capture the earl for public execution, rather than as a gesture of mercy.[80] Regardless of the king's intent, other Yorkist soldiers, perhaps ignorant of the order, found Warwick first. They pulled him down, pried open his visor, and fatally stabbed him through the neck. Edward's guards found Warwick's corpse, mutilated and stripped of its gilded armour.[72]