Battle of Sandwich (1460)
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with the Battle of Sandwich (1217)Battle of Sandwich (1217)In the Battle of Sandwich on 24 August 1217 a Plantagenet English fleet commanded by Hubert de Burgh attacked a Capetian French armada led by Eustace the Monk and Robert of Courtenay. The English captured the French flagship and most of the supply vessels, forcing the rest of the French fleet to...
.
The Battle of Sandwich was a naval skirmish off the town of Sandwich
Sandwich, Kent
Sandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the Non-metropolitan district of Dover, within the ceremonial county of Kent, south-east England. It has a population of 6,800....
in January 1460 during the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
. In it, the Earl of Warwick
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
Richard Neville KG, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury and 8th and 5th Baron Montacute , known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander...
, Captain of Calais, now on the Yorkist side, defeated and dispersed a Lancastrian fleet. Little evidence and few details in the area's local history are extant.
Prelude
The Earl of MarchEdward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
and the Earl of Salisbury
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury
Richard Neville, jure uxoris 5th Earl of Salisbury and 7th and 4th Baron Montacute, KG, PC was a Yorkist leader during the early parts of the Wars of the Roses.-Background:...
had fled to the English stronghold of Calais after their defeat at the Battle of Ludford Bridge
Battle of Ludford Bridge
The Battle of Ludford Bridge was a largely bloodless battle fought in the early years of the Wars of the Roses. It took place on 12 October 1459, and resulted in a disastrous defeat for the Yorkists.-Background:...
.
Aftermath
With command of the English channelEnglish Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
secured by this battle, and the town of Sandwich secured by his followers in June 1460, Warwick landed there with on June 26, 1460 with March and Salisbury. Having cleared the English Channel of French pirates (who had been able to raid the town thanks to the chaos caused in England by the civil war) and made the Kent coast safe, Warwick was received as a hero to the men of Kent.
The small Yorkist army of about 2000 men, having arrived from Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
ahead of March and Warwick, increased in number, joined by many followers as they proceeded by way of Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
(and thus probably Wickhambreaux
Wickhambreaux
Wickhambreaux is a village, just off the A257 Sandwich Road, five miles from Canterbury in the county of Kent, England, United Kingdom.-History:Wickhambreaux manor was the home of Joan of Kent, wife to Edward Plantagenet, and mother of Richard II...
).
They were largely well supported as the Yorkist commanders had remained popular in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. They proceeded to march for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
through Canterbury, where the officers in charge of protecting the town against them joined forces with the rebels. This support ensured a prompt journey to the capital. They arrived in London on July 2, where they were welcomed by Richard Lee, Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
, and Thomas Bourchier
Thomas Bourchier
Thomas Bourchier was an English archbishop, Lord Chancellor and cardinal.-Life:Bourchier was a younger son of William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu , and through his mother, Anne of Gloucester, a daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, was a grandson of King Edward III of England. One of his brothers was...
, Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. The Yorkist army advanced upon Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
to meet Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
and his Lancastrian army, and the two forces met at the Battle of Northampton
Battle of Northampton (1460)
The Battle of Northampton was a battle in the Wars of the Roses, which took place on 10 July 1460.-Background:The Yorkist cause seemed finished after the previous disaster at Ludford Bridge...
on July 10.