73 Little-Known Battle Of Bosworth Facts You Need To Know

The Battle of Bosworth, also known as Bosworth Field, was the last important battle of the Wars of the Roses, taking place on August 22, 1485.

The Yorkist army of King Richard III is pitted against Henry Tudor's army and the forces of Lord Stanley and Sir William Stanley at the Battle of Bosworth Field. The war lasted for over two hours.

The victorious Henry Tudor became King Henry VII of England. During the bloody combat, Richard III was killed. Richard was the last English monarch and the first English king to be killed in combat since Harold Godwinson in 1066 CE at the Battle of Hastings.

The Battle of Bosworth was once thought to mark the end of the Middle Ages in England, although if modern historians cringe at such picturesque and arbitrary demarcations, the battle remains a pivotal event in English history.

Who won the battle of Bosworth?

The Battle of Bosworth, commonly known as the Bosworth field took place on August 22, 1485. Henry Tudor who belonged to The Tudor Dynasty declared victorious. The battle saw the end of the Plantagenet rule in England and marked the beginning of the Tudor rule.

Henry Tudor won the Battle of Bosworth.

Henry's vanguard was led by the Lancastrian general John de Vere, Earl of Oxford.

Jasper Tudor was the paternal uncle of Henry Tudor. He looked after him while he was fighting.

Richard's circlet is reported to have been unearthed after the fight and delivered to Henry, who was a proclaimed king at the top of Crown Hill near Stoke Golding.

Sir Thomas Stanley was supposed to have discovered Richard's circlet in a hawthorn bush, though this has been debunked by specialists.

Henry Tudor proclaimed the crown of Henry VII on October 30, 1485. He wedded Elizabeth of York, who was the daughter of Edward, and merged the Houses of York and Lancaster.

When Henry Tudor became Henry VII, the Wars of the Roses came to a close. On the battleground, he was honored with Richard's circlet.

This statute formalized the merger of the houses of York and Lancaster. Even though this was a completely symbolic marriage, all accounts indicate that the couple had a successful marriage.

Many Yorkists did not believe King Henry VII was England's lawful ruler. Although there were a few failed uprisings, the dynasty eventually ruled England for the next 118 years.

The revolutions behind Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck are two of the most significant. Edward, Earl of Warwick, and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, were both considered Yorkist heirs.

The early modern period of English history begins with the reign of Henry VII and the dynasty that followed him.

Battle Of Bosworth Summary

The Battle of Bosworth was also known as Dadlington Field or The Battle of Redemore Field. The Battle of Bosworth is regarded as one of England's final battles of the Middle Ages.

The initial effort made by Henry to invade England in 1483 was thwarted by a storm, but his second landing on South Wales in 1485 was a triumph. As he made his way to London, Henry marched inland and gathered support.

Lord Stanley was allowed to leave his army and return to Lancashire in the summer of 1485, but Richard kept his son, Lord Strange, as a prisoner to assure Stanley's continuing loyalty.

Lord Stanley failed to rejoin the Royal Army, and Lord Strange attempted but failed to flee Nottingham Castle.

Richard III collected his troops from all around England after learning of Henry's landing at Milford Haven.

Richard's forces overtook Henry's army around Ambion Hill, Leicestershire, south of Market Bosworth.

The Duke of Buckingham led an armed uprising in October to install the Lancastrian heir, Henry, on the throne, but Richard put him down.

If Henry wins, the Welsh baron Rhys ap Thomas was offered the Lieutenancy of Wales, which increased the rebel army by 800 men.

Lord Thomas Stanley and Sir William Stanley's troops started to deteriorate as the two opposing armies neared each other, deciding which side would be the most beneficial to assist.

Although Henry's purpose was to seize London, he did not proceed immediately to the capital. He saw that, despite the several defectors in Richard's army, he was still severely outmanned and attempted to postpone the actual battle in order to recruit additional soldiers.

As his army marched over the English countryside, they met with the Lancastrian heir again in secret. Richard kidnapped Thomas Stanley's son in order to force him to join the Yorkists or stay out of it. As a result, few folks knew who the Stanleys would be back at the time.

On August 22, Henry assembled the majority of his force into a single massive army under the command of John, Earl of Oxford, a Lancastrian veteran.

Henry was in charge of only a little reserve. Against a numerically superior foe, the Tudor army advanced.

Richard was taken aback by this since he had expected Henry to take a defensive stance. The war was not going as he had hoped.

Richard divided his army into three classes: John of Norfolk was in charge of the right, Henry Percy of Northumberland was in charge of the left, and Richard was in charge of the middle.

Sir John Cheyney, the tallest soldier of his day at 6 ft 8 in (203 cm), was thrown down by Richard, while Henry's standard-bearer Sir William Brandon was murdered.

Sir Percival Thribald, Richard's own standard-bearer, had both legs hacked off from under him yet still managed to cling to the king's standard.

Sir Walter Herbert and Sir Rice ap Thomas, two commanders, represented the King's interest in Wales.

Henry Tudor's army advanced to confront the Royal army.

Lord Stanley received a summons from King Richard III telling him to join the Royal army or his son, Lord Strange, might be killed.

The Yorkist cannon began to fire on the Tudors as they were approaching.

Oxford was prepared for this, and his forces began pivoting to assault the Yorkist army's left flank.

His significant division was now facing Norfolk, and the artillery barrage was halted to avoid friendly fire.

Despite the fact that the Yorkists were outnumbered, Oxford stretched his marching line before the two parties clashed.

The Tudor forces began to push back against their opponents. However, Northumberland, who was on Richard's left flank, was not pushing in, either out of treason or fear of being attacked from behind by Stanley, who had yet to make his move.

Richard stormed down the hill with his heavy cavalry, deciding that the easiest way to end the war was to head directly for Henry and cut him down.

Richard started to pay Henry with a thousand horsemen after seeing Henry's dragon flag.

Henry's forces were forced back by this charge, and his battalion was on the verge of panic. However, Henry remained fast, and his bodyguards were able to hold off the onslaught.

Oxford aided them by dispatching a troop of spearmen to assault Richard on the left flank. The English king was forced to flee to the southeast marshes as a result of this battle.

Stanley's younger brother William joined the action and assaulted Richard's troops from the right flank. This was the deciding factor.

Richard stated that God forbid he take even one step back. On this day, he will either die as a King or win.

Richard III was the last English king to die in war, and he was the last English king to do so.

Following Richard's death, his troops disintegrated and left the battlefield.

Many future monarchs would lead their armies into war, but none of them would survive.

According to statistics, the Royal army suffered 1,000 losses while Henry Tudor's army suffered 200.

Lord Surrey, the Duke of Norfolk's son, was apprehended and confined in the Tower of London.

The battleground has now been relocated 2 mi (3.2 km) from the battleground center, close to the communities of Dadlington and Stoke Golding. The environment is a swampy plainland with a Roman road running through it.

Archaeologists in Leicester explored the spot where the remnants of Greyfriars Abbey were thought to be hidden in 2012 CE.

By digging down from what appeared to be a car park, they discovered a skeleton that was male, had many marks of sword or dagger injuries, and, most intriguingly, had suffered from curvature of the spine, one of Richard's purported ailments.

Why did the battle of Bosworth happen?

The conflict began because Richard, Duke of York, believed he had a stronger claim to the throne than Henry VI, who was on the throne at the time.

Henry Tudor was the only Lancastrian heir, while Richard III was the leader of the York line.

Richard led various military campaigns and fought in key battles such as Tewkesbury, Bosworth, and Barnet, during the Wars of the Roses.

Richard was raised by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, when his father, the Duke of York, died.

Henry was comparatively unskilled, having spent most of his life in exile. The Battle of Bosworth is regarded as Henry Tudor's first military victory.

Besides ability and war experience, there was also a numerical disparity. Richard had approximately 15,000 men at his disposal, whereas Henry had approximately 5,000 men.

Henry had a chance of toppling the king and his considerably bigger army with a force of maybe 5,000 men if he can just convince a few of Richard's men to defect either before or during the battle.

Despite significant differences in ability and numbers, Henry Tudor emerged victoriously. The support of lord Stanley Sir William Stanley in the battle affected the outcome.

The crushing of Richard's vanguard by Oxford began to turn the battle in Henry's favour.

Sir William and Sir Thomas Stanley stayed on the sidelines during the fight as the Yorks and Lancastrians battled.

Richard held Thomas Stanley's son hostage to force him to join the Yorkists or stay out of it, Sir William and Thomas Stanley chose to fight for the Lancastrians.

They were supposed to have 6,000 soldiers and opted to fight when Richard III led a frontal charge on Henry Tudor, who had been split from his main force.

Richard's back flank was targeted by the Stanley army, which significantly influenced the trajectory of the Battle at Bosworth.

Edward III, the then-king of England and Lord of Ireland, died of illness in 1377.

As a result, civil battles began throughout England in the 15th century as both groups contended for the English throne.

Edward IV, the Yorkist King, had complete control of England. Those who opposed to acquiescing to his reigns, such as Jasper Tudor and his nephew Henry, were imprisoned, their lands taken, and they were labeled traitors.

They were placed into Duke Francis II's custody. Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry's mother, was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, King Richard II's uncle and father of King Henry IV.

The Duke of Brittany saw Henry as a useful bargaining chip in exchange for England's assistance in disputes with France, and thus maintained the Tudors under his protection. Edward IV died of a fever in 1483, 12 years before Tewkesbury.

His 12-year-old son succeeded him as King Edward V, while his younger son, Richard of Shrewsbury, would be the next heir to the throne at the age of nine.

Richard took the kingdom from his nephew Edward V in the same year, and he and his younger brother mysteriously vanished after being imprisoned in the Tower of London.

This, along with speculations that Richard was engaged in his wife's death, weakened his help for the throne; nevertheless, he remained crowned as Richard III, King of England, on July 6, 1483.

Battle Of Bosworth Timeline

The Battle of Bosworth duration is as follows:

From 1455 to 1487, the Wars of the Roses were fought in England.

On August 8, 1485, Henry Tudor, the future King of England, arrives in Milford Haven, South Wales, with an army of French mercenaries.

On August 22, 1485, Henry Tudor, the next King of England, defeats Richard III of England at the Battle of Bosworth Field.

How long did the battle of Bosworth last?

The Battle of Bosworth fact is that the battle lasted only for two hours.

The Battle of Bosworth, which lasted two hours and took place on Ambion Hill on August 22, 1485, was the final battle of the Wars of the Roses.

Henry Tudor won the battle whereas Richard III earned a reputation as a disliked monarch.