In Chronological Order 

1455: 22 May - First Battle of St. Albans 

1459: 23 September - Blore Heath

1460: 10 July - Northhampton

1460: 30 December - Wakefield 

1461: 2 February - Mortimer�s Cross.

1461: 17 February - Second Battle of St. Albans 

1461: 29 March - Towton 

1464: 25 April - Hedgeley Moor

1464: 14 May - Hexham

1464: June - Bamburgh Castle

1469: 26 July - Edgecote

1470: 12 March - Empingham -'Losecoat Field'

1471: 14 April - Barnet

1471: 4 May - Tewkesbury

1485: 22 August - Bosworth Field 

1487: 16 June - Stoke Field

The War of Roses refers to a conflict fought in late Medieval England, which was essentially a power struggle between noble factions who were fighting for the right to the throne of England. 

On one side was the House of Lancaster, who in King Henry VI held the throne. However the King was a weak leader and prone to bouts of mental illness, which meant that frequently his wife, Queen Margaret of Anjou, reigned in his place. 

The King was opposed by the House of York led by Richard Duke of York, who felt that he had a stronger claim to the throne. He was also a wealthy and powerful nobleman, which counted for a lot in the 15th century. 

Relations between the two sides grew increasingly tense from 1450, and erupted into violence and bloodshed at St Albans in 1455. An uneasy peace held for 4 years after that, although both sides grew increasingly wary of each other and continued to actively build up their armed forces. 
 

The first battle of the "Wars of the Roses" was fought out between the retinues of King Henry VI's supporters and those of the Duke of York and his allies. The latter, along with his kinsmen the Earls of Warwick and Salisbury, raised around 3.000 men and attacked Henry's army of 2,000 men who had barricaded themselves inside the town of St Albans. After the Yorkist's initial attacks had been repulsed, Warwick's men forced their way into the town and the King's forces were overwhelmed in the street fighting that ensued. The Duke of Somerset, the Earl of Northumberland, Lord Clifford, plus about 50 other notable Lancastrians, were killed in the fighting.

The Battle of Blore Heath was the first major battle in the English War of Roses and was fought on September 23, 1459, at Blore Heath, two miles east of Market Drayton in Shropshire, England. 
After four years of uneasy peace the King presided over a wasting realm. No parliament had been summoned for three years, the country was sadly divided and distressed. 
 

In September 1459, a further conflict was looking more and more likely. The Yorkist force based at Middleham Castle in Yorkshire (led by Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury) needed to join with the main Yorkist army at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire. As Salisbury marched south-west through the Midlands the Queen ordered James Touchet, Lord Audley to raise a force to intercept them. 

The Yorkists were armed, armies were marching across all England. Lord Audley had recently raised a Lancastrian army centered round Market Drayton, and the Queen -through whom the King ruled- sent him orders to intercept Lord Salisbury, who was marching from Yorkshire to join the Duke of York at Ludlow. The two armies met head on two and a half miles east of Market Drayton at a place called Blore Heath. Salisbury, with 3,000 troops, was outnumbered by more than two to one, but could not avoid giving battle.

Audley took up a position just west of a little stream that crossed the Market Drayton-Newcastle-under-Lyme road, and Salisbury�s men were drawn up about 150 yards east of the present Audley Cross, which marks the spot where Lord Audley fell. The Yorkist left rested upon the boggy edge of a wood, but their right was in the air, and Salisbury made a laager of his wagons to protect this flank. Whether Salisbury feigned retreat in order to draw Audley on is not certain, but the Lancastrian commander was definitely the one to attack. Two cavalry charges were repulsed, the first with heavy loss to the Lancastrians, and then they mounted an infantry attack up the hill to the Yorkist position. But this too failed; there was no support from the cavalry, Lord Audley had already fallen and 500 Lancastrians chose this moment to desert to the enemy. Salisbury�s victory was complete and in the pursuit, which continued for two miles, the slaughter was very heavy. Possibly 2,000 Lancastrians perished in this battle, but fewer than 200 Yorkists fell.
Audley chose the barren heathland of Blore Heath to set up an ambush. On the morning of the 23 September 1459 (St Tecla's day), a force of some 6-12,000 men took up a defensive position behind a 'great hedge' on the south-western edge of Blore Heath facing the direction of Newcastle-under-Lyme to the north-east, the direction from which Salisbury was approaching. 

Yorkist scouts spotted Lancastrian banners visible over the top of a hedge and immediately warned Salisbury. As they emerged from the woodland, the Yorkist force of some 3-6,000 men realized that a much larger enemy force was awaiting their arrival. Salisbury immediately arranged his men into battle order, just out of range of the Lancastrian archers. To secure his right flank, he arranged the supply wagons in a defensive laager, a circular formation to provide cover to the men on that flank. Fearing a rout, Yorkist soldiers are reported to have kissed the ground beneath them, supposing that this would be the ground on which they would meet their deaths. 

The two armies were separated by about 300 metres on the barren heathland. A steep-sided, wide and fast-flowing brook flowed between them. The brook made Audley's position seemingly inpenetrable. 

Initially, both leaders sought to parley in a futile attempt to avoid bloodshed. In keeping with many late medieval battles, the conflict opened with an archery duel between the longbows of both armies. At Blore Heath, this proved inconclusive because of the distance between the two sides. 

Salisbury, aware that any attack across the brook would be suicidal, employed a ruse to encourage the enemy to attack him. He withdrew some of his middle-order just far enough that the Lancastrians believed them to be retreating. The Lancastrians launched a cavalry charge. After they had committed themselves, Salisbury ordered his men to turn back and catch the Lancastrians as they attempted to cross the brook. It is possible that the order for this Lancastrian charge was not given by Audley but it had the effect of turning the balance in favour of Salisbury. The charge resulted in heavy casualties for the Lancastrians. 

The Lancastrians withdrew, and then made a second assault, possibly attempting to rescue casualties. This second attack was more successful with many Lancastrians crossing the brook. This led to a period of intense fighting in which Audley himself was killed, possibly by Sir Roger Kynaston of Stocks near Ellesmere. 

The death of Audley meant that Lancastrian command devolved on to the second-in-command John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, who ordered an attack on foot with some 4,000 men. As this attack also failed, some 500 Lancastrians joined the enemy and began attacking their own side. At this, any remaining Lancastrian resistance collapsed and the Yorkists only had to advance to complete the rout. 

The rout continued through the night, with the Yorkists pursuing the fleeing enemy for miles across the countryside. 

York was concerned that Lancastrian reinforcements were in the vicinity and was keen to press on towards Ludlow. He made his camp on a hillside at Market Drayton, which later took his name. York employed a local friar to remain on Blore Heath throughout the night and to periodically discharge a cannon in order to deceive any proximal Lancastrians into believing that the fight was continuing. 

It is believed that at least 3,000 men died in the battle, with at least 2,000 of these from the Lancastrian side. Local legend says that Hempmill Brook flowed with blood for 3 days after the battle. 

Legend has it that Margaret of Anjou watched the battle from the spire of the church in nearby Mucklestone, before fleeing when she realised Audley was being defeated. It is said that she employed a blacksmith, William Skelhorn, to reverse the shoes on her horse to disguise her escape. The anvil from the smithy stands in the churchyard at Mucklestone to commemorate this event. 

A cross was erected on Blore Heath after the battle to mark the spot where Audley was slain. It was replaced with a stone cross in 1765. Audley's Cross stands on Blore Heath to this day. Audley is buried in Darley Abbey in Derbyshire.

On 26 June Warwick, Salisbury and Edward landed at Sandwich with 2,000 men at arms. The King and Queen were at Coventry with their small army. Warwick entered London on 2nd July with an army of supporters numbering between 20,000 and 30,000, and leaving a part of it to blockade the Tower, held by Lancastrians, the remainder under Lord Warwick set out to meet the King. The court had been in Coventy, but on learning of the Yorkist advance the King moved to Northampton, and here on 10 July, entrenched in a meadow just south of the town, Warwick found the Lancastrian army under the Duke of Buckingham. 

The Duke had fewer men than Warwick, but his position was a strong one and his earthworks were lined with artillery. The first attack, on a three section front, was repulsed; it seemed that the position was too formidable a one for any frontal assault to succeed. 

While approaching, Warwick sent a delegate to negotiate with the King on his behalf. The Lancastrian commander, the Duke of Buckingham, however, replied "The Earl of Warwick shall not come to the King's presence and if he comes he shall die." During Warwick's advance to Northampton he was twice more denied access to the King's person. Once in position, he sent a message that read "At 2 o'clock I will speak with the King or I will die."

At two o'clock the Yorkists advanced.

The men were in column, but the hard rain blowing in their faces somewhat hindered them. As they closed with the Lancastrians, Warwick was met by a fierce barrage of arrows; luckily for them, though, the rain had rendered the Lancastrian collection of cannon quite useless.

When Warwick reached the Lancastrian right flank, commanded by Lord Grey of Ruthin, treachery ensued. Grey had his men lay down their weapons and simply allow the Yorkists to have easy access into the camp beyond.

This proved a fatal blow to the loyal Lancastrians: after this, the battle lasted a mere thirty minutes. The defenders, unable to manoeuvre inside the fortifications, fled the field as their line was rolled up by attacking Yorkists.

The Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of Shrewsbury and Lords Egremont and Beaumont all died trying to save Henry from the Yorkists closing on his tent.

Three hundred Lancastrians were slain in the battle, the King was captured and once more became a puppet in the hands of the Yorkists.

The casualties were not high, but as at St. Albans many of the Lancastrian leaders, including Buckingham, Shrewbury and Egremont, were killed.  The King was captured and once more led back to London.

Following the capture of Henry VI, Queen Margaret raised an army in Yorkshire numbering some 15,000 men. The Duke of York and the Earl of Salisbury, with an army of about 6,000 men, marched out of London in early December and headed north. At Worksop they brushed aside a Lancastrian advance guard commanded by the captain Andrew Trollope and arrived at Sandal castle in Yorkshire.   Unbeknown to York, the Lancastrians had concentrated their forces at nearby Pontefract castle. 
 
 

On 29th December a Yorkist foraging party blundered into the main body of the Lancastrian army and was pursued back to Wakefield. The following morning a force of about 6,000 men commanded by the Duke of Somerset and Lord Clifford deployed for battle in full view of the Yorkist army in and around Sandal castle. On seeing this, the Duke of York and the Earl of Salisbury marched their army down from the castle onto level ground near the River Calder. They did not realise that the Lancastrians had laid a trap. As soon as York and Somerset became embroiled in a melee, two large forces of the Lancastrian army, commanded by the Earl of Wiltshire and Lord Roos, emerged from nearby woods surrounding the Yorkist army. Around 3,000 Yorkists were killed including the Duke of York. His son the Earl of Rutland was killed escaping from the battlefield and the Earl of Salisbury was captured that evening and executed the next day

Sir Robert Apsall, killed after battle

Edward Bourchier, killed in battle

Sir David Hall, executed

Sir Thomas Harrngton, executed

Sir Hugh Mortimer, executed

Sir John Mortimer, executed

Lord John Neville, survived

Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, killed in battle

Sir Thomas Neville, killed in battle

Sir Thomas Parr, executed

Sir James Pickering, killed in battle

Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland, killed after battle

Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, killed after battle

Sir Henry Retford, killed in battle

Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset

James Butler, Earl of Wiltshire

John Lord Clifford

Thomas Courtenay, Earl of Devon

Henry Lord Fitzhugh

Ralph Lord Greystoke

Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter

George Neville, Lord Latimer

Sir Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland

Thomas Lord Roos

Andrew Trollope

Queen Margaret was not present at Wakefield, but accompanied the Lancastrian army on its destructive march south to St. Albans. Warwick arrived in London at the beginning of February. On learning of York's death he appears to have made no effort to get in touch with the Earl of March who was then on the Welsh Marsh. But Edward, although only nineteen years old, had proven himself a capable soldier after defeating a Lancastrian force at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross. 

Edward, Earl of March was at Shrewsbury with an army of about 10,000 men, raised in Wales and the Marches, when he received news of the death of his father and brother at Wakefield. He was also told that another Lancastrian army of about 8,000 men was marching out of South Wales behind him commanded by the Earl of Pembroke, the Earl of Wiltshire and Owen Tudor. Edward quickly headed south and deployed his army in three battles straddling the road from Hereford at Mortimer's Cross. The Lancastrians advanced from the south in three battles. The left under Wiltshire contained a large number of lightly armed Irish, Breton and French mercenaries and in the ensuing melee these troops were quickly routed. The Lancastrian centre and right wing was then outflanked and crushed on the banks of the River Lugg. Some 4,000 Lancastrians were killed, although Pembroke and Wiltshire escaped. 

On the morning of the battle, through an unusual atmospheric condition, three suns were said to be visible. Edward took this as a propitious omen and after his victory added the sun to his banner.