Before the battle of Hexham, fought on 15th May 1464, by Graham Turner.Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somer
Before the battle of Hexham, fought on 15th May 1464, by Graham Turner.Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, was just nineteen when his father was killed at St Albans in 1455, the beginning of a vicious cycle of retribution that would come to characterise the series of conflicts now known as the Wars of the Roses. He would gain revenge at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, where his father’s nemesis the Duke of York would die, followed by another victory at the second Battle of St Albans, but the catastrophic defeat at Towton would see Beaufort and the other surviving supporters of Henry VI take refuge in their Northumberland fortresses as they desperately tried to keep their king’s cause alive.Although he could be as ruthless as any of his contemporaries, the new young Yorkist king, Edward IV, did at times try to balance this with a policy of reconciliation, and when Somerset was captured at the close of 1462, he was fortunate to not only receive a full pardon, but become a close companion to Edward ‘who loved him well’. Somerset’s brief sojourn with the other side lasted until December 1463, when he headed north again with the aim of being reunited with his men at Newcastle.At Durham he was recognised and narrowly avoided capture while he slept, escaping barefoot in his nightshirt and leaving his armour behind. His retainers in Newcastle attempted to steal away but ‘… some of them were take and lost their heads for their labour.’ Somerset managed to make his way to Bamburgh where he joined King Henry and the remains of his resistance, and from here they organised raids, taking Norham Castle and several towns.Defeated by Lord Montagu at Hedgeley Moor on 25th April 1464, the remains of Somerset’s army were seemingly caught by surprise early on 15th May near Hexham, Montagu’s soldiers sweeping down into their camp and scattering the survivors. With their back to the aptly named Devil’s Water, there were few escape routes, and many were cut down or drowned as they tried to cross the fast-flowing river.Twenty-eight-year-old Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, found his luck had finally run out and following his capture he was promptly executed in Hexham. -- source link
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