Battle of Towton

“ Thomas Courtenay, Earl of Devonshire, a strong supporter of the House of Lancaster, fought at the battle of Wakefield. He afterwards fought at the battle of Towton, on the 29th of March, 1461, was taken prisoner, and beheaded at York. Some degree of confusion seems to exist, respecting the Earl of Devonshire who fought at Wakefield and at Towton, and the Earl of Devonshire who afterwards fought at Tewkesbury. The old historians state, that the former, being taken prisoner, was beheaded after the battle of Towton ”

“ Twenty-five thousand Lancastrian and eight thousand Yorkist dead were buried in and about Towton. The neighbourhood of the battlefield contains many relics and memorials of this, the greatest battle hitherto fought on English soil. ”

“ Palm Sunday, took place the bloody battle of Towton, in which the Lancastrians were utterly defeated. It is not easy to credit the contemporary statement that twenty-eight thousand dead were actually counted by the heralds upon the field ”

“ There has not been discovered, within the memory of man, any large trench or pit near Sandal Church, where it might reasonably be supposed that some of the slain would be interred, such as has been discovered at Battlefield Church, in consequence of the battle of Shrewsbury, and at Saxton Church, in consequence of the battle of Towton. ”

“ Edward's main body was now close at hand, and the Lancastrians drew up on their chosen battlefield early on the 29th. This field was an elevated plateau, with steep slopes, between the present Great North Road and the river Cock, cut in two by a depression called Towton Dale. On opposite sides of this depression stood the two armies, that of York facing north, their opponents southward. Both lines of battle were very dense. On a front of little more than a thousand yards the Lancastrian party had nearly 60,000 men. ”

“ Margaret soon increased her army to sixty thousand men, and Edward was obliged to hasten to the north. At Pontefract he passed in review nearly forty-nine thousand men. The armies met at Towton, in Yorkshire, March 29th, 1461. This was the bloodiest battle fought during the war. No quarter was given or expected on either side. The Lancastrians, routed with fearful slaughter, were intercepted in their flight by the river; and the pursuit of the Yorkists was unrelenting. The slain amounted to thirty or forty thousand. Henry VI. and his brave queen fled to Scotland. ”

“ Both parties were extremely exasperated against each other, and were eager for the fight. Edward gave orders to his troops to grant no quarter, but, in the event of victory, to massacre without mercy every man that they could bring within their reach. The armies came together at a place called Towton. The combat was begun in the midst of a snow-storm. The armies fought from nine o'clock in the morning till three in the afternoon, and by that [Pg 77] time the queen's troops were every where driven from the field. ”

“ They halted, they stood their ground a moment against that withering deluge of fire, then they broke, faced about and swept toward the ditch like chaff before a gale. A full fourth part of their force never reached the top of the lofty embankment; the three-fourths reached it and plunged over--to death by drowning.
Within ten short minutes after we had opened fire, armed resistance was totally annihilated, the campaign was ended, we fifty-four were masters of England. Twenty-five thousand men lay dead around us. ”

“ He meant to show what he and his brigade could do. As his thin column crossed the bridge, the British twenty-four-pound guns opened upon it; but the American line moved on, steady as veterans, and formed in order of battle beyond. Towson’s three twelve-pounders were placed in position near the river on the extreme right, and opened fire on the heavier British battery opposite. The infantry deployed in three battalions,—the right, under Major Leavenworth of the Ninth; the centre, under Major McNeil of the Eleventh; the left, under Major Jesup of the [43] Twenty-fifth. ”

“ For Abraham Tovey was sick unto death; and as his men were parading for the sortie, and the moon was running her nightly course—his was running fast too. Before his men returned, he was dead. For nearly half a century he had served in the Royal Artillery—beginning his career as a matross in 1734, and ending it as a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1781. He died in harness—died in the command of a force of Garrison Artillery which has never been surpassed nor equalled, save by the great and famous siege-train in the Crimea. ”

“ He was attached to the provincial press, and had been with the army of the West until recently. Without any exception, he was the "fussiest," most impertinent, most disagreeable man that I ever knew. He always made a hero of himself in his reports, and if I remember rightly, their headings ran after this fashion:—
Tremendous Battle at Roanoke! The Correspondent of the Blunderbuss hoists the National Flag above the REBEL RAMPARTS!!!" or again—Grand Victory at Shiloh! Mr. Twaddle, our Special Correspondent, TAKEN PRISONER!!! He ESCAPES!!! He is FIRED UPON!!! ”

“ One belligerent may regard the campaign as a temporary calamity to be endured until it can be conveniently got rid of, while another may gird his loins and go forth to battle exultant like the fanaticized warriors of Cromwell. The former will contemplate the struggle and regulate the conduct of it in the light of immediate expediency, while the latter will treat the war as a life-task and boldly throw the weight of everything he has, and is, and hopes for into the blows he deals his adversary. Now in this struggle the Teuton is the fanaticized warrior. ”

“ Towson's few pieces being necessarily placed so much lower, could produce but little effect, while the enemy's twenty-four-pounders, loaded with grape, swept the entire field. The eleventh and twenty-second regiments, deprived of their commanders, and destitute of ammunition were withdrawn, and Leavenworth, with the gallant ninth, was compelled to withstand the whole shock of battle. With such energy and superior numbers did the British press upon this single regiment, that it appeared amid the darkness to be enveloped in fire. ”

“ Each man then had got hold of the right hand of his antagonist, so that the deadly knives were powerless, while the pair struggled, trying to "back-heel" each other. Round and round they went, bumping against their fellows in the circle, straining their muscles so that they cracked, uttering fierce cries in the agony of the struggle for life. But the American had the strength of it, and he forced Tovotsky's hand back upon him, stabbing him with his own knife again and again, so that the man's breast was covered with wounds, and he seemed like soon to faint from weakness. ”

“ A loud cheer rolled along the American line as they saw this daring act of their commander. Riding up to Towson's battery, he cried out, "a little more to the left, captain, the enemy is there." This gallant officer was standing amid his guns, enveloped in smoke, and had not observed that the British had advanced so far that his fire fell behind them. Instantly discovering his mistake, he changed the direction of his two remaining pieces and poured a raking, destructive fire through the enemy's ranks, blowing up an ammunition wagon, which spread destruction on every side. ”

“ His brigade consists of battalions of the 9th, the 11th, the 25th and a detachment of the 22d. Towson's company of artillery, which was attached to it, gallantly commenced, and with it sustained the action.
The volunteers and Indians performed their part; they drove the enemy's Indians and light troops until they met the British army: they meet the general's approbation. ”

“ No life was in sight, but necessarily there must have been some wounded in the rear ranks, who were carried off the field under cover of the wall of smoke; there would be sickness among the others--there always is, after an episode like that. But there would be no reinforcements; this was the last stand of the chivalry of England; it was all that was left of the order, after the recent annihilating wars. So I felt quite safe in believing that the utmost force that could for the future be brought against us would be but small; that is, of knights. ”

“ The war with the English nation, as a nation, is at an end. The nation has retired from the field and the war. Before it can be persuaded to return, war will have ceased. This campaign is the only one that is going to be fought. It will be brief --the briefest in history. Also the most destructive to life, considered from the standpoint of proportion of casualties to numbers engaged. We are done with the nation; henceforth we deal only with the knights. English knights can be killed, but they cannot be conquered. We know what is before us. ”

“ At half past two o’clock, on the morning of the 15th, the right column of the enemy approached; and though enveloped in darkness, was distinctly heard on our left, and promptly marked by our musketry, under Major Wood, and artillery under Captain Towson. Being mounted at the moment, I repaired to the point of attack, where the sheet of fire rolling from Towson’s battery and the musketry of the left wing of the 21st infantry, under Major Wood, enabled me to see the enemy’s column, of about fifteen hundred men, approaching on that point ”

“ The artillery limbered up and galloped down the hill and trotted across the downs, making a fine show. There were about twenty guns—quite enough to make a breach in the walls. But when they had done so, infantry would be required to pour in through the breach and complete the work that the guns had begun. The cavalry had already done their share, and would not be of much use for this task For in the valiant army of Toyland it was not customary to use horse-soldiers apart from their horses. ”

“ You are English boys, you will remain English boys, and you will keep that name unsmirched. Give yourselves no further concern, let your minds be at peace. Consider this: while all England is marching against us, who is in the van? Who, by the commonest rules of war, will march in the front? Answer me."
"The mounted host of mailed knights."
"True. They are thirty thousand strong. Acres deep they will march. Now, observe: none but they will ever strike the sand-belt! ”

“ The great artillery duel went on, each side hammering away with all its might; and it was splendid for smoke and noise, and most exalting to one's spirits. The poor little town around about us suffered cruelly. The cannon-balls tore through its slight buildings, wrecking them as if they had been built of cards; and every moment or two one would see a huge rock come curving through the upper air above the smoke-clouds and go plunging down through the roofs. ”

“ Fifteen hundred men came charging against Towson's battery on the left, expecting to find the soldiers asleep, but a broad sheet of flame burst from the long twenty-four pounders here which made the line waver in its advance. At the same moment the line of the 21st shone forth in its own light, then all was darkness except as the guns were loaded and fired. Five times the attack was renewed by the two columns; each time they were beaten back.
Almost simultaneous with the attack on the left, another was made on the American right, against the old fort ”

“ Nevertheless, finding their foes were not numerous, they made a courageous stand, waiting for their main columns to draw nearer. Every French machine gunner was silenced by the Guards with their Maxims; but when the main invading army swept into view along the river valley, the French artillery from the hills around Charleville mowed down the heads of columns with shrapnel. Still the Teutons advanced with reckless courage. While their artillery was engaged in a duel with the French, German sappers threw pontoon bridges across the river, and finally the French had to retire. ”

“ It was in the ceaseless improvisation of defensive works and offensive counterworks to meet every changing phase of the enemy's attack that Todleben's peculiar power and originality showed itself. He never commanded a large army in the open field, nor was he the creator of a great permanent system of defence like Vauban. ”

“ That the men were to fight, and fight to the death, was sufficiently terrible; but a savour of horror was added to the dish by the flagrant unfairness of the conditions under which they fought. The American, Skinner, was thickly built, and of a sturdy physique. He had the better of his man in height, in reach, in physical strength; for Tovotsky, as I heard the Russian called, was a man of small stature, rather a shred of a man, full hairy about his breast, yet giving small signs of hardihood, or of power. ”

“ But I am individualizing; the fight, as we closed upon the Rebels, was singularly free from great losses on our side, though desperate as any contest ever fought on the continent. One prolonged roar of rifle shook the afternoon; we carried no artillery, and the Rebel battery, until its capture, raked us like an irrepressible demon, and at every foot of the intrenchments a true man fought both in front and behind. The birds of the forest fled afar; the smoke ascended to heaven ”

“ Twenty-eight thousand Lancastrians were left dead upon the field, and vast numbers perished in the rout that took place. A field near Towton Dale Quarry, half a mile south of Towton village, and known as “the Bloody Meadow,” is pointed out as the scene of the thickest of the fight; but the conflict extended over a wide area, and Towton battlefield may be said to cover the whole ground between Saxton and Towton villages. The Cock, a tributary of the Wharfe, winds round the site. In the swollen waters of this stream many of the Lancastrians perished when they broke rank and fled. ”