First Battle of St Albans

First Battle of St Albans
Part of the Wars of the Roses
Date 22 May 1455 Location St Albans in Hertfordshire, England 51°44′55″N 0°20′20″W / 51.7487°N 0.339°W / 51.7487; -0.339 Result Decisive Yorkist victory[1]
Belligerents
House of York	House of Lancaster
Commanders and leaders
Duke of York Earl of Salisbury Earl of Warwick	Henry VI (POW) Duke of Somerset † Duke of Buckingham (POW) Earl of Northumberland † Baron Clifford †
Strength
3,000–7,000[2]	2,000[3]
Casualties and losses
60[3]	100[1]

The First Battle of St Albans took place on 22 May, 1455, at St Albans, 22 miles (35 km) north of London, and traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England.^[4] Richard, Duke of York, and his allies, the Neville Earls of Salisbury and Warwick, defeated a royal army commanded by Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. Unusually, the battle was contested in the town of St Albans itself, with the bulk of the fighting taking place in the streets and a tavern being used as a redoubt. Somerset was killed in the battle, and King Henry VI captured, clearing the way for a subsequent parliament to appoint Richard of York Lord Protector.^[5]