Battle of Northampton ( 1460 ) The Battle of Northampton was fought on 10 July 1460 near the River Nene , Northamptonshire . It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses . The opposing forces were an army led by nobles loyal to the King Henry VI of the House of Lancaster , his Queen Margaret of Anjou and their seven year - old son Edward , Prince of Wales on one side , and the army of Edward , Earl of March and Warwick the Kingmaker on the other . Background . After the disintigration of the Yorkist army at Ludford Bridge in 1459 , many of the Yorkist commanders went into self - imposed exile : the Earl of Warwick , his father the Earl of Salisbury and York ' s son Edward , Earl of March reached Calais on 2 November 1459 , where Warwick found his uncle Lord Fauconberg . Meanwhile the Duke of York and his second son Edmund , Earl of Rutland , retired to the relative safety of Dublin , Ireland . In England , the Lancastrians were quick to exploit the Yorkist flight . The Earl of Wiltshire was appointed Lieutenant of Ireland and the Duke of Somerset became Captain of Calais . Neither however succeeded in occupying their new posts as the Irish refused to dislodge York and the gates of Calais remained firmly closed to their new ' Captain ' . The Lancastrians gave Somerset an army to storm Calais , but first they had to cross the Channel , so the construction of a fleet was started at Sandwich in Kent . In January and May 1460 , Warwick made a raid on Sandwich and stole the ships . In June 1460 , the Yorkist invasion was preempted by an attack on Sandwich , which had been reinforced with several hundred Lancastrian troops commanded by Osbert Mundford . The Yorkist force under Lord Fauconberg , Sir John Wenlock and John Dynham seized the port , capturing troops and armaments . Mundford was captured , taken to Rysbank tower and executed . Warwick left his uncle , Lord Fauconberg , in Sandwich with a small force of Yorkists to act as a bridgehead for his planned invasion of England . The Battle . On 26 June 1460 , Warwick , Salisbury and Edward landed at Sandwich with 2 , 000 men at arms . King Henry VI and his Queen , Margaret of Anjou , were at Coventry with their small army . Warwick entered London on 2 July with an army of supporters numbering approximately 10 , 000 . The King ' s forces took up a defensive position at Northampton , in the grounds of Delapré Abbey , with their backs to the River Nene , with a water - filled ditch in front of them topped with stakes . The defending army was around 5 , 000 strong , consisting mainly of men - at - arms . The Lancastrians also had some field artillery . While approaching , Warwick sent a delegate to negotiate with the King on his behalf . The Lancastrian commander , the Duke of Buckingham , 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 hail of arrows , but the rain had rendered the Lancastrian collection of cannon quite useless . When Warwick reached the Lancastrian left 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 treachery was the result of a secret message from Lord Grey to March saying that he would change sides if the Yorkists would back him in a property dispute with Lord Fanhope . Certainly Warwick had ordered his men not to lay violent hands on ordinary soldiers – especially those wearing the black ragged staff of Lord Grey ' s men . There may also have been inducements and promises of high office by Warwick . Grey became Treasurer of England in 1463 . After this , the battle lasted a mere thirty minutes . The defenders were unable to manoeuvre inside the fortifications , and fled the field as their line was rolled up by attacking Yorkists . The Duke of Buckingham , the Earl of Shrewsbury , Lord Egremont and Lord Beaumont all died trying to save Henry from the Yorkists closing on his tent . Three hundred other Lancastrians were slain in the battle . King Henry VI was captured by an archer , Henry Mountfort . Aftermath . Henry was found in his tent by Warwick , March and Fauconberg . Showing him proper respect they escorted him to Delapre abbey , then Northampton , and finally London , where the tower garrison surrender soon after .