Battle of Hexham The Battle of Hexham ( 15 May 1464 ) marked the end of significant Lancastrian resistance in the north of England during the early part of the reign of Edward IV . The battle was fought near the town of Hexham in Northumberland . John Neville , later to be 1st Marquess of Montagu , led a modest force of 3 , 000 - 4 , 000 men , routed the rebel Lancastrians . Most of the rebel leaders were captured and executed , including Henry Beaufort , 3rd Duke of Somerset , Robert Hungerford , 3rd Baron Hungerford and Philip Wentworth , Knight of Nettlestead , Suffolk . Henry VI , however , was kept safely away ( having been captured in battle 3 times earlier in his life ) , and escaped to the north . With their leadership gone , only a few castles remained in rebel hands . After these fell later in the year , Edward IV was not seriously challenged until the Earl of Warwick changed his allegiance from the Yorkist to the Lancastrian cause in 1469 . Background . After the battle of Hedgeley Moor , the Lancastrians failed to prevent the Yorkists from concluding peace negotiations with Scotland in 1463 , and soon found that their northern base of operations was now threatened . It was decided to mount a campaign in the North of England to gather Lancastrian support before a huge force under Edward IV could muster in Leicester and move north to crush the rebellion . The Lancastrian army moved through Northumberland in late April 1464 under the Duke of Somerset , and gathered support from Lancastrian garrisons until it camped near to Hexham in early May . A Yorkist force under John Neville raced north in vanguard of Edward ' s larger force and the two sides met outside Hexham on 14 May 1464 . The battle . Details of the site of the battle , the composition and number of combatants and the events are sketchy but it is thought that the battle was relatively bloodless . The Lancastrian camp was near Linnels Bridge over the Devil ' s Water found slightly to the south of Hexham . The Yorkists crossed onto the south bank of the Tyne on the night of 12th / 13 May and were by the morning of the 14th in a position to attack Hexham . Presumably the Yorkist advance was at speed , as despite warnings by their own scouts the Lancastrians had little time to prepare for battle . It is thought Somerset rushed his forces to a site near Linnels Bridge and deployed his troops in 3 detachments in a meadow near the Devil ' s Water , here he hoped he could engage the Yorkist army before it moved past him into Hexham . No sooner had the Lancastrians taken their positions than the Yorkists charged down from their positions on higher ground . Upon seeing the Yorkist advance the right detachment of the Lancastrian army , commanded by Lord Roos , turned and fled across the Devil ' s Water and into Hexham , before a single blow had been struck . The remnants of Somerset ' s force were in a hopeless situation , hemmed in and unable to manoeuvre ; the Yorkist troops charged through the one opening at the east end of Linnel ' s Meadow and engaged the bewildered Lancastrian soldiers . Lancastrian morale collapsed , and after some token resistance the remains of Somerset ' s army was pushed into the Devil ' s Water by the Yorkist infantry . A chaotic rout followed , men either drowned in the river or were crushed as they tried to climb the steep banks of the Devil ' s Water in the retreat towards Hexham . Most , however were trapped in West Dipton Wood on the north bank of the river and were forced to surrender when the Yorkists approached . The aftermath . John Neville showed little of Edward ' s concilatory spirit , and had thirty leading Lancastrians executed in Hexham on the evening following the battle , including the unfortunate Duke of Somerset and Lord Roos . Sir William Tailboys was captured and executed shortly after as he tried to flee north with £2000 of Henry ' s war chest . On the loss of its leadership and bank roll , the Lancastrian resistance in the North of England collapsed . The capture of Henry at Bolton By Bowland , Clitheroe , Lancashire meant the rebellion was effectively over . There followed a relative period of peace until the Earl of Warwick ' s defection to the Lancastrian cause in 1469 and the wars started anew .