Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick

May 22, 1455 · 300 total casualties

St Albans transformed a political feud into open warfare and gave the Yorkists control of the king's person. Somerset's death removed Henry VI's strongest protector. The battle proved that the political crisis could not be resolved by negotiation alone, setting the template for a conflict that would last thirty years.

September 23, 1459 · 3,000 total casualties

Blore Heath demonstrated that the Lancastrian nobility, despite holding the formal authority of the crown, could not translate numbers into battlefield success when facing disciplined Yorkist commanders. Salisbury reached York safely, keeping the Yorkist cause alive during a dangerous moment.

July 10, 1460 · 300 total casualties

Northampton delivered Henry VI back into Yorkist hands and set the stage for Richard of York to formally claim the throne through the Act of Accord — which made York heir apparent over Henry's own son. It was the high-water mark of Yorkist political success before the catastrophe at Wakefield.

July 26, 1469 · 2,000 total casualties

Edgecote Moor marked Warwick's open break with Edward IV. The Kingmaker was attempting to rule England through a captive king — exactly what Edward had done earlier with Henry VI. But the experiment failed: Edward could not effectively govern from captivity, and Warwick was eventually forced to release him, sowing the seeds of his own destruction.

April 14, 1471 · 4,000 total casualties

The death of Warwick the Kingmaker removed the most dangerous threat to Edward's restored throne. Warwick had made and unmade two kings; his end in the fog at Barnet brought the turbulent middle phase of the wars to a close. Edward IV would now rule England uncontested for twelve years.