It is supposed that far more men died
in the rout than in the battle. Several bridges
over neighbouring rivers broke under the weight of the armed men, plunging many
into the freezing water. Those stranded on the other side either drowned in the
crossing or were cornered by their pursuers and killed. Some of the worst slaughter
was seen at Bloody Meadow, where it is said men crossed the River Cock over the
bodies of the fallen. All the way from Towton to Tadcaster the fields were full of
bodies. The fleeing Lancastrians made easy targets for Yorkist horsemen and
footsoldiers who killed many men who had dropped their weapons and thrown off
their helmets to breathe more freely as they ran. At Tadcaster some men made an
unsuccessful stand and were killed.
The rout lasted all night and into the
morning, when remnants of the Lancastrian
army stumbled into York in total panic. Margaret, Henry and Somerset fled north to
Scotland, while those Lancastrian lords who were not killed or dispossessed were
forced to make peace with Edward IV.
On hearing of the defeat Henry and Margaret
who were in York at the time of the
battle (unlike Edward, who fought) fled north to Scotland. Edward was now King, he
spent Easter in York and took measures to stamp out what remained of
Lancastrian power in the north. He also took his revenge, replacing the heads of his
father and brother with those of the young Earl of Devon and Lord Clifford who'd
met his end the day before the battle in Dinnting Dale.
Many hoped that Edwards reign would herald
a new peaceful era. However, Henry
and Margaret were still at large, as were several of their diehard supporters.
Edward's supporters had not seen their last storm clouds. The Houses of York and
Lancaster would clash again. Indeed The Wars of the Roses would continue until
the end of the century effectively ending when Henry VII ascended the throne (1485-
1509) uniting the Houses of York and Lancaster and heralding the Tudor era into
the English Monarchy.
