First Battle of St Albans

Timeline

1. 1455Midlands of England toward London · EnglandRichard, Duke of York, joined with the Earls of Warwick and Salisbury, gathering forces in the north under the pretext of clearing evil advisors from the king's side and marching south, demanding an audience with the king and the dismissal of the Duke of Somerset and other Lancastrian favorites; after the court refused them entry, the standoff escalated.
2. 1455St Albans · HertfordshireThe Lancastrians fortified the town; the Yorkists attacked from several directions, and both sides fought fiercely in the streets and houses. Warwick's men broke through the North Gate, the Lancastrian defenders routed, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, was killed in the fighting, and Henry VI, wounded by an arrow in the shoulder, fell into Yorkist hands.
3. 1455London · EnglandThe Yorkists escorted the king into London; Richard again served as regent and reorganized the privy council, and Lancastrian ministers were removed or imprisoned. Order was restored on the surface, but the old enmity between the two factions remained, laying the groundwork for larger conflicts to come.