England
Riding the Wheel
As many lords tended to their personal rivalries, and as chaos grew, Warwick found he had more and more difficulty raising men. Edward had vanished into Middleham Castle and people were beginning to inquire about him. In August, Warwick reluctantly agreed to bring Edward out into public, to give some pretense that the king still ruled.
Edward was too resourceful. Within days he had escaped, this time making his way to London successfully. Since nothing official had been done, in public this was nothing more than the king returning home, but behind the scenes deep tensions remained. Edward seemed willing again to forgive his betrayers if only they would swear to remain loyal, but the loyal supporters on both sides clashed often and openly.
So passed the fall and winter of 1469. In February of 1470 a seemingly minor incident brought the festering feud to open war again.
Some attacks were carried out on a Yorkist lord in the north. Edward chose to brand this rioting and marched to restore order. The leaders of the attacks, Lord Welles and Sir Thomas Dymoke, claimed the king's cause was unjust and called for a general rising to protect English liberties. Edward's reputation as a warrior caused the men to hesitate, though. Before an actual battle could occur, they went to Edward's camp to plead their cause.
Welles' son was still in the field. Thinking his father in danger, he launched an attack near Stamford on 12 March. On the appearance of the Yorkists, though, the rebel army panicked and ran. So many fled, throwing off their armor as they went, that this became known as the Battle of Losecoat Field.
In the wake of this incident, Edward had Welles and Dymoke beheaded. Before he died, Welles confessed the whole business was plotted by Warwick and Clarence.
This was the last straw. King Edward declared both outlaws, whereupon the two men fled to Calais (12 April).