Wars of the Roses: Oxford Triumphant at Stoke Field

June 16, 1487 - King Henry VII defeats a Yorkist rebellion at the Battle of Stoke Field. Though Henry VII had been crowned king after his victory at Bosworth Field in 1485, the Yorkists continued to plot to reclaim the throne. In 1487, the Earl of Lincoln raised an army in Ireland with to goal of placing Lambert Simnel on throne. Advancing the notion that Simnel was the young Earl of Warwick, who had the strongest Yorkist claim, Lincoln landed at Furness in early June and quickly assembled a mixed force composed of Irish and German mercenaries and English supporters. Pushing south, his men defeated several small Lancastrian forces before encamping near Stoke. Raising an army to defeat the Yorkists, Henry's men approached their camp early on June 16. In the resulting fight, Henry's vanguard under the Earl of Oxford defeated and scattered the rebel army. His position on the throne secure, Henry offered clemency to Simnel and gave him a job in the royal kitchens.