ROOTS OF THE CONFLICT:  IN THE WINGS Margaret of Anjou moved the court to a central position at Coventry, where she could respond to threats from all directions, and introduced the draft to muster soldiers for her army. The Yorkist leaders realized that they would have to collect their forces and march on London once again. They agreed to rendezvous in Wales. Salisbury struck south, while Warwick sailed from Calais to first undertake the necessary task of occupying London. Warwick did not wish to leave such a formidable base untaken in his rear. With this accomplished, he marched west to Ludlow. Salisbury was the most exposed of the three. He was taking a considerable risk marching to Wales, for his army was much smaller than the queen's and the most vulnerable to attack. On September 23, 1459, a large portion of her forces met up with Salisbury at Blore Heath. Salisbury was an experienced veteran, however, whostaked out a good defensive position behind a hill, with a muddy river between him and his enemies. The terrain and his archers forced back the untried lords of the royal army, inflicting many casualties. Salisbury won an unlikely victory and was able to continue his march. At last the Yorkists met at Ludlow. By now the royal army had recruited a substantial force, easily enough to decimate the Yorkists, and they were rapidly advancing. On October 12, the two armies met at Ludford Bridge on the river Tern, outside Ludlow. Morale was plummeting among the Yorkists. They began to desert in large numbers, the greatest loss being a large contingent of soldiers from Calais under Andrew Trollope, who fled to the other side and revealed York's defensive preparations to the King. By now York and the Nevilles must have realized that victory was impossible. They snuck out of camp and fled into the countryside, leaving their army behind. Many saw this as a cowardly and treacherous act, and York's abandonment of Duchess Cecily and three of his young children in Ludlow won him no respect. But it may be that the Yorkists had judged the situation correctly. Henry VI was certainly not a vindictive man, and he soon dismissed the rebel army, knowing that his true enemies had already slipped through his grasp. Cecily and her children Margaret, George, and Richard were taken into custody and treated well. Upon returning to Coventry the queen had Salisbury, Warwick, York, and his sons, the Earls of March and Rutland, all proclaimed traitors to the crown, seizing their lands and authorizing their arrest and execution. For the Yorkists, there was now no turning back. York had sailed to Ireland with his seventeen-year-old son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland. Another son, eighteen-year-old Edward, Earl of March, had joined Salisbury and Warwick in Calais. Margaret sent the new Duke of Somerset to dislodge Warwick and take Calais, but despite repeated efforts he was unable to do so. The Yorkists' new plan was to take and hold London, and with its administrative resources and a healthy propaganda campaign, reshape the government themselves. Accordingly, the Nevilles and March landed in Kent on June 26, 1460. There was at first some doubt as to whether the city would open its gates to them, but influential and sympathetic men in the city ensured that their entry was unhindered. All of London was quickly taken except for the fortified Tower, where frightened Lancastrians held out for the king, defiantly firing the cannons of the tower at the city streets. The king and queen were at Coventry when they heard the news. The king promptly marched towards Northampton, leaving the queen and his son behind. When he met the Nevilles on July 10 he was pinned against the river Nene, which was flooded and prevented retreat. His army was only half the size of the Yorkists', and the rain made his cannon useless. As the Yorkists advanced, soldiers under Lord Grey de Ruthin defected under a prior arrangement and the battle turned into a rout. The loyal Duke of Buckingham was slain and Henry himself was captured. As at St. Albans, the Yorkists approached their prisoner and begged forgiveness, a testament to the respect that the crown continued to command. Nevertheless, he was their prisoner and would not be released. It was a great victory. When Queen Margaret heard the dreadful tidings she took her son and fled to supporters in Scotland. York promptly proceeded to London. On September 10th, 1460, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, marched into London at the head of paid trumpeters carrying banners with the arms of England. He regally made his way to Westminister Hall, where Parliament was sitting with many of the nobles of the land. Upon entering, he bowed to the lords, approached the throne at the far end, and placed a hand upon it, as if to claim it as his own. If York was expecting cheers of approval, he was not to receive them. An awkward silence reigned over the hall. York had badly misjudged the situation. That he was the better man for the throne was undeniable, but Henry VI had reigned for almost four decades, and the noblemen of England were terrified at the prospect of unseating a reigning king. There was a saintly aura to Henry, and to depose a saint was a far more difficult task than to depose a tyrant. York was enraged, but collected himself and made a formal claim to the throne as the descendant of Lionel of Antwerp. When it was gently suggested that York ought to visit the king to discuss this, York angrily replied that it would be more proper for Henry to come meet with him. But eventually he stormed out and forced an audience with Henry, who staunchly refused to abdicate. York might hold the king, but the king held the crown. Now battles were fought over old books and legal judgments, and they were waged by lawyers who analyzed hereditary precedent to see which of the two men had the superior claim to the throne. York was undeniably the heir of the elder son of Edward III, but his descent was through two women, which, according to Henry's supporters, nullified the claim. The lawyers refused to make a final judgment, referring it to the House of Lords. The Lords eventually voted in favor of York, but argued that Henry had been king for too long to simply unseat him on a whim. On October 31, a compromise was made--Henry would rule until his death, after which York would take the throne. It was not a victory for the Duke, who was ten years older than Henry, but it was the best he could do and he reconciled himself to it. At the very least, with the king in his possession, he could rule from behind the scenes.