Henry Tudor lands at Mill Bay

Polydore Vergil [1470-1555]. 20. Then Henry, thinking that speed was of the essence so that his friends would no longer hang suspended between hope and fear, after he prayed to God for success and prosperity, sailed from the mouth of the Seine on August 1 [1485] with only 2,000 soldiers and a few ships. And, enjoying a gentle southerly breeze and clear weather, on the seventh day he reached Wales after sunset, being borne into the port of Milford. Landing immediately, he first occupied a place called Dalley, where he had heard some companies of his adversaries had been stationed during the previous winter, to keep him away. Departing from there at first light, he went to Haverford, a town less than ten miles from Dalley, and was received with great enthusiasm, and he did this so quickly that he was present in the flesh as soon as he was said to be coming. Here he discovered that, contrary to what he had been informed in Normandy, Richard Thomas and John Savage were energetically supporting Richard with their resources and those of their friends. But the inhabitants of Pembroke cheered everyone's troubled minds. For, by means of their spokesman Arnold Butler, a brave fellow, they begged forgiveness for their former offences and said they were ready to support their Earl Jasper. With his army thus increased, Henry left Haverford and marched five miles towards Cardigan. While his solders were refreshing themselves there, it is said that an anonymous rumor spread through his camp that Walter Herbert and those encamped at Caermarden were not far away, together with a great army. This started a commotion as each man began to don his armour and brandish his weapons. At the same time a passing fear overcame them all, until the horsemen sent ahead by Henry as scouts reported that everything was tranquil (as was the case), and no danger threatened their route of march. But Gryfyn, a man of high degree, did the most to cheer them. Although he had previously sided with Walter Herbert and Richard, at about this same time he defected to Henry with his small band of soldiers. On the selfsame day John Morgan came to Henry. Henry continued his progress, making almost no delays, and to travel all the faster he attacked some places garrisoned by his adversaries and took them with next to no trouble. Afterwards, when his scouts saw that Herbert and Richard were up in arms and standing in his path, he decided to march against him, either defeating him or bringing them over to his side, and then hasten on against King Richard. To inform his friends of all these things, he sent his most faithful supporters to his mother Margaret, to the Stanleys, and to Talbot and others, bearing his instructions. And this was their gist, that he, relying on his friends' help, had decided to cross the Severn and make his way through Shropshire towards London, and so he asked them to meet him, and at opportune times and places he would divulge more of his plans to them. His messengers departed, bearing these instructions, and he was hastening towards Shrewsbury, when on his journey he encountered Richard Thomas with a goodly number of soldiers. He received Thomas' homage and took him into his service. Two days earlier he had promised to make Thomas his Lord Lieutenant of Wales, if he would do so, which after gaining the throne he generously granted. Meanwhile the messengers he had sent did as they were instructed, and, laden down with the money contributed by the individuals to whom they had been sent, they returned to Henry on the very day he came to Shrewsbury, and indicated that his friends were ready to do their duty at the proper time. Henry was put in good hopes by this news, and he hastened along his way, arriving at a village its inhabitants call Newport. Encamping on a nearby hill, he spent the night there. In the evening Gilbert Talbot joined him with more than 500 soldiers. Then he continued to Stafford, and while staying there William Stanley made his appearance, accompanied by a few men, and after a brief conversation he returned to the soldiers he had collected. Then Henry turned aside and sought Litchfield, where he passed a night outside its walls. Early on the morning of the following day he entered the city, and was honourably received. On the third day before Thomas Stanley had come to that place accompanied by a little less than 5,000 armed men. Learning of Henry's arrival, he went ahead to the village of Adderstone, to wait there until Henry came up. He did this in order to avoid suspicion, for he feared that, if he openly sided with Henry, Richard, who so far did not completely distrust him, would kill his son George, whom I have already shown to be held hostage by the king.

Historia Regis Henrici Septimi by Bernado Andrea. [1st August 1485] Therefore, the ships having been made ready under a favorable star, before the earl boarded the vessel, like a Catholic prince, with his knees placed upon the ground, humbly made use of such words to God:

The Earl of Richmond’s prayer before the crossing.

"This is that day, most merciful God, on which, by Your command, it is in my mind to board the ship; yet, as You are my best witness, not out of desire, not out of ambition, nor finally out of thirst for human blood do I undertake this journey. But, pitying the long and calamitous captivity of England and of the peoples of the realm, thither I proceed. You know, most good God, that upon my blood savage men have raged sufficiently, to such a degree that scarcely any remnant of my lineage has been left which they have not wholly destroyed by sword and proscription. One thing alone remains to me, my most dear mother, who on my account endures great sufferings, and those indeed long-lasting. Grant, therefore, most just Judge, if I am worthy of that to which I come, the power; but if the right of the kingdom is not owed to me, I humbly beseech You that You provide and guide us toward what is better from this day forward, so that we may not depart from Your will."

"But you, my valiant fellow-soldiers, who for so great intervals of time have lived in exile from wives, children, homeland, and parents, if it has thus seemed good to God that at this time we should return to our rights, take up again the strength of your spirits, and stand with me in England with pure and upright hearts. You see that the tyrant has filled all things with bloodshed, that he has slain the duke of Buckingham, once most dear to him, and has killed many innocent men as well, heroes of the realm, even his own nephews. And us too, whom by God’s prompting he has let go, thirsting for blood in the same manner he longs to destroy, and would have done so earlier, had not God drawn him back from the course upon which he had lately set out. But now our time has come, in which God, the just Judge, will punish his crimes by our hands. Be therefore brave in this war, and keep God always before your eyes. And indeed I bear it most grievously that, contrary to the disposition of my own nature, we are compelled to attempt cruel wars. But it is better to obey God when He commands than to spend the remainder of our life among foreign peoples."

"And although with a small band we set out upon the way, and though we few advance against a populous region powerful in war, if we firmly place our hopes in God, there is no doubt that we may be able, though few, to overcome many. While Moses held his hands upright toward heaven, Amalek was defeated; but if they drooped even a little, he grew strong. It would be long to recount how many leaders, how many kings, how many emperors, joined with small forces, have overcome mighty armies. Moreover, Xerxes, Darius, Croesus, and very many others, Spartans as well as Thebans, Athenians, Carthaginians, and Roman princes, have been defeated by scanty forces. Victory does not rest in the multitude of those who fight, but in the hand of God. But this moment does not require many words. For I see that you are already sufficiently inflamed by your own valor for the carrying out of the deed; therefore, if I say one thing, I shall bring my speaking to an end. You, to whom the duty of serving and ministering to God belongs, priests and all clerics devoted to God, I would earnestly beseech that you pour forth prayers to God without ceasing, until by His mercy, having been made partakers of our vows, we may repay to all worthy rewards for the labors of all."

Paratis itaque navibus felici comes sidere, priusquam navim ascenderet, sicut princeps Catholicus, talibus ad Deum, genibus ad terram positis, humiliter usus est:

Richemundia Comitis ante trajectionem Oratio.

"Hæc est illa dies, misericordissime Deus, in qua tuo jussu navem conscendere in animo est; verum, ut mihi optimus testis es, non cupiditate, non ambitione, non denique humani sanguinis siti, istud iter aggredior. Sed Angliæ regnique populorum longam miseratus calamitosam captivitatem illuc accedo. Novisti, optime Deus, in sanguinem meum a truculentis hominibus satis fuisse debacchatum, usque adeo quod nihil ferme reliquiarum generis mei relictum est quin totum ferro ac proscriptionibus perdiderint. Tantum restat mihi carissima genitrix mea, quæ propter me magnos, et eos quidem diuturnos, dolores patitur. Dabis, igitur, justissime Judex (si mereor ad quod venio) potentiam quod si jus mihi regni non debetur, Te precor humillime ut in melius consulas dirigasque nos ex hoc die, quatenus a voluntate tua non discedamus."

"Vos autem, strenui commilitones mei, qui tantis temporum intervallis ab uxoribus, liberis, patria, parentibus exulastis, si Deo ita visum est ut ad jura nostra hoc tempore revertamur, resumite animorum vires, et mecum in Angliam puris integrisque cordibus assistite. Videtis tyrannum omnia cruoribus replevisse, ducemque Boquingamiæ sibi olim carissimum trucidasse, plerosque etiam insontes, regni heroas, propriosque nepotes interfecisse. Nos autem, qui Dei nutu relinquimur, sitibundus sanguinis pari modo perdere discupit, fecissetque antea si Deus ab itinere quod nuper ingressi fueramus non retraxisset. Nunc vero tempus nostrum advenit, quo Deus Judex justus illius scelera manibus nostris puniet. Estote igitur fortes hoc in bello, et Deum ante oculos semper habete. Et quidem molestissime fero quod præter naturæ meæ conditionem crudelia bella tentare compellimur. Sed præstabilius est Deo jubenti parere quam reliquum vitæ nostræ tempus inter alienas gentes degere."

"Et quamquam parva manu viam ingredimur ac populosam regionem bello potentem pauci accedimus, in Deo si spes nostras firmiter statuerimus non dubium est quin pauci multos vincere possimus. Dum Moyses rectas in coelum habebat manus vincebatur Amalech; si vero paululum illi conciderent invalescebat. Referre longum esset quot duces, quot reges, quot imperatores, parvis sociati copiis ingentes exercitus superarunt. Præterea Xerxem, Darium, Cræsum et alios quamplures, tam Lacedæmonios quam Thebanos, Athenienses, Carthaginienses, Romanosque principes exiguis copiis superatos. Non in multitudine bellantium sed in Dei manu consistit victoria. Verum tempus hoc pluribus verbis non indiget. Cerno enim vos ad rem gerendam vestrapte virtute satis accensos; quare, si unum dixero, finem dicendi faciam. Vos quibus est Deo serviendi ministrandique officium, sacerdotes clericosque omnes Deo devotos, oratos vehementer velim, ut sine intermissione ad Deum preces effundatis, donec sua misericordia votorum compotes effecti, digna laboribus omnium præmia omnibus rependamus."