The Battle of Blackpool Sands Dart History
I
n 1403 the people of Dartmouth knew they were at war – though it was not official. Breton knights were raiding, takings ships and burning towns including
Plymouth. But Dartmouth had John Hawley – former mayor and
MP – and still very much up for taking the fight to the Bretons and doing a bit of pillaging and burning too. His example and planning allowed the improbable but total victory of the people of Dartmouth over Breton knights at the Battle of Blackpool Sands in April 1404. The Bretons’ incompetence in fighting and bad planning helped too. The years running up to 1404 were indeed dangerous
and exciting and profitable ones for some men of Dartmouth, as the fighting with the Bretons grew more and more ferocious. King Henry IV – famous for usurping the throne from his childhood playmate Richard II – was trying to play clever political games with the European powers, and proving rather bad at it. Henry’s political blunderings created a time of immense instability from the moment he took power in 1399 – the continental powers were trying to bring him down, and were harrying British ports to undermine him. The King needed strong men and
John Hawley, who had been steadily increasing his power and wealth over the last few decades, was in a perfect position to ‘help’ the King by pillaging and plundering the Breton ships going up and down the channel. He could also get some healthy revenge for a number of Dartmouth ships which had been lost to raiders from across the channel. In late 1403 the King asked
Hawley and another man with great abilities as a sea commander, William Wilford of Exeter, to form a sea- going force to combat the constant raids from the Breton ships. To state that they took the job seriously is an understatement. The force, which included several
This clearly not being enough for the men looking for
plunder and revenge, they landed at a promontory called Penmarch. Marching inland for 18 miles, they plundered any settlement they found, using, according to accounts of the time, much brutality. They then returned to Britain with the spoils of a successful campaign. Everyone knew it would not be the end of the matter
– Brittany and the people of Dartmouth were now, effectively, at war. Breton Lord William du Chatel, in retaliation for the Wilford/Hawley raids, brought together a force of 300 ships and 2,000 knights to take revenge. Their target was Dartmouth. Had they had fair winds and put together a good plan, there was nothing to stop them burning Dartmouth to the ground. However, their campaign did not get off to a good start.
The King needed strong men and John Hawley...... was in a perfect position to ‘help’ the King by pillaging and plundering the Breton ships going up and down the channel
There were always problems with the line of command in French Military campaigns around this time, with any aristocrats in an army considering themselves to be in charge. Thus it was that the French fleet sailed under the three-way command of du Chatel, and the Lords of de Jaille and Chateaubriand. The fleet then encountered a Spanish
fleet carrying a large cargo of wine - which they seized, and proceeded to drink. This caused an argument between du Chatel and de Jaille and Chateaubriand. Chateaubriand took his troops and sailed away. Du Chatel, de Jaille and their
depleted force landed, it is thought, on the Slapton Line in April 1404. Taking a small force up the hill to Strete and then down the steep valley of Blackpool Sands on April 14, du Chatel must have been shocked and disheartened to see a large force of English Peasants on the opposite bank of the valley, in a well-defended position and with longbow-men much apparent. The French Chroniclers, writing
The arms of Du Chatel
ships owned by Hawley, immediately captured six cargo vessels after leaving port, then four more the next day. They then sailed for the Brittany coast where they captured an entire fleet of 30 ships and claimed 1,000 tons of wine.
after the defeat, exaggerated the number of Dartmothians whilst talked down the numbers of French troops. They state there were 6,000 Dartmothians firing at the French – when the town’s population was not
much more than 700. Whatever the numbers, the French were on the back foot, having landed with a smaller force than they hoped,
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