ABSTRACT
The disaster at Northampton robbed Scales' beleagured garrison in the Tower of any further purpose, their numbers had been swollen by a horde of bouches inutiles, who squawked in fright at every alarm and consumed meagre provisions at a frightening rate. The Act of Accord, for any Lancastrian, offended against the natural laws of inheritance. On 21 December the Yorkists reached what appeared to be a secure northern base, York's castle at Sandal on the southern outskirts of Wakefield. As the old year was ebbing, on 30 December, just such a foraging party was active north of Sandal Castle toward the River Calder and the town of Wakefield beyond. In fact Sandal was more trap than refuge, for the Lancastrians had boxed the place in on three sides. Active Lancastrian patrolling had prevented the quantity of supplies needed to sustain the Yorkist arrivals from reaching the castle.
