Battle of Sedgemoor
The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between the Kingdom of England and rebels led by the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685,[1] and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerset, England, resulting in a victory for the English army.
It was the final battle of the Monmouth Rebellion and followed a series of skirmishes around south-west England between the rebel forces of the Duke of Monmouth, and the Royal Army still loyal to James II. Victory went to the Government and about 500 prisoners fell into their hands. Monmouth escaped from the battlefield but was captured, taken to London and executed nine days later. Many of Monmouth's supporters were tried during the Bloody Assizes. Many were transported abroad, while others were executed by drawing and quartering.
The royalist force included the following regiments:
Cultural references[edit]
The Battle of Sedgemoor is depicted in detail at the climax of the plot in Arthur Conan Doyle's historical adventure novel Micah Clarke.[23] The Battle also appears in Blackmore's Lorna Doone, where the hero arrives on the battlefield as the battle is finishing, and is then escorted home by the King's soldiers to safety.[24] Likewise, The Royal Changeling (1998) by John Whitbourn describes the rebellion, with some fantasy elements added. The Battle of Sedgemoor both opens and concludes the novel.[25] A collection of poems (Sedgemoor), exploring the battle and consequences of the rebellion, was written by poet and academic Malcolm Povey and published by Smokestack Books in 2006. The poems move between 1685 and the present day, as a narrative technique.[26] Povey's book received widespread praise, especially for its originality: "Not many poets try something as different and ambitious as this. It deserves to be widely read."[27] The battle is commemorated in Val Wake's poem "Dead Willows Mourn". Val Wake, the Australian born journalist and author, lived in Westonzoyland from 1973 to 1979.[28] Events surrounding the battle occupy the first few chapters of Rafael Sabatini's novel Captain Blood.[24] The battle is also included/mentioned in the beginning of the 1935 movie Captain Blood.[29]
The battle serves as the historical background to a series of murders in the novel "Down Among the Dead" (2020) by Damien Boyd.
The Sealed Knot re-enactment society have re-enacted important parts of the rebellion's campaign, on the 300th anniversary in 1985, and again in 2005. For the first re-enactment, the folk trio Strawhead produced an album of various songs from the time and written especially, entitled 'Sedgemoor'.[30] The Battle of Sedgemoor was also a central plot in the 1972 HTV series Pretenders, which was broadcast in 13 half-hour episodes.[31] A mural depicting the battle can be found on display at Sedgemoor motorway services on the North carriageway of the M5.[32]