The Battle of Bosworth Field: Henry VII

I, Henry VII, deserved the English crown,
But I remembered Richard III with a frown.
I was Lancaster, he was not;
And for me to become king would be a long shot. (1)
My right to the crown was from a marriage, (2)
And upon this right Richard disparaged.
There were many accusations against Richard the King
And we Lancasters thought taking his crown would be the only thing. (3)
Richard was cruel, murdering those who got in his way,
And I knew he could never stay. (4)
I turned my Lancasters against the king,
And we were ready to make Richard feel the sting
Of the people who didn't want him to succeed,
And the people who only wanted for him to bleed.
We planned a battle in this War of Roses,
Against the ones the House of Lancaster opposes. (5)
We met in August of 1485,
Bosworth Field was where we arrived. (6)
At first my army felt dismay;
We felt that victory was far away.
Richard's supporters outnumbered the stars;
Because of this, our triumph seemed so far.
But we held up their heads in determination,
And I gave them a proclamation.
We would all fight to our very deaths
If we needed to breathe their last breaths.
Some would live, and some would not,
But none of their legacies would be forgot.
Lives of both of the sides were lost,
At this battle, so great a cost.
But we fought on courageously,
Swinging our swords outrageously.
For us of Lancaster, this paid off
And though the Yorkists at first had scoffed,
Many of their knights and even Richard were slain,
And this victory would be our gain.
With our enemy vanquished, our foes were weak;
So with triumph I could speak.
I, Henry Tudor, became the rightful king,
And a knew dynasty in England would begin. (7)



(1)
"Richard III Society--Croyland Chronicle." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bookcase/croyland/croy2.html>.
(2)
"War of Roses Family Tree." Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/WarRosesFamilyTree.png>.
(3)
"Richard III Society--Croyland Chronicle." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bookcase/croyland/croy2.html>.
(4)
Warpole, Horace. "Richard III Society--Online Library." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bookcase/walpole/walpole1.html>.
(5)
"Richard III Society- Ballad of Bosworth, Text." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bosworth/ballad2.html>.
(6)
"Richard III Society-Bosworth Field." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bosworth/index.html>.
(7)
"Richard III Society- Ballad of Bosworth, Text." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bosworth/ballad2.html>.