ten in the
morning
In the dim light this was mistaken by Warwick 's men for the king 's device , and believing that Oxford was far away on the right , they received him with a discharge of arrows . This was at once returned , and a conflict took place . At last the mistake was discovered , but the confusion caused was irreparable . Warwick and Oxford each suspected the other of treachery , and the king 's right still pressing on , the confusion increased , and the battle , which had been so nearly won by the Earl , soon became a complete defeat , and by ten in the morning Warwick 's army was in full flight . Accounts differ as to the strength of the forces engaged , but it is probable that there was no great inequality , and that each party brought some fifteen thousand men into the field . The number of slain is also very uncertain , some historians placing the total at ten thousand , others as low as one thousand ; but from the number of nobles who fell , the former computation is probably nearest to the truth . Warwick , his brother Montague , and many other nobles and gentlemen , were killed , the only great nobles on his side who escaped being the Earls of Somerset and Oxford ; many were also killed on Edward 's side , and the slaughter among the ordinary fighting men was greater than usual .