Editing Battle of Bosworth Field (section)

==Crossing the English Channel and through Wales==
Henry's initial force consisted of the English and Welsh exiles who had gathered around Henry, combined with a contingent of mercenaries put at his disposal by [[Charles VIII of France]]. The history of Scottish author [[John Major (philosopher)|John Major]] (published in 1521) claims that Charles had granted Henry 5,000 men, of whom 1,000 were Scots, headed by Sir Alexander Bruce. No mention of Scottish soldiers was made by subsequent English historians.{{sfn|Skidmore|2013|p=224}}

Henry's crossing of the [[English Channel]] in 1485 was without incident. Thirty ships sailed from [[Harfleur]] on 1 August and, with fair winds behind them, landed in his native [[Wales]], at Mill Bay (near [[Dale, Pembrokeshire|Dale]]) on the north side of [[Milford Haven]] on 7 August, easily capturing nearby [[Dale Castle]].{{sfn|Chrimes|1999|pp=40–41, 342}} Henry received a muted response from the local population. No joyous welcome awaited him on shore, and at first few individual Welshmen joined his army as it marched inland.{{sfn|Ross|1999|pp=211–212}} Historian [[Geoffrey Elton]] suggests only Henry's ardent supporters felt pride over his Welsh blood.{{sfn|Elton|2003|pp=88–89}} His arrival had been hailed by contemporary Welsh bards such as Dafydd Ddu and Gruffydd ap Dafydd as the true prince and "the youth of Brittany defeating the [[Saxons]]" in order to bring their country back to glory.{{sfn|Elton|2003|p=89}}{{sfn|Skidmore|2013|p=207}} When Henry moved to [[Haverfordwest]], the county town of [[Pembrokeshire]], Richard's lieutenant in South Wales, Sir Walter Herbert, failed to move against Henry, and two of his officers, Richard Griffith and Evan Morgan, deserted to Henry with their men.{{sfn|Rowse|1998|p=215}}

The most important defector to Henry in this early stage of the campaign was probably [[Rhys ap Thomas]], who was the leading figure in West Wales.{{sfn|Rowse|1998|p=215}} Richard had appointed Rhys Lieutenant in West Wales for his refusal to join Buckingham's rebellion, asking that he surrender his son [[Gruffydd ap Rhys ap Thomas]] as surety, although by some accounts Rhys had managed to evade this condition. However, Henry successfully courted Rhys, offering the lieutenancy of all Wales in exchange for his fealty. Henry marched via [[Aberystwyth]] while Rhys followed a more southerly route, recruiting a force of Welshmen en route, variously estimated at 500 or 2,000 men, to swell Henry's army when they reunited at [[Long Mountain (Powys)|Cefn Digoll]], [[Welshpool]].{{sfn|Chrimes|1999|pp=42–43}} By 15 or 16 August, Henry and his men had crossed the English border, making for the town of [[Shrewsbury]].{{sfn|Gravett|1999|p=40}}