The Battle of Bitterbridge broke one of the Poor Fellows’ largest forces during King Maegor’s war against the Faith Militant. At Stonebridge, Wat the Hewer’s 9,000 followers were caught mid-crossing between six lordly hosts and overwhelmed by armored knights on heavy horses. Wat survived the rout only to be taken in chains, while the scale of the slaughter gave the town and castle the name Bitterbridge.

Background and opposing forces

The battle came as King Maegor’s campaign against the Faith Militant widened. After his order for the Poor Fellows approaching the city to surrender their weapons had no effect, he called on the realm’s lords to disperse them by force. The High Septon answered with a call for the Faith’s pious supporters to take up arms. In the Reach, Wat the Hewer led 9,000 Poor Fellows toward the Mander.

The crossing and rout

Wat’s army was divided by the river: half his men had reached the north bank while the other half remained to the south. As they attempted to cross, six lordly hosts caught them between their forces. The Poor Fellows were badly equipped and lacked the training and discipline to withstand the assault. Their boiled-leather and roughspun clothing, scraps of rusted steel, woodsmen’s axes, sharpened sticks, and farm implements were no match for armored knights charging on heavy horses. The force was cut to pieces, and the Mander ran red for twenty leagues.

Wat’s capture and the battle’s legacy

Wat fought hard before his capture, killing half a dozen knights, including Lord Meadows of Grassy Vale, commander of the king’s host. He was taken alive and delivered to King’s Landing in chains. The battle’s name preserved the memory of its violence: the town and castle where it was fought became known thereafter as Bitterbridge. The defeat also belongs to a wider campaign that continued for the rest of King Maegor’s reign; it shattered Wat’s host, but did not by itself end the Faith Militant’s resistance.