Sir
James Blount was commander of the English fortress of Hammes, near
Calais. When in 1484 the Earl of Oxford was imprisoned there, Blount was apparently persuaded to switch the Lancastrian side. Blount and Oxford fled to join Henry Tudor (the future
Henry VII of England), leaving his wife in charge. She and the garrison held out for months against
Richard III's forces, until in early 1485 they surrended in turn for safe passage into France.
Blount appears as a minor character in Shakespeare's Richard III.