Long after this minor battle was forgotten, historians discovered a letter which was sent back to England:
"Dear Mrs Smith,
I regret that it is my duty to inform you that your husband John was killed in battle with our vile enemies the Holy Roman Empire. Frankly, he was a complete idiot, and I always felt he was holding our unit back, even though I was careful to station him in the 4th rank where he could not do any harm. Upon his death our unit increased in valour by 1 - that's how bad he was. You will not be receiving a widow's pension as I decided to give the money to the careless archer who did us all a favour by shooting him in the back of the head.
Yours etc, Nigel Graystoke"