History of Scotland by Patrick Tytler 2

Henry Percy Invades Scotland

This, however, was no easy matter. Surrey sent his nephew, Henry Percy, before him into Scotland, at the head of an army of forty thousand foot, and three hundred armed horse. Percy marched through Annandale to Lochmaben, where, during the night, his encampment was suddenly attacked by the Scots with great fury. It was very dark, and Percy's men knew not where to rally. In this emergency they set fire to the wooden houses where they lay, and, guided to their banners by the blaze, repulsed the enemy, and marched towards Ayr, for the purpose of receiving the men of Galloway to the peace of the king.

It was here told them that the Scottish army was not four miles distant; and Percy, having struck his tents, advanced at the first break of the morning to Irvine, and soon discovered their squadrons drawn up nearly opposite to him, on the border of a small lake. This force, which equalled the English in foot, although inferior in horse, was sufficient, under able conduct, to have given battle to Percy, but it was enfeebled by dissension amongst its leaders; and although Wallace was there to direct them, the pride of these feudal barons would not submit to be commanded by him. Accordingly, most of these chiefs became anxious to negotiate terms for themselves, and to save their lands. Sir Richard Lundin, a Scottish knight, who had till now refused allegiance to Edward, went over with his followers to the army of Percy, declaring it to be folly to remain longer with a party at variance with itself.

Convention at Irvine

At the same time, Bruce, the Steward of Scotland, and his brother Alexander de Lindesay, Sir William Douglas, and the Bishop of Glasgow, made submission to Edward, and entreated his forgiveness for the robberies and slaughters which they had committed. An instrument, commemorating this desertion of their country, to which their seals were appended, was drawn up in Norman French ;but this brave man treated all proposals of submission with high disdain. Although the greater nobles had deserted the cause, he knew that many of their vassals were enthusiastically attached to his person and fortunes.f He could muster also a large body of his own tried and veteran followers; and putting himself at the head of these, he retired indignantly to the north. Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell was the only baron who accompanied him.

The conduct of the Scottish nobility, who had capitulated to Percy, was irresolute and contradictory. Edward had accepted their offers of submission; but although they would not act in concert with Wallace, whose successes had now effectually raised the spirit of the nation, they drew back from their agreement with Percy, and delayed the delivery of their hostages, until security should be given them for the preservation of the rights and liberties of their country. Sir William Douglas and the Bishop of Glasgow, however, considered that they were bound to abide by the capitulation signed at Irvine; and finding themselves unable to perform their articles of agreement, they voluntarily surrendered to the English.

Wallace's Successes

It was the fate of this last mentioned prelate to be trusted by neither party. Wallace, whose passions were fiery and impetuous, loudly accused him of treachery, attacked his castle, ravaged his lands, and led his servants and family captive; whilst the King of England declared that, under this surrender of himself at the castle of Roxburgh, a purpose was concealed of betraying that important fortress to the Scots.

Notwithstanding the capitulation of Irvine, the spirit of resistance became soon very general throughout the northern counties. In Aberdeenshire, especially, the revolt was serious; and Edward directed his writs to the bishop and sheriffs of the county, commanding them to punish the rebels for the murders and robberies which they had been committing, and to be on their guard against an intended attack upon the castle of Urquhart, then held by William de Warrene.

What were the particular successes of Wallace and his brethren in arms, during the summer months, which elapsed between the treaty at Irvine and the battle of Stirling, we have no authentic memorials to determine. That they had the effect of recruiting his army, and giving him the confidence of the body of the people of Scotland, is certain; for Knighton, an old English historian, informs us, "that the whole followers of the nobility had attached themselves to him; and that although the persons of their lords were with the King of England, their heart was with Wallace, who found his army reinforced by so immense a multitude of the Scots, that the community of the land obeyed him as their leader and their prince."

Edward, in the meantime, dissatisfied with the dilatory conduct of Surrey, in not sooner putting down a revolt, which the king's energetic and confident spirit caused him to treat too lightly, superseded him, and appointed Brian FitzAlan governor of Scotland. At the same time he liberated from their imprisonment in various castles through England, the Scottish nobles and barons taken at the battle of Dunbar, and carried them along with him to Flanders. Their forfeited lands were restored; but to secure their fidelity, the king compelled their eldest sons to remain in England as hostages.

Others of the Scottish nobles, whose fidelity was less suspected, were permitted to return home, under a promise of assisting in the reduction and pacification of the country; and as many of the most powerful and warlike English barons as he could spare from his expedition to Flanders, were directed to repair to Scotland, with all the horse and foot which they could muster, and to co-operate with Fitz-Alan and Surrey. Having taken these precautions, King Edward passed over to Flanders on the twenty-second of August.

Critical Position of the English Army

It was fortunate for the Scots, that Warrene the Earl of Surrey, evinced great remissness in insisting on the fulfilment of the treaty of Irvine. He was on bad terms with Cressingham the treasurer, a proud and violent churchman, who preferred the cuirass to the cassock ;and it is probable, that his being superseded in his government of Scotland, and yet commanded to remain with the army, was an indignity which so high a baron could ill brook.

The consequences of this inactivity were soon apparent. The Scottish barons still delayed the delivery of their hostages, and cautiously awaited the event of the war; whilst Wallace, at the head of a powerful army, having succeeded in expelling the English from the castles of Forfar, Brechin, Montrose, and nearly all their strongholds on the north of the Forth, had just begun the siege of the castle of Dundee, when he received intelligence that the English army, under the command of the Earl of Surrey, and Cressingham the treasurer, was on its march to Stirling. Well acquainted with the country there, his military skill taught him of what importance it would be to secure the high ground on the river Forth, above Cambuskenneth, before Surrey had passed the bridge at Stirling; and having commanded the citizens of Dundee, on pain of death, to continue the siege of the castle, he marched with great expedition, and found, to his satisfaction, that he had anticipated the English, so as to give him time to choose the most favourable position for his army, before the columns of Cressingham and Surrey had reached the other side of the river.

The nature of the ground concealed the Scottish army, which amounted to forty thousand foot, and one hundred and eighty horse. Wallace's intention was to induce the main body of the English to pass the bridge, and to attack them before they had time to form. Surrey was superior in numbers. He commanded a force of fifty thousand foot soldiers, and one thousand armed horse. Lord Henry Percy had marched from Carlisle towards Stirling, with a reinforcement of eight thousand foot and three hundred horse; but Cressingham the treasurer, dreading the expense of supporting so great a force, had, with an ill-judged economy, given orders for the disbanding these succours, as he considered the army in the field to be sufficient for the emergency.

The Steward of Scotland, the Earl of Lennox, and others of the Scottish barons, were at this time with the English army; and on coming to Stirling, requested Surrey to delay an attack till they had attempted to bring Wallace to terms. They soon returned, and declared that they had failed in their hopes of pacification, but that they themselves would join the English force with sixty armed horse. It was now evening, and the Scottish barons, in leaving the army, met a troop of English soldiers returning from forage. Whether from accident or design, a skirmish took place between these two bodies, and the Earl of Lennox" stabbed an English soldier in the throat. This, of course, raised a tumult in the camp; a cry arose that they were betrayed by the Scots; and there seems to be little doubt that Lennox and his friends were secretly negotiating with Wallace, and only waited for a favourable opportunity of joining him. Crying out for vengeance, the English soldiers carried their wounded comrade before their general, and reproached him with having trusted those who had broken their faith, and would betray them to the enemy. "Stay this one night,'' said he, "and if to-morrow they do not keep their promise, you shall have ample revenge." He then commanded his soldiers to be ready to pass the bridge next day: and thus, with a carelessness little worthy of an experienced commander, who had the fate of a great army dependent on his activity and foresight, he permitted Wallace to tamper with his countrymen in the English service; to become acquainted with the numbers and array of the English force; and to adopt, at his leisure, his own measures for their discomfiture.

Early next day, five thousand foot and a large body of the Welsh passed the bridge by sunrise, and soon after repassed it, on finding that they were not followed by the rest of the army, and that the Earl of Surrey was still asleep in the camp. After an hour the earl awoke, the army was drawn up, and as was then usual before any great battle, many new knights were created, some of whom were fated to die in their first field. It was now the time when the Scottish barons ought to have joined with their sixty horse; and Surrey, having looked for them in vain, commanded the infantry to cross the bridge. This order was scarcely given when it was again recalled, as the Steward of Scotland and the Earl of Lennox were seen approaching, and it was hoped, brought offers of pacification. But the contrary was the case. They had failed, they said, in all their efforts to prevail on the Scottish army to listen to any proposals, and had not been able to persuade a single soldier to desert. As a last resource, Surrey, who seems to have been aware of the strong position occupied by the Scots, and of the danger of crossing the river, despatched two friars to propose terms to Wallace, who made this memorable reply :—" Return to your friends, and tell them that we came here with no peaceful intent, but ready for battle, and determined to avenge our own wrongs and set our country free. Let your masters come and attack us: we are ready to meet them beard to beard."

Battle of Stirling, and Defeat of the English

Stung with this reproach, Surrey weakly submitted his better judgment to the rashness of this churchman, and commanded the army to defile over the bridge. Sir Marmaduke Twenge, a knight of great experience and courage, along with Cressingham himself, led the van; and when nearly the half of the army had passed the bridge, perceiving that the Scots kept their strong ground on the heights, Twenge, with chivalrous impetuosity, gave orders for a charge, and made the heavyarmed cavalry spur their horses up the hill. The consequence of this precipitate movement was fatal to the English. A part of the Scottish army had by this time made a circuit and possessed themselves of the foot of the bridge; and Wallace, the moment that he saw the commuaication between the van arid the rear of the English force thus cut off, and all retreat impossible, rushed rapidly down from the high ground, and attacking Twenge and Cressingham, before they had time to form, threw them into inextricable disorder.

In an instant all was tumult and confusion. Many were slain, multitudes of the heavy-armed horse plunged into the river, and were drowned in making a vain effort to rejoin Surrey, who kept on the other side, a spectator of the discomfiture of the flower of his army. In the meantime, the standard-bearers of the king, and of the earl, with another part of the army, passed over, and shared the fate of their companions, being instantly cut to pieces. A spirited scene now took place. Sir Marmaduke Twenge, on looking round, perceived that the Scots had seized the bridge, and that he and his soldiers were cut off from the rest of the army. A knight advised, in this perilous crisis, that they should throw themselves into the river, and swim their horses to the opposite bank. "What," cried Twenge, "volunteer to drown myself, when I can cut my way through the midst of them, back to the bridge? Never let such foul slander fall on us!" So saying he put spurs to his horse, and driving him into the midst of the enemy, hewed a passage for himself through the thickest of the Scottish columns, and rejoined his friends, with his nephew and his armour-bearer, in perfect safety.

Meanwhile the Scots committed a dreadful slaughter. It is the remark of the historian Hemingford, who describes this victory of Stirling from the information of eye-witnesses, that in all Scotland there could not be found a place better fitted for the defeat of a powerful army by a handful of men, than the ground which Wallace had chosen. Multitudes perished in the river; and as the confusion and slaughter increased, and the entire defeat of the English became inevitable, the Earl of Lennox and the Steward of Scotland, who, although allies of the King of England, were secretly in treaty with Wallace, threw off the mask, and led a body of their followers to destroy and plunder the flying English.

Surrey, on being joined by Sir Marmaduke Twenge, remained no longer on the field; but having hastily ordered him to occupy the castle of Stirling, which he promised to relieve in ten days, he rode, without drawing bridle, to Berwick: a clear proof of the total defeat of the powerful army which he had led into Scotland. From Berwick he proceeded to join the Prince of Wales in the south, and left the country which had been intrusted to him, exposed to ravage and desolation. Although the English historians restrict the loss of soldiers in this fatal and important battle to five thousand foot, and a hundred heavy-armed horse,"f it is probable that nearly one half of the English army was cut to pieces, and Cressingham the treasurer was amongst the first who fell. Hemingford allows, that the plunder which fell into the hands of the Scots was very great, and that waggons were filled with the spoils.

Surrender of Dundee to Wallace

Smarting under the cruelty and rapacity with which they had been treated by the English, the Scots were not slow now to take their revenge, nor was Wallace of a temper to restrain his soldiers. Few prisoners seem to have fallen into their hands, and the slaughter was general and indiscriminate. So deep was the detestation in which the character of Cressingham was regarded, that his dead body was mangled, the skin torn from the limbs, and in savage triumph cut into pieces.

The decisive nature of the defeat is, perhaps, most apparent, from the important consequences which attended it. To use the words of Knighton, "this awful beginning of hostilities roused the spirit of Scotland, and sunk the hearts of the English." Dundee immediately surrendered to Wallace, and rewarded his army by a rich booty of arms and money. In a short time not a fortress or castle in Scotland remained in the hands of Edward.

He occupies Berwick

A dreadful dearth and famine, no unfrequent accompaniment of the ravages of war, now fell severely upon the country; and Wallace, profiting by the panic inspired by his victory at Stirling, resolved upon an immediate expedition into England. To enable his own people to lay in, against the time of scarcity, the provisions which would otherwise be consumed by his numerous army, and to support his soldiers during the winter months in an enemy's country, were wise objects. Previous, however, to his marching into England, he commanded, that from every county, barony, town, and village, a certain proportion of the fighting men, between sixteen and sixty, should be levied. These levies, "however, even after so decisive a victory as that of Stirling, were tardily made.

The vassals of Scotland, tied up by the rigid fetters of the feudal law, could not join Wallace without the authority of their overlords; and as most of the Scottish nobility had left hostages for their fidelity in the hands of Edward, and many of them possessed great estates in England, which, upon joining Wallace, would have immediately been forfeited, they did not yet dare to take the field against the English. A jealousy, too, of the high military renown and great popularity of Wallace, prevented all cordial co-operation; and the contempt with which this deliverer of his country must have regarded the nobility, who yet sheltered themselves under the protection of Edward, was not calculated to allay this feeling.

Wallace invades England

The battle of Stirling was fought on the eleventh of September; and on the twenty-fifth of that month the English government, alarmed at the success of Wallace, sent letters to the principal Scottish nobility, praising them for their fidelity to the king; informing them that they were aware the Earl of Surrey was on his way to England, (a delicate way of noticing the flight of Warrene from Stirling and directing them to join Brian Fitz-Alan, the governor of Scotland, with all their horse and foot, in order to put down the rebellion of the Scots. The only nobles with whom the English government did not communicate, were the Earls of Caithness, Ross, Mar, Athole, Fife, and Carrick. Fife, however, was a minor; the others, we may presume, had by this time joined the party of Wallace.

The great majority of the nobles being still against him, this intrepid leader found it difficult to procure new levies, and was constrained to adopt severe measures against all who were refractory. Gibbets were erected in each barony and county town; and some burgesses of Aberdeen, who had disobeyed the summons, were hanged.After this example he soon found himself at the head of a numerous army; and having taken with him, as his partner in command, Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell, then a young soldier of great promise, and afterwards regent of the kingdom, he marched towards the north of England, and threatened Northumberland. Such was the terror inspired by the approach of the Scots, that the whole population of this county, with their wives and children, their cattle and household goods, deserted their dwellings, and took refuge in Newcastle. The Scots, to whom plunder was a principal object, delayed their advance; and the Northumbrians, imagining the danger to be over, returned home; but Wallace, informed of this by his scouts, made a rapid march across the border, and dreadfully ravaged the two counties of Cumberland and Northumberland, carrying off an immense booty, and having the head-quarters of his army in the forest of Rothebury. "At this time," says Hemingford, "the praise of God was unheard in any church and monastery through the whole country, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to the gates of Carlisle; for the monks, canons regular, and other priests, who were ministers of the Lord, fled, with the whole people, from the face of the enemy; nor was there any to oppose them, except that now and then a few English, who belonged to the castle of Alnwick, and other strengths, ventured from their safe-holds, and slew some stragglers. But these were slight successes; and the Scots roved over the country from the Feast of St Luke to St Martin's day,* inflicting upon it all the miseries of unrestrained rapine and bloodshed."

After this, Wallace assembled his whole army, and proceeded in his destructive march to Carlisle. He did not deem it prudent, however, to attack this city, which was strongly garrisoned; and contented himself with laying waste Cumberland and Annandale, from Inglewood forest to Derwentwater and Cockermouth. It was next determined to invade the county of Durham, which would have been easily accomplished, as three thousand foot and a hundred armed horse were all that could be mustered for its defence. But the winter now set in with great severity. The frost was so intense, and the scarcity of provisions so grievous, that multitudes of the Scots perished by cold or famine, and Wallace commanded a retreat. On returning to Hexham, where there was a rich monastery, which had already been plundered and deserted on the advance, a striking scene occurred. Three monks were seen in the solitary monastery. Thinking that the tide of war had passed over, they had crept back, to repair the ravages it had left, when suddenly they saw the army returning, and fled in terror into a little chapel. In a moment the Scottish soldiers with their long lances were upon them, calling, on peril of their lives, to showthem the treasures of their monastery. "Alas," said one of the monks, "it is but a short time sine" you yourselves have seized our whole property, and you know best where it now is." At this moment Wallaee himself came into the chapel, and, commanding his soldiers to be silent, requested one of the canons to celebrate mass. The monk obeyed, and Wallace, all armed as he was, and surrounded by his soldiers, reverently attended; when it came to the elevation of the host, he stepped out of the chapel to cast off his helmet and lay aside his arms, but in this short absence the fury and avarice of his soldiers broke out. They pressed on the priest, snatched the chalice from the altar, tore away its ornaments and the sacred vestments, and even stole the missal in which the service had been begun. When their master returned, he found the priest in horror and dismay, and gave orders that the sacrilegious wretches who had committed the outrage, should be sought for and put to death.

Lord Robert Clifford invades Annadale

Meanwhile he took the canons under his protection. "Remain with me," said he, "it is that alone which can secure you. My soldiers are evil disposed. I cannot justify, and I dare not punish them." This sacrilegious attack was the more unpardonable, as the monastery of Hexham was dedicated to the Patron Saint of Scotland, and enjoyed a perpetual protection from King David. Wallace, to atone for the outrage, granted a charter of protection to the priory and convent, by which its lands, men, and moveables, were admitted under the peace of the king, and all persons interdicted from doing them injury. The Scots now advanced to Newcastle, but finding the garrison prepared to stand a siege, they contented themselves with ravaging the adjacent country; and having collected the booty, they allotted their part to the Galwegians who were with the army, and marched homewards.

In revenge for this terrible visitation, Lord Robert Clifford collected the strength of Carlisle and Cumberland, and twice invaded Annandale with an army of twenty thousand foot and a hundred horse. On passing the Solway, it was proclaimed by sound of trumpet, that every soldier should plunder for himself, and keep his own booty; on hearing which, the infantry with undisciplined rapacity dispersed, and the horse alone remained together. In consequence of this, nothing was effected worthy of so powerful an army. Three hundred and eight Scots were slain, ten villages or hamlets burnt, and a few prisoners taken. This happened at Christmas. In his second inroad, the town of Annan, and the church of Gysborne, were burnt and plundered. Annandale belonged to Robert Bruce; and the destruction of his lands and villages determined him once more to desert the English, and join the party of the patriots.

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Timeline of Scottish History

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Timeline of Scottish History

History of Scotland by Patrick Tytler 2

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