Battle of Bannock Burn

When the patriot leader William Wallace was brutally executed in 1305 Robert the Bruce
realised that Scotland would cease to be a nation if England continued to treat the land and its
people so brutally. Scotland had suffered oppression from Edward I for 10 years. After
destroying the Scots army at Falkirk in 1298 the country lay at Edwards mercy. Scotland was
occupied by Edwards soldiers and garrisons were placed the length of the country.

Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland in 1306 at Scone Palace - but still had to
recover his kingdom from the English. At the Battle of Methven Bruce was defeated and had to
retreat into exile.The following year he returned from exile and won Battles at Glen Trool and
Loudoun Hill - however Edward I dies while preparing to conquer Bruce and his army. Edward
II invaded Scotland for the first time in 1310 - Bruce retaliated by invading Northern England the
following year using guerilla warfare rather than a pitched battle with the formidable English
Army. These techniques learnt during this period were to prove useful.

An agreement had been made by the English Governor of Stirling Castle with King Roberts
brother that the castle would be surrendered to Bruce if the seige by the Scots had not been
relieved before Midsummer day 1314

Edward II decided he must relieve the castle in time and force the Scots into battle - destroying
them in one fell swoop.

The English army consisted of around 17,000 men made up as follows :

• Heavy cavalry, well equipped with chain mail and armour , a 12ft lance and a mace or
battle axe as a close combat weapon.
• Archers carried a long bow, 24 arrows and a dagger as a personal weapon. They were
enlisted from Wales, Ireland and mid and northern England.
• Foot soldiers carried a 12ft spear, a shield and a sword.
The Scottish forces consisted of only about 5,500 men. They were divided into 4 divisions of
foot and his horsemen into a small body of around 500 light cavalry. Robert the Bruce himself
commanded the 4th division which was the strongest of the four.On 17th June the English army
marched to Edinburgh to collect supplies. On the 22nd they reached Falkirk and rested overnight.
The next day they followed the Roman Road to Stirling - leaving Edward II 2 days to relieve the
castle
Bruce had planned well - he had dug camouflaged pits and laid calthrops to maim the enemy
cavalry. The Scots position had been well chosen - it covered Stirling Castle and forced Edward
to attack either on wooded terrain or to risk going round the boggy carse At mid-day the English
advanced towards the Scots position under the Earls of Gloucester and Hereford , while Clifford
and de Beaumonts force turned off to cross the Bannock Burn.

Robert the Bruce was riding round his forward troops when the mounted patrols were seen after
crossing the Bannock Burn. Sir Henry de Bohun recognised him from the gold coronet he was
wearing and charged at the unarmoured Bruce with his lance. Bruce avoided this and killed de
Buhun with a single blow to the head with his battle-axe. The English were driven back onto the
main guard and back across the Bannock Burn.
In the meantime Clifford and de Beaumonts force were moving quickly along the edge of the
carse. The Scots under Moray, were charged by the whole force - however the horses shied off in
front of the ranks of spears. Clifford and de Beaumont surrounded Moray on all sides but were
frustrated by the tight ‘hedgehog’ the Scots had formed with their spears. The frustrated knights
hurled their maces and battle axes at the Scots to try and force an opening - and did not succeed.
Moray counterattacked and drove the English from the field ending the fighting for that day.

The English under Edward decided to move nearer Stirling across the Bannock Burn so that he
could relieve Stirling Castle the next day - this movement took place watched by Bruce and his
men. The moral in the English camp was low and reports of this quickly came back to Bruce.

On the morning of the 24th June the Scots moved down onto the plain and within hundreds of
yards of the English knelt down to pray. The English were ordered to charge Edward Bruce but
his men formed a ‘hedgehog’ around him – Gloucester was killed on the spears. Both sides were
so locked together that the archers were unable to fire – the English quickly broke up and the
riderless horses ran back into their main body sending it into confusion. The other three Scottish
divisions pushed forward – the English were trapped into a narrow frontage between the river
and the boggy carse
A long fight followed with the Scottish spearmen slowly and steadily pressing forward. The
English were able to deploy a body of archers on the left flank and their fire began to take effect.
The Scots Islesmen rushed upon the English who began to give some ground - lines of Scottish
spearmen drove them back against the back line who could not get into action because of the
confused mass between them and the Scots.

Edward II was persuaded to retreat to Stirling Castle – when his standard was seen leaving the
battlefield the whole English army began to waver. Watching this were Bruces ‘small folk’ –
followers who had been held in reserve – they rushed down onto the plain to join in the battle.
The English thought these were Scottish reserves and the whole English army disintegrated and
fled being chased in every direction. Many of the English soldiers fled to the Forth and to
destruction while others were forced back into the high tide at the Bannock Burn and drowned.
Edward was refused entry at Stirling Castle and was then pursued to Dunbar where he escaped
by rowing boat to Berwick.

The English casualties were very heavy – nearly all the foot and archers were killed or captured .

King Robert had proved himself to be a skilled general – his personal courage and ambition was
decisive in the struggle for Scottish Independence although it was to be a number of years before
the Declaration of Arbroath and then the treaty of Northampton led to formal recognition by the
English of Scottish Independence

Author Corinne Mills

Images by Richard Hayton