The Battle of Stirling Bridge
Upon rejoining his force Sir William Wallace called the few knights
and gentlemen who were with him together, and said to them:
"Methinks, gentlemen, that the woes of this contest should not fall
upon one side only. Every one of you here are outlawed, and if you
are taken by the English will be executed or thrown in prison for
life, and your lands and all belonging to you forfeited. It is time
that those who fight upon the other side should learn that they
too run some risk. Besides leading his vassals in the field against
us, Sir John Kerr twice in arms has attacked me, and done his best
to slay me or deliver me over to the English. He fell yesterday by
my hand at Stirling, and I hereby declare forfeit the land which
he held in the county of Lanark, part of which he wrongfully took
from Sir William Forbes, and his own fief adjoining. Other broad
lands he owns in Ayrshire, but these I will not now touch; but the
lands in Lanark, both his own fief and that of the Forbeses, I,
as Warden of Scotland, hereby declare forfeit and confiscated, and
bestow them upon my good friend, Sir Archie Forbes. Sir John Grahame,
do you proceed tomorrow with five hundred men and take possession
of the hold of the Kerrs. Sir Allan Kerr is still at Stirling, and
will not be there to defend it. Like enough the vassals will make
no resistance, but will gladly accept the change of masters. The
Kerrs have the reputation of being hard lords, and their vassals
cannot like being forced to fight against the cause of their country.
The hired men-at-arms may resist, but you will know how to make
short work of these. I ask you to go rather than Sir Archibald
Forbes, because I would not that it were said that he took the
Kerr's hold on his private quarrel. When you have captured it he
shall take a hundred picked men as a garrison. The place is strong.
"Your new possessions, Archie, will, as you know, be held on
doubtful tenure. If we conquer, and Scotland is freed, I doubt in
no way that the king, whoever he may be, will confirm my grant.
If the English win, your land is lost, be it an acre or a county.
And now let me be the first to congratulate you on having won by
your sword and your patriotism the lands of your father, and on
having repaid upon your family's enemies the measure which they
meted to you. But you will still have to beware of the Kerrs. They
are a powerful family, being connected by marriage with the Comyns
of Badenoch, and other noble houses. Their lands in Ayr are as
extensive as those in Lanark, even with your father's lands added
to their own. However, if Scotland win the day the good work that
you have done should well outweigh all the influence which they
might bring to bear against you.
"And now, Archie, I can, for a time, release you. Ere long Edward's
army will be pouring across the Border, and then I shall need every
good Scotchman's sword. Till then you had best retire to your new
estates, and spend the time in preparing your vassals to follow
you in the field, and in putting one or other of your castles in
the best state of defence you may. Methinks that the Kerr's hold
may more easily be made to withstand a lengthened siege than Glen
Cairn, seeing that the latter is commanded by the hill beside it.
Kerr's castle, too, is much larger and more strongly fortified. I
need no thanks," he continued, as Archie was about to express his
warm gratitude; "it is the Warden of Scotland who rewards your
services to the country; but Sir William Wallace will not forget
how you have twice stood beside him against overwhelming odds, and
how yesterday, in Stirling, it was your watchful care and thoughtful
precaution which alone saved his life."
Archie's friends all congratulated him warmly, and the next morning,
with his own band, he started for Glen Cairn. Here the news that
he was once more their lawful chief caused the greatest delight.
It was evening when he reached the village, and soon great bonfires
blazed in the street, and as the news spread burned up from many
an outlying farm. Before night all the vassals of the estate came
in, and Glen Cairn and the village was a scene of great enthusiasm.
Much as Archie regretted that he could not establish himself in
the hold of his father, he felt that Wallace's suggestion was the
right one. Glen Cairn was a mere shell, and could in no case be
made capable of a prolonged resistance by a powerful force. Whereas,
the castle of the Kerrs was very strong. It was a disappointment
to his retainers when they heard that he could not at once return
among them; but they saw the force of his reasons, and he promised
that if Scotland was freed and peace restored, he would again make
Glen Cairn habitable, and pass some of his time there.
"In the meantime," he said, "I shall be but eight miles from you,
and the estate will be all one. But now I hope that for the next
three months every man among you will aid me--some by personal
labour, some by sending horses and carts--in the work of
strengthening to the utmost my new castle of Aberfilly, which I
wish to make so strong that it will long resist an attack. Should
Scotland be permanently conquered, which may God forfend, it could
not, of course, be held; but should we have temporary reverses we
might well hold out until our party again gather head."
Every man on the estate promised his aid to an extent far beyond
that which Archie, as their feudal superior, had a right to demand
from them. They had had a hard time under the Kerrs, who had raised
all rents, and greatly increased their feudal services. They were
sure of good treatment should the Forbeses make good their position
as their lords, and were ready to make any sacrifices to aid them
to do so.
Next morning a messenger arrived from Sir John Grahame, saying that
he had, during the night, stormed Aberfilly, and that with scarce
an exception all the vassals of the Kerrs--when upon his arrival
on the previous day they had learned of his purpose in coming,
and of the disposition which Wallace had made of the estate--had
accepted the change with delight, and had joined him in the assault
upon the castle, which was defended only by thirty men-at-arms.
These had all been killed, and Sir John invited Archie to ride
over at once and take possession. This he did, and found that the
vassals of the estate were all gathered at the castle to welcome
him. He was introduced to them by Sir John Grahame, and they
received Archie with shouts of enthusiasm, and all swore obedience
to him as their feudal lord. Archie promised them to be a kind
and lenient chief, to abate any unfair burdens which had been laid
upon them, and to respect all their rights.
"But," he said, "just at first I must ask for sacrifices from you.
This castle is strong, but it must be made much stronger, and must
be capable of standing a continued siege in case temporary reverses
should enable the English to endeavour to retake it for their
friend, Sir Allan Kerr. My vassals at Glen Cairn have promised an
aid far beyond that which I can command, and I trust that you also
will extend your time of feudal service, and promise you a relaxation
in future years equivalent to the time you may now give."
The demand was readily assented to, for the tenants of Aberfilly
were no less delighted than those of Glen Cairn to escape from the
rule of the Kerrs. Archie, accompanied by Sir John Grahame, now
made an inspection of the walls of his new hold. It stood just where
the counties of Linlithgow and Edinburgh join that of Lanark. It
was built on an island on a tributary of the Clyde. The stream was
but a small one, and the island had been artificially made, so that
the stream formed a moat on either side of it, the castle occupying
a knoll of ground which rose somewhat abruptly from the surrounding
country. The moat was but twelve feet wide, and Archie and Sir John
decided that this should be widened to fifty feet and deepened to
ten, and that a dam should be built just below the castle to keep
back the stream and fill the moat. The walls should everywhere be
raised ten feet, several strong additional flanking towers added,
and a work built beyond the moat to guard the head of the drawbridge.
With such additions Aberfilly would be able to stand a long siege
by any force which might assail it.
Timber, stones, and rough labour there were in abundance, and
Wallace had insisted upon Archie's taking from the treasures which
had been captured from the enemy, a sum of money which would be
ample to hire skilled masons from Lanark, and to pay for the cement,
iron, and other necessaries which would be beyond the resources
of the estate. These matters in train, Archie rode to Lanark and
fetched his proud and rejoicing mother from Sir Robert Gordon's
to Aberfilly. She was accompanied by Sandy Graham and Elspie: the
former Archie appointed majordomo, and to be in command of the
garrison whenever he should be absent.
The vassals were as good as their word. For three months the work
of digging, quarrying, cutting, and squaring timber and building
went on without intermission. There were upon the estates fully
three hundred ablebodied men, and the work progressed rapidly. When,
therefore, Archie received a message from Wallace to join him near
Stirling, he felt that he could leave Aberfilly without any fear
of a successful attack being made upon it in his absence.
There was need, indeed, for all the Scotch, capable of bearing
arms, to gather round Wallace. Under the Earl of Surrey, the high
treasurer Cressingham, and other leaders, an army of 50,000 foot
and 1000 horse were advancing from Berwick, while 8000 foot and
300 horse under Earl Percy advanced from Carlisle. Wallace was
besieging the castle of Dundee when he heard of their approach,
and leaving the people of Dundee to carry on the siege under the
command of Sir Alexander Scrymgeour, he himself marched to defend
the only bridge by which Edward could cross the Forth, near Stirling.
Thus far Surrey had experienced no resistance, and at the head
of so large and well appointed a force he might well feel sure
of success. A large proportion of his army consisted of veterans
inured to service in wars at home, in Wales, and with the French,
while the mail clad knights and men-at-arms looked with absolute
contempt upon the gathering which was opposed to them. This consisted
solely of popular levies of men who had left their homes and taken
up arms for the freedom of their country. They were rudely armed and
hastily trained. Of all the feudal nobles of Scotland who should have
led them, but one, Sir Andrew Moray, was present. Their commander
was still little more than a youth, who, great as was his individual
valour and prowess, had had no experience in the art of war on
a large scale; while the English were led by a general whose fame
was known throughout Europe.
The Scots took up their station upon the high ground north of the
Forth, protected from observation by the precipitous hill immediately
behind Cambuskenneth Abbey and known as the Abbey Craig. In a bend
of the river, opposite the Abbey Craig, stood the bridge by which
the English army were preparing to cross. Archie stood beside
Wallace on the top of the craig, looking at the English array.
"It is a fair sight," he said; "the great camp, with its pavilions,
its banners, and pennons, lying there in the valley, with the old
castle rising on the lofty rock behind them. It is a pity that such
a sight should bode evil to Scotland."
"Yes," Wallace said; "I would that the camp lay where it is, but
that the pennons and banners were those of Scotland's nobles, and
that the royal lions floated over Surrey's tent. Truly that were
a sight which would glad a Scot's heart. When shall we see ought
like it? However, Archie," he went on in a lighter tone, "methinks
that that will be a rare camp to plunder."
Archie laughed. "One must kill the lion before one talks of dividing
his skin," he said; "and truly it seems well nigh impossible that
such a following as yours, true Scots and brave men though they
be, yet altogether undisciplined and new to war, should be able to
bear the brunt of such a battle."
"You are thinking of Dunbar," Wallace said; "and did we fight in
such a field our chances would be poor; but with that broad river
in front and but a narrow bridge for access, methinks that we can
render an account of them."
"God grant it be so!" Archie replied; "but I shall be right glad
when the day is over."
Three days before the battle the Steward of Scotland, the Earl of
Lennox, and others of the Scotch magnates entered Surrey's camp
and begged that he would not attack until they tried to induce the
people to lay down their arms. They returned, however, on the third
day saying that they would not listen to them, but that the next
day they would, themselves, join his army with their men-at-arms.
On leaving the camp that evening the Scotch nobles, riding homeward,
had a broil with some English soldiers, of whom one was wounded by
the Earl of Lennox. News being brought to Surrey, he resolved to
wait no longer, but gave orders that the assault should take place
on the following morning. At daybreak of the 11th of September,
1297, one of the outposts woke Wallace with the news that the English
were crossing the bridge. The troops were at once got under arms,
and were eager to rush down to commence the battle, but Wallace
restrained them. Five thousand Welsh foot soldiers crossed the
bridge, then there was a pause, and none were seen following them.
"Were we to charge down now, Sir William," Archie said, "surely we
might destroy that body before aid could come to them."
"We could do, Archie, as you say," Wallace replied, "but such
a success would be of little worth, nay, would harm rather than
benefit us, for Surrey, learning that we are not altogether to be
despised, as he now believes, would be more prudent in future and
would keep his army in the flat country, where we could do nought
against it. No, to win much one must risk much, and we must wait
until half Surrey's army is across before we venture down against
them."
Presently the Welsh were seen to retire again. Their movement had
been premature. Surrey was still asleep, and nothing could be done
until he awoke; when he did so the army armed leisurely, after which
Surrey bestowed the honour of knighthood upon many young aspirants.
The number of the Scots under Wallace is not certainly known; the
majority of the estimates place it below twenty thousand, and as
the English historian, who best describes the battle, speaks of it
as the defeat of the many by the few, it can certainly be assumed
that it did not exceed this number.
Only on the ground of his utter contempt for the enemy can the
conduct of the Earl of Surrey, in attempting to engage in such a
position, be understood. The bridge was wide enough for but two,
or at most three, horsemen to cross abreast, and when those who had
crossed were attacked assistance could reach them but slowly from
the rear.
The English knights and men-at-arms, with the Royal Standard and
the banner of the Earl of Surrey, crossed first. The men-at-arms
were followed by the infantry, who, as they passed, formed up on
the tongue of land formed by the winding of the river.
When half the English army had passed Wallace gave the order to
advance. First Sir Andrew Moray, with two thousand men, descended
the hills farther to the right, and on seeing these the English
cavalry charged at once against them. The instant they did so
Wallace, with his main army, poured down from the craig impetuously
and swept away the English near the head of the bridge, taking
possession of the end, and by showers of arrows and darts preventing
any more from crossing. By this maneuver the whole of the English
infantry who had crossed were cut off from their friends and inclosed
in the narrow promontory.
The English men-at-arms had succeeded in overthrowing the Scots,
against whom they had charged, and had pursued them some distance;
but upon drawing rein and turning to rejoin the army, they found
the aspect of affairs changed indeed. The troops left at the head
of the bridge were overthrown and destroyed. The royal banner and
that of Surrey were down, and the bridge in the possession of the
enemy. The men-at-arms charged back and strove in vain to recover
the head of the bridge. The Scots fought stubbornly; those in front
made a hedge of pikes, while those behind hurled darts and poured
showers of arrows into the English ranks. The greater proportion
of the men-at-arms were killed. One valiant knight alone, Sir
Marmaduke de Twenge, with his nephew and a squire, cut their way
through the Scots, and crossed the bridge. Many were drowned in
attempting to swim the river, one only succeeding in so gaining
the opposite side.
The men-at-arms defeated, Wallace and the chosen band under him,
who had been engaged with them, joined those who were attacking the
English and Welsh, now cooped up in the promontory. Flushed with
the success already gained the Scots were irresistible, and almost
every man who had crossed was either killed or drowned in attempting
to swim the river. No sooner had he seen that the success in this
quarter was secure than Wallace led a large number of his followers
across the bridge. Here the English, who still outnumbered his army,
and who had now all the advantage of position which had previously
been on the side of the Scots, might have defended the bridge, or
in good order have given him battle on the other side. The sight,
however, of the terrible disaster which had befallen nearly half
their number before their eyes, without their being able to render
them the slightest assistance, had completely demoralized them,
and as soon as the Scotch were seen to be crossing the bridge they
fled in terror. A hot pursuit was kept up by the fleet footed and
lightly armed Scots, and great numbers of fugitives were slain.
More than 20,000 English perished in the battle or flight, and the
remainder crossed the Border a mere herd of broken fugitives.
The Earl of Surrey, before riding off the field, committed the charge
of the Castle of Stirling to Sir Marmaduke de Twenge, promising him
that he would return to his relief within ten weeks at the utmost.
All the tents, wagons, horses, provisions, and stores of the English
fell into the hands of their enemies, and every Scotch soldier
obtained rich booty.
Cressingham was among the number killed. It was said by one
English historian, and his account has been copied by many others,
that Cressingham's body was flayed and his skin divided among the
Scots; but there appears no good foundation for the story, although
probably Cressingham, who had rendered himself peculiarly obnoxious
and hateful to the Scots, was hewn in pieces. But even were it
proved that the ill story is a true one, it need excite no surprise,
seeing the wholesale slaying, plundering, and burning which had
been carried on by the English, and that the Scottish prisoners
falling into their hands were often mutilated and tortured before
being executed and quartered. The English historians were fond of
crying out that the Scotch were a cruel and barbarous people whenever
they retaliated for the treatment which they suffered; but so far
from this being the case, it is probable that the Scotch, before
the first invasion of Edward, were a more enlightened and, for
their numbers, a more well-to-do people than the English. They had
for many years enjoyed peace and tranquillity, and under the long
and prosperous reign of Alexander had made great advances, while
England had been harassed by continuous wars and troubles at home
and abroad. Its warlike barons, when not engaged under its monarchs
in wars in Wales, Ireland, and France, occupied themselves in quarrels
with each other, or in struggles against the royal supremacy; and
although the higher nobles, with their mailclad followers, could
show an amount of chivalrous pomp unknown in Scotland, yet the
condition of the middle classes and of the agricultural population
was higher in Scotland than in England.
Archie, as one of the principal leaders of the victorious army,
received a share of the treasure captured in the camp sufficient to
repay the money which he had had for the strengthening of the Castle
of Aberfilly, and on the day following the battle he received
permission from Sir William to return at once, with the 250 retainers
which he had brought into the field, to complete the rebuilding of
the castle. In another three months this was completed, and stores
of arms and munition of all kinds collected.
Immediately after the defeat at Stirling Bridge, King Edward summoned
the Scottish nobles to join Brian Fitzallan, whom he appointed
governor of Scotland, with their whole forces, for the purpose of
putting down the rebellion. Among those addressed as his allies were
the Earls Comyn of Badenoch, Comyn of Buchan, Patrick of Dunbar,
Umfraville of Angus, Alexander of Menteith, Malise of Strathearn,
Malcolm of Lennox, and William of Sutherland, together with James
the Steward, Nicholas de la Haye, Ingelram de Umfraville, Richard
Fraser, and Alexander de Lindsay of Crawford. From this enumeration
it is clear that Wallace had still many enemies to contend with at
home as well as the force of England. Patrick of Dunbar, assisted
by Robert Bruce and Bishop Anthony Beck, took the field, but was
defeated. Wallace captured all the castles of the earl save Dunbar
itself, and forced him to fly to England; then the Scotch army
poured across the Border and retaliated upon the northern counties
for the deeds which the English had been performing in Scotland
for the last eight years. The country was ravaged to the very walls
of Durham and Carlisle, and only those districts which bought off
the invaders were spared. The title which had been bestowed upon
Wallace by a comparatively small number was now ratified by the
commonalty of the whole of Scotland; and associated with him was
the young Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell, whose father had been the
only Scotch noble who had fought at Stirling, and it is notable
that in some of the documents of the time Wallace gives precedence
to Andrew Moray.
They proceeded to effect a military organization of the country,
dividing it up into districts, each with commanders and lieutenants.
Order was established and negotiations entered into for the mutual
safeguard of traders with the Hanse towns.
The nobles who ventured to oppose the authority of Wallace and his
colleague were punished in some cases by the confiscation of lands,
which were bestowed upon Sir Alexander Scrymgeour and other loyal
gentlemen, and these grants were recognized by Bruce when he became
king. In these deeds of grant Wallace and Moray, although acting as
governors of Scotland, state that they do so in the name of Baliol
as king, although a helpless captive in England. For a short time
Scotland enjoyed peace, save that Earl Percy responded to the raids
made by the Scots across the Border, by carrying fire and sword
through Annandale; and the English writers who complain of the
conduct of the Scots, have no word of reprobation for the proclamation
issued to the soldiers on crossing the Border, that they were free
to plunder where they chose, nor as to the men and women slain,
nor the villages and churches committed to the flames.