Bannockburn
After the complete defeat of the party under Lord Clifford, and the
failure of their attempt to relieve Stirling, Randolph and Douglas
returned together to the king. The news of their success spread
rapidly, and when Randolph rode down from St. Ninians to his
division, loud cheers broke from the whole Scottish army, who were
vastly encouraged at so fair a commencement of their struggle with
the English.
The English army was still advancing slowly, and Bruce and his
leaders rode down to the front of the Scottish line, seeing that
all was in order and encouraging the men with cheering words. When
the English army approached the stream King Edward ordered a halt
to be sounded for the purpose of holding a council, whether it was
best to encamp for the night or at once to advance against the
enemy. The Earls of Gloucester and Hereford, who commanded the
first division, were so far ahead that they did not hear the sound
of the trumpet, and continuing their onward march crossed the Bannock
Burn and moved on toward the Scotch array. In front of the ranks
of the defenders the king was riding upon a small palfrey, not
having as yet put on his armour for the battle. On his helmet he
wore a purple cap surmounted by a crown. Seeing him thus within
easy reach, Sir Henry de Bohun, cousin of the Earl of Hereford,
laid his lance in rest and spurred down upon the king. Bruce could
have retired within the lines of his soldiers; but confident in his
own prowess, and judging how great an effect a success under such
circumstances would have upon the spirits of his troops, he spurred
forward to meet his assailant armed only with his axe. As the
English knight came thundering down, the king touched his palfrey
with his spur, and the horse, carrying but a light weight, swerved
quickly aside; De Bohun's lance missed his stroke, and before he had
time to draw rein or sword, the king, standing up in his stirrups,
dealt him so tremendous a blow with his axe as he passed, that it
cleft through helmet and brain, and the knight fell dead to the
ground.
With a shout of triumph the Scotch rushed forward and drove
the English advance guard back across the stream; then the Scotch
leaders led their men back again to the position which they had
quitted, and reformed their array. Douglas, Edward Bruce, Randolph,
and Archie Forbes now gathered round the king and remonstrated with
him on the rashness of an act which might have proved fatal to the
whole army. The king smiled at such remonstrances from four men
who had, above all others, distinguished themselves for their rash
and daring exploits, and shrugging his shoulders observed only that
it was a pity he had broken the shaft of his favourite axe. The
English array now withdrew to a short distance, and it became evident
that the great battle would be delayed till the morrow. The Scotch
army therefore broke its ranks and prepared to pass the night
on the spot where it stood. The king assembled all his principal
leaders round him, and after thanking God for so fair a beginning
of the fight as had that day been made, he pointed out to them how
great an effect the two preliminary skirmishes would have upon the
spirits of both armies, and expressed his confidence in the final
result. He urged upon them the necessity for keeping their followers
well in hand, and meeting the charges of the enemy's horse steadily
with their spears; and especially warned them, after repulsing
a charge, against allowing their men to break their array, either
to plunder or take prisoners, so long as the battle lasted, as the
whole riches of the English camp would fall into their hands if
successful. He pledged himself that the heirs of all who fell should
have the succession of their estates free from the usual feudal
burdens on such occasions.
The night passed quietly, and in the morning both armies formed
their array for battle. Bruce, as was customary, conferred the
honour of knighthood upon several of his leaders. Then all proceeded
to their allotted places and awaited the onset. Beyond the stream
and extending far away towards the rising ground were the English
squadrons in their glittering arms, the first division in line,
the others in heavy masses behind them. Now that the Scotch were
fairly drawn up in order of battle, the English could see how
small was their number in comparison with their own, and the king
in surprise exclaimed to Sir Ingram de Umfraville:
"What! will yonder Scots fight us?"
"That verily will they," the knight replied, for he had many a
time been engaged in stout conflict with them, and knew how hard
it was even for mail clad knights to break through the close lines
of Scottish spears. So high a respect had he for their valour, that
he urged the king to pretend to retire suddenly beyond the camp,
when the Scots, in spite of their leaders, would be sure to leave
their ranks and flock into the camp to plunder, when they might be
easily dispersed and cut to pieces. The king, however, refused to
adopt the suggestion, saying, that no one must be able to accuse
him of avoiding a battle or of withdrawing his army before such
a rabble. As the armies stood confronting each other in battle
array a priest passed along the Scottish front, crucifix in hand,
exhorting all to fight to the death for the liberty of their country.
As he passed along the line each company knelt in an attitude of
prayer. King Edward, seeing this, exclaimed to Sir Ingram:
"See yonder folk kneel to ask for mercy!"
"Ay, sire," the knight said, looking earnestly at the Scots, "they
kneel and ask for mercy, but not of you; it is for their sins they
ask mercy of God. I know these men, and have met and fought them,
and I tell you that assuredly they will win or die, and not even
when death looks them in the face will they turn to fly."
"Then if it must be so," said the king, "let us charge."
The trumpet sounded along the line. First the immense body of
English archers crossed the burn and opened the battle by pouring
clouds of arrows into the Scottish ranks. The Scotch archers, who
were in advance of their spearmen, were speedily driven back to
shelter beyond their line, for not only were the English vastly more
numerous, but they shot much further and more accurately. And now
the knights and men-at-arms, on their steel clad horses, crossed
the burn. They were aware of the existence of Milton Bog, which
covered the Scottish centre, and they directed their charge upon
the division of Edward Bruce on the Scottish right. The crash as
the mailed horses burst down upon the wood of Scottish spears was
tremendous. Bruce's men held firm, and the English in vain strove
to break through their serried line of spears. It was a repetition
of the fight of the previous day, but on a greater scale. With
lance and battleaxe the chivalry of England strove to break the
ranks of the Scotch, while with serried lines of spears, four deep,
the Scotch held their own. Every horse which, wounded or riderless,
turned and dashed through the ranks of the English, added to the
confusion. This was much further increased by the deep holes into
which the horses were continually falling, and breaking up all order
in their ranks. Those behind pressed forward to reach the front,
and their very numbers added to their difficulty.
The English were divided into ten divisions or "battles," and
these one by one crossed the stream with banners flying, and still
avoiding the centre, followed the line taken by the first, and
pressed forward to take part in the fray.
Randolph now moved with the centre to the support of the hardly
pressed right, and his division, as well as that of Edward Bruce,
seemed to be lost among the multitude of their opponents. Stewart
and Douglas moved their division to the right and threw themselves
into the fray, and the three Scottish divisions were now fighting
side by side, but with a much smaller front than that which they
had originally occupied. For a time the battle raged furiously
without superiority on either side. The Scotch possessed the great
advantage that, standing close together in ranks four deep, every
man was engaged, while of the mounted knights and men-at-arms who
pressed upon them, only the front line was doing efficient service.
Not only, therefore, was the vast numerical superiority of the
English useless to them, but actually a far larger number of the
Scottish than of themselves were using their weapons in the front
rank, while the great proportion of the English remained helplessly
behind their fighting line, unable to take any part whatever in
the fight. But now the English archers came into play again, and
firing high into the air rained their arrows almost perpendicularly
down upon the Scottish ranks. Had this continued it would have
been as fatal to the Scots at Bannockburn as it was at Falkirk; but
happily the Scottish horse told off for this special service were
here commanded by no traitors, and at the critical moment the king
launched Sir Robert Keith, the mareschal of Scotland, against the
archers with 500 horsemen. These burst suddenly down upon the flank
of the archers and literally swept them before them. Great numbers
were killed, others fell back upon the lines of horsemen who were
ranged behind, impatient to take their share in the battle; these
tried to drive them back again, but the archers were disheartened,
and retreating across the stream took no further part in the battle.
The charge of the Scottish horses should have been foreseen and
provided against by placing strong bodies of men-at-arms on the
flanks of the archers, as these lightly armed troops were wholly
unable to withstand a charge by cavalry.
The Scottish archers, now that their formidable opponents had
left the field, opened a heavy fire over the heads of the pikemen
upon the horsemen surrounding the squares, and when they had shot
away their arrows sallied out and mingled in the confused mass of
the enemy, doing tremendous execution with their axes and knives.
Hitherto the king had kept his reserve in hand; but now that the
English archers were defeated and their horsemen in inextricable
confusion, he moved his division down and joined in the melee, his
men shouting his well known battle cry.
Every Scotch soldier on the field was now engaged. No longer did the
battle cries of the various parties rise in the air. Men had no
breath to waste in shouting, but each fought silently and desperately
with spear or axe, and the sound of clanging blows of weapons, of
mighty crash of sword or battleaxe on steel armour, with the cries
and groans of wounded men were alone heard. Over and over again the
English knights drew back a little so as to gain speed and impetus,
and flung themselves on the Scottish spears, but ever without effect,
while little by little the close ranks of the Scotch pressed forward
until, as the space between their front and the brook narrowed, the
whole of the English divisions became pent up together, more and
more incapable of using their strength to advantage. The slaughter
in their front divisions had already been terrible. Again and
again fresh troops had taken the places of those who had formed the
front ranks, but many of their best and bravest had fallen. The
confusion was too great for their leaders to be able to direct them
with advantage, and seeing the failure of every effort to break
the Scottish ranks, borne back by the slow advance of the hedge of
spears, harassed by the archers who dived below the horses, stabbing
them in their bellies, or rising suddenly between them to smite
down the riders with their keen, heavy, short handled axes, the
English began to lose heart, and as they wavered the Scotch pressed
forward more eagerly, shouting, "On them! on them! They give way!
they give way!"
At this critical moment the servants, teamsters, and camp followers
who had been left behind Gillies Hill, showed themselves. Some of
their number from the eminence had watched the desperate struggle,
and on hearing how their soldiers were pressed by the surrounding
host of English men-at-arms they could no longer remain inactive.
All men carried arms in those days. They hastily chose one of their
own number as leader, and fastening some sheets to tent poles as
banners, they advanced over the hill in battle array, and moved
down to join their comrades. The sight of what they deemed a fresh
division advancing to the assistance of the Scotch brought to
a climax the hesitation which had begun to shake the English, and
ensured their discomfiture. Those in rear turned bridle hastily,
and crossing the Bannock Burn, galloped away. The movement so begun
spread rapidly, and although those in front still continued their
desperate efforts to break the line of Scottish spears, the day was
now hopelessly lost. Seeing that this was so, the Earl of Pembroke
seized the king's rein and constrained him to leave the field with
a bodyguard of 500 horse. Sir Giles de Argentine, who had hitherto
remained by the king's side, and who was esteemed the third best
knight in Europe--the Emperor Henry of Luxemberg and Robert
Bruce being reckoned the two best--bade farewell to the king as
he rode off.
"Farewell, sire," he said, "since you must go, but I at least must
return; I have never yet fled from an enemy, and will remain and
die rather than fly and live in disgrace."
So saying, the knight spurred down to the conflict, and charged
against the array of Edward Bruce, and there fell fighting valiantly.
The flight of the king and his attendants was the signal for a
general rout. Great numbers were slain, many men were drowned in
the Forth, and the channel of the Bannock was so choked with the
bodies of dead men and horses that one could pass over dry shod. The
scattered parties of English were still so numerous that Bruce held
his men well in hand until these had yielded themselves prisoners.
Douglas was charged to pursue the king, but he could only muster
sixty horsemen. A short distance from the field he met a Scottish
baron, Sir Laurence Abernethy, with twenty-four men-at-arms,
on his way to join the English, for even as yet but few of the
Scottish nobles were on the side of the king. Upon hearing what had
happened, Sir Laurence, with the easy facility which distinguished
the Scottish nobles of the period, at once changed sides, swore
fealty to Bruce, and joined Douglas in the pursuit of his late
friends. They overtook the king's party at Linlithgow, but Pembroke
kept his men well together, and while still retiring, showed so
bold an appearance that Douglas did not venture to charge. Finally
the English reached the Castle of Dunbar, where the king and his
immediate attendants were received by his ally, Earl Patrick of
Dunbar. So cowed were the fugitives that they left their horses
outside the castle gate, and these were captured by their pursuers.
The main body of the king's bodyguard continued their way in good
order, and reached Berwick in safety. Edward gained England in
a fishing boat from Dunbar. Eighteen years had elapsed since his
father had entered Scotland with an army deemed sufficient for its
entire subjugation; had sacked and destroyed the rich and prosperous
town of Berwick, routed the army of Baliol, marched through Scotland,
and, as he believed, permanently settled his conquest. Now the
son had lost all that his father had won.
Among the fugitive remains of the English army were a considerable
body of Welsh, who, being lightly armed, fled at full speed toward
the Border, but being easily distinguished by their white dresses
and the absence of defensive armour, almost all were slain by
the peasantry. The Earl of Hereford, the Earl of Angus, Sir John
Seagrave, Sir Anthony Lucy, Sir Ingram de Umfraville, with a great
number of knights, 600 men-at-arms, and 1000 infantry, keeping
together, marched south toward Carlisle.
As they passed Bothwell Castle, which was held by the governor for
England, the earls and knights entered the castle, their followers
remaining without; but the governor, on hearing the result of the
battle, closed the gates and took all who had entered prisoners,
and, changing sides, handed them over to Bruce. Their followers
continued their march south, but were for the most part slain or
taken prisoners before they reached the Border.
When all resistance had ceased on the field the victors collected
the spoil. This consisted of the vast camp, the treasures intended
for the payment of the army, the herds of cattle, and stores of
provisions, wine, and forage; the rich wearing apparel and arms
of the knights and nobles killed or made prisoners, many valuable
horses, and the prisoners who would have to be ransomed, among whom
were twenty-two barons and sixty knights.
The spoil was estimated at 200,000 pounds, equal to 3,000,000
pounds of money in these days. The king refused to take any share
in this plunder, dividing it wholly among his troops. 30,000 English
lay dead on the field, including 200 knights and 700 esquires, and
among the most distinguished of the dead were the Earl of Gloucester,
Sir Giles de Argentine, Lord Robert Clifford, Sir Edmund Manley,
seneschal of England, Sir William de Mareschal, Sir Payne Tybtot,
and Sir John Comyn. Sir Marmaduke de Twenge was among the prisoners.
Bruce's conduct to his prisoners was even more honourable to himself
than was the great victory that he had won. In spite of his three
brothers, his brother in law Seaton, his friends Athole and Frazer,
having been executed by the English, and the knowledge that their
mangled remains were still exposed over London Bridge and the
gates of Carlisle and Newcastle--in spite of the barbarous and
lengthened captivity of his wife, his sister and daughter, and his
friend the Countess of Buchan--in spite of the conviction that
had he himself been made prisoner he would at once have been sent
to the scaffold--Bruce behaved with a magnanimity and generosity
of the highest kind. Every honour was paid to the English dead, and
the bodies of the chief among these were sent to their relatives in
England, and the prisoners were all either ransomed or exchanged.
Sir Marmaduke de Twenge was dismissed free of ransom and loaded
with gifts, and even the Scotch nobles, such as Sir Philip Mowbray,
who were taken fighting in the ranks of their country's enemy, were
forgiven. This noble example exercised but little influence upon
the English. When Edward Bruce was killed four years afterwards
at Dundalk in Ireland, his body was quartered and distributed, and
his head presented to the English king, who bestowed upon Birmingham--who
commanded the English and sent the gift to him--the dignity
of Earl of Louth.
Among the prisoners was Edward's poet laureate, Baston, a Carmelite
friar, who had accompanied the army for the purpose of writing
a poem on the English victory. His ransom was fixed at a poem on
the Scotch victory at Bannockburn, which the friar was forced to
supply.
With Bannockburn ended all hope on the part of the English of
subjugating Scotland; but the war continued fitfully for fourteen
years, the Scotch frequently invading England and levying heavy
contributions from the northern counties and towns, and the English
occasionally retaliating by the same process; but at length peace
was signed at Northampton.
In 1315 a parliament assembled at Ayr for the purpose of regulating
the succession to the throne. It was then agreed that in case of the
king's death without male issue his brother Edward should succeed
to it, and that if Edward left no heirs, the children of Marjory,
the king's daughter, should succeed. Shortly afterwards Marjory was
married to Walter the Steward. Edward Bruce was killed unmarried.
A son was afterwards born to the king, who reigned as David II,
but having died without issue, the son of Marjory and the Steward
became king. The hereditary title of Steward was used as the surname
for the family, and thus from them descended the royal line of
Stewart or Stuart, through which Queen Victoria at present reigns
over Great Britain, Ireland, and their vast dependencies.
After Bannockburn Archie Forbes went no more to the wars. He was
raised to the dignity of Baron Forbes by the king, and was ever
rewarded by him as one of his most trusty councillors, and his
descendants played a prominent part in the changing and eventful
history of Scotland; but the proudest tradition of the family was
that their ancestor had fought as a patriot by the side of Bruce
and Wallace when scarce a noble of Scotland but was leagued with
the English oppressors of their country.
THE END