GUERRILLA WARFARE
'Unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem.'--
ENN. _ap._ Cic. _Off._ i. 24, 84.
'Now, for our consciences, the arms are fair,
When the intent of bearing them is just.'--
SHAKESPEARE, _Henry IV._, Part i., v. 2.
'Thryldome is weill wer than deid.'--
BARBOUR, _The Bruce_, i. 269.
Apart from the Hazelrig and Ormsby episodes, the chroniclers plant
Wallace at Stirling Bridge almost as if he had just started from the
ground, or come down from the clouds, ready to command an army in the
field. Yet they call him brigand, public robber, cut-throat, and other
suchlike names, strangely inadequate as explanation of his command of
the Scots against a mighty English host. Wallace's leadership really
has to be accounted for on some more rational principle.
Now, Harry is the main guide up to the Hazelrig episode; and Harry has
been grievously discredited. As the criticism of his poem stands, each
reader must be left free to make his own deductions; but at least it
may be claimed for Harry that each episode be judged on its merits,
not by the jeers of Lord Hailes or an echo thereof. In any case, it
is beyond all question that Wallace must have gone through some such
experience as Harry details. Stirling Bridge was not an historical
miracle.
OCCASIONAL EARLY ADVENTURES.
It might be possible to refer some of the earlier exploits of Wallace,
as recorded by Harry, to 1292, without much more violence than is
involved in the like reference of the Selby episode. But there is no
similar necessity. They all imply the presence of Sir Henry de Percy in
the Ayr district, and Percy was appointed Warden of Galloway and Ayr
and Castellan of Ayr, Wigton, Cruggelton, and Buittle on September 8,
1296, though he did not reach his post till well into October. It is
excess of stringency to bind Harry definitely to particular months.
What Wallace had been doing in the gap between 1292 and 1296 remains
unknown. It seems hopeless to connect him in any way with the events
of March and April 1296, at Berwick and Dunbar; and it is likely
enough that Sir Richard Wallace sedulously kept him out of mischief
and danger, at Riccarton, till the fresh occupation of Galloway and
Ayr by the English in October 1296. On the assumption, however, of his
marriage with Marion Bradfute, which cannot easily be placed later
than the first months of 1296, there must have been considerable
intermissions of his restraint. Sir Reginald Crawford had duly
submitted to Edward, who confirmed him in the Sheriffdom of Ayr on May
14 at Roxburgh.
The fresh involvement of Wallace with the English is ascribed by Harry
to an accidental conflict with five men of Percy's train at the Water
of Irvine. Wallace was fishing as Percy passed, and the men proceeded
to appropriate his takings. He killed three of the five. Sir Richard
was distracted. Plainly, Wallace could not remain longer at Riccarton.
Taking a youth as his sole attendant, he rode straight to Wallace of
Auchincruive, and sought shelter in Laglane Wood, where his relative
secretly supplied him with necessaries.
Wallace, however, chafed in inaction. He would see what was doing
in Ayr. At the market-cross he fell in with a champion, who was
offering English soldiers and others a stroke on his back with a rough
bucket-pole for a groat. Wallace gave him three groats, delivered his
stroke, and broke the man's backbone. The English at once attacked
him, and he had to slay five of them before he could escape to his
horse, which he had left with his man at the edge of the wood. Further
pursuit was in vain.
This affair having blown over, Wallace would again visit Ayr. It was
market-day. Sir Reginald's servant had bought fish, when Percy's
steward insultingly demanded them; and on Wallace's interposing
a gentle remonstrance, the steward in choler struck him with his
hunting-staff. Wallace instantly collared him, and stabbed him to the
heart: 'caterer thereafter, sure, he was no more.' Some fourscore
men-at-arms had been told off to keep order on market-day, and Wallace
was at once assailed. After a fierce struggle, with many casualties, he
was borne down and taken prisoner--'to pine him more' than forthright
death. Cast into an ugsome cell, and badly fed, he fell very ill; and
when the gaoler was sent down to bring him up for judgment, he found
his prisoner apparently dead, and so reported. In the result, Wallace's
body was tossed over the wall into 'a draff midden,' presumably
lifeless. Hearing of this, his old nurse, who lived in the New Town of
Ayr, begged leave to take the body away for burial; and, her request
being contemptuously granted, she had it carried to her house. Her
tendance revived Wallace, but she kept up the outward pretence that he
was dead. It argues a good nurse and a good constitution if he made
recovery within the limits of time indicated by Harry.
At this period the famous Thomas the Rimer happened to be on a visit at
the neighbouring monastery of Faile (St. Mary's). He felt deep concern
for Wallace's fate. The 'Minister' of the house despatched a messenger
to ascertain the truth privately. On hearing that Wallace was really
alive,
'Then Thomas said: "For sooth, ere he decease,
Shall many thousands in the field make end.
From Scotland he shall forth the Southron send,
And Scotland thrice he shall bring to the peace.
So good of hand again shall ne'er be kenned."'
A similar prophecy is mentioned by Harry as lying heavy on the mind
of Percy--a prophecy that a Wallace should turn the English out of
Scotland. 'Wise men,' said Percy, 'the sooth by his escape may see.'
The same view, according to Harry, took a strong hold of the popular
mind.
Sending his benefactress and her family to his mother at Elderslie,
Wallace got hold of a rusty sword, and set out for Riccarton. On the
way he encountered an English squire named Longcastell (Lancaster),
with two men, who insisted on taking him to Ayr. Wallace pleaded to
be let alone, for he was sick. Longcastell pronounced him a sturdy
knave, and drew his sword. Wallace at once struck him dead with his
rusty weapon, and then killed the two followers. Taking the spoils, he
hurried to Riccarton. There came Sir Reginald and Wallace's mother and
many friends, and great was the rejoicing.
GUERRILLA IN THE WEST.
Wallace, however, was eager to avenge him on his enemies. He would
not rest at Riccarton. Accordingly, he was furnished forth, and was
accompanied by several lads of spirit, his relatives and friends. Adam
Wallace, Sir Richard's eldest son, now eighteen, Robert Boyd, Kneland,
'near cousin to Wallace,' Edward Little, 'his sister's son,' and
Gray and Kerly, with some attendants, bound them to ride with him to
Mauchline Moor. Learning there that an English convoy from Carlisle to
Ayr was approaching, Wallace rode to Loudon Hill and lay in wait. The
convoy came in sight. It was conducted by Fenwick, the officer that had
commanded the English in the recent combat here, when Wallace's father
was slain. This concurrence of circumstances exalted Wallace's spirit,
and steeled his mind to a resolute revenge. He had but 50 men against
180; and his men fought on foot. By throwing up a rough dyke of stones,
he had narrowed the approach of the harnessed English horse, whose
riders fancied they had no more to do than to trample their enemies
down. Wallace promptly disabused their minds of that time-honoured
superciliousness. His men plied them first with spears and then with
swords, keeping close order, and defying the horsemen's efforts to
scatter them. Wallace himself in fury struck Fenwick from his horse,
Boyd giving the finishing blow; and a hundred of the English lay dead
on the field. The superstition of the invincibility of armed horse
by footmen was exploded by Wallace's tactics and fierce resolution.
The victors carried off Percy's convoy to the depths of the forest of
Clydesdale, whence they freely distributed 'stuff and horses' privately
to friendly neighbours. The success of this daring effort tended to
corroborate the prophecy of True Thomas and spread the fame of Wallace.
Wallace's Loudon Hill exploit came under the cognisance of Percy in
council at Glasgow. Sir Reginald was taken bound for the culprit's good
behaviour, and, in order to shield the Sheriff, Wallace's comrades
induced him to consent to a peace for ten months--a peace limited to
Percy's jurisdiction. Presently Wallace would yet again see Ayr, and
went to Ayr with fifteen men. Invited by an English buckler-player to
try his sword, Wallace cut through buckler, hand, and brain down to the
shoulders. At once a fight ensued, at great odds, and the Scots had to
retire, Wallace protecting the rear. Harry says 29 out of 120 English,
including three of Percy's near kin, were slain. Percy, however,
recognised that Wallace was not the aggressor, and contented himself
with binding Sir Reginald to keep him from market-town and fair and
like resorts. So for a week or two Wallace stayed at Crosby.
Another Council was now summoned at Glasgow, 'to statute the country.'
Sir Reginald, as Sheriff, obeyed the summons, taking Wallace with
him. Wallace rode ahead, overtaking the Sheriff's baggage, which soon
came up on Percy's. Percy's horse was tired, and Percy's conductor
insolently appropriated Sir Reginald's fresher beast, despite Wallace's
remonstrance. 'Reason him ruled,' and he returned to Sir Reginald, who
took it very calmly. Wallace, however, fired up, and swore that, peace
or no peace, please the Sheriff or otherwise, he would exact amends for
the wrong. Spurring forward again in high dudgeon, with Gray and Kerly
by his side, he quickly overtook Percy's baggage east of Cathcart,
slew the five attendants, and took the spoil. Then said Wallace, 'At
some strength would I be.'
The Council promptly outlawed Wallace, and made Sir Reginald swear
to hold no friendly communication with him without leave. Meantime
Wallace, with his two men, had passed to the Lennox. Harry sends him to
Earl Malcolm, who proposed to make him 'master of his household.' The
Earl had, in fact, already sworn fealty to Edward, not once, but twice
(March 14 and August 28), though Harry says, 'he had not then made
band'; but that consideration would be open to easy interpretation in
the remote fastnesses of Dumbartonshire. In any case, Wallace is said
to have declined the offer, his mind being set upon wreaking revenge
on the English. He was joined by about sixty men, some of them Irish
exiles, and all of them pretty rough. Two of them must be signalised:
Fawdon, a big dour fellow; and Steven of Ireland, a most valuable
recruit, who soon became a great friend of Kerly's.
'Wallace received what man would come him till;
The bodily oath they made him with good will
Before the Earl, all with a good accord,
And him received as captain and their lord.'
Gray and Kerly, who had been with him at Loudon Hill, he instructed to
keep near his person, knowing them 'right hardy, wise, and true.' The
field of action was closed against him in the west. He would therefore
strike to the north.
GUERRILLA IN THE NORTH.
With his sixty men, Wallace started through the Lennox. He was
well provided from the spoil of Percy's baggage, and he liberally
distributed the good Earl's gifts among his followers. The first
exploit of the campaign was the capture of the peel of Gargunnock, a
little west of Stirling. Wallace sent two spies at midnight to find
out how the place was defended; and their report was that everything
betokened heedlessness--sentry asleep, bridge down, labourers going in
without question. Hurrying up his men with due precaution, Wallace
entered without hindrance. The peel door he found guarded with a
stubborn bar, which, to the marvel of his men, he wrenched out with his
hands, bringing three yards' breadth of the wall with it. Next moment,
he burst in the door with his foot. The watchman, wakened up suddenly,
struck at him with 'a felon staff of steel,' which Wallace wrested out
of his hands and brained him with. The captain, Thirlwall, with the
aroused garrison at his heels, came forward, only to be battered to
death with the same steel mace. Not a single fighting-man--and there
were twenty-two of them--was spared; but women and children, according
to Wallace's invariable rule, were protected. Having gathered the
spoils, Wallace and his men hastened on their way.
Crossing the Forth, they headed north to the Teith, where Wallace gave
Kerly custody of the useful mace of steel; and, having passed the
Teith, they held on, by one 'strength' and another, to Strathearn,
religiously slaying every Englishman they fell in with. At Blackford,
for instance, they encountered five riding to Doune, and killed and
spoiled them, and put the bodies 'out of sight.' They then crossed the
Earn, and made for Methven Wood, where they found 'a land of great
abundance.'
Wallace, however, did not enjoy the fat of the forest in idleness. He
longed to see St. Johnston. Appointing Steven of Ireland, who had done
good service as guide after Gargunnock, to command in his absence,
Wallace took seven men and fared to the town. 'What is your name?'
inquired the provost (mayor). 'Will Malcolmson,' replied Wallace, 'from
Ettrick Forest; and I want to find a better dwelling in this north
land.' The provost explained his inquiry by reciting the rumours that
were rife about Wallace, the outlaw. 'I hear speak of that man,' said
Wallace, 'but tidings of him can I tell you none.' Sir Gerard Heron
was captain, and 'under-captain' was Sir John Butler, son of Sir James
Butler of Kinclaven, who then happened to be in St. Johnston. Harry
recounts Wallace's nightly regrets that he had not force enough to take
the town. He discovered, however, the strength and distribution of the
enemy in these parts; and, having learnt when Sir James Butler was to
return to Kinclaven, he at once set out again for Methven Wood, where
the blast of his well-known horn quickly assembled his men.
Advancing towards Kinclaven, on the right bank of the Tay a little
above the junction of the Isla, Wallace ambushed his men near the
castle in a thickly-wooded hollow. In the early afternoon his scouts
brought him the news that three fore-riders had passed, but he did not
move till Butler and his train came up so as to make sure of their
exact strength. There were ninety good men in harness on horseback.
When Wallace showed himself, these warriors contemptuously imagined
they could simply ride down him and his footmen, but they were promptly
taught the lesson of Loudon Hill. Wallace and his men stood shoulder
to shoulder, and plied their swords with dire effect. Wallace himself
was conspicuous where his brand was most needed, and at length he
reached Sir James Butler, and clove him to the teeth. Steven of Ireland
and Kerly 'with his good staff of steel' especially distinguished
themselves. Three score of Butler's men were slain, and the remnant
fled to the castle, hotly pursued by the Scots. The bridge was lowered
and the gates cast open to the fugitives; but Wallace followed so fast
that he got command of the gate, and his men entered with the flying
enemy. Not a fighting-man was left alive in the place; only Lady Butler
and her women, two priests, and the children were spared. Only five
Scots were killed. Having plundered, dismantled, and burnt the castle,
Wallace drew off into Shortwood Shaw.
When the country folk, seeing the smoke, hastened to Kinclaven Castle,
they found 'but walls and stone.' Lady Butler herself carried the news
to St. Johnston. At once Sir Gerard Heron ordered 1000 men 'harnessed
on horse into their armour clear,' to pursue Wallace. The force was
disposed in six equal companies, five to surround the wood; the
sixth, led by Sir John Butler, to make the direct attack. Wallace had
taken up a strong position, which he fortified by cross bars of trees
except on one side, whence he could issue to the open ground. This
'strength,' he determined, must be held to the last. Butler had 140
archers, said to be Lancashire men, with 80 spears in support. Wallace
had only 20 archers, and 'few of them were sikker of archery'; they
were more familiar with spear and sword. Wallace himself had a bow
of Ulysses: 'no man was there that Wallace' bow might draw.' He was
short of arrows, however; for, when he had shot fifteen, his stock was
exhausted. The English, on the other hand, were plentifully supplied.
The odds were overwhelmingly in their favour. Wallace did his utmost to
shelter his men, 'and cast all ways to save them from the death.' With
his own hand he dealt death to many of the foe in sudden sallies. Here
he had a very narrow escape. Observing his tactics, an English archer
lay in wait for him, and shot him
'Under the chin, through a collar of steel,
On the left side, and hurt his neck some deal.'
It is curious to note that the alleged French description of Wallace
preserved by Harry mentions 'a wen' or scar in this very spot. Wallace
instantly made for his assailant at all hazards, and killed him in
sight of friends and foes.
In the course of the afternoon the English were reinforced by the
arrival of Sir William de Loraine from Gowrie with 300 men to avenge
the death of his uncle, Sir James Butler. 'Here is no choice,' said
Wallace, 'but either do or die.' A combined assault was made on his
position by Butler and Loraine; and he had only 50 to withstand 500.
The battle raged fiercely, and in spite of his most arduous efforts
with his 'burly brand,' Wallace was compelled to evacuate and to
seek shelter in the thickest part of the wood. At last he cut his
way through Butler's company, and established himself in another
'strength.' The English stuck close to him, however. In the mêlée, he
struck hard at Butler, who was saved from death by the interposition
of the bough of a tree, which Wallace brought down upon him. By this
time Loraine had come up, and Wallace, making straight at him, cut him
down, but did not regain the 'strength' without a desperate struggle.
'The worthy Scots right nobly did that day
About Wallace, till he was won away.'
Still Wallace held his 'strength.' Sir Gerard Heron, however, on
hearing of the death of Loraine, moved all his troops simultaneously
against the position; whereupon Wallace and his men issued at the north
side of the wood in retreat, 'thanking great God' that they got off on
such terms. The Scots had lost seven men killed; the English, 120.
Wallace took refuge in Cargill Wood. The English, deeming it fruitless
to pursue him, set about seeking where the plunder of Kinclaven had
been deposited in the forest; but they found nothing except Sir James's
horse. They then returned to St. Johnston, more dispirited than elated.
The second night, the Scots returned cautiously to Shortwood Shaw, and
carried away the hidden spoils. By sunrise they reached Methven Wood,
and three days afterwards they established themselves in a strength in
Elcho Park. They had eluded the vigilance of their enemies.
Thanks to the temerity of Wallace, however, they were soon discovered.
According to Harry, he returned to St. Johnston in the disguise of a
priest, in prosecution of an amour commenced on his first visit. He was
recognised and watched; and the woman is said to have disclosed the
date of the next appointment. He was accordingly waylaid; but, on her
confession, he threw aside his own disguise and arrayed himself in her
dress, and, dissembling his countenance and his voice, passed safely
out at the gate. As he increased his pace, two of the guards, thinking
him 'a stalwart quean,' hastened after him. In a few minutes they lay
dead on the South Inch, and Wallace was hurrying to Elcho Park. This
story of Harry's is unusually clumsy, or the eyes of the guards must
have been peculiarly vacant.
The two men being found slain on the South Inch, Sir Gerard Heron
set out in pursuit of Wallace with 600 men. He took with him also
a sleuth-hound of the best Border breed. Heron with half his force
surrounded the wood where Wallace was posted, and Butler made the
attack with the rest, 300 against 40. In the first ruthless onset, the
Scots killed forty, but lost fifteen. Finding their ground untenable,
they cut their way through the enemy to the banks of the Tay, intending
to cross; but the water was deep, and one-half of them could not swim.
They had no alternative, therefore, but to face Butler's men again;
and after a severe struggle, in which Steven and Kerly, as well as
Wallace, performed doughty deeds, they again cut through the English,
killing sixty and losing nine. Already Wallace had lost more than half
his men, twenty-four out of forty, and sixteen was a mere handful
against hundreds. As Butler was re-forming his men, Wallace took the
opportunity to dash through between him and Heron, and made for Gask
Wood.
The approach of night was in his favour. But the way was uphill and
rough, and when they were yet east of Dupplin, a considerable distance
from the anticipated shelter, Fawdon broke down, and would not be
persuaded to hurry on. Having exhausted argument and entreaty, Wallace
in anger struck off his head. Harry justifies the act. It might stop
the sleuth-hound. Fawdon was suspected of treachery; he was 'right
stark' and had gone but a short distance. If he was false, he would
join the enemy; if he was true, the enemy would kill him. 'Might he do
aught but lose him as it was?' On the alleged facts, probably there is
little more to be said. The succeeding narrative shows plainly enough
that Wallace felt himself in a most painful dilemma.
While Wallace hastened forward, Steven and Kerly stayed behind in a
bushy hollow till Heron came up, and then cautiously mixed with the
English as they were speculating on Fawdon's fate. The hound had
stopped, and as Heron was inspecting Fawdon, Kerly suddenly struck him
dead. Kerly and Steven at once dashed off towards the Earn. Butler
despatched an escort with Heron's body to St. Johnston, and pushed
on to Dalreoch. Meantime Wallace had occupied Gask Hall--Baroness
Nairne's 'Bonny Gascon Ha''--
'an unco tow'r, sae stern an auld'--
with his remnant of fourteen, and was painfully anxious about Steven
and Kerly, and vexed about the death of Fawdon. In the circumstances of
his mental excitement and bodily fatigue, the story of the apparition
of Fawdon, which Harry works up so elaborately, finds a very natural
basis. Whether or not Wallace sent out his men in relays to discover
the meaning of the strange horn-blowing, and so forth, and then sallied
out alone under the urgency of the apparition, he appears to have now
lost all touch with his men.
Passing along Earn side all alone, Wallace fell in with Sir John
Butler, who was patrolling the fords. Butler, suspecting his
explanation of his business, drew upon him; whereupon Wallace killed
him, seized his horse, and rode away, pursued hotly by the English. In
the running fight he killed some twenty of them; but at Blackford his
horse broke down, and he was obliged to take to the heather on foot.
Struggling to the Forth, he swam the cold river and hastened to the
Torwood, where he got shelter in a widow's hut. Sending out messengers
to repass the way he came and get news of his men, he retired to a deep
thicket to rest, watched by two of the widow's sons, while a third went
to apprise the priest of Dunipace of his arrival.
The priest came. Wallace was still suffering severely from fatigue as
well as excitement.
'What I have had in war before this day--
Prison and pain--to this night was but play....
I moan far more the losing of my men
Than for myself, had I ten times such pain.'
The priest, however ardent for freedom in the abstract, could not but
recognise the hopelessness of Wallace's position. His men were lost;
more would not rise with him in their place; it was useless for him to
throw away his life. Let him seek honourable terms with Edward. The old
man may have been overpowered by Wallace's disastrous condition; he
may have been testing his nephew's mettle.
'"Uncle," said Wallace, "of such words no more.
This is but eking of my trouble sore.
Better I like to see the Southron dee
Than land or gold that they can give to me.
Believe right well, from war I will not cease
Till time that I bring Scotland into peace,
Or die therefor: that plainly understand."'
Such was the indomitable resolution of Wallace in these hopeless
circumstances. Presently he was cheered by the arrival of Steven and
Kerly, who were overjoyed to find him alive. 'For perfect joy they
wept with all their een.' Wallace was eager to move. The widow gave
him 'part of silver bright' and two of her sons. She would have given
the third but that he was too young. The priest provided Wallace with
horses and outfit; but 'wae he was his mind was all in war.' And so
Wallace passed on to Dundaff Moor. Though the northern campaign had
closed with the annihilation of his force, it had spread the rumour and
inflamed the spirit of resistance.
THE CAPTURE OF LOCHMABEN
Wallace with his four followers rode to Dundaff, a hilly tract in
Stirlingshire. The lord of Dundaff, according to Harry, was Sir John
the Graham, 'an aged knight,' who paid tribute for a quiet life.
Abercrombie, however, following Sympson, says he belonged not to the
Dundaff, but to the Abercorn family; and, on the strength of a charter
in the possession of the Duke of Montrose, he states that Dundaff was
then held by Sir David de Graham. A Sir David de Graham, brother of the
gallant Sir Patrick, was taken prisoner at Dunbar, and relegated to St.
Briavell's Castle. Anyhow, this knight of Dundaff had a son, also named
Sir John, 'both wise, worthy, and wight,' and
'On a broad shield his father gart him swear
He would be true to Wallace in all thing,
And he to him while life might in them ryng (reign).'
Young Sir John prepared to ride with Wallace, but Wallace would not
take him then.
'A plain part yet I will not take on me.
I have lost men through my o'er-reckless deed:
A burnt child will the fire more sorely dread.'
He would try to raise his friends in Clydesdale, and give Sir John
notice. Sir John eventually became his most illustrious lieutenant.
So Wallace passed on to Bothwell Moor, to one Crawford, no doubt a
relative; and next day he went to Gilbank, which was held on tribute by
Auchinleck, a youth of nineteen, closely related to him by marriage.
Here he is said to have remained over Christmas. The English in these
parts had heard of his doings in the north, but he had disappeared
in Strathearn, and so went out of their minds. Wallace, though lying
quiet, was not inactive. He despatched the trusty Kerly to Sir
Reginald, Boyd, Blair, and Adam of Riccarton. Blair at once visited
him. From all his friends reinforcements poured into his exchequer.
'All true Scots then great favour to him gave:
What good they had he needed not to crave.'
Starting from Gilbank after Christmas, Wallace with his four men rode
to Corheid in Annandale. Here he was joined by Tom Halliday and Edward
Little, who were delighted to find that there was no truth in the
report that he had been slain in Strathearn. Wallace was now sixteen.
He longed to see Lochmaben town. So he set out with Halliday, Edward,
and Kerly, leaving the rest in the Knock Wood. While they were hearing
mass, Clifford, Percy's nephew, with four men, came to their hostelry
and spitefully cut off the tails of their horses. Wallace killed them
all. The English quickly pursued, about 150 strong. Wallace reached
his men in the Knock Wood, but his horses were failing through loss
of blood, and he was caught up before gaining Corheid. Returning
desperately, he killed fifteen of the foremost, and compelled the
survivors to fall back on the main body, but did not pursue, Halliday
having descried some 200 in ambush. The English again pressed the
Scots retreat. Wallace cut down the redoubtable Sir Hugh de Morland,
and, mounting Morland's 'courser wight,' again compelled the advanced
guard to retire with the loss of twenty men. Sir John de Graystock, the
English leader, was furious. Meantime Wallace hurried on, himself and
Halliday stoutly guarding the rear.
Near Queensberry Wallace was happily reinforced by Sir John the Graham
with thirty men, and by Kirkpatrick of Torthorwald, who had been
holding out in Eskdale Wood, with twenty men. The Scots thereupon
charged through the English, scattering them in flight; but 100
held together, and Wallace, with brusque directness, recalled Sir
John and ordered him to break up this body. The rout was complete,
and at the Knock Head Sir John killed Graystock. The valour of Sir
John, Kirkpatrick, and Halliday had been conspicuous. Harry remarks
a delicate courtesy of Wallace's in apologising to Sir John for the
brusqueness of his order in the heat of the pursuit; and no less
generous was Sir John's answer. In this engagement the Scots did not
lose a single man!
The victorious Scots now held a council, and unanimously adopted
Wallace's proposal to take Lochmaben Castle, the seat of the Bruce. The
possession of Lochmaben would establish a strong footing against the
English; and perhaps they might also link with it Carlaverock Castle,
if this could be wrested from Sir Herbert de Maxwell. In the dusk of
the evening, Halliday, taking with him John Watson, both of them having
special local knowledge, rode to the gate. The porter, who knew Watson
well, unsuspiciously opened the gate, on his information that the
captain was coming, and was instantly killed by Halliday, Watson taking
his keys. Wallace then came up and entered, finding only women and a
couple of men-servants. The women he spared, but the men he killed. As
the Knock Head fugitives returned, Watson let them in, and Wallace's
men immediately slew them. 'No man left there that was of England
born.' Johnstone, the husband of Halliday's second daughter--probably
the Johnstone of Eskdale mentioned later by Harry--was made captain.
Lochmaben was thus the first castle that Wallace attempted to hold.
The short campaign in Annandale was over. Halliday settled down again
in the Corhall, and Kirkpatrick returned to Eskdale Wood. Wallace and
Sir John, with forty men, passed north into Lanarkshire, and having
captured and dismantled Crawford Castle, proceeded straight to Dundaff.
* * * * *
The short and sharp campaigns of the west and the north--whether as
detailed by Harry or not--had placed Wallace before his countrymen as
the foremost champion of the liberties of Scotland.