Battle of Falkirk (1298)

First Berwick – Dunbar – Lanark – Stirling Bridge – Falkirk – Roslin – Happrew – Stirling Castle – Methven – Dalrigh – Glen Trool – Loudoun Hill – Slioch – Inverurie – Buchan – Pass of Brander – Bannockburn – Connor – Kells – Skerries – Skaithmuir – Second Berwick – Faughart – Myton – Arbroath Declaration – Old Byland – Corbeil Treaty – Stanhope Park – Edinburgh-Northampton Treaty

Scottish Independence Wars

Wars of Scottish Independence: First – Second – Third

The Battle of Falkirk, (Blàr na h-Eaglaise Brice in Gaelic) which took place on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence. Led by King Edward I of England the English army defeated the Scots led by William Wallace and shortly after the battle Wallace resigned as Guardian of Scotland.

1 Prelude
2 Battle
3 Aftermath
4 References
5 Literature
6 External links

Prelude

King Edward I was campaigning against the French in Flanders when he learned of the defeat of his northern army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. After concluding a truce with Philip the Fair, he returned to England in March 1298 and immediately began organising an army for his second invasion of Scotland. As a preliminary step he moved the centre of government to York, where it was to remain for the next six years. A council-of-war was held in the city in April to finalise the details of the invasion. The Scots magnates were all summoned to attend, and when none appeared they were all declared to be traitors. Edward then ordered his army to assemble at Roxburgh on 25 June. The force he gathered was impressive: over 2,000 horses and 12,000 infantry,^[3] including a huge force of Welshmen armed with the longbow.

In early July the march northwards began. Things did not go well. William Wallace, now Guardian of Scotland, had ordered a scorched earth policy, denying the invaders fresh supplies. The Scots gave ground, drawing the English ever deeper into barren and hostile territory. Edward's own supply fleet was delayed by bad weather, and when the army reached central Scotland it was close to starvation. The Welsh infantry in particular were badly demoralised. While the army was encamped at Temple Liston, near Edinburgh, they erupted in a drunken riot that was broken up by the English cavalry, who killed 80 Welshmen. Edward faced the prospect of the kind of ignominious retreat that was to become a regular feature of his son's campaigns in the succeeding reign. As he was on the point of falling back on Edinburgh he received intelligence that Wallace had taken up position in the wood of Callendar near Falkirk, only thirteen miles away, ready to pursue the retreating English. Edward was delighted: As God lives... they need not pursue me, for I will meet them this day.

Battle

The Scots army, again made up chiefly of spearmen as at Stirling, was arranged in four great armoured 'hedgehogs' known as schiltrons. The long spears pointed outwards at various heights gave these formations a formidable and impenetrable appearance. The gaps between the schiltrons were filled with archers and to the rear there was a small troop of men-at-arms, provided by the Comyns and other magnates.

On Tuesday 22 July, the English cavalry, divided into four battalions, finally caught sight of their elusive enemy. The left was commanded by the Earls of Norfolk, Hereford and Lincoln. The right was under the command of Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham, while the King commanded the centre, still a little distance to the rear of the vanguard. Once in sight of the enemy, Norfolk and his colleagues began an immediate attack, but on encountering a small marsh to the front of the Scots position, made a long detour to the west before being able to make contact with the right of Wallace's army. Bek tried to hold back his own battalion to give the King time to get into position but he was overruled by his impatient knights anxious to join their comrades on the left in an immediate attack. In a disorganised pell-mell the cavalry finally closed on the Scots, on the right and left. The ground thundered as the schiltrons braced themselves for the impact. The Lord Comyns, however, with all his cavalry had goaded Wallace into this fight and at the critical moment when a sudden attack by his cavalry would have surely broken the English lines, Comyns ordered his forces to withdraw thus leaving the archers and pikemen vulnerable. The Scots bowmen commanded by Sir John Stewart, the younger brother of the High Stewart, stood their ground and were quickly destroyed. But the schiltrons held firm, absorbing the shock of the impact. The knights made no impression on the dense forest of long spears and were soon threatened with impalement. A large number of riders were killed under their horses. King Edward arrived in time to witness the discomfiture of his cavalry and quickly restored discipline. The knights were ordered to withdraw and Edward prepared to employ the tactics that the Earl of Warwick had used to defeat the Welsh spearmen at the Battle of Maes Moydog in 1295.

Bloody fighting now took place between the Scottish spearmen and the English infantry, with the Scots getting the better of it. Despite their success, the schiltrons were isolated and locked into a static defensive position. Edward's archers were brought into place and went to work with their deadly longbows. Their hail of arrows was supplemented by crossbow and slingshot. The schiltrons were an easy target, they had no defence and nowhere to hide. Unable to retreat or attack, the battle was lost for the Scots almost as soon as the first arrows began to fall. The cavalry waited, this time observing the King's command, until the Scots ranks were thin enough to allow them to enter and finish the job. A great many Scots were killed, including Macduff, son of the Earl of Fife. The survivors, Wallace included, escaped as best they could, mostly into the nearby forest of Torwood where their pursuers could not safely follow. Historian Stuart Reid says, "Wallace's army may have been scattered rather than destroyed"^[4]. Michael Prestwich says that the English army lost "approaching 2,000" men^[2]. This was testimony to how fiercely the schiltrons had fought until their final rout.

Aftermath

For England, Falkirk was a victory that contained the seeds of future defeat. Wallace had lost some of his most loyal supporters, including Sir John Stewart, Sir John Steward of Bonkill and second-in-command Sir John de Graham. Above all, the ability to exercise effective command in battle was decisive. Edward I succeeded at Falkirk, but Edward II, faced with similar circumstances, was to fail and disastrously so, at Bannockburn.

Falkirk was a considerably less decisive battle than Dunbar. Although Wallace's credibility had been damaged and his military reputation hindered, the Kingdom was not conquered, thanks in large measure to his scorched earth tactics. King Edward's army, weakened by hunger and disease, was in no position to carry on with a prolonged campaign. He ordered a retreat to Carlisle, where he hoped to hold the army together for a fresh campaign, but many deserted, including a large part of Bek's contingent from Durham. The King tried to prevent further desertions by holding out the prospect of gaining Scots lands to those who remained, which only led to even more disputes. King Edward had no option but to dismiss the greater part of his army, although he himself remained on the border until the end of the year, after which he returned to the south, convinced that the disloyalty of his Barons had robbed him of the fruits of Falkirk.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 UK. Battlefields, Battle of Falkirk
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Prestwich p.481
↑ Paterson, Raymond Campbell For the Lion:History of the Scottish Wars of Independence John Donald Publishers Ltd (29 Aug 1997) ISBN 978-0859764353 pp. 21,165
↑ Reid, S., Battles of the Scottish Lowlands;2004;Pen & Sword Books Ltd.;Barnsley;ISBN:1-84415-078-X

Literature

Bain, J., The Edwards in Scotland, 1296-1377, 1961.
Barrow, G. W. S. Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland, 1976
Barron, E. M. The Scottish War of Independence, 1934.
Brown, C., "William Wallace", 2004.
Morris, J. E. The Welsh Wars of Edward I, 1994.
Nicholson, R. Scotland-the Later Middle Ages, 1974.
Oman, C., The Art of War in the Middle Ages, 1898.
Prestwich, M., Edward I, 1997, Yale University Press, New Haven & London, ISBN 0-300-07157-4 (pbk.)
Reid, S., Battles of the Scottish Lowlands;2004;Pen & Sword Books Ltd.;Barnsley;ISBN:1-84415-078-X.

External links

Wallace and the Battle of Falkirk (1298)