Capture of Berwick (1296)

Siege of Berwick (1296)
Part of the First War of Scottish Independence
Date30 March 1296[1]
LocationBerwick-upon-Tweed
55°46′30″N 2°00′47″W / 55.775°N 2.013°WCoordinates: 55°46′30″N 2°00′47″W / 55.775°N 2.013°W
Result English victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Scotland Kingdom of England
Commanders and leaders
William the Hardy, Lord of Douglas Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
ca. 30.000 Civilians Light

The Capture of Berwick was the first significant battle of the First War of Scottish Independence in 1296. After a raid on Carlisle, the English, under Edward I, began the initial conquest of Scotland in the first phase of the war. They went to capture Berwick-upon-Tweed, a city that at the time sat just north of the border and was Scotland's most important trading port. The garrison was commanded by William the Hardy, Lord of Douglas, while the besieging party was led by Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford. The English brutally took the city. As many as 10,000 men, women and children were killed - even a woman giving birth was hacked to pieces during her labour. Then they took the castle, whereupon Douglas surrendered and his life and those of his garrison were spared.[2]

References

  1. ↑ James H. Webb (11 October 2005). Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-7679-1689-9. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  2. ↑ John Parker Lawson (1849), "Siege of Berwick, 1296", Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland, and of the Border Raids, Forays, and Conflicts, pp. 113–116