AN ACCOUNT
OF THE
BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN.
AN ACCOUNT
OF THE
BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN.
Edward II, of England, kept up the same claim on Scotland, which his father had begun; and, after several unsuccessful attempts to establish it, he resolved to make a great effort, and, with one blow; reduce that turbulent nation, which had put so many signal afronts on his father and himself.
In the spring, of 1314, he assembled the most numerous army that had ever crossed the borders, composed of different nations, and amounting to above 100,000 effective men, beside a huge multitude of attendants, who followed, in hopes of sharing in the plunder of a conquered enemy. At the head of these, he marched northward with an uncommon parade, and in full confidence of victory.
Robert Bruce, the son of that Robert Bruce who held a conference with Wallace on the banks of the Carron, and grandson of him who was competitor with Baliol, had, in 1306, been crowned King of Scotland; and being aware of Edward's formidable preparations, he raised an army of 80,000 men to oppose him. This armament bore but a small proportion to that of Edward's; but it was composed of soldiers who were hardened by long practice of war, and who now carried upon the point of their swords, liberty and honour, and everything that was dear to them. With these, Robert took uр his station in the neighbourhood of Stirling, and waited for Edward's arrival.
The two armies met, in the month of June. Soon after, a bloody battle was fought, in which the Scots obtained the most decisive victory in the annals of Scotland.
The English, having marched from Edinburgh, encamped to the northward of Torwood. The Scottish army was posted about a mile south from the present village of St. Ninians. On the summit of an eminence, called Brock's Brae, is a stone sunk in the earth, with a hole in it, in which, according to tradition, Robert's standard was fixed. The small river of Bannockburn ran in a narrow valley between the two camps.
The castle of Stirling was in the possession of the English. Edward Bruce, the king's brother, had, in the spring of 1313, laid siege to it, but found himself obliged to abandon the enterprise; and, by a treaty between that prince and Moubray the governor, it was agreed, that if the garrison received no relief from England before a year expired, it should surrender to the Scots.
The day preceding the battle, a strong body of cavalry was detached from the English camp, under the conduct of Lord Clifford, to the relief of Stirling castle. The detachment having marched through some hollow ground, had passed the Scots army before they were observed. The king himself was the first who perceived them;—he desired the Earl of Murray to look towards the place where they were. Randolph immediately set out after them with a party of 500 horse, and coming up with them in the plain, where the village of Newhouse now stands, a smart action ensued. King Robert, attended by some of his officers, beheld this encounter from a rising ground. The distress of Randolph being at length evident, Sir James Douglas asked leave of the king to go to his support. Robert assenting, Douglas put his soldiers in motion; observing, however, on the way, that the victory was nigh being won without his assistance, he stopped. The English were entirely defeated. Randolph returned to the camp, amidst acclamations of joy. To perpetuate the memory of the victory, two stones were reared up in the field, and are still to be seen.
This victory gave new spirits to the whole army, and made them so eager for the general engagement, that the night, though among the shortest of the year, seemed long to them. King Edward, too, was determined to bring on the battle on the morrow.
At length appeared the dawn of that important day, which was to decide whether Scotland was henceforth to be an independent kingdom, or subject to a foreign yoke.—Early all was in motion in both armies; religious sentiments were mingled with the military ardor of the Scots. A solemn mass was said by the Abbot of Inchaffery; who also administered the sacrament to the king, and the great officers about him, while inferior priests did the same to the rest of the army. After this they formed in order of battle, in a tract of ground called Touchadam. This situation had been previously chosen, because of its advantages. On the the right, they had a range of steep rocks, now called Murray's Crags; in their front, were the steep banks of the rivulet of Bannockburn; not far behind them, wit a word; on the left was a morass; but, as it was then the middle of summer, it was almost dry. Robert had orden a pits to be dug in this morass, and sharpened stakes to be driven into them, and the whole to be covered over again with green turf. He also scattered crow-feet throughout the morass. The same maneuvres were likewise carried on along the front of the left wing. By means of these artifices, joined to the natural strength of the ground, the Scots stood as within an entrenchment; and the invisible pits answered to the concealed batteries of more modern times.
Among the other occurrences of this memorable day, historians mention an incident of a singular nature. As the two armies were about to engage, the abbot of Inchaffery, posting himself before the Scots, with a crucifix in his hand, they all fell down on their knees in act of devotion. The enemy, observing them in so uncommon a posture, concluded that they were frightened into submission. But they were soon undeceived, when they saw them rise, and stand to their arms, with steady countenances.
The English began the action by a brisk charge on the left wing of the Scots, commanded by Randolph. A large body of cavalry advanced to attack him in front; while another fetched a compass to fall on his flank and rear; but before they could come to a close engagement, they fell into the snare that awaited them. The horses were soon disabled by the sharp irons rushing into their feet —others tumbled into the concealed pits and could not disentangle themselves.
In the beginning of the engagement, an incident occurred, which was rendered imporrant by its consequences. King Robert was mounted on horseback, carrying a battle-ax in his hand, and on his helmet he wore a turban, in the form of a crown.
This rendered him very conspicuous, as he rode before the lines. An English knight, named Bohun, came gallopping furiously up to him, in order to engage with him in single combat— but the enterprising champion having missed his blow, was instantly struck dead by Robert with the battle-ax. So bold an attack on their king, filled the Scots with sentiments of revenge; and the heroic achievement performed by him, raised their spirits to the highest pitch.
A singular occurrence, which is represented as an accidental sally of pariotic enthusiasm, suddenly altered the face of affairs. The servants and attendants of the Scottish army, amountng to 20,000, had been ordered, before the battle, to retire behind Murray's Crag. Having arranged themselves in martial form, they marched to the top of the hill, and, displaying their banners, moved towards the field of battle, with hideous shouts. The English, conceiving this motely crowd to be a fresh reinforcement, advancing to support the Scots, were siezed with so great a panic, that they began to give way. The Scots pursued, and great was the slaughter among the enemy. King Edward himself escaped with much difficulty; having been closely pursued, for above forty miles, by Sir James Douglas, with a party of light horse. He was on the point of being taken prisoner, when he was received into the castle of Dunbar, and then conveyed to England, in a small boat. —The Scots lost only 4,000 men, while the loss of the English amounted to above 30,000.
FINIS.