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Battle of Bannockburn--Part 6 of 6

Betrayal

If Scotland was independent in 1314, why is it under English rule today?  In 1606, Queen Elizabeth I of England died childless and James VI of Scotland became king because he was the nearest heir.  James was crowned James I of England while remaining James VI of Scotland.  England and Scotland were united, but only because they shared a king.  They were united like this until 1707.  In 1707, the English Parliament proposed an “Act of Union” to the Scottish Parliament, but bribed them to accept it.  After the Act of Union was passed, the English fired most of the Scottish Parliament.  A 1791 poem by Robert Burns contrasts the honor of Bruce and his men with the treachery of the Scots in Parliament:

“What force, or guile, could not subdue,

Through many warlike ages,

Is wrought now by a coward few,

For hireling traitors’ wages

The English steel we could disdain,

Secure in valor’s station;

But English gold has been our bane—

Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!”

Bannockburn won Scotland’s independence, and Scotland would become one of the most Reformed countries in the world.  Scots like John Witherspoon and Lord Stirling influenced the founding of this country.  But without God’s Providence at Bannockburn, none of this would have happened.

1. Numbers taken from In Freedom’s Cause by G. A. Henty, pgs. 175-6

2. This tactic is depicted in at least two scenes in the movie Pendragon: Sword of His Father: once at 11:15 and again at 1:27:11.

3. Quotations taken from en.wikisource.org/wiki/Declaration_Of_Arbroath

The Battle of Bannockburn--Part 5 of 6

Declaration of Arbroath

After Bannockburn, the war continued.  Edward II convinced the Pope to excommunicate Robert de Bruce as a traitor to England.  In reply, the Scots sent the Declaration of Arbroath to the Pope.  It stated that Scotland was an independent country until Edward I treacherously attacked them.  They suffered under his ravages, but Robert de Bruce defeated the English and restored their freedom.  However, Robert de Bruce must not join the English, or his throne will be forfeited.

The Scottish nobles then bound themselves with this line: “…for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule.  It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom—for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.” 3. The Pope revoked the excommunication and the Declaration of Arbroath influenced our Declaration of Independence:

“…we commit the upholding of our cause to the Supreme King and Judge, entrusting our worries to Him and completely confident that He will fill us with courage and reduce our enemies to nothing.” (Declaration of Arbroath)

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” (Declaration of Independence)

Battle of Bannockburn--Part 4 of 6

The Second Day: June 24, 1314

The armies changed position for the second day’s battle.  The Scots put their backs to the road and anchored their lines on the two rivers.  This left a narrow D-shape for the English knights to cross the river and fight the Scots.

On the morning of June 24, 1314, the Scots were encamped.  A priest went around to the various Scottish divisions, praying with them.  Edward II saw them kneeling.

“See yonder folk kneel to ask for mercy!” Edward II said to one of his knights.

“Ay, sire, 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.”

The English trumpets sounded the charge and the knights crossed the river.  Their charge slammed into Edward Bruce’s schiltron.  The Scots stood firm against the English as they charged again and again.  The English knights could not break through the spears.  Douglas and Randolph moved their schiltrons to attack the English cavalry in reserve.  This relieved some of the pressure on Edward Bruce.

Edward II had English and Welsh longbowmen with him, and they opened fire on Robert de Bruce’s schiltron, which was taking little part in the battle.   They did not shoot their arrows outward, but upward, so that they rained down on the Scottish infantry.  2  Because the soldiers were bunched up in squares, the arrows found their mark easily.  If the Scots kept in a square, the archers had an easy mark.  If they moved into a line, the cavalry would ride right through them.  It looked as though the battle would be a Scottish disaster, like Falkirk.

But Edward had made one mistake, and Robert de Bruce exploited it.  There were no infantrymen protecting the archers.  The Scottish cavalry charged the archers and cut many down, scattering the rest.  The archers fled in disorder and their wild rout caused chaos in the English army.  The English army was disorganized, and the schiltrons now moved to attack.  “On! on! They fail!” the Scots shouted.

The final blow, however, came from the “Small Folk,” the camp followers.  Camp followers were male and female civilians who followed an army camp to provide cooking, laundering, horse driving, etc.  They and the camp had been set on a nearby hill, out of the way of the battle.  On seeing the English army disordered, the “Small Folk” attacked.

The English saw them and fled, thinking that a fresh division had joined the battle.  The Scots pursued, but in front of the English was the river.  Many knights drowned, while others who remained on land were killed by their pursuers.

Edward himself fled to Stirling Castle, but the governor turned him away, saying that the castle would now be captured by the Scots (which it was).  After a roundabout journey, Edward landed in England, never to return to Scotland again.

Battle of Bannockburn -- Part 3 of 6

The First Day: June 23, 1314

The governor of Stirling suggested that the English bypass the Scots, rather than attacking head-on.  This sounded like a good idea, so a division of English knights under Sir Robert Clifford crossed the river higher up.  Randolph and de Bruce were watching the battlefield when they noticed the division moving to Stirling.

Randolph’s division was at the tail of the column, so if the English passed it, they could enter Stirling Castle without any more hindrance.  After a rebuke from Bruce, Randolph flew to join his schiltron, which had barred the knights from coming any closer to the castle.  It was a hard fight.  The English knights tried to break through the spears, but could not.  The Scots stood their ground, and the English were beginning to break.  Sir James Douglas appeared with reinforcements, and the English fled, crossing the Bannock Burn back to their own lines.

Edward’s army moved close to the river, halting instead of crossing.  But two divisions mistakenly crossed the river.  At the same time, Robert de Bruce was riding in front of his men to encourage them.  An English knight, Sir Henry de Bohun, saw the Scottish king.  Putting spurs to his horse, de Bohun galloped to kill the Scottish king with his lance.  Bruce’s horse was not a war-horse, and he only held a battle-axe.  Robert de Bruce stood his ground, even though he could have escaped behind Scottish lines.  De Bohun thundered toward him.  He came closer and closer as the two armies breathlessly watched the single combat.   Just as de Bohun was almost ready to spear the King, Bruce dodged and brought his axe down on the English knight’s helmet.  De Bohun fell from his saddle, dead, and Robert de Bruce rode back to safety as his army cheered.