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.

Battle of Bannockburn--Part 2 of 6

Advance to Bannockburn

In 1313, most of Scotland was under Robert de Bruce.  His men had worked diligently and had been rewarded with the capture of most of the English-held castles.  Only four castles were still held by the English, including Stirling Castle.  The commander of Stirling Castle made a bargain with Edward Bruce, Robert’s brother: if the English army did not arrive within 8 miles of the castle by Midsummer’s Eve (June 24, 1314), then he would surrender to Bruce.  The loss of Stirling would be a terrible blow to the English, so Edward II (Edward I had died in 1307; his son had been crowned) had to act.

The English gathered a huge army—100,000 men according to historian G. A. Henty—and crossed the Border.  Experienced generals directed the English army.  Against this, Bruce called up all loyal Scots.  Their numbers amounted to 30,000. 1  Edward outnumbered Bruce by over 3 to 1.

De Bruce’s army was divided into 4 divisions plus cavalry.  The leftmost was under Walter the Steward (with Sir James Douglas), the center was commanded by Randolph, Lord Moray, and the right by Edward Bruce.  Robert de Bruce commanded the 4^th division, which was kept in reserve.  The cavalry was under Sir James Keith.

The Bannock Burn (burn means river) came together with the River Forth, making a C.  A road led across the Bannock Burn to Stirling Castle.  Edward’s army would use the road to get to Stirling, but Bruce’s army was arranged along the road in a column.

On their flanks, the Scots dug deep holes, planted sharp stakes inside them and covered them with turf.  When the English cavalry thundered down on the Scots, the turf would collapse and the knights would fall in the holes.

Holes were not their only protection.  The 4 divisions were arranged in a special position called a Schiltron.  A Schiltron was a square of pikemen four deep all around.  Two soldiers knelt with their pikes on an angle while the other two stood with their pikes horizontally.  This made a hedge of spears to keep cavalry away.

Before the battle began, Robert de Bruce told his soldiers that whoever was afraid was free to leave (as Deuteronomy 20:8 commands).  A few did, but most stayed with the army that was fighting for their king and liberty.

Battle of Bannockburn--Part 1 of 6

The Battle of Bannockburn

The Scots are proud of their history and heritage.  And no time in their long history is more celebrated than the era of William Wallace, Robert de Bruce, and the Battle of Bannockburn.  But what exactly did these men do?  And why was Bannockburn important?

The Usurper

In 1286, King Alexander III of Scotland rode home from an all-night feast.  In the darkness, he mistakenly rode off a cliff and was killed.  The crown of Scotland would have gone to his granddaughter Margaret, but she died on her voyage to Scotland.  Now the throne was vacant, and many competitors appeared to claim it.  Robert de Bruce and John Baliol (among others) were both related to the late King of Scotland.  But who would decide between the claimants?  The Scots asked Edward I, King of England, to choose, because his son was supposed to marry Margaret.  Edward I chose Baliol, because he had heard that Baliol would follow Edward’s will.  Baliol was crowned, but argued when Edward demanded that Scottish subjects be tried in English courts.  He was deposed and imprisoned in the Tower of London as Edward I declared himself King of Scotland.

Many of the Scots, including Robert de Bruce, submitted to the English dominion (especially when Edward rewarded them with land and gold), but some did not.  Sir Malcolm Wallace fought them, and when he was killed, his son William Wallace continued the fight.  Wallace inflicted a stinging defeat on the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, killing 5,000 English footsoldiers.

The Scottish resistance was becoming formidable, and Edward I marched into Scotland with an English army.  He crushed Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk in 1297 and forced him into hiding.  In 1305, Wallace was betrayed and sent to England, where he was tried and executed.  But before he died, Robert de Bruce joined Wallace in the fight for Scottish independence.

Cowardice and Courage by G. A. Henty

"There is nothing so bad as cowardice; it is the father of all faults.  A coward is certain to be a liar, for he will not hesitate to tell any falsehood to shelter him from the consequences of a fault.  In your case, you see, cowardice has made you a thief; and in some cases it might drive a man to commit a murder."--from When London Burned by G. A. Henty, pg. 95