On This Day In History: First War Of Scottish Independence: Battle of Bannockburn Begins – On June 23, 1314

AncientPages.com - On June 23, 1314, the Battle of Bannockburn started. It was the first war of Scottish independence.

Robert the Bruce, the guardian of Scotland, faced King Edward II at Bannockburn, near Stirling.

Bruce crowned King of Scots; modern tableau at Edinburgh Castle. Image credit: Kim Traynor - CC BY-SA 3.0

Bruce had lost almost everything. His wife, daughter, and sisters had been held captive in England for seven years. Bruce had lost friends, allies, and family during his campaign – his brothers, Neil, Thomas, and Alexander, had been hanged, drawn, and quartered. Now, finally, the Bruce was face-to-face with the English King.

The Scottish army was small and outnumbered almost three to one.

King Edward II had more than 2000 battle-hardened knights, while Bruce had only 500 horsemen. A mere 6000 Scots foot soldiers faced Edward’s force of 16,000 infantry.

It seemed like an impossible battle against all odds, but the Scots fought with tremendous courage.

The Scots decided to use used the natural terrain to counter the threat of Edward’s heavy cavalry and dug small pit traps or ‘pots’ to defend their flanks and force the English to fight them head-on.

The first day of the battle occurred on a Sunday, and the Scots attended Mass before entering the battlefield. Armed with only a battle-ax, Bruce sat and waited on a horse. The Scots formed three massive phalanges.

An English knight, Henry de Bohun, saw the Scots King and turned his war horse to charge. De Bohun thundered across the field, leveling his lance at Bruce. The Bruce stood his ground and waited till the English knight was almost upon him, then stood up in his stirrups and brought his battle-ax crashing down on Henry, splitting his helm and his skull in two.

The next morning the Scots rose and prepared for battle. It was Midsummer Day, the Feast of St John the Baptist. The English had a dreadful night, and morale was low. King Edward II made a fatal mistake when he ordered his men to cross the river east of New Park. The Scots were fully prepared for the attack, and their spearmen took their toll on the English cavalry.

Bruce ordered the Scots to push forward, and a forest of spears sent Edward’s army crashing back upon itself. Bruce’s camp followers - the smallfolk of the baggage train - took up arms and charged to join the battle. The English took this as a new Scots force and panicked.

The casualties for the Englishmen were very high.

Mounted knights struggled to escape across the river, trampling fallen men underfoot. The Scots pushed Edward’s army back to the steep-sided Bannockburn until the river was filled with bodies.

The Scots took English knights captive to trade for Scots prisoners. King Edward II fled the field. He escaped to Dunbar Castle and then, sailed to England. After his victory at Bannockburn, Bruce was able to negotiate the freedom of his wife Elizabeth, daughter Marjory, and sister Mary.

The horrifying battle lasted for two days, and thousands lay dead or dying on the battlefield.

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