battle of Dunbar, 1296
The Battle of Dunbar was the only significant field action in the
campaign of 1296. King Edward I of England had invaded Scotland in
1296 to punish King John Balliol for his refusal to support English
military action in France.The battlefield is currently under
research to be inventoried and protected by Historic Scotland under
the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009.
After the
sack of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Edward rushed to complete the conquest
of Scotland, remained in the town for a month, supervising the
strengthening of its defences. On 5 April, he received a message
from King John renouncing his homage, to which he remarked, more in
contempt than anger, "O' foolish knave! What folly he commits. If he
will not come to us we will go to him."
The next objective in
the campaign was the Earl of March's castle at Dunbar, a few miles
up the coast from Berwick. March was with the English, but his wife,
Marjory Comyn, sister of the Earl of Buchan, did not share her
husband's political loyalties and allowed her fellow Scots to occupy
the castle. Edward sent one of his chief lieutenants, John de
Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, John Balliol's own father-in-law,
northwards with a strong force of knights to invest the stronghold.
The defenders sent messages to King John, bivouacked with the main
body of his army at nearby Haddington, asking for urgent assistance.
In response the army, or a large part of it, advanced to the rescue
of Dunbar. John, who was showing even less skill as a commander than
he had as a king, did not accompany it. The campaign of 1296 was now
to enter its final phase.
There is little evidence to suggest
that Dunbar was anything other than an action between two bodies of
mounted men-at-arms (armoured cavalry). Surrey's force seems to have
comprised one formation (out of four) of the English cavalry; the
Scots force lead in part by Comyns probably represented the greater
part of their cavalry element. The two forces came in sight of each
other on 27 April. The Scots occupied a strong position on some high
ground to the west. To meet them, Surrey's cavalry had to cross a
gully intersected by the Spot Burn. As they did so their ranks broke
up, and the Scots, deluded into thinking the English were leaving
the field, abandoned their position in a disorderly downhill charge,
only to find that Surrey's forces had reformed on Spottsmuir and
were advancing in perfect order. The English routed the disorganised
Scots in a single charge. The action was brief and probably not very
bloody, since the only casualty of any note was a minor Lothian
knight, Sir Patrick Graham, though about 100 Scottish lords, knights
and men-at-arms were taken prisoner. According to one English source
over ten thousand Scots died at the battle of Dunbar, however this
is probably a confusion with the casualties incurred at the storming
of Berwick. The survivors fled westwards to the safety of Selkirk
Forest. The following day King Edward appeared in person and Dunbar
castle surrendered. Some important prisoners were taken: John Comyn,
Earl of Buchan, and the earls of Atholl, Ross and Menteith, together
with 130 knights and esquires. All were sent into captivity in
England.
The battle of Dunbar effectively ended the war of
1296 with the English winning. The remainder of the campaign was
little more than a grand mopping-up operation. James, the hereditary
High Steward of Scotland, surrendered the important fortress at
Roxburgh without attempting a defence, and others were quick to
follow his example. Only Edinburgh Castle held out for a week
against Edward's siege engines. A Scottish garrison sent out to help
King John, who had fled north to Forfar, were told to provide for
their own safety. Edward himself, true to his word, advanced into
central and northern Scotland in pursuit of King John. Stirling
Castle, which guarded the vital passage across the River Forth was
deserted save for a janitor who stayed behind to hand the keys to
the English. John reached Perth on 21 June, where he received
messages from Edward asking for peace.
John Balliol, in
surrendering, submitted himself to a protracted abasement. At
Kincardine Castle on 2 July he confessed to rebellion and prayed for
forgiveness. Five days later in the kirkyard of Stracathro he
abandoned the treaty with the French. The final humiliation came at
Montrose on 8 July. Dressed for the occasion John was ceremoniously
stripped of the vestments of royalty. Antony Bek, the Bishop of
Durham, ripped the red and gold arms of Scotland from his surcoat,
thus bequeathing to history the nickname Toom Tabard (empty coat) by
which John has been known to generations of Scottish schoolchildren.
He and his son Edward were sent south into captivity. Soon after,
the English king followed, carrying in his train the Stone of Scone
and other relics of Scottish nationhood.
See also:
Battle of Dunbar, 1650
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