Battle of Falkirk#Background

After the Battle of Stirling Bridge, from November 1297 until January 1298 Wallace led a Scottish army south. From Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle, the Scots raided the countryside, bringing back the spoils.{{rp|82}}

King Edward learned of the defeat of his northern army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=34}} After concluding a truce with the French king, Philip the Fair, in October 1297,{{sfn|Keen|2003|p=28}} he returned to England on 14 March 1298 to continue the ongoing organising of an army for his second invasion of Scotland which had been in preparation since late 1297.{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=60}} As a preliminary step, he moved the centre of government to York, where it was to remain for the next six years. A council-of-war was held in the city in April to finalise the details of the invasion. The Scottish magnates were all summoned to attend; when none appeared, they were all declared to be traitors. Edward then ordered his army to assemble at Roxburgh on 25 June. The force counted 2,000 armoured cavalry and about 12,000 infantry{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=69}} receiving wages, though, after the manner of medieval armies there would have been many more serving without pay either as a statement of personal independence, forgiveness of debts to the crown, criminal pardons or just for adventure.Paterson, Raymond Campbell For the Lion: History of the Scottish Wars of Independence John Donald Publishers Ltd (1997) {{ISBN|978-0-85976-435-3}} pp. 21, 165 Stuart Reid estimates Edward's force at 214 knights with 900 troopers, 1000 cavalry supplied by the Earls, 500 mercenary crossbowmen, 2000 archers with billmen from the Lancashire and Cheshire feudal levies, though the infantry may only have totalled 8,000.{{cite book |last1=Reid |first1=Stuart |title=Battles of the Scottish Lowlands |date=2004 |publisher=Pen & Sword Books Limited |isbn=978-1-84415-078-6 |location=Barnsley |pages=18–25}}

Edward left Roxburgh on 3 July and reached Kirkliston in two weeks, where he awaited supplies expected to arrive along the coastal ports, delayed due to weather. In the interim, he dealt with a Welsh mutiny. Finally, on 20 July, he advanced, reaching Linlithgow on 21 July. Edward was on the point of falling back on Edinburgh, when he received intelligence the Scots were at Torwood, near Falkirk, ready to harass his retreat. Edward reportedly said that he "would not trouble them to seek me", and placed his army south of Falkirk on the morning of 22 July. Edward wanted to make camp and feed his men while waiting for his infantry to catch up with his cavalry. His cavalry commanders though, favoured an immediate attack.{{Cite web |url=http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/warsofindependence/battleoffalkirk/ |title='The Battle of Falkirk', Foghlam Alba |access-date=16 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716114626/http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/warsofindependence/battleoffalkirk/ |archive-date=16 July 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}

Reid calculates the Scots could have manned four schiltrons with about 1000 men each, in addition to the cavalry and archers. These men would have come from the sheriffdoms of Fife, Kinross, Midlothian, Haddington, Stirling, Linlithgow, Lanark, Merse and Teviotdale. With that, Wallace supposedly said, "I have browghte yowe to the ryng. Hoppe yef ye canne!" Absent were forces under the Comyns and Robert Bruce. Also absent was Andrew Moray, co-victor with Wallace at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, having been mortally wounded in that battle. It was Moray who used the schiltrons offensively.{{cite book |last1=Duncan |first1=A. A. M. |title=William, Son of Alan Wallace: The Documents, in 'The Wallace Book' |date=2007 |publisher=John Donald |isbn=978-1-906566-24-1 |editor1-last=Cowan |editor1-first=Edward |location=Edinburgh |page=42}}{{cite book |last1=Watson |first1=Fiona |title=Sir William Wallace: What We Do – and Don't – Know, in 'The Wallace Book' |date=2007 |publisher=John Donald |isbn=978-1-906566-24-1 |editor1-last=Cowan |editor1-first=Edward |location=Edinburgh |pages=31–34}}

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|image1 = Falkirk1298(1).JPG

|image2 = Falkirk1298(2).JPG

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File:Memorial Stone & Esplanade Gardens, Rothesay (geograph 3571776).jpg. "In honour of the 'Men of Bute' who, under the command of Sir John Stewart, fell to a man at the Battle of Falkirk, 22nd July 1298.{{cite book |last1=Murison |first1=Alexander Falconer |title=Sir William Wallace |date=1900 |publisher=C. Scribner |location=New York |page=105 |url=https://archive.org/stream/sirwilliamwallac00muriuoft#page/104/mode/2up/search/john+stewart |access-date=11 July 2018}} Who fought for Wallace on Falkirk's field, John Stewart's men with sword and shield but o'er pow'rd thus! Their fate was sealed for freedom fell."]]

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|image1=Scots Wha Hae - geograph.org.uk - 1278254.jpg|caption1=The First Battle of Falkirk Monument (2000){{cite web |title=Callendar Park Appendix 4 : Historical Monuments |url=http://www.falkirklocalhistorysociety.co.uk/home/index.php?id=214 |website=Falkirk Local History Society |access-date=11 July 2018 |archive-date=20 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920045158/http://www.falkirklocalhistorysociety.co.uk/home/index.php?id=214 |url-status=live }}

|image2=Memorial to Sir William Wallace (geograph 4694138).jpg|caption2=Scots Wha Hae

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The Scots army, again made up chiefly of spearmen as at Stirling Bridge, was arranged in four{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=67}} great "hedgehogs" known as schiltrons.{{cite journal |last1=Manning |first1=Scott |title=Historiography of Falkirk (1298) as the Predecessor to Infantry Dominance |journal=Saber and Scroll Journal |date=2013 |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=84–94 |url=https://www.academia.edu/5336808 |access-date=22 November 2018 |archive-date=11 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111085801/https://www.academia.edu/5336808 |url-status=live }} The long spears (pikes) pointing outwards at various heights gave these formations a formidable and impenetrable appearance. The gaps between the schiltrons were filled with archers,{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=67}} with 500 mounted knights at the rear.

On Tuesday 22 July, the English cavalry, divided into four battles,{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=73}} advanced in echelon. The vanguard, led by the Earl of Lincoln, moved to the left to avoid a marshy area, followed by the battle of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey. The battle of Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham, followed by the King's battle, moved around the marshy area to the right, toward the Scottish left flank. Lincoln's and Bek's battles charged the Scots and Lincoln quickly routed the Scottish cavalry.

The Scots bowmen commanded by Sir John Stewart,{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=77}} the younger brother of the High Steward of Scotland,{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=79}} stood their ground but were overrun by the English cavalry.{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=77}} However, the schiltrons held firm, with the knights making little impression on the dense forest of long spears, and 111 horses were killed in the vain attempts. Edward's cavalry fell back as his infantry and archers arrived.

{{multiple image |total_width=300

|image1=Memorial to Sir John de Graeme - geograph.org.uk - 1578712.jpg|caption1=John de Graeme's Memorial

|image2=Sir John De Graeme tomb, Falkirk Old Parish Church (geograph 5391147).jpg|caption2=Sir John De Graeme tomb, Falkirk Old Parish Church

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Edward's archers, crossbowmen and slingers began raining projectiles on the inexperienced and poorly-armoured Scottish spearmen.{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=77}} The schiltrons were an easy target: they had no defence and nowhere to hide.{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=77}} Pinned in place by the English cavalry and infantry, unable to retreat or attack, the battle was lost for the Scots almost as soon as the first arrows began to fall. The English waited, this time observing the King's command, until the Scottish ranks were thinned out and disordered enough to allow them to break up the schiltrons.{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=78}} The English cavalry and infantry then attacked the wavering Scottish spearmen, and the schiltrons broke and scattered.{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=78}}

Edward occupied Stirling and raided Perth, St. Andrews and Ayrshire. Yet, he retreated to Carlisle by 9 September. Edward invaded again in the summer of 1300.

Casualties among the Scottish leaders were not particularly heavy, but did include Wallace's second-in-command, Sir John de Graham, as well as Sir John Stewart, and Macduff of Fife.{{sfn|Armstrong|2003|p=79}}

In the words of Reid, "while unquestionably a good partisan leader, William Wallace's military abilities were simply not up to the job of organizing, training and leading a conventional military force." At Falkirk, Wallace "simply drew up his army in an open field and froze."

In the words of Evan Macleod Barron, it was Moray who "possessed military genius and military training", while Wallace possessed qualities that "make a great guerilla leader." Barron goes on to say, "Falkirk should never have been fought at all ... it hardly looks as if the brain which conceived the plan of battle at Falkirk was the same as that which conceived the plan at Stirling Bridge." Though Wallace resigned his leadership and guardianship, he still "represented the mass of the people." Hence Edward's determination to "capture at all costs the man who was in himself the embodiment of that popular hostility, and who was in addition, a warrior of skill and daring and a leader who had won the heart and the imagination of the people."{{cite book |last1=Barron |first1=Evan |title=The Scottish War of Independence |date=1997 |publisher=Barnes & Noble Books |isbn=978-0-7607-0328-1 |pages=70–85}}{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Michael |title=The Wars of Scotland, 1214–1371, Volume 4 in The New Edinburgh History of Scotland |date=2004 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd. |isbn=978-0-7486-1238-3 |location=Edinburgh |pages=184–188}}{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Chris |title=Scottish Battlefields, 500 Battles That Shaped Scottish History |date=2008 |publisher=Tempus Publishing |isbn=978-0-7524-3685-2 |location=Stroud |pages=126–128, 270–273}}

The Falkirk Roll is a collection of the arms of the English bannerets and noblemen present at the battle of Falkirk. It is the oldest known English occasional roll of arms, and contains 111 names and blazoned shields.{{cite book |last=Gough |first=Henry |url=https://archive.org/details/scotlandindocum00gouggoog |title=Scotland in 1298. Documents Relating to the Campaign of King Edward the First |date=1888 |publisher=Alexander Gardner |isbn=0-85388-010-7 |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/scotlandindocum00gouggoog/page/n185 131]–157}}

Following are a collection of modern illustrations of the Falkirk Roll based on the blazons published in Henry Gough's book, Scotland in 1298. Documents Relating to the Campaign of King Edward the First.

File:The Falkirk Roll of Arms - Panel 1 - La Vaunt Garde.jpg|Panel 1 – La Vaunt Garde ("The Vanguard")

File:The Falkirk Roll of Arms - Panel 2 - La Batayle le Eveske de Dureme.jpg|Panel 2 – La Batayle le Eveske de Dureme ("The Bishop of Durham's Battle")

File:The Falkirk Roll of Arms - Panel 3 - La Bataille le Roy.jpg|Panel 3 – La Bataille le Roy ("The King's Battle")

File:The Falkirk Roll of Arms - Panel 4 - La Quarte Bataille.jpg|Panel 4 – La Quarte Bataille ("The Fourth Battle")

File:South edge of Callendar Wood at Woodend Farm (geograph 3250129).jpg

The site of the battle is uncertain.{{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=Ian |title=Battle of Falkirk site's smoking gun |url=https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/battle-of-falkirk-site-s-smoking-gun-1-3839079 |access-date=10 July 2018 |agency=The Falkirk Herald |date=25 July 2015 |archive-date=10 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710195241/https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/battle-of-falkirk-site-s-smoking-gun-1-3839079 |url-status=dead}} There have been three proposed sites: at Campfield, around the modern Central Retail Park;{{cite web |title=Falkirk, Campfield |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/46926/falkirk-campfield |website=Canmore |publisher=Historic Environment Scotland |access-date=10 July 2018 |archive-date=10 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710225345/https://canmore.org.uk/site/46926/falkirk-campfield |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Site of the Battle by OS |url=http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=18&lat=56.0069&lon=-3.7802&layers=168&b=4 |website=Central Retail Park from zoomable 25 inch OS map with opacity slider |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=10 July 2018 |archive-date=30 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130162106/http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=18&lat=56.0069&lon=-3.7802&layers=168&b=4 |url-status=live }} south of Callendar Woods (as depicted in the diagrams above),{{cite web |title=Site of the Battle by OS |url=http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=55.9874&lon=-3.7648&layers=168&b=4 |website=South of the Woods from zoomable 25 inch OS map with opacity slider |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=10 July 2018 |archive-date=30 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130162106/http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=55.9874&lon=-3.7648&layers=168&b=4 |url-status=live }} and; at Mumrills, the site of the Antonine Fort.{{cite web |title=Site of the Battle by OS |url=http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=55.9968&lon=-3.7399&layers=170&b=3 |website=Mumrills from zoomable OS map with opacity slider |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=10 July 2018 |archive-date=30 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130162106/http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=55.9968&lon=-3.7399&layers=170&b=3 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Beers |first1=Roy |title=Does a mystery site at Mumrills hold the answer to Falkirk's most tragic secret? |url=https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/does-a-mystery-site-at-mumrills-hold-the-answer-to-falkirk-s-most-tragic-secret-1-4765784 |access-date=10 July 2018 |agency=Falkirk Herald |date=8 July 2018 |archive-date=29 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729175518/https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/does-a-mystery-site-at-mumrills-hold-the-answer-to-falkirk-s-most-tragic-secret-1-4765784 |url-status=dead}}

Walter of Guisborough stated that the Scots were positioned "on hard ground ... on one side of a hillock". The Scalacronica reported that the site was "on this side of Falkirk." Stuart Reid has suggested the burgh muir of Falkirk (i.e. "the plain which is called Falkirk"), while also acknowledging a consensus among historians, that located the Scots' position below Callendar Wood, with Glen Burn in front.

{{Reflist}}

• {{citation |title=Stirling Bridge and Falkirk 1297–98 – William Wallace's rebellion (Campaign 117) |last=Armstrong |first=Peter |year=2003 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-84176-510-5}}
• {{citation |title=England in the Later Middle Ages |last=Keen |first=Peter |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-27293-9}}
• Prestwich, M., Edward I, 1997, Yale University Press, New Haven & London, {{ISBN|0-300-07157-4}} (pbk.)

• Bain, J., The Edwards in Scotland, 1296–1377, 1961.
• Barrow, G. W. S., Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland, 1976
• Brown, C., "William Wallace", 2004.
• Morris, J. E., The Welsh Wars of Edward I, 1994.
• Nicholson, R. Scotland – the Later Middle Ages, 1974.
• Oman, C., The Art of War in the Middle Ages, 1898.
• Santiuste, D., The Hammer of the Scots: Edward I and the Scottish Wars of Independence, 2015.
• Fordun, John, Chronica Gentis Scotorum (Chronicle of the Scottish nation), 1363. Translated from the Latin text by Felix J. H. Skene. Ed. by William F. Skene. 1872

• [http://skyelander.orgfree.com/falkirk1.html Wallace and the Battle of Falkirk (1297)]

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Category:1298 in Scotland

Category:Battles of the Wars of Scottish Independence

Falkirk

Category:Conflicts in 1298

Battle

Category:13th-century military history of Scotland

Category:Edward I of England