SINKING FEELING William Wallace’s army clashes with the English on the marshy banks of the river Forth
ILLUSTRATION: ANDREW HILLHOUSE, GETTY X1, REX/SHUTTERSTOCK X1
BATTLE CONTEXT
When
11 September 1297
Where
Stirling, Scotland
Who
English (Earl of Surrey, Hugh de Cressingham): 6,500 infantry, 350 cavalry
Scots (William Wallace, Andrew de Moray): 6,000 infantry,
180 cavalry
Why
Scottish resistance to rule of Edward I
Result
Scottish victory
Edward I meant business. The King of Scotland and his nobles had dared to defy him, and now they were going to pay the price. The first Scottish town to feel Edward’s wrath was Berwick. On Good Friday 1296, he ordered an all-out assault on the town, which was rapidly overrun, thoroughly sacked, and many of its inhabitants (who had rather unwisely taunted the English by baring their bottoms at them) put to the sword. Four weeks later, his army fell on the Scots at Dunbar and routed them – over 171 earls, knights and squires were taken prisoner.