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The
Battle of Stirling Bridge - Factsheet
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'For this reason the Scots adopted a stout heart at the
instigation of William Wallace, who taught them to fight,
so that those whom the English nation held as living captives
might be made renewed Scots in their own homeland,...
Hence in the year one thousand three hundred less three
time one the Scots vanquished the English, whom they put
into mourning for death, as the bridge bears witness,
where the great battle is recorded, which lies beyond
Stirling on the River Forth.’
Poem in Bower’s Scotichronicon on the Battle of Stirling
Bridge
- September
1297
John de Warenne marches north with a huge force
of cavalry and infantry. Earl of Surrey, Govenor
in Scotland for Edward I of England, and spearhead
of his imperial ambitions north of the border,
he is confident of victory, whether by battle
or negotiation. It has been four months since
the rising of William Wallace and Andrew Murray
began.
- Near
Stirling Castle he arrives at a narrow, wooden
bridge which crosses The River Forth. There, on
the opposite bank is Wallace and Murray’s
army. Warenne delays his crossing for several
days to allow for negotiations, cocksure that
the Scots will choose peace over war in the light
of recent English victories and their obvious
military superiority. He is surprised by their
refusal to surrender and on the 11th September
decides to force the crossing.
- The
Strategic Situation
The town of Stirling was the key entry point to
the north of Scotland. The tidal River Forth was
too wide to cross east of the town and upstream
lay the enormous bog of The Carse of Gowrie.
-
The Scots
were encamped on the Abbey Craig, where the National Wallace
Monument stands today. Their army was predominantly infantry
armed with long spears, and was drawn mainly from the ‘lesser’
ranks of society - not because the Scots nobles completely resisted
Wallace, but because many of them were being held captive in
England.
-
From
the base of Abbey Craig a causeway stretched
for a mile across The River Forth’s flood
plain (roughly in line with the present day
road between The Craig and the river). At
the end of the causeway stood the bridge (lying
180 yards upstream from the 15th century stone
that still crosses the river today - pictured
above). It was wide enough to pass with only
two horsemen abreast and the entire English
army would have taken several hours to cross,
after which they would have to enter a confined
narrow loop in the river, leaving their flank
dangerously exposed to attack. All this before
they were even ready to give battle.
-
Battle
of Stirling Bridge, 11th September 1297
At dawn the English and Welsh infantry start
to cross only to be recalled due to the fact
that their leader, Warenne, has overslept.
Again they cross the bridge and again they
are recalled: as Warenne believes the Scots
might finally negotiate. Two Dominican friars
are sent to Wallace to acquire his surrender
and return shortly afterwards with William
Wallace's first recorded speech:
'Tell
your commander that we are not here to make
peace but to do battle, defend ourselves and
liberate our kingdom. Let them come on, and
we shall prove this in their very beards.’
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