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Edward II. on his accession
to the throne of England soon proved himself but ill-qualified for the
conduct of those great designs which his father’s demise had devolved
upon him. Of a weak and obstinate disposition, be was incapable of
appreciating, far less of acting up to the dying counsels and injunctions
of his heroic father. His utter disregard for these was, indeed,
manifested in the very first act of his reign; that of recalling his
unworthy favourite Piers Gaveston from exile, who with other minions of
his own cast was from that moment to take the place of all the faithful
and experienced ministers of the late king, and exercise a sole and
unlimited sway over the weak and capricious humours of their master.
Edward by this measure laid an early foundation for the disgust and
alienation of his English subjects. His management in regard to Scotland
was equally unpropitious. After wasting much valuable time at Dumfries and
Roxburgh in receiving the homage of the Scottish barons; he advanced with
his great army as far as Cumnock in Ayrshire, from whence, without
striking a blow, he retreated into England, and disbanded his whole
forces. A campaign so useless and inglorious, after all the mighty
preparation spent upon it, could not but have a happy effect upon the
rising fortunes of the Scottish patriots, while it disheartened all in
Scotland who from whatever cause favoured the English interest.
The English king had no
sooner retired, than Bruce invaded Galloway, and, wherever opposed, wasted
the country with fire and sword. The fate of his two brothers, who had
here fallen into the hands of the chieftain Macdowal, most probably
influenced the king in this act of severe retribution. The Earl of
Richmond, whom Edward had newly created guardian, was sent to oppose his
progress, upon which Robert retired into the north of Scotland, leaving
Sir James Douglas in the south, for the purpose of reducing the forests of
Selkirk and Jedburgh to obedience. The king, without encountering almost
any resistance, over-ran great part of the north, seizing, in his
progress, the castle of Inverness and many other fortified places, which
he ordered to be entirely demolished. Returning southward, he was met by
the Earl of Buchan at the head of a tumultuary body of Scots and English,
whom, at the first charge, he put to flight. In the course of this
expedition, the king became affected with a grievous illness, which
reduced his bodily and mental strength to that degree, that little hopes
were entertained of his recovery. Ancient historians have attributed this
malady to the effects of the cold, famine, poor lodging and hardships, to
which, ever since the defeat at Methven, the king had been subjected.
Buchan, encouraged by the
intelligence which he received of the king’s illness, and eager to
efface the dishonour of his late retreat, again assembled his numerous
followers; and being joined by Mowbray, an English commander, came up with
the king’s forces, then strongly posted near Slaines, on the east coast
of Aberdeenshire. The royalists avoided battle; and beginning to be
straitened for provisions retired in good order, first to Strathbogie, and
afterwards to Inverury. By this time the violence of the king’s disorder
had abated, and had began by slow degrees to recover strength. Buchan, who
still watched for an opportunity of attack, advanced to Old Meldrum; and
Sir David Brechin, who had joined himself to his party, came upon Inverury
suddenly with a detachment of troops, cut off several of the royalists in
the outskirts of the town, and retired without loss. This military bravado
instantly roused the dormant energies of the king; and, though too weak in
body to mount on horseback without assistance, he resolved to take
immediate vengeance on his insolent enemy. Supported by two men on each
side of his saddle, the king took the direction of his troops, and
encountering the forces of Buchan, though much superior to his own, put
them to flight with great slaughter. The agitation of spirits which Robert
sustained on this occasion, is said to have restored him to health.
Advancing into the country of his discomfited enemy, Bruce took ample
revenge of all the injuries which its possessor had inflicted upon him.
About this time the castle
of Aberdeen was surprized by the citizens, the garrison put to the sword,
and the fortifications razed to the foundation. A body of English having
been collected for the purpose of chastising this bold exploit, they were
spiritedly met on their march by the inhabitants, routed, and a
considerable number taken prisoners, who were afterwards, says Boece,
hanged upon gibbets around the town, as a terror to their companions. A
person named Philip the Forester of Platane, having collected a small body
of patriots, succeeded, about the same period, in taking the strong castle
of Forfar by escalade. The English garrison were put to the sword, and the
fortifications, by order of the king, destroyed. Many persons of note, who
had hitherto opposed Bruce, or who, from prudential considerations, had
submitted to the domination of England, now openly espoused the cause of
their country. Among the rest Sir David Brechin, the king’s nephew, upon
the overthrow at Inverury, submitted himself to the authority of his
uncle.
While Robert was thus
successfully engaged in the north; his brother Edward, at the head of a
considerable force, invaded Galloway. He was opposed by Sir Ingram
Umphraville and Sir John de St John with about twelve hundred men. A
bloody battle ensued at the water of Cree, in which the English, after
sustaining severe loss, were constrained to fly. Great slaughter was made
in the pursuit, and the two commanders escaped with difficulty to the
castle of Butel, on the sea-coast,. De St John from thence retired into
England, where raising a force of fifteen hundred men, he returned with
great expedition into Galloway in the hope of finding his victorious enemy
unprepared for his reception. Edward Bruce, however, had notice of his
movements; and with the chivalric valour or temerity which belonged to his
character, he resolved boldly to over-reach the enemy in their own
stratagem. Entrenching his infantry in a strong position in the line of
march of the assailants; he himself, with fifty horsemen well harnessed,
succeeded in gaining their rear; with the intent of falling suddenly and
unexpectedly upon them so soon as his entrenched camp should be assailed.
Edward was favoured in this hazardous manoeuvre by a mist so thick that no
object could be discerned at the distance of a bow-shot: but, before his
design could be brought to bear, the vapours suddenly chasing away, left
his small body fully discovered to the English. Retreat with any chance of
safety was impossible, and to the reckless courage of their leader,
suggested itself not. The small company no sooner became visible to their
astonished and disarrayed foes, than, raising a loud shout, they rushed
furiously to the attack, and after one or two more desperate charges, put
them to rout. Thus successful in the field, Edward expelled the English
garrisons, reduced the rebellious natives with fire and sword, and
compelled the whole district to yield submission to the authority of his
brother.
Douglas, after achieving
many advantages in the south, among which, the successive captures of his
own castle in Douglasdale were the most remarkable, about this time,
surprised and made prisoners Alexander Stewart of Bonkil and Thomas
Randolph, the king’s nephew. When Randolph, who from the defeat at
Methven, had adhered faithfully to the English interest, was brought
before his sovereign, the king is reported to have said; "Nephew, you
have been an apostate for a season; you must now be reconciled."
"You require penance of me," replied Randolph
fiercely, "yourself rather ought to do penance. Since you challenged
the king of England to war, you ought to have asserted your title in the
open field, and not to have betaken yourself to cowardly ambuscades."
"That may he hereafter, and perchance ere long," the king
calmly replied; "meanwhile, it is fitting that your proud words
receive due chastisement; and that you be taught to know my right and your
own duty." After this rebuke, Randolph was ordered for a time into
close confinement. This singular interview may have been preconcerted
between the parties, for the purpose of cloaking under a show of
constraint, Randolph’s true feelings in joining the cause of his royal
relative. Certain it is, his confinement was of brief duration; and in all
the after acts of his life, he made evident with how hearty and zealous a
devotion he had entered on his new and more honourable field of
enterprise.
Shortly after the
rejunction of Douglas, Bruce carried his arms into the territory of Lorn,
being now able to take vengeance on the proud chieftain, who, after the
defeat at Methven, had so nearly accomplished his destruction. To oppose
this invasion the lord of Lorn collected a force of about two thousand
men, whom he posted in ambuscade in a defile, having the high mountain of
Cruachen Ben on the one side, and a precipice overhanging Lochawe on the
other. This pass was so narrow in some places, as not to admit of two
horsemen passing a-breast. Robert who had timely information of the manner
in which this road was beset, through which he must necessarily pass,
detached one half of his army, consisting entirely of light armed troops
and archers, under Douglas, with orders to make a circuit of the mountain
and so gain the high ground in the rear and flank of the enemy’s
position. He himself with the rest of his troops entered the pass, where
they were soon attacked from the ambushment with great fury. This lasted
not long; for the party of Douglas quickly appearing on the heights
immediately above them and in their rear, the men of Lorn were cast into
inevitable confusion. After annoying the enemy with repeated flights of
arrows, Douglas descended the mountain and fell upon them sword in hand;
the king, at the same time, pressing upon them from the pass. They were
defeated with great slaughter; and John of Lorn, who had planned this
unsuccessful ambush, after witnessing its miscarriage from a little
distance, soon after put to sea and retired into England. Robert laid
waste the whole district of Lorn; and gaining possession of Dunstaffnage,
the principal place of strength belonging to the family, garrisoned it
strongly with his own men.
While Bruce and his
partizans were thus successfully engaged in wresting their country from
the power of England, and in subduing the refractory spirit of some of
their own nobility, every thing was feeble and fluctuating in the councils
of their enemies. In less than a year, Edward changed or re-appointed the
governors of Scotland six different times. Through the mediation of Philip
king of France, a short truce was finally agreed upon between Edward and
Robert; but infractions having been made on both sides, Bruce laid siege
to the castle of Rutherglen. In February, 1310, a truce was once more
agreed upon; notwithstanding which John de Segrave was appointed to the
guardianship of Scotland on both sides of the Forth; and had the warlike
power of the north of England placed at his disposal. It was early in the
same year that the clergy of Scotland assembled in a provincial council,
and issued a declaration to all the faithful, bearing, that the Scottish
nation, seeing the kingdom betrayed and enslaved, had assumed Robert Bruce
for their king, and that the clergy had willingly done homage to him in
that character.
During these negotiations,
hostilities were never entirely laid aside on either side. The advantages
of the warfare, however, were invariably on the side of Bruce, who now
seemed preparing to attack Perth, at that time an important fortress, and
esteemed the capital of Scotland. Roused to activity by this danger,
Edward made preparations for the immediate defence and succour of that
place. He also appointed the Earl of Ulster to the command of a body of
Irish troops who were to assemble at Dublin, and from thence invade
Scotland; and the whole military array of England was ordered to meet the
king at Berwick; but the English nobles disgusted with the government of
Edward, and detesting his favourite Gaveston, repaired unwillingly and
slowly to the royal standard. Before his preparations could be brought to
bear, the season for putting to sea had passed, and Edward was obliged to
countermand the forces under the Earl of Ulster; still resolving, however,
to invade Scotland in person, with the large army which he had collected
upon the border. Towards the end of autumn the English commenced their
march, and directing their course through the forest of Selkirk to Biggar,
thence are said to have penetrated as far as Renfrew. Not finding the
enemy, in any body, to oppose their progress, and unable from the season
of the year, aggravated, as it was, by a severe famine which at that very
time afflicted the land, to procure forage and provisions, the army making
no abode in those parts, retreated by the way of Linlithgow and the
Lothians to Berwick; where Edward, after this ill-concerted and fruitless
expedition, remained inactive for eight months. Bruce, during this
invasion, cautiously avoided coming to an open engagement with the greatly
superior forces of the enemy; contenting himself with sending detached
parties to hang upon their rear, who, as opportunity offered, might harass
or cut off the marauding and foraging parties of the English. In one of
these sudden assaults the Scots put to the sword a body of three hundred
of the enemy before any sufficient force could be brought up for their
rescue.
About this time the castle
of Linlithgow, a place of great utility to the English, as being situated
midway between Stirling and Edinburgh, was surprised by the stratagem of a
poor peasant named William Binnock. This man, having been employed to lead
hay into the fort, placed a party of armed friends in ambush as near as
possible to the gate; and concealing under his seeming load of hay, eight
armed men, advanced to the castle, himself walking carelessly by the side
of the wain, while a servant led the cattle in front. When the carriage
was fairly in the gateway, so that neither the gates of the castle could
be closed nor the portcullis let down, the person in front who had charge
of the oxen cut the soam or withy rope by which the animals were attached
to the wain, which thus, instantly, became stationary. Binnock, making a
concerted signal, his armed friends leaped from under the hay, and
mastered the sentinels; and being immediately joined by the other party in
ambush, the garrison, almost without resistance, were put to the sword,
and the place taken. Binnock was well rewarded by the king for this daring
and successful exploit; and the castle was ordered to he demolished.
Robert, finding that his
authority was now well established at home, and that Edward was almost
entirely engrossed by the dissensions which had sprung up among his own
subjects, resolved, by an invasion of England, to retaliate in some
measure the miseries with which that country had so long afflicted his
kingdom. Assembling a considerable army, he advanced into the bishopric of
Durham, laying waste the country with fire and sword; and giving up the
whole district to the unbounded and reckless license of the soldiery,
"Thus," says Fordun, "by the blessing of God, and by a just
retribution of providence, were the perfidious English, who had despoiled
and slaughtered many, in their turn subjected to punishment." Edward
II. made a heavy complaint to the Pope, of the "horrible ravages,
depredations, burnings, and murders" committed by "Robert Bruce
and his accomplices" in this inroad, in which "neither age nor
sex were spared, nor even the immunities of ecclesiastical liberty
respected." The papal thunder had, however, already descended
harmless on the Scottish king and his party; and the time had arrived,
when the nation eagerly hoped, and the English might well dread the coming
of that storm, which should avenge, by a requital alike bloody and
indiscriminate, those wrongs which, without distinction, had been so
mercilessly inflicted upon it.
Soon after his return from
England, Robert, again drawing an army together, laid siege to Perth, a
place in those days so strongly fortified, that, with a sufficient
garrison, and abundance of provisions and military stores, it might bid
defiance to any open force that could be brought against it. Having lain
before the town for six weeks, the king seeing no prospect of being able
to reduce it by main force, raised the siege, and retired to some
distance, as if resolved to desist from the enterprise. He had gained
intelligence, however, that the ditch which surrounded the town was
fordable in one place, of which he had taken accurate notice. Having
provided scaling ladders of a sufficient length, he, with a chosen body of
infantry, returned after an absence of eight days, and approached the
works. The self-security of the garrison, who, from hearing nothing of
Robert for some days, were thrown entirely off their guard, no less than
the darkness of the night, favoured his enterprise. Robert himself
carrying a ladder was the foremost to enter the ditch, the water of which
reached breast high, and the second to mount the walls when the ladders
were applied. A French knight who at this time served under the Scottish
king, having witnessed the gallant example set by his leader, is reported
to have exclaimed with enthusiasm, "What shall we say of our lords of
France, that with dainty living, wassail, and revelry pass their time,
when so worthy a knight, through his great chivalry, puts his life into so
great hazard to win a wretched hamlet." Saying this, he, with the
lively valour of his nation, threw himself into the fosse, and shared in
the danger and glory of the enterprise. The walls were scaled and the town
taken almost without resistance. By the king’s orders quarter was given
to all who laid down their arms; and in accordance with the admirable
policy which he had hitherto invariably pursued, the fortifications of the
place were entirely demolished.
Edward once more made
advances towards negotiating a truce with the Scottish king; but Robert,
who well knew the importance of following up the successful career which
had opened upon him, refused to accede to his proposals, and again invaded
England. In this incursion the Scottish army ravaged and plundered the
county of Northumberland and bishopric of Durham. The towns of Hexham and
Corbridge, and great part of the city of Durham were burnt. The army in
returning, were bold enough, by a forced march, to attempt the surprisal
of Berwick, where the English king then lay; but their design being
discovered they were obliged to retire. So great was the terror which
these predatory and destructive visitations inspired in the districts
exposed to them, that the inhabitants of the county of Durham, and
afterwards those of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland,
contributed each a sum of two thousand pounds to purchase an immunity from
the like spoilations in future. In the same year the king assaulted and
took the castles of Butel, Dumfries, and Dalswinton. The strong and
important fortress of Roxburgh, also, at this time fell into his hands, by
the stratagem and bravery of Sir James Douglas. All of these places so
soon as taken, were, by the king’s orders destroyed, that they might on
no future occasion, if retaken, become serviceable to the enemy.
The surprisal of Edinburgh
castle by Randolph, the king’s nephew, ought not, among the stirring
events of this time, to be passed over. That brave knight who from the
moment of his accession to the royal cause, had devotedly and successfully
employed himself towards its establishment, had for some time laid siege
to, and strictly blockaded the castle; but the place being one of great
natural strength, strongly fortified, and well stored with men and
provisions, there seemed little hope of bringing it to a speedy surrender.
The garrison were also completely upon the alert. Having had reason to
suspect the fidelity of Leland their governor, they had put him under
confinement, and elected another cornmander in his stead. Matters stood
thus, when a singular disclosure made to Randolph by a man named William
Frank, suggested the possibility of taking the almost impregnable fortress
by escalade. This man, in his youth, had resided in the castle as one of
the garrison; and having an amorous intrigue in the city, he had been in
use to descend the wall in the night, by means of a rope-ladder, and
through a steep and intricate path to arrive at the foot of the rock. By
the same precipitous road he had always been enabled to regain the castle
without discovery; and so familiar had all its windings become to him,
that he confidently engaged to guide a party of the besiegers by the same
track to the bottom of the walls. Randolph resolved to undertake the
enterprise. Having provided a ladder suited to the purpose, he, with
thirty chosen men, put himself under the guidance of Frank, who, towards
the middle of a dark night, safely conducted the party to the bottom of
the precipitous ascent. Having clambered with great difficulty and
exertion about half way up the rock, the adventurous party reached a broad
projection or shelf, on which they rested some little time to recover
breath. While in this position, they heard above them the guard or
check-watch of the garrison making their rounds, and could distinguish
that they paused a little on that part of the ramparts immediately over
them. One, of the watch throwing a stone from the wall cried out,
"Away, I see you well," The stone flew over the heads of the
ambuscading party, who happily remained unmoved, as they really were
unseen on the comparatively safe part of the rock which they had attained.
The guard hearing no stir to follow, passed on. Randolph and his men
having waited till they had gone to a distance again got up, and at the
imminent peril of their lives, fairly succeeded in clambering up the
remaining part of the rock to the foot of the wall, to which they affixed
their ladder. Frank, the guide, was first to mount the walls; Sir Andrew
Gray was the next; Randolph himself was the third. Before the whole could
reach the summit of the wail, the alarm was given, and the garrison rushed
to arms, A fierce encounter took place; but the governor having been
slain, the English surrendered themselves to mercy. ‘The fortifications
of the castle were dismantled; and Leland, the former governor, having
been released from his confinement, entered the Scottish service.
The earl of Athole, who had
long adhered to the English faction, and who had. recently obtained as a
reward for his fidelity a grant of lands in England, now joined
the rising fortunes of his lawful sovereign. Through the mediation of
France conferences for a truce were renewed; but notwithstanding of these
Robert invaded Cumberland, wasting the country to a great extent. The
Cumbrians earnestly besought succour from Edward: but that prince being
about to depart for France, did nothing but extol their fidelity, desiring
them to defend themselves until his return. By invading Cumberland at this
time, Bruce probably intended to draw the attention of the English from
the more serious design which he contemplated of making a descent upon the
Isle of Man. He had scarcely, therefore, returned from his predatory
expedition into England, than, embarking his forces, he landed
unexpectedly upon that island, overthrew the governor, took the castle of
Ruffin, and possessed himself of the country. The Manx governor on this
occasion, is, with great probability, conjectured to have been the same
Gallovidian chieftain, who defeated, and made prisoners at Lochryan, the
two brothers of the Scottish king.
On his return from France,
Edward was met by commissioners sent to him by such Scots as still
remained faithful in their allegiance to England. These made bitter
complaint of the miserable condition to which they had been reduced, both
from the increasing power of Bruce, and from the oppression which they
suffered under the government of the English ministers. Edward, deserted
and despised by his nobility, who, at this time, not only refused to
attend his army, but even to assemble in parliament upon his summons,
could merely make answer to these complaints by promises, which he was
alike incapable in himself and in his means to perform. Meanwhile the arms
of the patriots continued to prosper. Edward Bruce took and destroyed the
castle of Rutherglen, and the town and castle of Dundee. He next laid
siege to the castle of Stirling, then held by Philip de Moubray, an
English commander of bravery and reputation; but was here less successful.
Unable, by any mode of attack known in those days, to make impression on a
fortress of so great strength, Edward consented to a treaty with the
governor that the place should be surrendered, if not succoured by the
king of England before St John’s day in the ensuing midsummer. Bruce was
much displeased with his brother for having granted such a truce, yet he
consented to ratify it. The space of time agreed upon allowed ample
leisure to the English king to collect his forces for the relief of the
castle, the almost only remaining stronghold which he now possessed in
Scotland; and Robert felt that he must either oppose him in battle with a
greatly inferior force, or, by retreating in such circumstances, lessen
the great fame and advantages which he had acquired. |
