What They Don't Say About William Wallace’s Greatest Victory: The Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297)

Only a year into the First War of Scottish Independence, William Wallace and Andrew Murray dealt a major blow to England at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. At this time, Medieval Stirling was considered the “Gateway to the Highlands” and the key to the Kingdom of Scotland as a whole, and it provided the only safe crossing point into the north of the kingdom.

The Battle of Stirling Bridge was fought on the 11th of September 1297. The Scottish side was led by William Wallace, the Scottish knight who needs no introduction. The other leader on the Scottish side was Andrew Murray, (no, not that Murray). before he became a tennis super star. Just joking. This Andrew Murray is somewhat of a forgotten hero of the First Scottish War of Independence. Wallace has a statute yet Murray is barely a footnote.

Murray, who was from a noble family with lands in the north, had led a revolt against English forces in the north. By the middle of 1297, Murray had forced the English south of the River Tay. In 1297, Wallace and Murray met at Dundee, joined their forces, and marched their army south to Stirling.

The English side was led by John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, an English nobleman and military commander, and Hugh de Cressingham, the treasurer of the English administration in Scotland from 1296 to 1297.

The Battle of Stirling Bridge took place within the wider First Scottish War of Independence, a war that was sparked in part due to a succession crisis that created instability. In March 1296, King Edward I of England sacked Berwick-upon-Tweed and his army took control of Scotland in just nine weeks. The main field battle during this conquest was at the Battle of Dunbar in April 1296, where Longshanks defeated King John Balliol.

Andrew Murray actually fought for Scotland at this battle alongside his father, being captured by English forces, although he quickly escaped. While some Scots, including the Bruce’s, supported the English king, others quickly surrendered. Edward, leaving English garrisons and governors behind, was happy with his conquest. He returned south to England.

From their vantage point, Wallace and Murray waited until “as many of the enemy had come over as they believed they could overcome." As soon as the English soldiers crossed the bridge they were trapped on three sides by the loop of the river. Then, Wallace and Murray ordered an attack. The Scots spearmen came down from the high ground in rapid advance and fended off a charge by the English heavy cavalry and then counterattacked the English infantry. They gained control of the east side of the bridge and cut off the chance of English reinforcements to cross. The English force on the Scottish side of the Forth were obliterated, with a few hundred only escaping by swimming across the river.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:27 William Wallace and Andrew Murray
1:30 The Battle Within the First Scottish War of Independence
2:30 Prelude to the Battle
3:40 The Battle of Stirling Bridge
4:54 The Collapse of Stirling Bridge
6:36 Lubeck Letter from Wallace and Murray (Moray)
7:19 Support this Channel

Sources:

William Wallace EPIC SPEECH! (Braveheart, 1995) -

#history #scotland #williamwallace

[celtichistorydecoded]

Please let me know your thoughts below...

[stella]

I love these videos, I always learn something new. Thankyou Steven coch.
James ‘The Black’ Douglas is my 24th Great Grand Uncle, he was the first noble supporter of William Wallace, and yes, I’m so incredibly proud of my Scottish ancestors 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[davidedadamo]

Thanks again for this informative fact !
Greetings from Italy to my celtic friends!
🇮🇹🇮🇪 ❤

[ianblake]

I’m English-American and I respect the Scots for asserting their sovereignty with their tenacity 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💯

[michaelwhite]

Andrew Murray was probably Scotland's biggest hero.

[tommygun]

A bit confused as to what accent this guy is putting on.