The Battle of Bannockburn

The Battle of Bannockburn on 23 and 24 June 1314 was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. Although it did not bring an end to the war, victory would only be secured 14 years later, Bannockburn is still a landmark in Scottish history.

The Scottish army was divided into three divisions of schiltrons commanded by Bruce, his brother Edward Bruce, and his nephew, the Earl of Moray. After Robert Bruce killed Sir Henry de Bohun on the first day of the battle, the English were forced to withdraw for the night. Sir Alexander Seton, a Scottish noble serving in Edward’s army, defected to the Scottish side and informed them of the English camp’s position and low morale. Robert Bruce decided to launch a full-scale attack on the English forces and to use his schiltrons again as offensive units, a strategy his predecessor William Wallace had not used. The English army was defeated in a pitched battle which resulted in the deaths of several prominent commanders, including the Earl of Gloucester and Sir Robert Clifford, and capture of many others.