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Capture of Roxburgh
Part of Wars of Scottish Independence
Date19 February 1314
LocationRoxburgh Castle, Scotland
55°35′46″N 2°27′25″W / 55.596°N 2.457°W / 55.596; -2.457Coordinates: 55°35′46″N 2°27′25″W / 55.596°N 2.457°W / 55.596; -2.457
Result Scottish victory
Belligerents
Royal Arms of the Kingdom of Scotland Kingdom of Scotland Royal Arms of England (1198-1340) Kingdom of England
Commanders and leaders
Lord James Douglas
Sir Walter Stewart
William Fiennes (WIA)
Strength
Unknown, inferior to the English 2000+
Casualties and losses
Low High


The Capture of Roxburgh was a siege that took place in 1314, which was a major conflict in the First War of Scottish Independence. This siege was a prelude to the Battle of Bannockburn.[1]

Background[]

Sir James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, after his victory over the Clan MacDougall, had been capturing several castles back from the English, but the mere thought of taking Roxburgh Castle was one that daunted him.

Siege[]

Roxburgh Castle was on impregnable ground, and was guarded well. Douglas and Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, disguised their few men as cows, so the garrison was unaware of their presence. They then used ladders to climb to the top and took the castle by total surprise. They inflicted heavy casualties on the garrison, including wounding their leader in the face with an arrow.

Aftermath[]

The Lanercost Chronicle records that "all that beautiful castle the Scots pulled down to the ground, like the other castles that they had succeeded in capturing, lest the English should ever again rule the land by holding the castles."[2]

References[]

  1. Charles Arnold-Baker (2001). "The companion to British history". p. 426. 
  2. Colvin, H. M.; Brown, R. A. (1963). "The History of the King's Works. Volume II: The Middle Ages". London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. p. 819. 
All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Capture of Roxburgh (1314) and the edit history here.
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