Battle of Loudoun Hill
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Loudoun Hill was fought in May 1307 between a Scots
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 force led by Robert Bruce
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...

 and the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 commanded by Aymer de Valence
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke was a Franco-English nobleman. Though primarily active in England, he also had strong connections with the French royal house. One of the wealthiest and most powerful men of his age, he was a central player in the conflicts between Edward II of England and...

. It took place beneath Loudoun Hill
Loudoun Hill
Loudoun Hill, also commonly Loudounhill is a volcanic plug in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located near the head of the River Irvine, east of Darvel. One real and one fictional battle have been fought around Loudoun Hill.-Location:...

, in Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...

, and ended in a victory for Bruce. It was Bruce's first major military victory.

A Royal Fugitive

Bruce and Valence had first met in combat the previous year at the Battle of Methven
Battle of Methven
The Battle of Methven took place at Methven in Scotland in 1306, during the Wars of Scottish Independence.-Comyn's Death:In February 1306, Robert Bruce and a small party of his followers killed John Comyn, also known as the Red Comyn, before the high altar of the Greyfriars Church in Dumfries...

 just outside Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...

, where Bruce's lack of preparedness, and his somewhat conventional military tactics, had brought him to the edge of disaster and beyond. His army virtually disintegrated under Valence's rapid onslaught, with many of Bruce's leading supporters falling captive. What was left of his force was mauled for a second time soon after this by the Macdougalls
Clan MacDougall
Clan MacDougall is a Highland Scottish clan consisting of the descendants of Dubgall mac Somairle, son of Somerled, who ruled Lorne and the Isle of Mull in Argyll in the 13th century...

 of Lorn
Lorn
Lorn may refer to:* John Lorn McDougall , Ontario businessman and political figure* John Lorn McDougall, Sr. , businessman and political figure in Canada West* Lorn, New South Wales, Australia...

, allies of the English, at the Battle of Dalrigh. As an organised military force the army of Scotland ceased to exist, and the king took to the heather as a fugitive. For a time he took refuge in Dunaverty Castle
Dunaverty Castle
Dunaverty Castle is located at Southend at the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula in western Scotland. The site was once a fort belonging to the Clan Donald . Little remains of the castle, although the site is protected as a scheduled monument....

 near the Mull of Kintyre
Mull of Kintyre
The Mull of Kintyre is the southwesternmost tip of the Kintyre Peninsula in southwest Scotland. From here, the Antrim coast is visible and an historic lighthouse, the second commissioned in Scotland, guides shipping in the intervening North Channel...

, but with his enemies closing in once more, he sailed out of the light of history into the mist of legend, seeking refuge on Rathlin Island
Rathlin Island
Rathlin Island is an island off the coast of County Antrim, and is the northernmost point of Northern Ireland. Rathlin is the only inhabited offshore island in Northern Ireland, with a rising population of now just over 100 people, and is the most northerly inhabited island off the Irish coast...

 near the coast of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

, according to some, and the Orkney Isles, according to others: into a cave inhabited by a spider. Supposedly, Bruce watched the small spider try to spin a line across a seemingly impossibly wide gap. As Bruce watched, the spider tried and tried and tried. "Foolish spider" thought Bruce, but continued to watch. Suddenly, the spider succeeded in leaping across the gap with its thread. Bruce considered this, and took it as an encouragement that he, too, should continue to persevere regardless of seemingly hopeless circumstances, and he later came out of hiding. It is doubtful if the story is true, however.

Return of the King

When he reappeared in February 1307 he was set to take his greatest gamble. From the island of Arran
Isle of Arran
Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...

 in the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...

 he crossed to his own earldom of Carrick
Carrick, Scotland
Carrick is a former comital district of Scotland which today forms part of South Ayrshire.-History:The word Carrick comes from the Gaelic word Carraig, meaning rock or rocky place. Maybole was the historic capital of Carrick. The county was eventually combined into Ayrshire which was divided...

, in Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...

, landing near Turnberry
Turnberry
Turnberry is a golf resort on the coast of the outer Firth of Clyde in southwestern Scotland. Located in South Ayrshire on the rugged coast, it comprises three links golf courses, a golf academy, a five-star hotel, designed by James Miller and completed in 1906, as well as lodge and cottage...

, where he knew the local people would be sympathetic, but where all the strongholds were held by the English. A similar landing by his brothers Thomas
Thomas de Brus
Sir Thomas de Brus was a younger brother of King Robert I of Scotland, who supported his brother in the struggle for the crown of Scotland. He was captured by forces at Loch Ryan, Galloway, Scotland and later executed as a traitor....

 and Alexander
Alexander de Brus
Alexander de Brus was a younger brother of King Robert I of Scotland, who supported his brother in the struggle for the crown of Scotland. He was captured by forces at Loch Ryan, Galloway, Scotland and later executed as a traitor....

 in Galloway
Galloway
Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...

 met with disaster on the shores of Loch Ryan
Loch Ryan
Loch Ryan is a Scottish sea loch that acts as an important natural harbour for shipping, providing calm waters for ferries operating between Scotland and Northern Ireland...

 at the hands of Dungal MacDougal, the principal Balliol adherent in the region. Thomas and Alexander's little army of Irish and Islemen was destroyed, and they were sent as captives to Carlisle, where they were later executed on the orders of Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

. But against all the odds Robert survived and with remarkable tenacity soon established himself in the hill country of Carrick and Galloway. From the feudal warlord who had been overthrown at Methven, Bruce was in the process of transforming into one of history's great guerilla captains.

Bruce had learned well the sharp lesson delivered at Methven: never again would he allow himself to be trapped by a stronger enemy. His greatest weapon was his intimate knowledge of the Scottish countryside, which he used to his advantage time and again. Even at the future battle of Bannockburn
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...

, where he temporarily abandoned his guerilla war, he chose his ground with genius, allowing his small army to operate at maximum advantage. As well as making good use of the country's natural defences, he made sure that his force was as mobile as possible. Bruce was now fully aware that he could rarely expect to get the better of the English in open battle. His army was often weak in numbers and ill-equipped. It would be best used in small hit-and-run raids, allowing the best use of limited resources. He would keep the initiative and prevent the enemy from bringing his superior strength to bear. Whenever possible crops would be destroyed and livestock removed from the path of the enemy's advance, denying him fresh supplies and fodder for the heavy war horses. Most important of all, Bruce recognised the seasonal nature of English invasions, which swept over the country like summer tides, only to withdraw before the onset of winter.

Loudoun Hill

Bruce had enemies in all directions but managed to evade them, winning his first small success at Glen Trool
Glen Trool
Glen Trool is a glen in the Southern Uplands, Galloway, Scotland. It contains Loch Trool which is fed by several burns and drained by the Water of Trool. North of Glen Trool is Merrick, the highest mountain in the Southern Uplands. The glen has a visitors centre and campsite.In April 1307 it was...

, where he ambushed an English cavalry force
Battle of Glen Trool
The Battle of Glen Trool was a minor engagement in the Scottish Wars of Independence, fought in April 1307. Glen Trool is a narrow glen in the Southern Uplands of Galloway, Scotland...

 led by John Mowbray, sweeping down from the steep hillsides and driving them off with heavy losses. He then slipped through the gap in the enemy ring, passing through the moors by Dalmellington to Muirkirk, appearing in the north of Ayrshire in early May, where his army was strengthened by fresh recruits. Here he soon encountered his old enemy, Aymer de Valence, commanding the main English force in the area. In preparing to meet him he took up a position on 10 May at Loudoun Hill
Loudoun Hill
Loudoun Hill, also commonly Loudounhill is a volcanic plug in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located near the head of the River Irvine, east of Darvel. One real and one fictional battle have been fought around Loudoun Hill.-Location:...

, some 10 miles east of Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...

 and about 3 miles east of Darvel
Darvel
Darvel is a small town in East Ayrshire, Scotland, located at the eastern end of the Irvine Valley and is sometimes referred to as "The Lang Toon" due to its quaint appearance on Ordnance Survey maps....

, both in Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...

.

With all care Bruce scouted the ground and made the necessary preparations. John Barbour describes his actions in his rhyming chronicle:
Valence's only approach was over the highway through the bog, where the parallel ditches Bruce's men dug outwards from the marsh restricted his room for deployment still further, effectively neutralising his advantage in numbers. He was forced at attack along a narrowly constricted front upwards towards the waiting enemy spears. It was a battle reminiscent in some ways of Stirling Bridge
Battle of Stirling Bridge
The Battle of Stirling Bridge was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey and Hugh de Cressingham near Stirling, on the River Forth.-The main...

, with the same 'filtering' effect at work.
As Bruce's spearmen pressed downhill on the disorganised English knights they fought with such vigour that the rear ranks began to flee in panic. A hundred or more were killed in the battle. Amyer de Valence managed to escape the carnage and fled to the safety of Bothwell Castle
Bothwell Castle
Bothwell Castle is a large medieval castle sited on a high, steep bank, above a bend in the River Clyde, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located between Uddingston and Bothwell, about south-east of Glasgow. Construction of the castle was begun in the 13th century by the ancestors of Clan...

.

Three days after the Battle of Loudoun Hill Bruce defeated another English force under the Earl of Gloucester
Earl of Gloucester
The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play King Lear. See also Duke of Gloucester.-Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation :...

. But the greatest boost to his cause came two months later. At Burgh-on-Sands, just short of the Scottish border, Edward I died.
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