The Battle of Happrew was a
skirmish which took place around 20 February 1304, during the
First War of Scottish Independence. A
chevauchée
A ''chevauchée'' (, "promenade" or "horse charge", depending on context) was a raiding method of medieval warfare for weakening the enemy, primarily by burning and pillaging enemy territory in order to reduce the productivity of a region, in add ...
of
English knights, which included
Robert de Clifford,
William de Latimer
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
, and the later Scottish King,
Robert the Bruce had been sent south from
Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...
under
Sir John Segrave
John Segrave, 2nd Baron Segrave ( 1256 – 1325) was an English commander in the First War of Scottish Independence.
Segrave commanded the English in the battles of Roslin and Happrew. He also was involved with the execution of William Wallac ...
to locate and capture the rebels
Sir William Wallace and
Sir Simon Fraser.
Fraser and Wallace escaped.
[Colm McNamee, Robert Bruce: Our Most Valiant Prince, King and Lord]
Location
The action took place in the vicinity of
Stobo, near
Peebles in the
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...
. Current maps provide locations for Easter Happrew and Wester Happrew. However, the precise location of the skirmish is unknown and the coordinates given are approximate.
External links
William Wallace biography
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Happrew, Battle of
1304 in Scotland
Battles of the Wars of Scottish Independence
Conflicts in 1304