The Battle of Sark, alternatively called the Battle of Lochmaben Stone, was fought between England and Scotland in October 1448. A large battle, it was the first significant Scottish victory over the English in over half a century, since the

Battle of Otterburn The Battle of Otterburn took place according to Scottish sources on 5 August 1388, or 19 August according to English sources, as part of the continuing border skirmishes between the Scots and English. The best remaining record of the bat ...

in 1388. It placed the Scots in a position of strength against the English for over a decade, until

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in Englan ...

ascended the English throne, and it brought the powerful Douglas family to even greater prominence in Scotland.

Precursors

After the 14th century's

Wars of Scottish Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of ...

, England and Scotland continued to battle periodically along their borders. In 1448, hostilities escalated. Henry Percy, son of the

Earl of Northumberland The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...

, destroyed

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ...

in May, and in June the

Earl of Salisbury Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in English and British history. It has a complex history, and is now a subsidiary title to the marquessate of Salisbury. Background The title was first created for Patrick de S ...

Lord Warden of the March The Lord Warden of the Marches was an office in the governments of Scotland and England. The holders were responsible for the security of the border between the two nations, and often took part in military action. They were also responsible, al ...

destroyed

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from t ...

. In reaction,

William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, 2nd Earl of Avondale (1425 – 22 February 1452) was a late Medieval Scottish nobleman, Lord of Galloway, and Lord of the Regality of Lauderdale, and the most powerful magnate in Southern Scotland. He was ki ...

mustered a force with the support of the earls of

Ormonde Ormonde is a surname occurring in Portugal (mainly Azores), Brazil, England, and United States. It may refer to: People * Ann Ormonde (born 1935), an Irish politician * James Ormond or Ormonde (c. 1418–1497), the illegitimate son of John Butl ...

, Angus, and

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, destroying Warkworth and

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

. When the Scots advanced further into

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...

and

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

, Henry VI authorized the Percies to retaliate.

Engagement

The stage for the battle was set when, in October, the Earl of Northumberland led a troop of 6,000 men into Scotland, where they made camp near the Lochmaben Stone. Their location proved poorly chosen, as they settled in a tidal waterway between the

River Sark The River Sark or Sark Water is a river best known for forming part of the western border between Scotland and England. Most of its short length, however, is entirely in Scotland. It flows into the estuary of the River Esk just to the south of G ...

and Kirtle Water. Among the Scots, Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormonde, mustered a force of 4,000 from Annandale and

Nithsdale Nithsdale (''Srath Nid'' in Scottish Gaelic), also known as Strathnith, Stranith or Stranit, is the strath or dale of the River Nith in southern Scotland. Nithsdale was one of the medieval provinces of Scotland. The provinces gradually lost the ...

, marching against Northumberland on 23 October 1448. Northumberland organized his troops in three divisions. Magnus Reidman, a celebrated veteran of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

in France commanded one wing. Sir John Pennington, with a large group of Welshmen, formed the other wing. The bulk of the forces were in the centre, commanded by Northumberland himself. Ormonde mirrored this arrangement. He had Sir John Wallace of Cragie oppose Magnus, and against Sir John Pennington sent the knight of Carlaverock, called Lord Maxwell, and Sir Adam Johnston, Laird of Johnston, with many inland gentlemen. Ormonde and his retinue opposed Northumberland at the centre. Forces on both sides contained a large contingent of plate armoured men-at-arms, some possibly mounted. At the beginning of the engagement, the English opened fire, pelting the Scottish ranks with the arrows of the

English longbow The English longbow was a powerful medieval type of bow, about long. While it is debated whether it originated in England or in Wales from the Welsh bow, by the 14th century the longbow was being used by both the English and the Welsh as a ...

. After enduring some volleys, the Scots, in avoidance of a repeat of

Homildon Hill The Battle of Holmedon Hill or Battle of Homildon Hill was a conflict between English and Scottish armies on 14 September 1402 in Northumberland, England. The battle was recounted in Shakespeare's '' Henry IV, part 1''. Although Humbleton ...

, made a daring advance. It is said that Wallace cried out with a loud voice, so as he was heard by his followers, "why should we stand still thus to be wounded afar off? follow me, says he, and let us join in hand-strokes, where true valour is to be seen!" The Scots charged, and at arm's length the English, being sorely pressed by axe, spear, and halberd, were routed, with Magnus being slain in the melee. When their ranks broke, they were caught by the rising tide, in which a large number drowned. A great number of prisoners were taken, amongst whom were Sir John Pennington, and Sir Robert Harrington, and the Lord Percy son to the Earl of Northumberland, taken while he helped his father to his horse, who thereby escaped capture.

Casualties

Different sources report the number of Scots who lost their lives in the engagement variously: from as few as 26 to as many as 600. The number of English deaths in the same sources varies from 2,000 (1,500 killed in battle; 500 drowned) to 3,000 killed and drowned.Dalyell, 1814;Buchanan, 1829; Hume 1820 In the light of the nature of the battle 26 casualties for the Scots seems far too low, given the barrage of arrows and the death of Wallace of Cragie and Reidman, both Scottish and English commanding officers respectively. This wouldn't happen unless there was a fairly heavy engagement. A larger number of scholarly sources also seem to prefer numbers given by Pitscottie.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sark, Battle Of 1448 in Scotland Battles between England and Scotland *Battle of Sark Battles of the Middle Ages Conflicts in 1448 1448 in England 15th-century military history of Scotland

Precursors

Engagement

Casualties

References

Further reading

External links