On 10th September 1547, the Scots were defeated by the English at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, or Falside, near Edinburgh. 

The battle was sparked by the "Rough Wooing"; the English demands that the ten-year-old Edward VI should marry Mary Queen of Scots, aged five. The military campaign by Henry VIII on the Borders followed the reneged agreement by the Scots Parliament that the two crowns would be united by marriage. 

The battle was fought at Pinkie Cleugh (cleugh meaning narrow glen in Gaelic) outside Musselburgh. The Scottish forces had the strength of numbers, about 36,000 in contrast to the English 16,000, but were lacking in discipline. The English troops, led by the ambitious and experienced Duke of Somerset, slaughtered the Scottish forces, which were weak in cavalry and led by the uncertain Earl of Arran. 

It was estimated that 15,000 Scots were killed, and 1500 were captured, whereas English fatalities amounted to only 500. However the battle proved counter-productive for the English, whose distinctly "rough wooing" of the infant Mary precipitated her marriage to the French Dauphin, dashing English hopes. 

The Battle at Pinkie Cleugh can be regarded as the first "modern" battle on British soil; featuring combined arms, co-operation between infantry, artillery and cavalry and, most remarkably, a naval bombardment in support of land forces.

Amongst those killed was Robert Douglas of Lochleven.