|
Scottish Might Crushed by English Arrows:
Bloodbath at Homildon Hill!
History told as a story
Archiibald Douglas,
the "Tyne-man" notorious for his battlefield blunders, led a
magnificent Scottish army – 10,000 strong – south to avenge a
recent defeat. Renowned knights and noblemen flocked to his
banner, a force unmatched in recent memory. Yet, Douglas'
impetuousness overshadowed their valour.
He stormed across
the border, plundering everything in sight, until reaching the
very gates of Newcastle. But laden with loot and lacking caution,
he turned for home, his massive army a cumbersome caravan.
Near Wooler, fate awaited them. The Percies – Northumberland, his
son Hotspur, and the Earl of March – barred their path with a
smaller, but strategically positioned force. Douglas, blind to the
danger, occupied Homildon Hill – a perfect position for cavalry,
but woefully exposed to archers.
The English, unlike the
Scots, were masters of the longbow. They seized higher ground,
raining arrows upon the densely packed Scots below. Douglas' army,
cramped and lacking proper armour, became a living target.
The carnage was horrific. Steel-tipped arrows ripped through men
and horses, turning the Galwegian warriors into "hedgehogs"
bristling with deadly shafts. Panic erupted. Even the bravest
knights fell, their armour no match for the relentless volley.
The Earl of March, deserves credit for spotting the tactical
blunder. He convinced Hotspur, eager for a charge, to exploit the
advantage. The English archers, unchallenged, continued their
merciless slaughter. The Scots, their formation a deathtrap, were
helpless.
Homildon Hill, a symbol of Scottish pride, became
a graveyard. The "Tyne-man's" recklessness had sealed the fate of
a noble army. The Scots were routed, their dreams of glory
shattered by a hail of English arrows.
See also:
Battle of Homildon
Hill
More stories from the Douglas Archives
|
Comment:
The tale told here is not entirely correct. The archers
were Welsh mercenaries, though the archery tactics were
something the English were famed for, being masters of the
longbow.
Lord Archibald Douglas took the field with 10,000 picked men, and Albany, who now wielded unlimited power in Scotland, sent his son Murdoch to join him with a strong body of archers and spearmen. The most distinguished knights and barons of Scotland followed the Douglas banner. There wore the Earls of Moray and Fife, Fergus Macdowall with his wild Galwegians, the chiefs of the houses of Erskine, Grahame, Montgomery, Seton, Sinclair and Lesley, the Stewarts of Angus, Lorn, and Durisdeer, with many other gentlemen. A nobler army for its numbers, never left Scotland under a Douglas.
|
