William Wallace routs the English invaders
The Scottish leader secures a famous victory at Stirling Bridge – and enters into legend
On the morning of 11 September 1297, the Earl of Surrey ordered his English army to cross the Forth river at Stirling Bridge. The war for Scotland was raging, and although the north bank was guarded by Scots under Andrew Moray and William Wallace, Surrey was determined to force the issue. It was the worst mistake of his life – and a titanic moment in Scottish history.
Only when most of Surrey’s forces had crossed did the Scots make their move, bombarding the English with spears before charging down to cut their army in two. Outnumbered, their backs to the river, some of the English swam for safety, while others, led by Sir Hugh de Cressingham, tried to fight their way out.
For the minstrel Blind Harry, writing two centuries later, Wallace was the hero of the hour. “On foot, and bearing a great sharp spear,” he wrote, “Wallace went amongst the thickest of the press. He aimed a stroke at Cressingham in his corslet, which was brightly polished. The sharp head of the spear pierced right through the plates and through his body, stabbing him beyond rescue; thus was that chieftain struck down to death. With the stroke Wallace bore down both man and horse.” According to Blind Harry, “the English army although ready for battle, lost heart when their chieftain was slain, and many openly began to flee… Seven thousand full at once floated in the Forth, plunged into the deep and drowned without mercy; none were left alive of all that fell army.”
Much of this was probably fictional. But it cemented William Wallace’s growing legend – and paved the way for Mel Gibson’s Hollywood epic.