Battle of Ancrum Moor

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Ancrum Moor


caption=
partof=Anglo-Scottish Wars
date=February 27 1545
place=4 miles northwest of Jedburgh, Scotland
result=Decisive Scottish Victory
combatant1=Scots
combatant2=English
commander1=James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran
Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus
commander2=Sir Ralph Eure
Sir Brian Layton
strength1=approx 2500
strength2=3000 mercenary Reiters
1500 English Border Reivers
700 Scots Border Reivers
casualties1=unknown
casualties2=800 killed
1000 prisoners |The Battle of Ancrum Moor was fought during the War of the Rough Wooing in 1545. The Scottish victory put a temporary end to English depredations in the Scottish border and lowlands.

Background

As his reign drew to a close, King Henry VIII sought to secure the alliance of Scotland and the marriage of the infant Mary, Queen of Scots to his son Edward. He had the support of some Scots nobles who had been taken prisoner at the Battle of Solway Moss and mixed diplomacy with the threat of force, but in December 1543 the Scottish Parliament, after much internal dissension, decided to reject Henry's overtures and instead renew the alliance with France.

Campaign

Henry's reaction was to launch a ruthless war against Scotland. This attempt to force Scotland into alliance was known as the "Rough Wooing". He ordered the Earl of Hertford, his Warden of the Marches, to devastate Edinburgh, Leith and many other towns. Hertford dutifully laid waste to much of southern Scotland in two expeditions in 1544.

The following year, an army under Sir Ralph Eure (alternatively spelt "Evers") continued to pillage in the borders. Perhaps their worst atrocity was the burning of Brumehous Tower with the lady of the house and her children and servants inside. Their activities forced an unlikely alliance of two self-seeking Scottish nobles, the Earl of Arran, Regent for the infant Mary, and the Earl of Angus (whose estates had been razed and family tombs vandalised by Hertford). Joined by borderers under Scott of Buccleuch (who may have been the inspiration for their subsequent tactics), they moved to confront the English army near Jedburgh.

Battle

The English Army consisted of 3,000 German and Spanish mercenaries, 1,500 English borderers under Sir Brian Layton and 700 Scottish borderers. As they settled into an encampment under Gersit Law, a small Scottish force made a feint attack and then retreated southwest towards Palace Hill. Much of the English force followed in pursuit. As they reached the top of Palace Hill, they were attacked by the whole Scottish army which had been hidden on the far side of the hill.

The Scots had the advantage of surprise, and of the setting sun which was behind them which dazzled the English, and of the westerly wind which blew gunpowder smoke from arquebuses and pistols towards the English.

The English, who were in some disarray, were forced back by the initial Scottish attack. They tried to rally on the slope of Palace Hill but the Scottish borderers with them now chose to revert to their former allegiance. The English army now broke and was forced to scatter through a hostile countryside.

Outcome

The English lost 800 men killed (including Eure and Layton) and 1'000 taken prisoner. This temporarily stopped their harrying of Scotland.

The war came to an end shortly afterwards on the death of Henry VIII, only to break out again with perhaps even more violence when Hertford, now Protector Somerset ruling on behalf of Edward VI, sought to impose his own political and religious settlement on Scotland.

References

*Philip Warner, "Famous Scottish Battles", London: Leo Cooper, 1995. ISBN 0-85052-487-3
*R. L. Mackie, "A Short History of Scotland", 1962.

External links

* [http://www.borderreivers.co.uk/Battles/Ancrum%20Battle/ancrum.htm borderreivers.co.uk]
* [http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=467382004 The Scotsman]