Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

half-cast gipsy, Lee was an advantageous specimen of the males of the race as I saw them; for I found that in that nationality intelligence and activity are monopolised by the females. The men cannot claim more than what I can only describe as animal instinct developed to an extraordinary pitch; though it is but just to add that-owing perhaps to the hardy open-air life which they have led through many generations-dissoluteness is unknown among them. Among the women I have often been sorry to see genuine gifts of intelligence cultivated solely in the direction of artfulness and cunning.

(To be continued).

Border Battles and Battlefields.

BY JAMES ROBSON.

Author of "Churches and Churchyards of Teviotdale," etc
BATTLE OF FLODDEN:

Fought 9th September, 1513.
"Where shivered was fair Scotland's spear,
And broken was her shield."

James, so soon as he observed the English crossing the Till and advancing towards Branxton, broke up his camp on Flodden Hill, descended with his whole army, and took up his position on Branxton Hill, a considerable elevation stretching east and west opposite to the lower ground which the English army afterwards occupied. At the extreme west, on the sloping part of the hill, with their faces towards Coldstream, were stationed the wild and undisciplined Highlanders and the hardy Borderers under the command of Huntly and Home. Crawford and Montrose with a large division stood farther east. A little to the right of these stood the king himself supported by many of his most trusty nobles, both of church and state. On his right, occupying the extreme east of the gentle slope of Branxton Ridge, was the right wing under Lennox and Argyle. Behind, and a little to the right of the king, were the reserve under Bothwell.

"Thus the two great armies stood facing each other :

"The English line stretched east and west,
And southward were their faces set;
The Scottish northward proudly prest,

And manfully their foes they met." Singularly enough, each army stood facing its own country. The Scots occupied the higher ground, and had thus a considerable advantage over their opponents. From their position they could view the greater part of Berwickshire and Roxburghshire, and even considerably beyond this. Thousands of the Scottish soldiers viewed their beloved land for the last time, and that

land was soon to mourn the loss of her best and bravest sons, together with her heroic king.

A pathetic incident is recorded of the Earl of Caithness, whose sad fate cannot fail to awaken a profound interest in that family. The night before the battle the young Earl, who had previously incurred the king's displeasure by revenging an ancient feud, came to the camp with 300 young, able-bodied warriors, and begged the king's mercy. James was so pleased with this mark of submission that he granted to him and his followers full pardon for past offences. The pardon was written out on parchment procured from the head of a drum ; no other being available. It is said that the parchment thus inscribed is still preserved in the archives of the Earls of Caithness, and is marked with the drum strings. The Earl and his brave band perished to a man on the following day. They were all dressed in green, and, ever since that time, it has been considered unlucky in Caithness to wear green, or to cross the Ord on a Monday, the day of the week on which they set out for Flodden.

The two armies stood about half a mile apart -Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Edmond Howard, and Sir Marmaduke Constable opposite Crawford, Montrose, Huntly, and Home; the Earl of Surrey with Dacre and Heron opposite the king; Sir Edward Stanley opposite Lennox and Argyle.

At four o'clock the trumpets sounded for the charge. Clearly and distinctly were heard the voices of the various leaders. The command to advance was obeyed with no tardy step, for what man amongst them was not eager for the fray? The clash of armour mingled with the wild tumult of voices and all was frenzy and commotion. The thunder of artillery was soon heard, and this for a time drowned all other sounds. The guns on either side opened fire with great vigour, but without doing any serious injury to either party. In these days the chief factors in the artillery service were noise and weight. Beyond this the guns of 500 years ago were a very poor affair indeed. The uneven nature of the ground and the elevation of the Scots over the English also prevented the use of artillery to advantage.

The roar of the guns soon gave place to the clash of swords and the sharp clatter of quivering spears, as either side rushed towards each other and engaged in a deadly hand-to-hand encounter. The vanguard under Lord Thomas Howard was the first to be attacked. We can understand this when we know that the impetuous Highlanders, under Gordon, Earl of Huntly, were opposite this division of the English host.

To restrain a Highland regiment, when within sight of the enemy, is like trying to stem the gushing torrent as it courses down the steep hillside. These bold mountaineers and the Borderers under Lord Home rushed down the hill with a wild shout and slogan cry, and engaged Sir Edmond Howard and Brian Tunstall. The latter received a tremendous shock. The force and impetuosity of this sudden rush

prisoners, amongst them Sir Philip Dacre, and these he guarded faithfully, keeping his ground against considerable odds until darkness set in. In other parts of the field the fight was maintained with equal obstinacy and vigour. Crawford and Montrose led their followers down the slope from Branxton Hill, and were soon engaged in a death struggle with the troops under the Lord Admiral. For a long time the

ARRANGEMENT OF TROOPS BEFORE THE BATTLE.

Lennon & Argyle.

Вта

Cromford & Montrose Huntley of Home

Boldwell

The King.

Tanx ton

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small]
[blocks in formation]

Hill

Lord The! Howard
Sir Ed Howard!

were simply irresistible. There was no lack of courage and skill on either side. Every man fought with a resolution and stubbornness beyond what the single arm could ordinarily accomplish. The English were driven back before the terrible rush of High'and steel, and the long spears of the stout Borderers. Again and again they rallied, only to be as often repulsed. Sir Edmond Howard was smitten to the ground three different times; and the brave Tunstall was killed. At this first attack the English suffered terrible loss, and, at length, after long and severe fighting, wavered and fled, leaving Huntly and Home masters of that part of the field. At the first flush of victory, the Scots pressed forward with enthusiastic shouts, eager to encounter a fresh foe. They had their wish, for at that moment Lord Dacre and the Bastard Heron brought up a large body of horse, and, joining Howard's men, effectually stopped the progress of the Scottish left wing. The English horse thus brought up, had already done good service in other parts of the field, and in a previous encounter Heron had been wounded. The combat here was now more equally waged, and though many of Home's staunch supporters were killed at this charge, still he kept his ground, not permitting the English horse to advance beyond the point where the contest had, from the first, been keenest. Hour after hour every inch of ground was doggedly contested. Home was hard pressed, yet there was no beating him back. He had taken a considerable number of

opposing columns maintained an equal fight, neither side yielding or gaining any appreciable advantage over the other, till, by long fighting, the superiority of the English soldiers prevailed and the Scots were driven back with great loss. Crawford and Montrose were both slain, and with them, a great number of gentlemen and several lords.

On his left the king saw the desper ate struggle going on between the several divisions of Huntly and Home, Crawford and Montrose on the one hand; and those of Sir Edmond Howard, Tunstall, and the Lord Admiral on the other. Eager to mingle in the fray, he gave orders that all around him should march down the slope and engage the enemy in close combat.

This movement on the part of the king was another blunder, which, perhaps more than any

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

his charge. His body guard consisted of a chosen band, composed mainly of the Scottish nobility-men of high rank and large experience; whose courage and energy had been tested in many a hard-fought conflict. He thus rashly gave up his strong position on the brow of the hill and plunged into the enemy's ranks.

We have been accustomed to read and hear no end of praise in honour of the king in thus scorning to take a mean advantage of his position. His heroic bravery, triumphing over his better judgment in not allowing him to filch a victory from his enemy, has been dangled before the eyes of a loyal and devoted people. What miserable compensation this for the desolation it wrought in the thousands who perished on the field by that one act. tears of a nation over the death of "her heroic king," forsooth! What of that compared with the tears and bitter wailing of thousands upon thousands of the widows and orphans of those who perished because their king threw prudence to the wind, and with it his country's only hope of victory?

ally, however, the English troops on either side, after beating back their opponents, poured into the centre and united their whole strength against the king. And so after three hours hard fighting, we find the Earl of Surrey,, his son, the Lord Admiral, and Lord Dacre all united against the king and Bothwell; the latter being greatly outnumbered. Even then they kept their ground, and the slaughter on the English side showed that the conflict was not allowed to wane on the part of the Scots.

During all this time the troops stationed at the extreme east were not idle. The men under Sir Edward Stanley were engaged in a fierce struggle with those under Lennox and Argyle. Argyle. The latter, composed of wild and undisciplined Highlanders and Islemen from the west, were not amenable to the orders of their superiors. They occupied a position of great advantage over their opponents. While Stanley and his men were climbing the hill in order to engage the Scots in close combat, the latter, unable longer to restrain themselves, and in opposition to the commands of their leaders, left the height and rushed with headlong fury upon the English billmen. Stanley's men were cool, well disciplined, and probably exceeded the Scots in numbers. But what power could withstand the sudden rush of these wild clansmen? The first charge bore down the advancing column of English billmen. The twohanded broadsword was the principal weapon of the fierce Highlandmen; with this, and the advantage they possessed of being raised above their opponents, they bore down, for the time, all opposition. This, however, could only last for a short time. Their want of discipline told sadly against them. They had penetrated too far and permitted a section of the English troops, by a flank movement, to circle round and attack them on one side. At the same time the English arrows wrought fearful havoc in the Highland ranks. Every shaft found a lodgment in Scottish flesh. Soon confusion and disorder prevailed despite the most strenuous efforts on the part of their leaders, both by entreaties and menaces, to induce the troops to stand firm in their ranks. Lennox and Argyle, the chiefs of the clans, were slain while bravely fighting at the head of their men. Stanley led his troops right through the disordered ranks, leaving behind him a trail of death, and scattering the Highland hosts on either side. Steadily and firmly the English troops advanced, sweeping everything before them, and gained the brow of the hill from which they could view the terrible struggle that was going on below, especi

The stubbornness with which the king and his gallant nobles fought was amply testified by the terrible carnage in the English ranks. They fought on foot, having all-the king includeddismounted from their horses, and descended in one body. Around their beloved sovereign they fought a faithful and heroic band. He himself inspired and encouraged them by his feats of personal prowess, engaging in hot and deadly contest with the English billmen, and, with his own arm, dealing death and destruction on every side. The reserve troops under Bothwell had followed close on the king, and, all combined, were hotly engaged with the central division of the English army under the Earl of Surrey. For a while the latter was hard pressed and the English standard was in danger of being captured or beaten down. The contest on the Scottish left between the troops under Crawford and Montrose, and those under Dacre and the Lord Admiral having resulted in the total defeat of the Scots, their leaders having been slain, Dacre and the admiral came at once to the help of Surrey. It was not a moment too soon, for the king and his warriors fought with all the fire and enthusiasm of men who meant to conquer or die. At the southern base of "Piper's Hill” the royal standard fluttered in the breeze, and here the battle raged most keenly. This was the focus towards which the various divisions of the Scottish host, at intervals, turned their anxious gaze, where indeed they would gladly have rushed to the help of their sovereign were it not that they also were hard pressed. Gradually round the royal standard.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][graphic]

J

From Photo by

THIRLESTANE CASTLE, LAUDER.

An Interesting Old Burgb.

N the Border Magazine a short account of Lauder may appropriately find a place. It is the only Royal Burgh in the Border County of Berwick and its history dates from very ancient times. It has attracted the attention of Archaeologists such as Maine in his

66

Village Communities," and Gomm in the "Village Community." Lauders' written history extends back to the 12th Century, when it formed part of the possessions of the De Morevilles acquired from King David; and its successive Overlords at that early period, were Hugh De Moreville; Richard De Moreville; Roland of Galloway, the husband of Eva or

Alexander Bain, M.A

Elene, Richard's daughter; Allan of Galloway; Sir John Baliol, the husband of Dergovilla, Allan's daughter, and the father of King John 1292/1296; and the original charter constituting Lauder a Royal Burgh, holding directly from the Crown, was probably granted soon after this latter date, for between 1300 and 1318, in a charter of confirmation granted by the Bishop of St. Andrew's to Dryburgh Abbey there is mention made of "duo burgagia in Villa de Laweder."

There is evidence that in the 12th century Lauderdale was in a comparatively advanced state of civilization, and was then possessed of its Grinding Mill and Fish Ponds: and that Lauder existed as a vigorous community under

[merged small][merged small][graphic][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]
« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »