The reign of the Stewart Kings in Scotland was a turbulent one, with opposition to their rule from discontent nobles reaching it`s zenith with James III. The lawlessness of the Highlands, the treaty with the English Henry Tudor, high taxes which went to support an extravagant court life style and James high handedness with the most powerful nobles in the land eventually told against him.
For some months opposition had grown in earnest and by March 1488, it was clear that the country was in a state of rebellion. Under Lords Homes and Hepburn, the nobility south of the Forth joined against James asking him in the first instance to abdicate in favour of his son, the fifteen year old James, Duke of Rothsay.
King James` authority carried little outside of the walls of Edinburgh Castle where he was holed up. Plans were forged and he and his entourgae made a dash for the ships of his supporter James Woods in Leith harbour. A chase ensued as rebel troops tried to intercept the king`s party and some of his baggage fell into their hands. Amongst it was a huge hoard of coin which would now be used to hire troops for the rebel army.
James made landfall in Fife and hastened to Aberdeen where the North-Eastern nobility and gentry were marshalling forces in his name. With this force James returned south to Blackness, within striking distance of the rebel HQ at Linlithgow. Skirmishes were interspersed with peace talks. At long last a settlement was reached which would have brought peace to the land but James told his council that he would repudiate it`s terms and bring in English mercenaries to deal with his enemies as soon as they had laid down their arms. This shocked the king`s valuable northern supporters causing Huntly, Erroll, Marischal and Glamis to withdraw from his army. reluctantly James was forced to agree to terms, handing over hostages and returning to at least partial government from Edinburgh Castle.
The devious James was not satisfied and now began buying support, handing out grants, titles and favours to win allies for the struggle which was inevitable. In late May, the ships of Andrew Wood carried him to Fife, where a royalist army was mustering at Perth.
On June 11th, 1488 the royalist army had passed Stirling Castle on it`s march once more to the rebels based at Linlithgow when scouts reported to James that the rebel army had already reached the carron and was advancing against him. The two armies met within sight of the field of Bannockburn. A good omen as far as James was concerned as he carried with him the sword of Robert the Bruce.
The royalist army was stronger than the one it faced. James took command of the main battle with the powerful contingents of Fife and Angus on one side and those of Strathearn and Stormont on the other. The varward was composed from the troops of the Earls of Atholl and Huntly, together with as many Highlanders as they could raise. The rearguard was formed from the men of Stirling, Mentieth and Argyll.
The army of the rebellious Earls was composed of the flower of the Scottish gentry from the Borders to the Forth. The two principal conspirators in the rebellion Homes and Hepburn led the vanguard, then came the men of Merse, Teviotdale and East Lothian and finally the rearward battle of Liddlesdale, Annandale and Galloway.
As the rebels began to deploy, James was horrified to see that amongst their banners was the Royal Standard of Scotland. For marching with Holmes and Hepburn was the Prince ready to assert his own kingship. For James this was a heavy blow, as an old prophesy had declared that he would fall at the hands of his nearest kin.
Nevertheless, battle began with the first charge of the royalists pushing the rebel lords back some distance. The men of the Borders rallied and the battle swayed back and forth till a concerted effort aimed at the royalist centre made the King`s line withdraw beside the Sauchie Burn. Arrows from both sides flew "as thick as hail in Autumn". Come nightfall the rebels held the upper hand and split the King`s army into small groups which then scattered.
At some time during the battle, King James III who was known to be "never hardie nor yeit constant in battell" fled the field without an escort. He would be found dead several days later with only folklore to conjecture how he perished. The day after the battle the Prince was proclaimed King James IV, who paid pennace for his father`s soul until he too died in battle, on the field of Flodden.
The Battlefield
Exactly where the two sides met is open to some question and will remain so until some serious battlefield archeology takes place. The Sauchie Burn a tributery of the Bannock Burn featured in the battle as did Tor Wood, but details are very scarce. The Stirling to Falkirk road is the only one of note in the area, and so both armies must have approached each other along it. I found a visit to the battlesite of immense help in conjecturing the deployment and course of the battle. I think the armies surprised each other by their presence. James probably used the high ground, blocking the road to Stirling with the New Park behind one flank.
The Armies
Both armies would have been based around the traditional Scottish schiltron formations of spearmen. The knights and nobility deploying on foot amongst the front ranks of the common soldiery. however the number of men with long spears had been declining. Various statutes and acts of Parliament during the C15th had proclaimed that those unable to furnish a spear or bow should attend the host with an axe and a targe. Could this be why James IV went to so much trouble to import continental pikes and captains to instruct in their use ? The Scottish axes were either one or two handed. At both Nevilles Cross 1346 and Otterburn in 1388, the Scots are mentioned as carrying large axes over their shoulder when not in use.
Here would have been a large number of archers present. James III had encouraged archery; in addition many of the Highlanders in the royalist army would have been archers and the rebels would have had similar numbers from Ettrick forest. James had spent large sums of money from the royal purse on artillery and handguns "serpentines" during his reign, so there may have been a sizeable force of skirmishers with handguns - or maybe they were ranked alongside the artillery?
The Wargame
My first attempt to recreate the battle was using David Stretton`s A4 rules. They gave an interesting though somewhat lifeless game. I included a rule that James would lose heart if he was attacked by his son`s battle and things started to go badly for him - the final arbiter being a die throw.
The first game gave plenty of bloodshed but ws over very quickly for a solo game. I played the battle twice more before News At Ten; 2 -1 in favour of the Prince and the rebels. That weekend I tried Medieval Tactica. This was a drag at over three hours for a royal victory - the Tactica god was on the side of the BIG BATTALIONS this day.
I decided on one final encounter for now and deployed "Flower of Chivalry" by the Canadian Wargames Group. The game was a real cracker, full of medieval flavour having the battle lines swaying backwards. The rebel battle from the Borders (Merse & Lothian) obviously had second thoughts about facing the King, and were reluctant to move forward. James` battle finally broke before the Prince All that was left was for James to flee the field heading for the Bannockburn and his ultimate fate.
I must confess to using a mix of late medieval Italians, Swiss and Wars of the Roses for my refight. Almost any appropriately equipped late C15th figures will do, just make sure the flags are at least vaguely Scottish. The Highlanders were Scots War of Independence / Hundred Years War types with a few Renaissance gallowglass thrown in to make up numbers.
| Rebel Army of Prince James (Efficient) Army Morale: 20 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | Move | vs Foot | vs Horse | Morale |
| Prince James (Initiative 9) | ||||
| 2 units of Nobles | 2" | 5 | 3 | 100% |
| 3 units of Pikemen | 2" | 6 | 4 | 90% |
| 1 unit of Bowmen | 4" | 1 | 1 | 60% |
| 2 Guns (from Edinburgh) | ||||
| Merse (Initiative 8) | ||||
| 1 unit of Nobles | 2" | 5 | 3 | 100% |
| 3 units of Pikemen | 2" | 6 | 4 | 90% |
| 1 unit of Bowmen | 4" | 1 | 1 | 60% |
| 1 unit Border horse | 3" | 4 | 3 | 70% |
| Galloway (Initiative 8) | ||||
| 1 unit of Nobles | 2" | 5 | 3 | 100% |
| 3 units of Pikemen | 2" | 6 | 4 | 90% |
| 1 unit of Highlanders | 3" | 4 | 3 | 60% |
| 1 unit of Bowmen | 4" | 1 | 1 | 60% |
| Royalist Army of James III (Plodding) Army Morale: 15 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | Move | vs Foot | vs Horse | Morale |
| King James (Initiative 5) | ||||
| 1 unit of Nobles | 2" | 5 | 3 | 100% |
| 4 units of Pikemen | 2" | 6 | 4 | 80% |
| 1 unit of Highland clans | 3" | 4 | 3 | 60% |
| 1 unit of Bowmen | 4" | 1 | 1 | 60% |
| 1 unit of Handgunners | 4" | 1 | 1 | 60% |
| 1 Gun (from Aberdeen) | ||||
| Atholl & Huntly (Initiative 7) | ||||
| 1 unit of Nobles | 2" | 5 | 3 | 100% |
| 2 units of Pikemen | 2" | 6 | 4 | 80% |
| 4 units of Highlanders | 3" | 4 | 3 | 60% |
| 1 unit of Bowmen | 4" | 1 | 1 | 60% |
| Argyll (Initiative 7) | ||||
| 1 unit of Nobles | 2" | 5 | 3 | 100% |
| 3 units of Pikemen | 2" | 6 | 4 | 80% |
| 2 units of Highlanders | 3" | 4 | 3 | 60% |
| 1 unit of Bowmen | 4" | 1 | 1 | 60% |
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© Copyright 1998 by Craig Martelle Publications
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