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The
Auld Enemies Scotland
and England have many times over the centuries, taken up arms
against each other. Four of the main battles were Flodden in
1513, Dunbar in 1650, Prestonpans in 1745 and Culloden in 1746.
 Battle
of Flodden 1513.
In the nineteenth century, Jane Elliot wrote a
haunting ballad called "The Flowers of the Forest".
This haunting, beautiful ballad was written 300 years after the
event it commemorates - the Battle of Flodden 1513. James
IV of Scotland crossed into England with 30,000 men and met the Earl
of Surrey, who commanded the English army, at the base of the hill
of Flodden in Northumberland. Henry
VIII was at Tournai in northern France, prosecuting his war
against the French. The Earl of Surrey had 26,000 men at his
command. In a bold move, Surrey divided his army and circled
round the Scots position, cutting off their retreat. The
English men-at-arms were armed with short bills and halberds, and
the Scots with 15 ft. French pikes. The
battle was fierce and bloody, and although the poorly armed
Highlanders fought bravely, they were put to flight. It was a
victory for the English halberd over the unwieldy pike and heavy
sword of the Scots. James
IV was killed together with 10,000 of his men - and the flower of
all the noble families of Scotland. The English loss was 5,000
men. Dunbar
3rd September 1650
The Battle of Dunbar took place on
3rd. September 1650. David Leslie, Cromwell's
former ally at the Battle of Marston Moor, was now the leader of the
Scottish army. Oliver
Cromwell, supported by the Navy, met the Scots at Dunbar.
Cromwell's army was weakened by disease, but the Scots were
unprepared when Cromwell attacked at dawn. The Scots had
extinguished the match used to light their muskets because of the
heavy rain in the night. A cavalry charge caught Leslie's main
force in the rear and the Scots were routed. Nearly
3,000 Scots were killed or wounded and 6,000 were captured.
Edinburgh fell to Cromwell and Leslie had to withdraw to Stirling. Preston
Pans
( East Lothian) 20th September 1745
Prince Charles
Edward Stuart landed on the west coast of Scotland in July 1745
accompanied by only 9 men carrying a few arms! Prince
Charles gathered together an army of Highlanders and marched into
Edinburgh on 16th September 1745. The Scots, about 2,400 men,
were badly equipped, had very few arms and their cavalry was only 40
strong. Gathered
at Dunbar was Sir John Cope who had six squadrons of dragoons and
three companies of foot soldiers. Cope's army numbered 3,000
and some artillery manned by naval gunners. Cope had a strong
position in a corn field and his flanks were protected by marshy
meadows. The Scots couldn't mount a charge through the marshy
meadows, so at 4.00 am they attacked the east flank of Cope's
army. The Highlanders charged and Cope's gunners fled, as the
advancing Highlanders, with the sun behind them, appeared to
outnumber the British army. The
Scots had 30 men killed and 70 wounded. The British lost 500 of the
Infantry and Dragoons . Over 1,000 were captured. After
his victory Prince Charles Edward moved on into England. Culloden
(Inverness-shire) 18th April 1746
After the Jacobite victory
at Falkirk, the Scots withdrew to Perth and to Inverness. The
Duke of Cumberland's army arrived at Nairn on 14th April. It
was nearly 10,000 strong accompanied by mortars and cannon.
Charles Stuart's army numbered 4,900 and were weak from disease and
hunger. The battle took place on an open moor at Drummossie,
totally unsuitable for the Highlanders' method of attack.
 The
Highlanders went forward but were so closely bunched together, only
a few could fire. Cumberland ordered up his band of Horse and
massacred the Scots on the left flank. With
a few followers and part of the Fitzjames Horse, Charles Stuart
escaped from the field. The
battle was over but Cumberland's own men gave no quarter and few
escaped. The wounded Scots were shot and many of the British were
sickened by such brutality. This
was the last battle to be fought in Britain, and ended the Jacobite
cause in England. What
happened after the battle horrified the nation - the cruel harrowing
of the Glens, when Scotland was laid bare by 'Butcher Cumberland'.
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