Battle of Sauchieburn

The Battle of Sauchieburn was fought on June 11, 1488, at the side of Sauchie Burn, a brook about two miles south of Stirling, Scotland. The battle was fought between as many as 30,000 troops of King James III and some 18,000 troops raised by Scottish nobles who favored the King's then-15-year-old son, Prince James. Dubious|date=March 2008

James III had faced open rebellion for a few months, but chose to face the rebels close to where his ancestor Robert I of Scotland had defeated the English at the Battle of Bannockburn.

The battle went badly for the Royalists. Persistent legends, based on the highly coloured and unreliable accounts of sixteenth century chroniclers such as Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie, John Leslie, and George Buchanan, claim that James III was assassinated at Milltown, near Bannockburn, soon after the battle. There is no contemporary evidence to support this account, nor the allegation that he fled the battle, nor the tale that his assassin impersonated a priest in order to approach James.

A story is told that, on the eve of the battle, Sir David Lindsay, son of Sir John, Lord Lindsay of the Byres, presented James III with a "great grey horse" that would carry him faster than any other horse into or away from the battle. Unfortunately, the horse threw the King during the battle, and James III was either killed in the fall, or was finished off by enemy soldiers.

Prince James ascended to the throne, and reigned as James IV for twenty-five years. Throughout his reign he wore a heavy iron chain around his waist, next to the skin, as a constant reminder of his role in the death of his father.

References

* MacDougall, N. "James III", (John Donald Publishers Ltd (5 Feb 1982))

Participants

Some of the participants in the Battle of Sauchieburn included:

*Royalists:
**Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn, slain in the battle;
**Malise Graham, 1st Earl of Menteith;
**David Lindsay, 1st Duke of Montrose;
**Lord Erskine, slain in the battle;
**Lord Graham;
**Lord Maxwell;
**Lord Ruthven, slain in the battle;
**Sir David Lindsay of Byres, who in the legendary account gave King James III the horse that threw him;
**Roger Grierson I of Lag, Fatally wounded
**The troops were largely from Scotland's northern counties.

*Rebels:
**Lord Home;
**Lord Hailes;
**Lord Gray;
**The troops were largely from East Lothian, the Merse, Galloway, and the border counties.

External links

* [http://www.electricscotland.com/HISTORY/stirlingshire/chap11.htm The History of Stirlingshire, Chapter XI. Battle of Sauchieburn (1488)]