Second War of Independence
Following the death of King Robert I and his brother's crusade with the dead king's heart, Douglas once again becomes of note. He was made guardian of the kingdom since he was "the principal adviser in...the confounding of the king" as much as he was heir to his brothers influence after Murray's capture. Archibald's success in local raids though, did not prepare him for full scale conflict.
During the Second War of Scottish Independence, Edward Baliol, son of King John of Scotland, had invaded Scotland with the backing of Edward III of England, inflicting a defeat on the Scots at the Battle of Dupplin Moor. Douglas served under the dubious leadership of Patrick V, Earl of Dunbar leader of the second army that aimed to crush the smaller Balliol force. Following the rout of the Earl of Mar's force Dunbar did not engage the disinherited but retreated allowing Edward Balliol to be crowned at Scone. Following this battle, and as a sweetener to the English, Edward Baliol agreed to cede the county, town and castle of Berwick to England in perpetuity. However Douglas led a Bruce loyalist defeat on Balliol at the Battle of Annan, forcing him to flee back to England.
Read more about this topic: Archibald Douglas (d.1333)
Famous quotes containing the words war and/or independence:
“A war undertaken without sufficient monies has but a wisp of force. Coins are the very sinews of battles.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)
“We commonly say that the rich man can speak the truth, can afford honesty, can afford independence of opinion and action;—and that is the theory of nobility. But it is the rich man in a true sense, that is to say, not the man of large income and large expenditure, but solely the man whose outlay is less than his income and is steadily kept so.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)