Fought on 24th November 1542, this was a battle between an
English and a Scottish army. Relations between England and Scotland had been
mainly peaceful since King James V succeeded his father in 1513, but tensions
had risen ever since a new alliance had been forged between France and Scotland
and the English King Henry VIII had engineered a religious reformation.
On 24th November 1542, a Scottish force of about
18,000 men crossed the border. King James did not lead the invasion in person
but remained in Scotland. Shortly before the battle, which took place at Solway
Moss in Cumbria, Sir Oliver Sinclair had been declared general. Most of the
other senior officials in the Scottish army refused to listen to Sinclair, who
had little chance of creating any cohesion because each noble and gentleman had
their own retainers who would only obey their orders.
Sir Thomas Wharton led a smaller English force of 3,000 from
Carlisle to intercept the Scots. When the English cavalry attacked, it pinned
the Scots between the boggy Solway Moss and the River Esk. Chaos ensued and
many of the Scots fled. Rumours that another English army was approaching added
to the panic. Several hundred Scots drowned in their retreat, and as many as
1,200 surrendered.
The English took Sinclair prisoner, as well as several other
influential Scottish aristocrats. Three weeks after hearing of the defeat of
his army, King James V died, leaving his six-day-old daughter Mary as Queen.
Fighting continued with the English until 1547.
© John Welford
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