The Action at Earnside was a skirmish which took place in the Wars of Scottish Independence

Wars of Scottish Independence

The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries....

 in September 1304. Not much is known about it, but it is significant as the last action known to be fought by William Wallace

William Wallace

Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....

.

Even its location is uncertain. Contemporary records describe it as taking place at "Yrenside". This is usually interpreted to mean "Earnside", i.e. somewhere on the banks of the River Earn

River Earn

The River Earn in Scotland leaves Loch Earn at St Fillans and runs east through Strathearn, then east and south, joining the River Tay near Abernethy. The Earn is about long. It passes by Comrie, Crieff and Bridge of Earn....

. However it has been suggested that it this should be interpreted as "Ironside", which could possibly mean Ironside Hill in the Sidlaw Hills

Sidlaw Hills

The Sidlaws are a range of hills of volcanic origin in the counties of Perthshire and Angus in Scotland that extend for 30 miles from Kinnoull Hill, near Perth, northeast to Forfar. Law is a Lowland Scots word of Old English origin meaning a hill which rises sharply from the surrounding land...

.

There is mention in English records of compensation being paid for horses lost in a flight from William Wallace at "Yrenside". There is also mention of the Constable of Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

 pursuing Wallace.

To complicate matters further, there is a plaque at a site called "Black Earnside" near Newburgh

Newburgh

-Places:Scotland*Newburgh, Fife, a former royal burgh*Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, a village*Newburgh, Borders, a village*Newburgh, Moray, a village*Newburgh, Orkney, a villageEngland*Newburgh, Lancashire, a village*Newburgh, North Yorkshire, a village...

 in Fife

Fife

Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

 which claims that Wallace defeated the Earl of Pembroke

Earl of Pembroke

Earl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...

 here on 12 June 1298. However it is not clear that this has any basis in contemporary records, and this raises some problems, among them that Wallace was at the Battle of Falkirk

Battle of Falkirk (1298)

The Battle of Falkirk, which took place on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence...

the following month, and the Earldom of Pembroke was vacant at that time.