The Battle of Dornock was fought on the 25 March 1333 during the Second War of Scottish Independence

Second War of Scottish Independence

The Second War of Scottish Independence was the second cluster of a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries....

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Background

In 1333 Edward Balliol

Edward Balliol

Edward Balliol was a claimant to the Scottish throne . With English help, he briefly ruled the country from 1332 to 1336.-Life:...

, a claimant to the Scottish throne, sought support from the English King Edward III. In exchange for ceding the region of Lothian

Lothian

Lothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills....

 to England, Balliol was given assistance and replenished forces. He returned to Scotland and attacked the Scottish at Berwick-upon-Tweed

Berwick-upon-Tweed

Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....

. After several retaliatory and counter attacks from both sides, the attempt failed and no tactical advantage was gained.

Build Up

In response, William of Lochmaben

Lochmaben

Lochmaben is a small town in Scotland, and site of a once-important castle. It lies four miles west of Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway.-Notable people:*Angus Douglas - Scottish internationalist footballer...

, Sir Ralph Dacre

Ralph Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre

Ralph Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre was an English peer.Dacre was the son of Sir William Dacre of Cumberland.In 1321 he was summoned to the House of Lords as Lord Dacre. In 1331 he was appointed High Sheriff of Cumberland and Governor of Carlisle. He married Margaret de Multon, Baroness Multon of Gilsland...

 and Sir Anthony Lucy led an English force of 800 men into Dumfriesshire

Dumfriesshire

Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...

. William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale

William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale

Sir William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale was also known as the Knight of Liddesdale and the Flower of Chivalry. He was a Scottish nobleman and soldier active during the Second War of Scottish Independence.-Family:...

 and 50 Scottish defenders along with Sir Humphrey Boys and Sir Humphrey Jardine moved to intercept them.

The battle

On the 25th March 1333, the small Scottish force intercepted the English at the village of Dornock

Dornock

Dornock is a small Scottish village in Dumfries and Galloway, situated about one mile west of Eastriggs and two miles east of Annan. Dornock is built on land which is 10 to 20 metres above sea level. Dornock Burn runs east of the village and the railway between Annan and Gretna is north of the...

. Little is known about the battle itself, as it was reportedly over very quickly, but 24 Scots (along with the two Humphreys) were killed and Douglas was taken prisoner. England reported only two losses.

Aftermath

The rest of the Scots fled, and Douglas was imprisoned for two years under special instructions from King Edward. The Scottish poet Andrew Wyntoun noted the battle in his verse:

Primary

• Knighton, Henry, Chronicon, ed. J. R. Lumby, 1889–1895.
• The Lanercost Chronicle, ed. and trans H. Maxwell, 1913.
• Wyntoun, Andrew of, The Original Chronicle of Scotland, ed. F. J. Amours, 1907.

Secondary

• Neilson, G., The Battle of Dornock, in Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Antiquarian and Natural History Society, 1895-6.
• Nicholson, R., Edward III and the Scots, 1965.