The Battle of Sark was fought between England and Scotland in October 1448. A large battle, it was the first significant Scottish victory over the English in over half a century, following the Battle of Otterburn

Battle of Otterburn

The Battle of Otterburn took place on the 5 August 1388, as part of the continuing border skirmishes between the Scottish and English.The best remaining record of the battle is from Jean Froissart's Chronicles in which he claims to have interviewed veterans from both sides of the battle...

 of 1388. It placed the Scots in a position of strength against the English for over a decade, until Edward IV ascended the English throne, and it brought Clan Douglas

Clan Douglas

Clan Douglas is an ancient Scottish kindred from the Scottish Lowlands taking its name from Douglas, South Lanarkshire, and thence spreading through the Scottish Borderland, Angus, Lothian and beyond. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an armigerous clan.The...

 to greater prominence in Scotland.

Precursors

After the 14th century 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....

, England and Scotland continued to battle periodically along their borders. In 1448, hostilities escalated. Henry Percy

Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland

Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland was the son of Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland and Lady Eleanor Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and his second wife Joan Beaufort.-Family:...

, son of the Earl of Northumberland

Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland

Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland was an English nobleman and military commander in the lead up to the Wars of the Roses. He was the son of Henry "Hotspur" Percy, and the grandson of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland...

, destroyed Dunbar

Dunbar

Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....

 in May, and in June the Earl of Salisbury

Earl of Salisbury

Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in British history. It has a complex history, being first created for Patrick de Salisbury in the middle twelfth century. It was eventually inherited by Alice, wife of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster...

, Lord Warden of the March destroyed Dumfries

Dumfries

Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...

. In reaction, William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas

William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas

William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, 2nd Earl of Avondale was a Scottish nobleman. He was the eldest son of James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas and Beatrice Sinclair....

 mustered a force with the support of the earls of Ormonde

Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormonde

Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormonde was a Scottish Soldier and nobleman, a member of the powerful Black Douglases.He was the fourth son of James the Gross, 7th Earl of Douglas and his wife Beatrice Lindsay, daughter of Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney...

, Angus

George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus

George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, Lord Douglas, Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest was a Scottish Nobleman. He was the son of William Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus and Margaret Hay of Yester. Known as the Great Earl of Angus, he succeeded to the Earldom following the death of his childless brother James...

 and Orkney

William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness

William Sinclair , 1st Earl of Caithness , 3rd Earl of Orkney , Baron of Roslin was a Scottish nobleman and the builder of Rosslyn Chapel, in Midlothian....

, destroying Warkworth

Warkworth

Warkworth may refer to:*Warkworth, Northamptonshire, England*Warkworth, Northumberland, England* Warkworth Castle* Warkworth Hermitage*Warkworth, Ontario, Canada*Warkworth, New South Wales, Australia*Warkworth, New Zealand*John Warkworth...

 and Alnwick

Alnwick

Alnwick is a small market town in north Northumberland, England. The town's population was just over 8000 at the time of the 2001 census and Alnwick's district population was 31,029....

. When the Scots advanced further into Cumberland

Cumberland

Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....

 and Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, Henry VI

Henry VI of England

Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...

 authorized the Percies to retaliate.

Engagement

The stage for the battle was set when, in October, the Earl of Northumberland led a troop of 6,000 men into Scotland, where they made camp near the Lochmaben Stone

Lochmaben Stone

The Lochmaben Stone is a megalith standing in a field, nearly a mile west of the Sark mouth on the Solway Firth, three hundred yards or so above high water mark on the farm of Old Graitney in Dumfries & Galloway in Scotland. Map reference: NY 3123 6600. The area is also known as Stormont...

. Their location proved poorly chosen, as they settled in a tidal waterway between the River Sark

River Sark

Disambiguation: for other meanings, please see Sark The River Sark or Sark Water is a river best known for forming part of the western border between Scotland and England...

 and Kirtle Water. Among the Scots, Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormonde, mustered a force of 4,000 from Annandale and Nithsdale

Nithsdale

Nithsdale , also known by its anglicised gaelic name Strathnith or Stranit, is the valley of the River Nith in Scotland, and the name of the region...

, marching against Northumberland on 23 October 1448. Northumberland took the lead in organizing his troops into three wings, which arrangement Ormonde mirrored. In spite of superior numbers and the advantage of the English longbow

English longbow

The English longbow, also called the Welsh longbow, is a powerful type of medieval longbow about 6 ft long used by the English and Welsh for hunting and as a weapon in medieval warfare...

, the English were soon driven backwards by Scottish spearmen, where they found the peril of the incoming tide. The number of Scots who lost their lives in the engagement varies by source from as few as 26 to as many as 600, but the Auchinleck Chronicle

Auchinleck chronicle

The Auchinleck Chronicle is a national chronicle in Middle Scots, written in Scotland in the mid-15th century. It is an important source for late medieval Scottish history....

is specific in the number of English deaths: 1,500 killed in battle; 500 drowned.