England was exalting in a new king after the death of the unpopular Edward the second. They were ready for the fight. Levies were sent out to every Lord in the land, and French mercenaries duly hired. On the the 17th of July 1327 word reached the English in York that the Scot's had crossed the border and were in fact very close. Following the smoke from the villages the 15 year of king gave chase.

This was exactly what Douglas wanted, oh he would face the English but only on his own terms, right now he was out to destroy the English moral by leading them a merry dance and proving to the English their own incompetence. The Douglas' army, for indeed it was an army, no raiding party this time, were battle hardened veterans who had long since perfect their ability to move far, fast and in secret.

For three days Douglas danced over bog and moor, anywhere a horse could traverse, and the English tries to follow with carts and wine and sides of beef and every other luxury so necessary to a well bred English man at war. Finally on the 20th Douglas set up camp and waited..............

and waited......

For eight days they waited, and it rained, and it rained and it rained. However the Scot's were accustomed to harsher weather than July could offer, they were content, they had plenty English beef and other commandeered supplies, more than they were used to. meanwhile The Douglas reconnoitred the land.

On the 9th day Scouts found an English Squire and brought him for questioning. He told his story with no pressure.

The English having worked out that they were unlikely to overtake the Scot's had decided to set a trap, they had expected the Scot's to flea for home crossing the Haydon Bridge. They had done the unthinkable and abandoned their vanguard. It had a been a long forced march with only the supplies each soldier could carry for himself. And it rained, and it rained and it rained. It rained so hard the Tyne became so swollen the Scot's would never have attempted to ford it.

The English were having to 'fast'. An urgent message to Newcastle from Edward had brought traders to the English encampment and their prices knew no loyalties. In desperation Edward had offered a knighthood and £100 to the first man woman or child who could tell him where the Scot's were..... this squire was the fortunate one.

The Scot's were now ready for the English so the Squire was dispatched back to Edward, post haste, to claim his reward.

The rain stopped and the sun came out, brightening everyone's mood, confrontation at last?

The English arrived two days later, in good order and with banners unfurled, they out numbered the Scot's by at least 2 to 1, ( le Bel) 5 to 1 ( Barbour). Twas as well the Douglas had chosen his ground so well. The Scot's drew themselves into battle order on a hillside, on one side the ground fell away into the south bank of the swollen Wear, the terrain was treacherous and rocky outcrops provided cover for the Scot's, and out of range of the bowmen on the north back anyway.

Douglas was one of the first to realise just how dangerous these bowmen were and had long since instituted a policy of removing the right hand or the right eye of every captured bowman. This had the double effect of reducing the number of Scot's deaths at their hands and, as came into play now, of having the bowmen so petrified of the name Douglas they had to be rendered drunk to go out against him.

Douglas spotted them being moved down stream and guessing rightly that it was an pout flanking manoeuvre covered his infamous blazon with a richly woven cloak and adjusted his troops to handle the threat. He himself road off to be seen by the drunken archers, and when he was sure they had espied him, he turned to aimlessly wander into the ambush he had set up. The archers were drunk on more than wine at the sight of this prize fish out on his own, so far away from safety. The gave chase, loosing hopelessly ineffective arrows. Just before the archers reached where Douglas wanted them an English Squire recognised him and screamed in warning that it was the Black Douglas. The bowmen's panic was instantaneous, for where the Douglas was their was a trap for poor bowmen. They fled. However at that point the ambush kicked in and the Scot's troops road them down. Round One Scotland.

Returning to the proposed battle field proper the Good Sir James received English Heralds bearing a truly chivalrous message. Edward proposed to withdraw from the North Bank of the Wear to allow the Scot's to cross over and face them on an even field. Douglas had nothing but contempt for chivalry and declined the offer! The English pitched amp, it seems they were not going to be moved.

As night fell the Scot's built huge bonfires and sat round them all night making as much noise as they could. It seemed to the English that " the biggest devils in hell were there to destroy us" ( le Bel) After a sleepless night in both camps, both armies went back to their positions from the previous day.

It became increasingly clear to Douglas that the Scot's had nothing to gain from doing battle. Being one of only two Scotsmen who realised that Bannockburn owed more to English mis management than Scot's invincibility. Douglas considered his options......

He had come, he had wreaked havoc and suffered no loss of a Scottish life, thus far, and humiliated the English beyond belief....

The English on the other hand had been mustered for two months at enormous cost, it was one that would not be repeated in hurry. It had been ineffectually in action for a fortnight witnessing the rape of the country it was supposed to be defending, its own country at that. The only way it could possibly save face was to totally annihilate the Scot's in pitch battle.

No the English had far more to gain from battle than the Scot's, and they were not prepared to meet Douglas on his ground.......

Night fell Douglas mounted 500 of his cavalry and left camp, he road several miles down stream and crossed coming back at the English from their rear. They were challenged but once, and Douglas cried out in his best English accent

" No ward [watch], by St George"

He closed on the English encampment with stealth, at the last minute the Scot's broke into a gallop and while half slashed at tent rope the other half stabbed with spears at the sleeping English. The whole camp was soon in turmoil to the screams of " A Douglas" and to half waking but fully dying men. The Douglas himself reached Edwards tent slashing two tent ropes before deciding enough is enough and retreating.

300 English and Frenchmen died that night, Douglas lost is chaplain although he had come within a hairs' breadth of being killed himself by an Englishman who had lain in wait for him.

Randolph wanted more, would Douglas fight now?
No Douglas told Randolph a story

There was once a fisherman who caught a salmon. As he slept in his cottage a fox snuck in and ate the salmon. The fisherman awoke and grabbed at his sword to kill the fox. The only way the fox could escape was to pass the fisherman and out through the door. The fox grabbed the man's cloak and pulled it along in his teeth till it fell on the fire. He escaped through the door as fisherman rushed to save his cloak.

In the English camp, security had been increased, which was particularly hard on the Frenchmen, they were already having to guard themselves from the English. There was little or no sleep to be had, between sentry duty and and cries of " The Scot's are coming". The supply train had still not caught up with the army and they were still dependent on the Newcastle merchants who were still fleecing them. Their horses were diminishing for want of fodder. Only one thing kept the English going, the desire to get the cause of their misery, the Scot's whom they knew could have no possible way of retreat save through them, the English.

They were wrong. The Douglas has found another way out. It was now the sixth of August, and in the woods, hidden from sight, wood was cut, faggots were made, shoes replaced.

A Scot's knight was captured, under pressure he divulged that the orders were out. That night the whole army was to assemble under Douglas, but no one knew where. The English knew that could only mean one thing.... the Scot's were going to make a bid for freedom, straight through them.

As night fell, the bon fires were burning brighter than ever before. In the darkness the armies assembled. The English to stand at arms awaiting attack, the Scott's to cross bog land using their prepared faggots for their feet, lifting those from the back to be passed to the front. And all the while 200 Scot's trumpeters blew their lungs out trying to keep up the nightly caterwauling.

By day break the Scot's were well on their way home.

The English were shocked when two trumpeters walked into their encampment the following morning and asked what the English were waiting for, the Scot's were gone. Upon confirmation of their words, Edward burst in to tears. The Scot's had proved once and for all they could walk all over the North of England and there was nothing the English could do to stop them.

Phase Two

King Robert went on a procession through the north of England, hunting, and bestowing titles on his followers, then his army lay siege at Norham. Douglas and Moray were to besiege Percy at Alnwick, they held joists and generally played their part. However Robert had cause to summon them to join him, Norham was being defended.

Percy thus relieved set out to forage in Scotland. Douglas changed course and stood in Percy's way, Percy turned tail and fled.

On the 1st of October in the year of our lord thirteen hundred and twenty seven William Denholm met with King Robert of Scotland and sued for piece admitting Scottish Independence, for the first time ever.

This story was based on " The Black Douglas" by I. M. David

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