First War of Scottish Independence

The First War of Scottish Independence lasted from the outbreak of the war with the invasion by England in 1296 until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in 1328. Scotland's de facto independence had been restored in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn.

Andrew Moray and William Wallace

Rise of Moray and Wallace

Throughout Scotland there was widespread discontent and disorder after the supposed conquest, and acts of defiance were directed against local English officials. In 1297 the country erupted in open revolt, and Andrew de Moray and William Wallace emerged as the first significant Scottish patriots.

Andrew de Moray was the son of a northern landowner, Sir Andrew de Moray of Petty. Andrew and his father were both captured in the rout after the Battle of Dunbar in April 1296. Andrew the younger was initially held captive in Chester Castle, on the Anglo-Welsh border, from which he escaped during the winter of 1296-97. He returned to his father's castle at Avoch on the northern shore of the Moray Firth, where he raised his banner in the name of Scotland's king, John Balliol. Moray quickly gathered a band of like-minded patriots around him, and employing hit-and-run guerrilla tactics, began to attack and devastate every English-garrisoned castle from Banff to Inverness. The entire province of Moray was soon in revolt against King Edward's men, and before long Moray had taken control of it. Once he had secured Moray, he...
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