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| Posted: 13 Sep 2011 02:05 PM PDT Even in recent years, there has been some dispute about his birthplace and his father’s name. Some sources give his father’s name as Alan Malcolm Wallace. His year of birth can only be guessed at, although he was probably a relatively young man at the time of his military exploits and death. It is not known if he was ever married, or if he had any children. Sir William Wallace was a minor member of the Scottish nobility, little is known for certain of William Wallace’s family history. The early members of the family are recorded as holding estates at Riccarton, Tarbolton, and Auchincruive in Kyle, and Stenton in Haddingtonshire. He is a hero of Scotland and a true patriot, had a burning desire for peace and freedom which united the country's clans, gained the loyalty of its people, struck fear into his enemies and defied the cruel hand of an evil, warring and invading King – Edward I of England.
When the two countries faced each other at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, Scotland was led to victory by a figure destined to become a national hero – William Wallace. The Battle of Stirling Bridge was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey and Hugh de Cressingham near Stirling, on the River Forth. William Wallace and Andrew Moray had arrived at Abbey Craig, north of Stirling, before the English army. They watched from the hilltop as the English force – made up of English, Welsh and Scots knights, bowmen and foot soldiers – made camp to the south of the river. The English army had between 200 to 300 cavalry and 10,000 foot soldiers to the Scots’ 36 horsemen and 8000 foot. John de Warrene gave orders for the English army to cross Stirling Bridge to face the Scots next morning.
At dawn the English foot soldiers began to cross the bridge but John de Warrene was still in bed in Stirling Castle. He arrived late to the field and recalled his men. Two Dominican friars were sent as envoys to negotiate the surrender of the Scots with Wallace and Moray. They were told by Wallace in no uncertain terms to return to John de Warrene and to: Tell your commander that we are not here to make peace but to do battle, defend ourselves and liberate our kingdom. Let them come on, and we shall prove this in their very beards. John de Warrene called a Council of War but ignored the advice of Scots knight Richard Lundie who said 'My Lords, if we go on to the bridge we are dead men.'
Hugh de Cressingham urged the Earl of Surrey to cross and quickly finish the Scots. Over the next few hours the English heavy cavalry – knights and mounted men-at-arms – led by Hugh de Cressingham slowly made their way over the wooden bridge and waited in the loop of the River Forth. Wallace and Moray watched and prepared their men for battle. The Scots seized the moment. Wallace and Moray sent their spearmen down to attack. The Scots cut off the escape route back across the bridge and attacked the trapped knights, bowmen and foot soldiers. The mounted knights floundered in the marshy ground and Edward's army was forced back to the deep waters of the Forth. In an hour the Scots had slaughtered the trapped men. Some English knights managed to fight their way back across the bridge. A few foot soldiers swam to the south bank of the river but the rest were cut down. John de Warrene had the wooden bridge set on fire and cut down to keep the Scots from following as he retreated to Berwick.
The hated Treasurer of Scotland, Hugh de Cressingham, was flayed alive by the Scots. It is said that Wallace had some of his skin fashioned into a belt for his sword. Andrew Moray was seriously wounded during the battle. He never recovered, dying from his wounds two months later. The Scots knight Richard Lundie switched sides after the Battle of Stirling Bridge, joining Wallace against Edward at the Battle of Falkirk. In 1298, Wallace lost the Battle of Falkirk. On 1 April 1298, the English invaded Scotland at Edinburgh. They plundered Lothian and regained some castles, but had failed to bring Wallace to combat. The Scots adopted a scorched earth policy and hit and run tactics. The English quartermasters’ failure to prepare for the expedition left morale and food low, but Edward’s search for Wallace would not end at Falkirk. Wallace arranged his spearmen in four schiltrons — circular, hedgehog formations surrounded by a defensive wall of wooden stakes.
The English however employed Welsh longbowmen which swung strategic superiority in their favour. The English proceeded to attack with cavalry, and breaking up the Scottish archers. Under the command of the Scottish nobles, the Scottish knights withdrew, and Edward’s men began to attack the schiltrons. It remains unclear whether the infantry shooting bolts, arrows and stones at the spearmen proved the deciding factor, although it is very likely that it was the arrows of Edward’s bowmen. Gaps in the schiltrons soon appeared, and the English exploited these to crush the remaining resistance. The Scots lost many men, including John de Graham. Wallace escaped, though his military reputation suffered badly. By September 1298, Wallace had decided to resign as Guardian of Scotland in favour of Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick and future king, and John Comyn of Badenoch, King John Balliol’s nephew.
Details of Wallace’s activities after this are vague, but there is some evidence that he left on a mission to the court of King Philip IV of France to plead the case for assistance in the Scottish struggle for independence. There is a surviving letter from the French king dated 7 November 1300 to his envoys in Rome demanding that they should help Sir William. There is also a report from an English spy at a meeting of Scottish leaders, where they said Wallace was in France. In 1304 he was back in Scotland, and involved in skirmishes at Happrew and Earnside. Wallace evaded capture by the English until 5 August 1305 when John de Menteith, a Scottish knight loyal to Edward, turned Wallace over to English soldiers at Robroyston near Glasgow. Wallace was transported to London and taken to Westminster Hall, where he was tried for treason and was crowned with a garland of oak to suggest he was the king of outlaws. He responded to the treason charge, “I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I was never his subject.” With this, Wallace asserted that the absent John Balliol was officially his king.
Following the trial, on 23 August 1305, Wallace was taken from the hall, stripped naked and dragged through the city at the heels of a horse to the Elms at Smithfield. He was hanged, drawn and quartered — strangled by hanging but released while he was still alive, castrated, eviscerated and his bowels burnt before him, beheaded, then cut into four parts. His preserved head (dipped in tar) was placed on a pike atop London Bridge. It was later joined by the heads of the brothers, John and Simon Fraser. His limbs were displayed, separately, in Newcastle upon Tyne, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Stirling, and Aberdeen. A plaque stands in a wall of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital near the site of Wallace’s execution at Smithfield. Plaque marking the place of Wallace’s execution. In 1869 the Wallace Monument was erected, very close to the site of his victory at Stirling Bridge.
The Wallace Sword, which supposedly belonged to Wallace, although some parts are at least 160 years later in origin, was held for many years in Dumbarton Castle and is now in the Wallace Monument. Since his death, Wallace has obtained an iconic status far beyond his homeland. The best known depiction of Wallace is in the Academy Award winning epic film Braveheart, which was directed by Mel Gibson and based upon a screenplay by Randall Wallace.
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