Capture of King David II at the Battle of Neville;s Cross 1346
The Renewal of the War
The end of the First War of Scottish Independence by the Treaty of Edinburgh/Northampton in 1328 was quickly followed by the deaths of the major Scottish leaders of the conflict. By King Robert I himself in 1329 then by James Douglas in 1330 and Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray in 1332. In that same year Edward Balliol son of the former king John Balliol invaded with around 1500 members of the Balliol-Comyn faction known as the ‘Disinherited’ and a number of English allies.
The Battle of Dupplin Moor
Landing by ship on the coast of Fife they advanced in to Perthshire where they were confronted by the new regent, the Earl of Mar who had replaced Thomas Randolph who had died a short time before. At the Battle of Dupplin Moor in August 1332 on the River Earn they routed a much larger Scottish army as well killing the new regent, the Earl of Mar. Although he was crowned at Scone Edward Balliol lacked support in Scotland and he was quickly routed in a surprise attack in the Battle of Annan in December 1332. Narrowly avoiding capture he managed to escape across the border to England.
Edward III of England Invades
In July 1333 King Edward III himself invaded Scotland with a large army. He promptly besieged the port of Berwick but was attacked by a Scottish army which resulted in the Battle of Halidon Hill. Adopting effective new tactics Edward III heavily defeated the Scottish army and then seized the important port of Berwick. This enabled Edward Balliol to once again establish control over much of Scotland. One of his first acts was to cede a a large part of southern Scotland to Edward III and to acknowledge him as his overlord. However as before Edward Baliol had limited support and once again he was driven out in late 1334. This prompted Edward III to invade again with a large army but learning from their previous mistake the leaders of the Bruce cause avoided a new pitched battle and Edward III was forced to withdraw through lack of provisions.
Stalemate Ensues
From 1335 a stalemate between the two sides continued which was ultimately only broken in 1337 by the outbreak of war between King Philip VI of France and Edward III of England. This new conflict in what would become known as the Hundred Years War would effectively end any serious English attempt to conquer Scotland and by 1342 the war was effectively over in the country.
The Return of King David II to Scotland
As the position in Scotland became more secure King David II returned to Scotland in 1341 and with the remaining English forces in Scotland pushed out in 1342 with both Stirling and Roxburgh finally falling at the same time. David II set about establishing his effective control over the whole of Scotland which he had effectively done by 1345.
The Battle of Neville’s Cross
In October 1346 in reply to a desperate plea from the King of France who had just been invaded by an army led by Edward III. King David II invaded the North of England with a large army. David believed that the bulk of the English forces in the north of England had gone with Edward III to France. However this was found to be untrue and he met a smaller English army near Durham in what became known as the Battle of Neville’s Cross. The Scottish army was heavily defeated and David II badly wounded and captured. David’s capture and Edward III’s increasing involvement in the war in France meant an effective end to major actions in the war in Scotland.
The End of the War
After one final attack in to England in 1355 and a resultant English attack led by Edward III himself the following year the Treaty of Berwick was signed which finally ended the war in 1357. By this treaty Edward III dropped his claim of suzerainty over Scotland but the ransom for the release of David II was set at 100000 merks to be paid over ten years. However only two installments was ever paid by David II who died in 1371 to be succeeded by the first Stewart monarch, King Robert II.