Battlefields›Arrest of Kinmont Willie Armstrong 1596
Tudor

Arrest of Kinmont Willie Armstrong 1596

1596
Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
Era
Tudor
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Forces
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Kinmont Willie with small escort at the Kershope Burn truce meeting
VS
Victor
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
English border riders under Thomas Scrope's authority
Outcome
Kinmont Willie seized and imprisoned at Carlisle; English Warden Thomas Scrope refused to release him; Scottish Warden Kerr began planning the rescue raid that would follow within weeks.
The Battle

History & Significance

William Armstrong of Kinmont — Kinmont Willie — was arrested by English border riders on 19 March 1596 in violation of the truce protecting Days of Truce, and imprisoned in Carlisle Castle. This illegal arrest became one of the most celebrated incidents of the entire border period, as the Scottish Warden Robert Kerr of Cessford felt his honour impugned and resolved to rescue the prisoner regardless of diplomatic consequences. The arrest illustrated the continuing capacity of reiver affairs to create serious Anglo-Scottish diplomatic crises in the 1590s.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Arrest of Kinmont Willie Armstrong 1596

Picts Knowe,fort
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~1.4 miles
Sweetheart Abbey, abbey, precinct and walls
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~2.6 miles
Castledykes Park, motte and bailey, medieval castle and associated earthworks
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~2.8 miles
Curriestanes,cursus E of
Scheduled monument · ~3.1 miles
Ingleston Mote,motte
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~3.4 miles
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