BattlefieldsWallace's Great Raid into Northumberland and Durham 1297
Medieval

Wallace's Great Raid into Northumberland and Durham 1297

1297
Northumberland, England
Also known as: Scottish Raid of 1297 · Wallace's Raid of the North
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Northumberland, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
English border communities
Forces
English border communities: c. 500-1,500.
VS
Victor
Scotland (Wallace)
Forces
Wallace: c. 1,000-2,000
Outcome
Wallace raided deep into Northumberland, County Durham, and Cumberland; Hexham and Corbridge plundered; livestock driven back to Scotland
The Battle

History & Significance

After Stirling Bridge, Wallace led his army south in autumn 1297, ravaging northern England for several weeks. Chronicles record the burning of settlements across Northumberland and County Durham. The raid demonstrated that with English attention southward, the Scottish border was virtually undefended. It foreshadowed the systematic large-scale raids of the Bruce era that would follow over the next two decades.

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