BattlefieldsTruce day riot at Kershopefoot 1596
Tudor

Truce day riot at Kershopefoot 1596

1596
Roxburghshire, Scotland
Also known as: Kinmont Willie rescue 1596 · Carlisle Castle raid 1596
Era
Tudor
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Roxburghshire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
England (Scrope)
Forces
Carlisle Castle garrison
VS
Victor
Scotland (Buccleuch)
Forces
Buccleuch with c.200 Scots raiders
Outcome
Kinmont Willie Armstrong was captured during a truce day at Kershopefoot in violation of Border law; Scott of Buccleuch raided Carlisle Castle to free him
The Battle

History & Significance

The rescue of Kinmont Willie from Carlisle Castle in 1596 was the most audacious Border incident of the Elizabethan period. Willie Armstrong was captured in violation of march truce law. When the English warden Scrope refused to release him, Walter Scott of Buccleuch — the Scottish march warden — led a night raid on Carlisle Castle itself and freed him. The English were furious; Elizabeth I protested furiously. Buccleuch reportedly told her that any man of honour would have done the same. The incident became one of the great Border ballads.

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