The combined armies of William Wallace and Andrew de Moray clash with the superior forces of the English army on the marshy and broken ground on the north side of the looping River Forth on the morning of September 11th, 1297. The two young generals had earlier held their troops in check as many English and Welsh archers had advanced across the bridge – only to be recalled because the English commander had overslept! Over-confident, he refused to consider utilising two nearby fords to trap the poorly armed Scots in a pincer movement. He eventually sent the English vanguard straight across the narrow bridge onto a narrow raised causeway which crossed the marsh.
After allowing as many English to cross as they thought they could handle, Wallace and de Moray finally unleashed the lightly armoured Scottish forces who bounded over the marsh on both sides of the English to seal off the end of the bridge. The heavy English cavalry and knights could not manoeuvre on the swampy ground and were slaughtered en-masse by the rampaging Scots. None could escape the massacre and neither could they be reinforced by the remaining English forces on the south side of the river as the Scots securely held the end of Stirling Bridge. Eventually, these forces fled in panic, to be hotly pursued by the victorious Scots who had won a miraculous victory against overwhelming odds.
Unfortunately, Andrew de Moray had been fatally wounded during the fight and would not live out the year, leaving William Wallace in sole command of the army and the country.
The English would return the following year.