The Battle of Burscough was fought in the winter of 1339 during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The English army of John de Segrave intercepted and destroyed the Scottish army of Nevin Vissman as it retreated from its defeat at Lancaster, delivering a decisive blow to the Scottish invaders.
Background[]
In 1338, King David II of Scotland and his generals led several Scottish armies in an invasion of northern England via Lancashire, aiming to forestall King Edward III of England's planned invasion of France. The Scots first besieged the English castle of Lancaster, but John Godwinson ably defended the castle and defeated the two besieging Scottish armies in a major counterattack. One of the Scottish armies, commanded by Nevin Vissman, retreated further into Lancashire, hoping to rendezvous with the Scots raiding forces under Donald and Domnall in Cheshire.
However, the English nobleman John de Segrave had been marching north with his own army, originally intending to lift the siege of Lancaster. Vissman's army retreated into the path of Segrave's English force, which decided to attack the Scots and destroy them before they could link up with the raiders in Chester. The two armies met in battle at Burscough in southern Lancashire.
Battle[]
The English pursuing the retreating Scots
The English army deployed on a snowy hillside, with their longbowmen forming the first line, their few pikemen forming the second line, and the English knights forming the rearguard atop the hill. The English army consisted mostly of longbowmen and peasant archers, plus a contingent of Welsh javelinmen. The Scots advanced on the English army, hoping to cut their way through the archers and overwhelm the English men-at-arms. However, the English archers inflicted such heavy losses on the Scots that hand-to-hand fighting barely occurred at Burscough. Most of the Scottish units broke and fled under heavy arrow fire, while those who reached the English line were repulsed by the men-at-arms, and the English then charged the remaining Scottish units and routed and massacred them. The Scots lost 449 dead and 124 captured, while the English lost just 51 men.
Aftermath[]
During the Scottish retreat, 5 Lochaber axemen, 49 Highlanders, 34 Highland bodyguards, 2 Highland pikemen, and 34 Highland archers were taken prisoner. The English king Edward III of England ordered that the 124 Scots prisoners be executed to prevent them from returning to the battlefield (as well as to satiate his rage against the Scottish invasion), and the collection of Scottish survivors disbanded, preferring self-exile to certain death.