Excavation search for soldiers killed on Flodden battlefield

[Blackleaf]

In September 1513 Scotland invaded England and declared war on her to honour the Auld Alliance with France by diverting Henry VIII's English troops from their campaign against the French king Louis XII. Henry VIII had also opened old wounds by claiming to be the overlord of Scotland which angered the Scots and their king, James IV. At this time England was involved in the War of the League of Cambrai - defending Italy and the Pope from the French as a member of the "Catholic League".

As a result of the invasion the Scottish and English armies met in Northumberland in the far north of England on 9th September 1513 - and so began the Battle of Flodden. It was the greatest ever Scottish invasion of England, and the biggest ever Anglo-Scottish battle. But Flodden was a catastrophic defeat for the Scots. They suffered up to 17,000 casualties, whereas the English suffered just 1,500 casualties. And, to add insult to injury, the Scottish king James IV - the grandfather of the future Mary, Queen of Scots - was killed in the battle. Many of the dead were buried as quickly as possible and as close as was practical to the spot where they fell.

Now, with the 500th anniversary of the crushing Scottish defeat almost upon us, excavations are to take place on the Flodden battlefield at Branxton, in the hope of locating the remains of fallen soldiers. From Monday a team of volunteers will excavate the Northumberland site.

The invading Scottish army suffered a crushing defeat by the English at the Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513. Scotland's King James IV was also killed in the battle

Supervised by professionals from the Flodden 1513 project and Archaeological Practice Ltd, an 80-strong excavation team will over 11 days work to locate any remains.

The team will work in a field where, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, body pits were identified during works to lay drainage pipes. The field is adjacent to Piper's Hill.

There are currently no plans to exhume any remains. Instead the team will inform English Heritage of their location, to allow the burials to be declared war graves or protected from further intrusion.

Excavation director Chris Burgess told historyextra: “The target of the excavations is to understand what form burials took. Were they formal, how big are the graves, are they preserved?

“The bodies are unprotected at the moment. You have to know where they are to protect them, but no one has ever gone looking.

“It will help us learn about how bodies were buried, and where specific parts of the battle occurred. Bodies were not usually moved far, as they are heavy and it can be quite traumatic to put them in the ground.

“This should help us better understand the battle. We would learn a huge amount if we were to exhume the remains, but you have to show respect. It’s the final resting place of English and Scottish soldiers.”

The site of the Battle of Flodden Field in February 2005. This image shows only the western side of the battlefield. The Scottish army advanced down the hill which in this image is ploughed (in the direction of the camera). The English advanced down the grassy field away from the camera. The boundary between the ploughed field and the grassed field in the foreground forms a valley between the two fields.

The Battle of Flodden took place in Northumberland on 9th September 1513


Historian George Goodwin welcomed the project. “I think it’s brilliant,” he said.

“Any form of evidence to reveal the circumstances of the battle is absolutely crucial.

“There is so little evidence available from the Scottish side, and on the English side there are a number of different sources but they are a little bit on the biased side, to put it mildly.

“We need more sources to find out exactly what happened, to find out the motive of James IV and why he left the position on Flodden Hill.

“Had he stayed on the fortified Flodden Hill then he could have been able to withstand a siege, and the outcome would have been completely different.

“This work is crucial in understanding why the battle happened where it did.”

The excavation site will be open to visitors from 3-11 September, between 10am and 4pm.

Excavation search for soldiers killed on Flodden battlefield | History Extra

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

I'm pretty sure somebody cares.

 

[Spade]

Was this battle part of the Riel Rebellion?

 

[Blackleaf]

Was this battle part of the Riel Rebellion?

The Riel Rebellion took place in the 19th Century...... in Canada.

I'm pretty sure somebody cares.

So you've come onto a thread just to tell me that you are not interested in it.

What a wasted few moments of your life that was.

This is the history section. Don't be surpised when history threads appear in it.

 

[#juan]

The Riel Rebellion took place in the 19th Century...... in Canada.



So you've come onto a thread just to tell me that you are not interested in it.

What a wasted few moments of your life that was.

This is the history section. Don't be surpised when history threads appear in it.

Exactly. We do have people who's cynicism and sarcasm rules their thoughts.

 

[Blackleaf]

Next year is the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, a Scottish victory over the English, and it's the reason why Scotland's nationalist First Minister Alex "Mugabe" Salmond is cheating by holding the Scottish independence referendum then - he's hoping that a wave of Scottish patriotism during the events around Scotland to mark the anniversary will secure a YES TO INDEPENDENCE vote.

However, before then, the Scots will have to put up with the 500th anniversary of a great English victory over the Scots - the Battle of Flodden - which took place on 9th September 1513. Projects and events are taking place to mark the anniversary, which is on Monday.

Here's is your quick guide to the battle

Your 60-second guide to the Battle of Flodden


From this month's BBC History Magazine

Monday marks the 500th anniversary of one of the bloodiest battles in British history, the Anglo-Scottish clash at Flodden

The fight on 9 September 1513 proved a devastating defeat for the Scots, who lost 10,000 men. It remains the greatest ever Scottish invasion of England, and was the biggest ever Anglo-Scottish battle.

But why did the two sides come to blows, and what 500 years on can we learn from the battle? Here, historian George Goodwin rounds up the fundamental Flodden facts:

When: 9 September 1513

Where: Branxton, Northumberland

Who: The armies of James IV, King of Scots, and English king Henry VIII

Why: James IV and Henry VII had agreed a Treaty of Perpetual Peace in 1502. James believed this had brought formal recognition of Scottish independence.

But when Henry VIII came to the throne in 1509 he tore up the treaty, and in 1512 had parliament describe James as “the very homager and obediencer of right to your Highness”.

Under the treaty, Scotland could still maintain its Auld Alliance with France – an alliance that implied the possibility of mutual naval support should either be attacked by England.

Forced to avenge the insult of Henry tearing up the treaty, and in support of France, who was about to be invaded by Henry, James invaded England.

What happened: On 22 August 1513 James crossed the river Tweed, the historical boundary between Scotland and England, with the largest-ever Scottish army to invade England.

His success was immediate. He took all the major fortresses in Northumberland.

Northumberland, England's northernmost county

On 5 September the Earl of Surrey (the commander of Henry’s army) sent diplomat Thomas Hawley to the Scottish side with an offer of battle. The next day James sent his own Islay Herald back to Surrey, accepting the challenge.

James’s army was in a fantastic position on the top of Flodden Hill, and to attack would have been suicidal for Surrey. So he sent Hawley back to argue that the sides had agreed to fight on flat ground.

Outraged, James communicated his fury with the words “that it was not fitting for an earl to seek to command a king”.

The next day, Surrey moved his army north-eastwards towards Berwick. The following morning they doubled back, and James realised they were going to attack his army from the rear.

The armies would go to battle on the 9th

James got to Surrey’s intended position – Branxton Hill – first. He still had the advantage of higher ground.

How the battle unfolded: At 4pm there was an exchange of artillery fire, but neither the guns nor, indeed, the archers worked well because of appalling weather.

James launched a pike attack against the English right flank. It began to crumble.

Panic threatened to grip the entire English army. This was a decisive moment. Surrey now threw in his reserve and held the line.

James’s second line attacked but hit boggy ground, and so all momentum was lost.

They dropped their pikes and brought out their swords, but were then fighting against the 8½ foot bill, an adapted agricultural scything tool. The English common soldier now had the advantage.

The Scottish third unit, under King James himself, hit the same boggy ground.

However they still pushed Surrey’s own troops back. Had James been able to kill Surrey, he would have won the battle.

But instead the Scots were now under attack from three sides, with English archers adding to the carnage by firing into the rear of the Scottish forces. Of the 34,000 Scottish soldiers, 10,000 were killed. This compared to 4,000 on the English side.

James IV was also killed in the battle, as was almost all his nobility. The English side was victorious.

The outcomes and significance of the battle:

- Shock for the Scots: the Scots went into shock at the loss of a great king. But 17-month-old James V was crowned just over a week later, and the basic administration of Scotland held together.

- Triumph for England: the Earl of Surrey and his son the Lord Admiral were rewarded by Henry VIII and Surrey was made Duke of Norfolk.

- Fatal errors: James suffered a catastrophic defeat for two reasons: first, Surrey reinforced at a crucial moment; secondly, James’s soldiers fought on ground he had not properly surveyed.

- A win-win for the independence debate: interestingly, James can be claimed by both sides of the Scottish independence debate. By the ‘yes’ campaign as the king who believed he had finally negotiated independence for the Scots; and by the ‘no’ campaign as the father of the line of eventual Stuart kings of both Scotland and England starting with James VI and I. He and not Henry VIII is a key ancestor of Elizabeth II.

Your 60-second guide to the battle of Flodden | History Extra

All you need to know about the Battle of Flodden: http://www.flodden1513.com/