Battle of Skaithmuir

Battle of Skaithmuir
Part of the First War of Scottish Independence
Date1316
Location
Skaithmuir, near Coldstream, Scotland
Result Scottish victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Scotland Kingdom of England
Commanders and leaders
James Douglas Edmond de Caillou 
Strength
Unknown Unknown, but significantly more than the Scots
Casualties and losses
Relatively low High

The Battle of Skaithmuir was a skirmish of the First War of Scottish Independence. It took place near Coldstream, on the Anglo-Scottish border, in February 1316.[1] The skirmish was fought between the Scottish captain Sir James Douglas, and an English raiding party from Berwick upon Tweed. The English were having difficulty getting supplies to Berwick after the Scots had won back the surrounding territory and the garrison was facing starvation. Under Edmond Caillou, a Gascon knight, about 80 men set out from Berwick to raid Teviotdale for cattle. Douglas, having been informed that there were fewer in the raiding party, set out to cut them off. Douglas won, and Caillou was killed. Douglas later called it the most difficult fight of his long career. The Scots under Douglas and Thomas Randolph went on to capture Berwick in April 1318.

  1. ^ David Hume, David Reid (1996), The history of the house of Douglas, p. 488