John Stewart, Earl of Buchan

John Stewart
Earl of Buchan
19th-century painting of Stewart
Bornc.1381
Scotland
Died17 August 1424
Verneuil-sur-Avre, France
Wars and battles
OfficesConstable of France
Noble familyHouse of Stuart
FatherRobert Stewart, Duke of Albany
MotherMuriella Keith
Military career
Years of service1419-1424
CommandsScottish Army, France, Hundred Years War.
Arms of John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan

John Stewart, Earl of Buchan (c. 1381 – 17 August 1424) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who fought alongside the Kingdom of France during the Hundred Years War. In 1419, he was sent to France by his father the Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland, with a Scottish army of 6,000 men. Stewart led the combined Franco-Scottish army at the Battle of Baugé on 21 March 1421, where he comprehensively routed an English force under Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence.

However, two years later, Stewart was defeated and captured by an English force led by Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury at the Battle of Cravant in 1423. After the battle he was exchanged, and after his release in 1424 he was appointed Constable of France making him the effective Commander-in-Chief of the French army. On 17 August of that year, Buchan was killed in action fighting against English troops at the disastrous Battle of Verneuil, along with most of the Scottish troops in France. The battle led to the effective dissolution of the Scottish army in France.