Battle of Loch Ryan

Background

Loch Ryan, a sea loch with a natural harbor on Scotland's southwest coast, was a strategic landing site. After fleeing the Battle of Dalrigh, Robert the Bruce sought to retake his ancestral lands in Annandale and Carrick in 1307. To achieve this, he sent eighteen galleys and 1,000 men, led by his brothers Alexander and Thomas de Brus, to secure Loch Ryan near Stranraer in Galloway, Scotland.

 

Battle

When the force landed at Loch Ryan on the 9th or 10th of February 1307, local rebels led by Dungal MacDouall, a supporter of King Edward I and the Balliol and Comyn families, confronted them.

The rebels decisively overwhelmed Bruce's forces; only two of eighteen galleys escaped. After the battle, they captured all the leaders. Dungal MacDouall then ordered the execution of Malcolm McQuillan and an Irish sub-king.

Aftermath

As a symbol of victory, messengers sent the heads of McQuillan and two Irish chiefs to King Edward I. Meanwhile, officials transported Alexander and Thomas de Brus, along with Reginald de Crawford, to Carlisle, where the English authorities executed them by hanging and beheading.

Following earlier difficulties, the Battle of Loch Ryan was another setback for Robert the Bruce's campaign for Scottish independence.