Action at Happrew

Background

Almost a year after his defeat at the Battle of Roslin, John de Segrave was called upon by King Edward I to locate and capture the Scottish rebels, William Wallace and Simon Fraser, by conducting a scouting mission into Selkirk Forest.

 

 

Segrave formed an army of knights at Dunfermline, which included Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford, William de Latimer, and Robert the Bruce, later King of Scots, who at this time was fighting on the side of Edward I and the English.

The English moved south from Dunfermline after hearing reports that a considerable Scottish force was located at Happrew, near the town of Peebles on the Scottish Border with England.

Battle

Around February 20th, 1304. The English army arrived at Happrew and found that William Wallace and Simon Fraser were in command of the Scottish army.

The English outnumbered the Scots and quickly routed them; however, both Wallace and Fraser managed to flee and escape the battle.

The Royal Charters quote King Edward I, urging Segrave to earnestly continue his pursuit of the rebels, stating, "as the cloak is well made, also to make the hood".

Aftermath

Happrew was a small victory for Segrave, restoring some self-esteem after his defeat at Roslin.

The Battle of Happrew's significance lies in its symbolic value as a marker of the waning phase of William Wallace's resistance, the continued turmoil in Scottish-English relations, and the shifting political landscape that would lead to the rise of Robert the Bruce as a future king.

Although William Wallace and Simon Fraser evaded capture and escaped, their days were numbered as the English slowly tightened their grip against the rebels.

William Wallace would go on to fight for the Scots at the Action at Earnside in 1304.

Simon Fraser would surrender to the English a few months after Happrew and would join the English army for a while before betraying Edward I in March of 1306 and fighting with the Scots against the English at the Battle of Methven on June 19th, 1306.

Fraser would be captured near Stirling in the summer of 1306 and sent to London, where he was executed by being hanged, drawn, and quartered at the Tower of London on September 8th, 1306. His head was impaled on a spike and displayed on London Bridge.