Page "Wars of Scottish Independence" Paragraph 31

In October, Sir Archibald Douglas, now Guardian of Scotland, made a truce with Balliol, supposedly to let the Scottish Parliament assemble and decide who their true king was.

Emboldened by the truce, Balliol dismissed most of his English troops and moved to Annan, on the north shore of the Solway Firth.

He issued two public letters, saying that with the help of England he had reclaimed his kingdom, and acknowledged that Scotland had always been a fief of England.

He also promised land for Edward III on the border, including Berwick-on-Tweed, and that he would serve Edward for the rest of his life.

But in December, Douglas attacked Balliol at Annan in the early hours of the morning.

Most of Balliol's men were killed, though he himself managed to escape through a hole in the wall, and fled, naked and on horse, to Carlisle.