Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field in Six CantosScott, Walter
General
Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field in Six Cantos
Scott, Walter
Flodden, Battle of, England, 1513 -- Poetry
The English army advanced in four divisions. On the right, which
first engaged, were the sons of Earl Surrey, namely, Thomas Howard,
the Admiral of England, and Sir Edmund, the Knight Marshal of the
army. Their divisions were separated from each other; but, at the
request of Sir Edmund, his brother's battalion was drawn very near
to his own. The centre was commanded by Surrey in person; the left
wing by Sir Edward Stanley, with the men of Lancashire, and of the
palatinate of Chester. Lord Dacres, with a large body of horse,
formed a reserve. When the smoke, which the wind had driven between
the armies, was somewhat dispersed, they perceived the Scots, who
had moved down the hill in a similar order of battle, and in deep
silence. {5} The Earls of Huntley and of Home commanded their left
wing, and charged Sir Edmund Howard with such success as entirely to
defeat his part of the English right wing. Sir Edmund's banner was
beaten down, and he himself escaped with difficulty to his brother's
division. The Admiral, however, stood firm; and Dacre advancing to
his support with the reserve of cavalry, probably between the
interval of the divisions commanded by the brothers Howard, appears
to have kept the victors in effectual check. Home's men, chiefly
Borderers, began to pillage the baggage of both armies; and their
leader is branded, by the Scottish historians, with negligence or
treachery. On the other hand, Huntley, on whom they bestow many
encomiums, is said, by the English historians, to have left the
field after the first charge. Meanwhile the Admiral, whose flank
these chiefs ought to have attacked, availed himself of their
inactivity, and pushed forward against another large division of the
Scottish army in his front, headed by the Earls of Crawford and
Montrose, both of whom were slain, and their forces routed. On the
left, the success of the English was yet more decisive; for the
Scottish right wing, consisting of undisciplined Highlanders,
commanded by Lennox and Argyle, was unable to sustain the charge of
Sir Edward Stanley, and especially the severe execution of the
Lancashire archers. The King and Surrey, who commanded the
respective centres of their armies, were meanwhile engaged in close
and dubious conflict. James, surrounded by the flower of his
kingdom, and impatient of the galling discharge of arrows, supported
also by his reserve under Bothwell, charged with such fury that the
standard of Surrey was in danger. At that critical moment, Stanley,
who had routed the left wing of the Scottish, pursued his career of
victory, and arrived on the right flank, and in the rear of James's
division, which, throwing itself into a circle, disputed the battle
till night came on. Surrey then drew back his forces; for the
Scottish centre not having been broken, and the left wing being
victorious, he yet doubted the event of the field. The Scottish
army, however, felt their loss, and abandoned the field of battle in
disorder, before dawn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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