Sir William Wallace: Hero of Scotland

Sir William Wallace was poor knight. He was large and very strong. At the

age of sixteen he started fighting for the freedom of Scotland. For many years

only a small force followed him and with his small force he could work lots of

damage. He knew that without a king the Scottish lords would never leave the

King of England. King Edward I was ruling Scotland at this time and he fought hard

to put down the rebellion in Scotland.  

         Wallace secretly married a woman named Marion. Because he was considered an

 outlaw it was dangerous for both of them should anyone find out. Because of the 

secrecy an English lord thinking she was

unmarried tried to court her. Wallace was caught unawares by the English lord

coming to court his wife; in the street with no retreat. He fought hard and when a

voice called him and his men to safety he ran inside a house. It was his own and

the voice his wife’s. Once inside, he regretted it. He knew that his wife would not

be safe from the English garrison there. She told him that she would die helping

him rather than see him killed on her doorstep.  She hurried them out the back

door saying that the welfare of Scotland was with him living. All night in his

mountain camp he paced anxiously fearing for her life. He had sent some men to

retrieve her and they returned with one of the servants and word that she had

been killed for helping an outlaw and because she was his wife. This broke his

heart, but he knew he needed to keep fighting for what was right and so the next

night they attacked the same city and were successful. He recovered his beloved

wife’s body and all who had loved the good woman came to her funeral.

Anyone caught helping the revolution in Scotland was brutally killed. Many

historians claim that King Edward I was a kind and religious man. He was a savage

Monarch.

            Because the men that followed him were a small force, he seldom

attempted open battle. He made raids on the English garrisons and by tricking the

enemy he often succeeded in claiming castles and strongholds. Once when he had

a larger force he fought an open battle. It was fought at the famous Sterling

Bridge. The English had about three times his soldiers. He waited until half the

English cavalry were across and then he swooped down on them. The bridge was

wide enough for only two or three horses. William sent a group of men around

the edge of the battle to guard the bridge and let none come to assist or to flee.

The English on the other side of the river watched helplessly as half their army

was shredded. Many tried to escape by swimming the river but because they

were cavalry men-at-arms, they had full armor on and most were drowned.  It

was a great victory for Scotland.

            Wallace was wise and saw that because he was not wealthy, the other

Scottish lords were jealous of his power and that they would never leave the

English unless they got the power. Wallace told his men this and then left for

France. Robert Bruce was convinced to take over the Scottish rebels and he led

them till they finally gained their independence. Wallace could not stay away for

long and because of this, a traitor went to the English and Wallace was taken to

King Edward I. He was brutally killed but no one who is truly Scottish will forget

Him.

by Mariah Flake