"Sack Leith and burn and subvert it and all the rest", the assault on Leith, 1544

The second game of Stuart's recent visit saw us move forward into the mid 1500s with a scenario based around Edward Seymour, the Earl of Hertford's, invasion of Scotland in 1544. Those of you who have followed this blog for while will know that I have been slowly building up forces for the 1540s English campaigns, in fact my first post on the 1540s troops was back in 2014, http://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2014/04/tudor-arquebusiers.html. The Tudor campaigns of the 1540s in Scotland, France and domestically with Kett's and the Prayer Book rebellions have fascinated me for years and provide a host of scenarios for wargames. 

The Assault on Leith, 4th May 1544

The 1 July 1543 saw the Treaty of Greenwich between Scotland and England, the terms of which betrothed Henry VIII's son Edward to the seven month year old Mary Queen of Scots. The infant Queen had inherited the Scottish throne following the death of her father, James V, in December 1542. The proposed peace between the two kingdoms would not take place, in the sixteenth century at least, as the agreement was soon revoked by the Scots Parliament. A furious Henry VIII had seen the treaty as a means to keeping Scotland quiet whilst he pursued his chief objective of invading France. If he could not subdue Scotland by peace he would do so by war. Henry knew only too well, following the events of 1513, that if he wanted to invade France, then its northern ally, Scotland, had to be dealt with first.

Henry appointed Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, to conduct a campaign in the north ordering him to: "Put all to fire and sword, burn Edinburgh town, so raised and defaced when you have sacked and gotten what you can of it, that there may remain forever a perpetual memory of the vengeance of God upon them for their falsehood and disloyalty. Do what you can out of hand, and without long tarrying, to beat down and overthrow the castle, sack Holyrood house, and as many towns and villages about Edinburgh, as you may conveniently. Sack Leith and burn and subvert it and all the rest, putting man, woman and child to fire and sword without exception where any resistance shall be made against you". This was intended to be a chevauchée style campaign, very different from the campaign Hertford would conduct three years later as the Lord Protector.

On 1 May 1544 Hertford and his 16,000 strong army were carried by 200 ships from Newcastle arriving in the Firth of Forth on 3 May. A party of English troops rowed to St Mynettes and finding the town undefended put it to the torch whilst taking any boats they could find to aid with the main English landing. That night the English fleet anchored off Inchkeith intending to take Leith the following day. The morning of 4th May saw the English land rapidly two miles west of Leith. The Vanguard was led by John Dudley, the Lord Admiral, Hertford took command of the main battle and Francis Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, commanded the rearguard. The English had no cavalry but they did disembark some lighter artillery pieces which could be manhandled into action.

As the English advanced toward Leith a defending Scots force of around 6,000 men comprising cavalry, infantry and artillery, blocked their path under the command of the regent, James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, Cardinal Beaton and the Earls of Huntly, Moray and Bothwell. Coming under fire from the Scots artillery the numerically superior English army attacked with a force of arquebusiers under Captain Peter Mewtys overrunning the Scottish guns. An account published in London later that year and entitled "The Late Expedition in Scotland made by the King's highness' army under the conduct of the Right Honourable the Earl of Hertford in 1544" describes this clash: "And in a valley, upon the right hand, near unto the said town, the Scots were assembled to the number of 5,000 or 6000 horsemen, besides a good number of footmen ; to impeach the passage of our said army ; in which place, they had laid their artillery at two straits through which we must needs pass, if we minded to achieve our enterprise. And seeming, at the first, as though they would set upon the Vanguard : when they perceived our men so willing to encounter with them, namely, the Cardinal, who was there present, perceiving our devotion to see his holiness to be such as we were ready to wet our feet for that purpose, and to pass a ford which was between us and them ; after certain shot of artillery on both sides : they made a sudden retreat ; and leaving their artillery behind them, fled towards Edinburgh. The first man that fled was the holy Cardinal like a valiant champion ; and with him the Governor, the Earls of Hunlty, Murray and Bothwell, with divers other great men of the realm. At this passage, were two Englishmen hurt with the shot of their artillery ; and two Scottish men slain with our artillery." After a brief clash the Scots forces withdrew from the field.

Leith itself also had a defending force which had fortified the town with a trench and artillery. Carried by the momentum of their first attack the English immediately stormed the town with support from their archers and arquebusiers. The 1544 account continues to describe the assault: "The Vanguard having thus put back the Scots, and eight pieces of their artillery brought away by our hackbutters, who in this enterprise did very manfully employ themselves, we marched directly towards the town of Leith ; which before we could come to, we must of force pass another passage, which also was defended a while with certain ensigns of footmen and certain pieces of artillery, who being sharply assailed, having three of the gunners slain with our archers, were fain to give place ; leaving also their ordnance behind them, with which ordnance they slew only one of our men and hurt another. And in this brunt, the victory being earnestly followed, the Town of Leith was entered perforce and won with the loss only of two men of ours and hurt of three : where the Scots had cast great trenches and ditches purposely to have defended it."

That night the English camped within Leith, protected by the trenches dug to keep them out. The town was plundered and two larger ships, the Salamander and Unicorn were captured. The 1544 account provides the details: "The same night, the army encamped in the said Town of Leith ; and by reason of the said ditches and trenches, we made there a strong camp. The morrow, being the 5th of May, we caused our ships ladened with our great artillery and victuals to be brought into the haven ; where we discharged the same at our pleasure. In the said haven, we found many goodly ships, specially two of notable fairness : the one called the Salamander given by the French king at the marriage of his daughter into Scotland, the other called the Unicorn, made by the late Scottish king James V. The town of Leith was found more full of riches than we thought to have found any Scottish town to have been." Having unloaded the victuals and heavier artillery Hertford's army would attack Edinburgh on 6 May.

The calm before the storm. The harbour of Leith.

A view of the table. Part of the English Vanguard under Captain Peter Mewtys prepares to storm the trenches and take the town of Leith.

The Scenario

Keen to use my new harbour terrain and boat this game focused on the English Vanguard attacking Leith itself and was played using our "Renaissance Rampant" modified version of "Lion Rampant.

The Scots player could place two units and two Culverins defending the town but the rest of the Scots force had to start at the other end of the Leith from the English. The English deployed outside the town and took the first turn. 

The English would win if they could place a unit within the harbour tile (the one which featured the boat in the photos) for two turns in a row. The Scots would win if they could prevent this.

The trench provided cover and was difficult terrain for movement and combat.

One of the "certain pieces of artillery" prepared for the defence of the town.

The Armies

The English Vanguard

1 Unit of Foot Knights (Captain Peter Mewtys retinue leader)

2 Units of English Arquebusiers

3 Units of Shire Bow

2 Units of Garrison Billmen

1 Culverin

The Defenders of Leith

1 Unit of Retinue Foot (Scots Captain defending Leith, retinue leader) 

2 Culverins

2 Units of Scots Arquebusiers

2 Units of Lowland Pike

2 Units of Border Foot

1 Unit of Border Horse

Stuart took control of the English for this game whilst I commanded the defenders of Leith. The photo captions relay the action well but a brief description of the game also follows.

Scots arquebusiers put up a stout defence from the trench, supported by some borderers.

Scots troops rush through the harbour to take up position and defend the town.

The English begin the assault on the town.

Scots troops await the attack in Leith.

English archers and billmen enter the "great trenches and ditches" dug to defend the town. 

A small artillery piece has been disembarked from the English fleet and manhandled into position. It is used to clear the trenches of Scots defenders.

The English come under fire as they approach the town.

A view of the English attack on Leith.

There is skirmishing in the trenches as English billmen...

...and archers attempt to clear them.

Captain Peter Mewtys ordered the English drums to beat and his troops advanced on Leith. Immediately they came under fire from Scots arquebusiers in the trenches and a shoot out developed between the arquebusiers and the archers of both sides. Despite the initial English advantage in numbers they could not drive the Scots from the trenches. Even when a small artillery piece was moved into position and used to fire along the trench the Scots held firm.

Whilst the fighting developed around the trenches on the English left flank on the English right, where the trench had not been defended, the attackers met with more success. They were able to quickly advance on the town, the arquebusiers routing a force of border horse sent to oppose them. The "Town of Leith was entered perforce" and before one of the Scots culverins could open fire the crew had been shot down by the rapidly advancing English arquebusiers.

One group of English "hackbutters" see a way into the town and fire on the Scots border horse forcing them to flee.

More Scots defenders advance to take on the English.

The defenders of Leith prepare to fire on the attackers...

...but before they can bring the gun to bear they are "sharply assailed" by some of Mewtys' "hackbutters" and slain. 

An overview of the fighting around the trenches.

A fire fight is taking place between the English and Scots arquebusiers.

On the English right flank the attack is having more success...

...the English enter the streets and the Scots captain leading the defence is shot by an arquebusier.

English billmen have entered the outskirts of the town.

Scots pike advance to engage the attackers but come under heavy fire from the English arquebusiers.

Fierce fighting taking place in the trenches...

...but on the English right flank Captain Peter Mewtys' men push forward.

The fighting around the trenches on the English left flank grew fiercer with English billmen entering the fray and battling Scots borderers at close quarters. Supported by archers and arquebusiers the English billmen managed to clear the Scots defences but they had sustained heavy casualties in the process and were nowhere close to capturing the harbour.

Mewty's saw where a breakthrough could be made and joined his men on the right flank as they forced their way into the town. The unfortunate Scots captain and his retainers were shot down in the narrow streets by the marauding English "hackbutters". This shook the morale of the defending force. Scots pike then joined the fighting in Leith's streets only to be pushed back by the English billmen and their supporting arquebusiers who seemed unstoppable as they fired into the close ordered Scots. The towns defenders crumbled and Captain Peter Mewtys took command of the harbour being pleasantly surprised that the "town of Leith was found more full of riches" than he could have imagined.

The English "hackbutters" force back another unit of Scots pike.

A melee breaks out in the streets...

...but the town is lost and Captain Peter Mewtys captures the Scots ships the Salamander and the Unicorn.

 This was our first "Rough Wooing" game set in the 1540s and it was a lot of fun, despite Stuart's victory! It was great to use the harbour with Stuart's superb buildings and the merchant carrack, all of which helped to set the scene really well. Whilst we have played one game set in Ireland in 1539, https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2022/08/belahoe-1539.html, this was our first step into the Tudor wars of the 1540s and it had a different feel to the games we have played set in the earlier Tudor period. Sources such as "The Late Expedition in Scotland made by the King's highness..."  are a great inspiration for skirmish games and the 1540s is really well documented. This is certainly a Tudor decade we will be returning to.

Linlithgow Bridge, 1526

Last weekend Stuart visited and once again we delved into the politics of 1520s Scotland with the struggle for control of the young King James V. We played a refight of the Battle of Linlithgow Bridge to complete a series of games we started in December. As such this post forms a second part to the games covered here: http://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2022/12/cleanse-causeway-edinburgh-1520.html.

Linlithgow Bridge, 1526

Following the failed attempt to rescue King James V from his step father, Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, at Melrose in July of 1526 , John Stewart, Earl of Lennox, left the Royal court for Stirling Castle. The following month at the head of 200 horsemen he attempted to rescue James from Edinburgh but the arrangements for the King's escape were discovered and the plot was foiled. With the failure of these two attempts Lennox decided his only option was to raise a much larger force in an attempt to free the King. The remaining borderers who had attempted to rescue James at Melrose continued to support Lennox whilst he rallied men from his own vassals and allies in the west. Support from James Beaton, the Chancellor, brought in lairds from Fife and Forfarshire. The Cunninghams, under the Earl of Glencairn, rallied to Lennox along with Lords Lindsay of Byres, Ross of Halkhead, Semple, Lyle and Avondale. Whilst the Earls of Cassillis and Argyll may have been favourable to Lennox's cause modern sources seem to differ on whether they provided any military support. Ken Edmond in his "The Minority of James V", argues Cassillis kept his support tacit having no charges pursued against him after the battle whilst Argyll was only mentioned by later sources as having been a Lennox supporter. 

Sources also differ on the numbers both Lennox and Angus were able to raise for the subsequent clash. Ken Edmond argues that the numbers were probably around 3,000 a side as Angus stated Lennox raised 3,000 men whilst he only took 300 to the field, although this is obvously a case of Angus playing down his own forces. Jonathan Cooper in "The Heart and the Rose, the Battle of Linlithgow Bridge" relies on the slightly later chroniclers, Pitscottie and Drummond, to suggest Lennox rallied between 9,000 to 12,000 men whilst Arran mustered around 2,000-3,000 and Angus, supported by the Homes and Kerrs, brought a further 2,000-3,000 to the field. Whatever the actual numbers it does seem that Lennox was able to raise a larger force with which he headed from Stirling towards Edinburgh.

On the 4th September 1526 as Lennox's forces marched towards Edinburgh, James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, now allied to Douglas despite their fierce clash in Edinburgh some 6 years before, fortified a bridge across the river Avon, a couple of miles from the town of Linlithgow. Arran's main force deployed on Pace Hill (apparently so named after "peace" was made there at the end of the battle) giving his troops a good view of the routes into the town. Jonathan Cooper's above mentioned book on the battle gives various theories on how events unfolded. It seems the most likely course of the battle, and the one Cooper includes in the Osprey volume on Scottish Renaissance Armies, is that seeing the route over the bridge being blocked by the Hamiltons, Lennox left a smaller force and some of his guns on the other side of the river before marching upstream to a ford at Manuel Convent. Here Lennox's men crossed the Avon and formed up into two battles, one being led by Lennox and the other by Cuthert Cunningham, Earl of Glencairn. The two earls led their respective divisions up hill against the Hamilton forces, their forces breaking when Angus arrived on the field supported by the warlike borderers the Kerrs and Homes.

Whilst Glencairn was wounded in the fighting Lennox was killed on the field under circumstances which fascinated later chroniclers. It seems that Lennox was either wounded and captured or was forced to surrender before possibly being murdered by Arran's son, Sir James Hamilton of Finnart. Hamilton of Finnart was one of the hot heads who had sparked the violence in Edinburgh during the "Cleanse the Causeway" affray. The tale of his murder of Lennox spread soon after the battle to such an extent that 5 years later when Matthew, son of the dead earl, and the Hamiltons, now under the 2nd Earl of Arran, made a contract of amity, in a bid to bury the hatchet between the families, Hamilton of Finnart was specifically required to deny that he had personally been responsible for the death of Lennox.

Although Angus had demonstrated that he could not be dislodged militarily from power the battle also taught the young King James V a valuable lesson. He realised he would have to make his own plans to escape from Angus and the Douglas.  Circumstance allowed this in 1528, with James managing to escape from Edinburgh and reach Stirling. Angus was slow in his attempt to recapture the King allowing James to rally support and force Angus into exile after a siege of the Douglas fortress of Tantallon.

A view of the battlefield from the Hamilton position. The bridge over the Avon is on the right whilst the Earl of Glencairn's troops with the Earl of Lennox and some of his men can be see at the top left.

James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, stands behind his guns and observes Lennox's army.

The Scenario

As always the game was played using our modified "Renaissance Rampant" rules. Each player was in control of two retinues. Lennox's army had retinues led by the earls of Lennox and Glencairn whilst the Douglas faction was led by the earls of Angus and Arran.

At the start of the game Arran's retinue was deployed in full at one end of the table with the bridge on its right flank with Glencairn's retinue and some of Lennox's opposing it at the other end. Most of the Lennox force was assumed to have already crossed the Avon at Manuel Convent.

At the start of the game the Lennox player wrote down which units from the Lennox retinue he wanted to enter from the other side of the bridge. At a minimum both of his guns had to arrive from this table edge but he could assign as much of the Lennox retinue as he wanted to enter at the bridge, apart from Lennox's own Foot Knight unit.

The river could only be crossed at the bridge and the hill tiles counted as difficult terrain for movement and combat.

Angus's Arrival

The Douglas player could roll to see if Angus arrived after the first hand to hand clash had taken place. On the turn after the first clash an 11+ on 2D6 would herald the arrival of Angus's retinue. The following turn a 10+ would mean Angus would arrive and the following turn a 9+ and so on.  Angus's retinue would enter via the left flank of Arran's deployment area up to the midway point of the table. As soon as the correct roll was made the Douglas player had to bring at least three units on, one of which had to be Angus's unit of foot knights.

Victory Conditions

The Victory Conditions in this game were simple. The Lennox army had to slay or rout Angus and Angus and the Douglas army had to slay or rout Lennox. As soon as one of these retinue leaders was slain or routed from the table the game would end.

Highlanders and borderers from Lennox's army advance over Linlithgow Bridge.

The Armies

The Lennox Faction

John Stewart, Earl of Lennox

1 Unit of Foot Knights (John Stewart, Earl of Lennox, retinue leader)

2 Units of Lowland Pike

1 Unit of Retinue Foot

2 Culverins

2 Units of Border Foot (Scotts and Elliotts)

1 Unit of Highlanders

1 Unit of Caterans

Cuthert Cunningham, Earl of Glencairn

1 Unit of Foot Knights (Cuthert Cunningham, Earl of Glencairn, retinue leader)

1 Unit of Foot Knights (John Lindsay, 5th Lord Lindsay)

1 Unit of Retinue Foot

2 Units of Lowland Pike

1 Unit of Scots Arquebusiers

The Douglas Faction

Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus

1 Unit of Foot Knights (Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, retinue leader)

1 Unit of Foot Knights (George Home, 4th Lord Home) 

2 Units of Lowland Pike

3 Units of Border Foot (Homes and Kerrs)

James Hamilton, Earl of Arran

1 Unit of Foot Knights (James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, retinue leader) 

1 Unit of Retinue Foot  (Sir James Hamilton of Finnart)

2 Units of Lowland Pike

1 Unit of Scots Arquebusiers

2 Culverins

1 Organ Gun to assign to 1 unit

We diced to see who took control of each army which resulted in Stuart taking control of the Douglas faction with me in command of Lennox and his supporters. A brief write up of the game follows and as ever the photos and captions are a good way to follow the action.

A view of the battlefield from above. The Hamilton force is in the top right with Lennox and Glencairn's troops advancing towards them in the centre right of the picture. The bridge can be seen in the top left with the highlanders and borderers advancing across it.

Scott and Elliott borderers, veterans from the clash a couple of months earlier at Melrose, and highlanders in support of Lennox surge up Pace Hill to attack the Earl of Arran's position.

The Hamilton guns open fire...

...and the highlanders flee back down the hill.

Sir James Hamilton of Finnart leads his retainers down Pace Hill and is slain in a fierce melee with the Scott borderers.

The day started with a surprise for Lennox and his captains. They discovered that the bridge over the River Avon had not been closely guarded by the Earl of Arran's men. Taking advantage of this Lennox sent his contingent of highlanders and the Scott and Elliott borderers across the bridge on Arran's right flank. Lennox also deployed his guns at the bridge, there was no time for them to be dragged upstream to the ford at Manuel Convent.

As Lennox's highlanders and borderers advanced up the banks of Pace Hill the Hamilton artillery opened fire. Unused to such terrifying engines of war and taking casualties from the guns the highlanders lost their nerve and temporarily fled back down the hillside. The Scotts and Elliotts continued to advance leading Arran's bastard son, and notorious hot head, Sir James Hamilton of Finnart to charge down the hill with his retainers. Hamilton of Finnart was slain in the melee that followed.

As the Lennox forces begin to surround the Hamiltons...

...Angus arrives with his Douglas forces, accompanied by the Homes and Kerrs.

Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, takes to the field with reinforcements for the beleaguered Hamiltons.

The Lennox forces push forward.

A view of the field. The Hamilton and Douglas forces are in the left hand corner with the army of Lennox and Glencairn attacking from the right hand side and the top of the photo.

The Cunninghams under the Earl of Glencairn advance into the fray.

The battle is in full swing!

There is heavy fighting at the crest of Pace Hill as the highlanders and Scott and Elliott borderers attack the Hamiltons and Douglas.

Reinforced by Angus's borderers Arran's men hold the attackers back.

Hamilton of Finnart may have been slain but his attack on the Lennox contingent crossing the bridge bought time for the rest of his father's force.  As Lennox's highlanders and borderers crested Pace Hill they were dismayed to see that Angus had arrived on the field with his supporters. Amongst the Douglas army were the Homes and Kerrs, borderers who had scores to settle with the Scotts and Elliotts, chief of these being the slaying of Andrew Kerr only a couple of months earlier at Melrose. The borderers of both sides engaged in a back and forth fight but the Scotts and Elliotts were slowly beaten back despite the supporting archery of the highland contingent who continued to shoot into the Douglas and Hamilton forces.

Whilst this fight was taking place the Earl of Glencairn, supported by Lord Lindsay, advanced with his pike blocks in an attempt to defeat the Hamilton pike before all of Angus's forces could arrive. Lennox was more cautious and held back with his "battle" seeming unwilling to commit himself to the fight when the outcome was far from certain. The Hamilton forces did not advance to meet Glencairn as they knew more reinforcements were on the way and that their guns would be more effective if Lennox's army was forced to advance into them.

Troops under the Earl of Glencairn and Lord Lindsay advance on the Hamilton and Douglas position.

John, 5th Lord Lindsay, leads the attack. His men are met by a hail of shot from the Hamilton artillery.

After some fierce fighting the highlanders and Scotts of Lennox's army have been unable to gain any ground.

Glencairn and Lindsay continue to lead the assault...

...whilst Lennox himself advances behind them with Lords Avondale and Crichton.

A view of the field showing the pike block fighting in the top left whilst to the right Douglas's border allies push back Lennox's highlanders and Scotts and Elliotts who crossed the bridge at the start of the battle.

John, 5th Lord Lindsay, enters into a melee with the Hamilton pikemen.

The heaviest fighting of the day now took place with the Earl of Glencairn and Lord Lindsay leading their men from the front in an attack on the Hamilton pike blocks. The Hamilton artillery pieces wrought havoc on the advancing pikemen and John, Lord Lindsay, was cut down in the confusion of the melee. Glencairn pressed the attack but as more of Angus's troops arrived on the field he too was slain.

Seeing Glencairn's men in difficulty John Stewart, Earl of Lennox, finally committed his remaining forces and entered the fray. For a while the outcome hung in the balance with pike blocks crashing into each other. The Earl of Arran was cut down by Lennox's retainers and the Earl of Angus pushed into the fight in an attempt kill Lennox. Angus's personal intervention backfired. He did find Lennox but was defeated in the fight between him and his bodyguards. The battle was over. Despite appalling losses, Lennox had won the day meaning James V would be free from Douglas control. 

Lord Lindsay is slain in the fighting...

...to be followed shortly by the Earl of Glencairn who is bested in a fight with Home and Kerr pikemen from the borders.

James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, chastises a prisoner as the fighting continues around him.

Lennox and Crichton's men prepare to engage with the Earl of Angus's men.

The "push of pike" between the rival forces.

Arran is cut down by Lennox retainers...

...before Lennox himself is defeated by Angus. It has been a fiercely contested battle with heavy casualties on both sides.

 This was a really hard fought and entertaining game. A great way to end our series of games set during James V's minority. Even though we didn't have any campaign style rules interconnecting the games, playing them in the correct order of "Cleanse the Causeway", the attack at Melrose and then the final battle at Linlithgow Bridge was a great way to build up the narrative. We tried to have the correct banners for the families who took part in the battle rather than lots of St Andrews saltires, This helped to create the right feel for this internecine clash. It was interesting to have two 16th century Scots armies facing each other on the table, with border and highland contingents present.

We stuck to the Scots theme and followed this tabletop clash with our latest 16th Century game to date, the assault on Leith in 1544 which I will cover in another post.