| This is the 3rd part of an article from Rodney
Dalton, USA
Next we have Sir Richard de Dalton II, the son of the
first Richard who was born about 1230. He had three sons who were also
Knights; Sir Henry de Dalton, who was Sheriff of Lancaster in 1318, Sir
Robert de Dalton, our direct line and Sir John de Dalton, as per Flowers
Visitation of Yorkshire, who was the founder of the Kirby Misperton, Yorkshire
Dalton line.
Henry III was King of England from about 1226 to 1272.
Our Sir Richard de Dalton and his brothers were probably involved in some
of the rebellions of these times. In the history books you will read about
the nobility who wished to bind the king to the same feudal laws under
which they were held. The emerging class of free men also demanded the
same protection from the king's excessive control. Barons, nobility, and
free men began viewing England as a community rather than a mere aggregation
of independent manors, villages and outlying principalities. Matters came
to a head in 1258 when Henry levied extortionate taxes to pay for debts
incurred through war with Wales, failed campaigns in France resulting
in the outbreak of civil war in 1264. Edward, Henry's eldest son, led
the king's forces with the opposition commanded by Simon de Montfort,
Henry's brother-in-law. At the Battle of Lewes, in Sussex, de Montfort
defeated Edward and captured both king and son - and found himself in
control of the government.
Was our Sir Richard de Dalton supporting King Henry III
or was he one of the rebel Knights who sided with Simon de Monfort? Again
we can never know until some record turns up to tell us.
Before we go further in time, let’s tell about
the battles that were fought between the English and the Scottish people
in which our Dalton Knights must have been involved with, only because
of their location in Dalton and Bispham in Lancashire and in Yorkshire,
south of the Scottish border. The Daltons were Sir Richard de Dalton II,
born in 1230 and his son, Sir Robert de Dalton, born in 1270 and his sons,
named above, were the knights who probably fought in the English and Scottish
wars in the late 1200's and early 1300's.
The three English Kings at this time were the Edward's;
Edward I and his son, Edward II, and his son Edward III.
The First War began with the English invasion of Scotland
in 1296, called the First War of Scottish Independence and can be loosely
divided into four parts. The initial English invasion and success in 1296;
the campaigns led by William Wallace, Andrew de Moray and various Scottish
Guardians from 1297 until John Comyn negotiated for the general Scottish
submission in February 1304; the renewed campaigns led by Robert the Bruce
between his coronation in 1306 and the Scottish victory at Bannockburn
in 1314; and a final phase of Scottish diplomatic initiatives and military
campaigns in Scotland, Ireland and Northern England from 1314 until the
Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in 1328.
Some battles between these two countries include the
following:
Battle of Dunbar Date - 1296 - Setting - Dunbar, Scotland.
Combatants - Guardians of Scotland .vs. King Edward I of England (Longshanks).
King John Balliol was placed on the throne in 1292. He
was a weak King, but he was a King nonetheless, something Scotland hadn't
had since 1286. Edward I of England, having already conquered Wales, set
his eyes on Scotland. In 1296, he marched North with an army of 30,000
infantry and 5000 cavalry. He invaded Scotland. He first arrived at Berwick,
Scotland's main trading town. He sacked the town, mercilessly killing
practically the whole town's population. He then marched to Dunbar and
defeated a Scots army sent to meet him. Scotland was now in Edward's hands.
He marched to Scone and removed the famous 'Stone of Destiny' to Westminster
Abbey.
The war began in earnest with Edward I's sacking of Berwick
in March 1296, followed by the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Dunbar
and the abdication of John Balliol in July. The English invasion campaign
had subdued most of the country by August and, after removing the Stone
of Destiny from Scone Abbey and transporting it to Westminster Abbey,
Edward convened a parliament at Berwick, where the Scottish nobles paid
homage to him as King of England. Scotland had been all but conquered.
The revolts which again broke out in early 1297, were
led by William Wallace, Andrew de Moray and other Scottish nobles, forced
Edward to send more forces to deal with the Scots, and although they managed
to force the nobles to capitulate at Irvine, Wallace and de Moray's continuing
campaigns eventually led to the first key Scottish victory, at Stirling
Bridge on 11th September 1297. This was followed by Scottish raids into
Northern England and the appointment of Wallace as Guardian of Scotland
in March 1298. In July, Edward invaded again, intending to crush Wallace
and his followers, and defeated the Scots at Falkirk. Edward I failed
to subdue Scotland completely before returning to England.
Battle of Falkirk Date - 1298 - Setting - Falkirk, Scotland.
Combatants - Sir William Wallace (Guardian of Scotland) .vs. King Edward
I of England.
After Wallace's victory at Stirling, he was knighted
and given the title 'Guardian of Scotland'. Edward I, on the other hand,
was in Flanders, hoping to secure new land for the English crown. On hearing
of the defeat of his entire northern army, he headed home. He then marched
north with 87,500 troops. Wallace could only muster about one third of
that. When Edward arrived in Kirkliston, he considered retreating after
he saw the Lothians had become a desert. However, two Scottish knights
sent a message to him, betraying Wallace's whereabouts. The following
day, Edward's army rode to Falkirk where they attacked the Scots. The
Scottish knights also betrayed Wallace, turning and riding from the field
at the vital moment. Like most of the Scottish nobles, they would rather
have fought for the English where they believed chivalry was best served.
The Scots army suffered severe slaughter. The retreating body of Wallace's
men were too small to hold Stirling and had to pass it by. There was little
gain in Edward's victory, but he had defeated Wallace. On the banks of
the River Forth, Wallace sadly renounced his guardianship. He was now
an outlaw again.
Battle of Loudon Hill Date - 1307 - Setting - Loudon,
Scotland. Combatants - King Robert the Bruce .vs. King Edward I of England.
After Wallace's execution in 1305, there was little hope
for Scotland. Edward was making the final plans to merge Scotland into
England. Edward was an old man though and would not last much longer.
In 1306, something happened that tore the very heart out of Edwards plans.
On the 27th March, 1306 Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick, and claimant
to the throne of Scotland, crowned himself at Scone. As you can imagine,
Edward I was outraged and immediately headed north to topple King Robert.
At Loudon Hill, King Robert met his first defeat. He was now an outlaw,
forced to seek shelter wherever he could. Hardly befitting for a King.
Scotland would have been finished then and there if it wasn't for the
greatest stroke of luck ever to happen to Scotland. On 7th July 1307,
Edward marched north for the last time, his aim to seek out Robert the
Bruce. Thankfully, as he was just about to cross the border, he collapsed
and died. Edward was replaced by his much weaker son (Edward II) who had
no interest whatsoever of continuing the campaign in Scotland. The army
returned home, and King Robert came out of hiding.
Bannockburn (23-24th June 1314) - The Scots under King
Robert the Bruce win an essential battle against the English.
Halidon Hill - (1333) Edward III of England defeated
the Scots.
There was then relative peace for awhile, however, at
this time in history the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War with France
in 1337 started, and Edward III left Scotland alone.
The Scots continued to attack England. David II invaded
England in 1346, but at the Battle of Neville's Cross he was defeated
and captured, and was imprisoned for 11 years. In 1513 James IV of Scotland,
who had declared himself an active ally of France against England, led
an army of 30,000 into Northern England, but he was defeated and killed
at the Battle of Flodden, in Northumberland. The Battle of Flodden marked
the end of Scottish attempts to defeat England.
And so these were some of the Scottish battles our Dalton
knights may have fought with their Kings of England.
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