William Wallace and Scottish resistance
William Wallace led the resistance to English occupation winning the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. The following year Edward I’s army defeated the Scots at Falkirk. Wallace was executed in 1305.
The roles of William Wallace and Andrew Moray
Two major rebellions developed in early 1297 led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray.
Andrew Moray in the north-east of Scotland
Andrew Moray had been captured after fighting for King John at the Battle of Dunbar but had escaped only to find his family's lands in Avoch on the Black Isle under English control.
Andrw Moray led resistance against Edward's rule in the North. Moray led a guerilla campaign, capturing Urquhart, Inverness, Elgin, Duffus, Banff and Aberdeen Castles. By the middle of 1297 he had driven the English south of the River Tay.
He then moved south to Dundee, where he joined forces with William Wallace.
William Wallace in the South-west of Scotland
Wallace killed the English Sheriff of Lanark, in May 1297. He then attacked English soldiers and officials in central Scotland.
He was supported by important figures such as Bishop Wishart of Glasgow, the noble Sir William Douglas and Robert the Bruce. He probably avoided capture in the summer months by hiding in Selkirk Forest. Wallace met with Andrew Moray near Dundee.