September 10th, 1547 – The Battle of Pinkie

Conflict: Anglo-Scottish War

Combatants: English vs. Scottish

Location: England (UK)

Outcome: English victory

Thirty-four after the Scottish invasion of England and the Battle of Flodden, the Duke of Somerset (Edward Seymour) led an army of 16,000 Englishmen in an invasion of Scotland. The Scots, led by the Earl of Huntly (George Gordon) marched out to meet the English near the River Esk. Good use of cavalry, artillery, arquebusiers, and a nearby English fleet inflicted 5,000 casualties on the Scots. The English lost around 500 soldiers and occupied Edinburgh.

Lord Grey of Wilton's charge at Pinkie by R. S. Marriotts

Points of Interest:

• Do to internal squabbles in England, the Duke of Somerset did not seize on his victory at Pinkie to make further and Edinburgh was abandoned by the English three years later.

• England was prompted to invade in 1547 when the Scots objected to the marriage of their five-year-old Queen Mary to the English King, ten-year-old Edward VI.

Edward Seymour (1506–1552), 1st Duke of Somerset, 'Protector Somerset' by an unknown artist

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Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.