The capture of Roxburgh was a siege that took place during the

Anglo-Scottish Wars The Anglo-Scottish Wars comprise the various battles which continued to be fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland from the time of the Wars of Independence in the early 14th century through to the latter years of the ...

James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his father. ...

had started a campaign to recapture

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at leas ...

and Berwick from the English, while the rulers of England were occupied with the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

. King James would die during the siege being blown up by a cannon.

Background

Following the

Wars of Scottish Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of ...

a century earlier,

was one of the last castles in Scotland still to be held by the English. By 1460, England was in the middle of civil war, the

, and it would seem that both sides had requested the aid of King James in this struggle, with James intending to use the opportunity to take back both Roxburgh and Berwick for Scotland. Prior to the attack on Roxburgh, the English had believed that Berwick was the target, and were thus outmaneuvered.

Siege

King James and his army first arrived at Roxburgh in July, first taking and demolishing the English dominated town. When the castle refused to surrender, James began the siege. On the 3rd August the James was standing close to one of his cannons when he ordered it to be fired. The cannon exploded, mortally wounding him. Following his death, James' queen,

Mary of Guelders Mary of Guelders (; c. 1434/1435 – 1 December 1463) was Queen of Scotland by marriage to King James II of Scotland. She ruled as regent of Scotland from 1460 to 1463. Background She was the daughter of Arnold, Duke of Guelders, and Cath ...

, ordered the army to continue the siege. The castle would surrender on the 5th August, with the defenders allowed to depart and no prisoners being taken.

Aftermath

Roxburgh Castle overlooking the River Teviot - geograph

Following the siege the castle was destroyed (

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative or social structures. This destruction of property sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It is ...

) so it could not be used by the English again. With the death of the King, Mary of Guelders and Bishop James Kennedy ruled as regents until

James III of Scotland James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburgh C ...

was old enough to rule. During this time, Mary would prove an able diplomat, gaining Berwick in return for supplying aid to the Lancastrians.

References

{{reflist 1460 in England 1460 in Scotland

Roxburgh 15th-century military history of Scotland