Atlas of Battles

battle, major, medieval

Battle of Dunbar

Battle of Dunbar was a battle fought on 27 April 1296 at Dunbar, in what is now United Kingdom. It was part of First War of Scottish Independence, which ran from 1296 to 1328. The recorded result: English victory. Recorded strength: Hundreds of cavalry, Heavily outnumbering the English against Hundreds of cavalry, Fewer than the Scottish.

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Battle of Dunbar
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought27 April 1296
WhereDunbar, United Kingdom55.977N, 2.521W
OutcomeEnglish victory
BelligerentsKingdom of ScotlandagainstKingdom of England
Battlefield todayBattle of Dunbar I battlefieldHistoric Environment Scotland entry BTL31, 1,108 ha
Part ofFirst War of Scottish Independence1296 to 1328

Where it sits in First War of Scottish Independence

Capture of Berwick, 1296Battle of Dunbar, 1296Action at Lanark, 1297Siege of Stirling Castle, 1304Battle of Turnberry, 1307Battle of Loch Ryan, 1307Battle of Glen Trool, 1307Battle of Loudoun Hill, 1307Battle of the River Dee, 1308Siege of Carlisle, 1315Battle of Connor, 1315Battle of Moiry Pass, 1315Battle of Kells, 1315Battle of Skaithmuir, 1316Battle of Skerries, 1316Second Battle of Athenry, 1316Capture of Berwick, 1318Battle of Dysert O'Dea, 1318Battle of Faughart, 1318Battle of Myton, 1319Battle of Old Byland, 1322Battle of Stanhope Park, 132712961327Battle of Dunbar, 1296
22 placed engagements of First War of Scottish Independence in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date27 April 1296
PlaceDunbar, United Kingdom
55.977N, 2.521W
KindBattle, medieval
StrengthHundreds of cavalry, Heavily outnumbering the EnglishHundreds of cavalry, Fewer than the Scottish
Commanders
  • John Balliol
Battle of DunbarBattle of DunbarBattle of DunbarBattle of Dunbar5 km55.977N, 2.521W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. The dashed outline is the registered battlefield area (Historic Environment Scotland). Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Dunbar
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Dunbar today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-04-03. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 58 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -20 to 343 m, 364 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 49% cropland, 25% grassland, 16% tree cover.

cropland: 49%grassland: 25%tree cover: 16%built-up: 6%water: 3%cropland 49%grassland 25%tree cover 16%built-up 6%water 3%
west to east, 10.0 km10 to 71 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 249 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1296

Historic Environment Scotland registers this as the Battle of Dunbar I battlefield (entry BTL31), 1,108 hectares, under the Open Government Licence.

Battle of Dunbar is one of 590 engagements of the 13th century in the atlas and one of 695 in present-day United Kingdom.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1509663, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Dunbar (1296), revision 1384072173, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Battlefield boundary and area from Historic Environment Scotland (Open Government Licence). Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.