Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, medieval

Battle of Stirling Bridge

Battle of Stirling Bridge was a battle fought on 11 September 1297 at Stirling, in what is now United Kingdom. It was part of the Wars of Scottish Independence, which ran from 1296 to 1357. The recorded result: Scottish victory. Recorded strength: 5,300 to 6,300 men; ~300 cavalry; ~5,000 to 6,000 infantry against 9,000 men; ~2,000 cavalry; ~7,000 infantry.

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Stirling Bridge. (Stirling, Scotland). Photo taken by Davidmeisner
Stirling Bridge. (Stirling, Scotland). Photo taken by Davidmeisner. Davidmeisner at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought11 September 1297
WhereStirling, United Kingdom56.130N, 3.935W
OutcomeScottish victory
BelligerentsScotlandagainstEngland
Casualties and lossesUnknownand5,000–6,000 killed
Battlefield todayBattle of Stirling Bridge battlefieldHistoric Environment Scotland entry BTL28, 254 ha
Part ofWars of Scottish Independence1296 to 1357

Where it sits in the Wars of Scottish Independence

Battle of Stirling Bridge, 1297Battle of Falkirk, 1298Battle of Roslin, 1303Action at Happrew, 1304Battle of Dalrigh, 1306Battle of Methven, 1306Battle of Slioch, 1307Battle of the Pass of Brander, 1308Battle of Inverurie, 1308Siege of Roxburgh Castle, 1314Battle of Bannockburn, 1314Battle of Annan, 1332Battle of Halidon Hill, 1333Battle of Culblean, 133512971335Battle of Stirling Bridge, 1297
14 placed engagements of the Wars of Scottish Independence in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date11 September 1297
PlaceStirling, United Kingdom
56.130N, 3.935W
KindBattle, medieval
Strength5,300 to 6,300 men; ~300 cavalry; ~5,000 to 6,000 infantry9,000 men; ~2,000 cavalry; ~7,000 infantry
Casualties and lossesUnknown5,000–6,000 killed
Commanders
  • William Wallace
  • Andrew de Moray
Battle of Stirling BridgeBattle of Stirling BridgeSiege of Stirling CastleBattle of StirlingSiege of Stirling CastleSiege of Stirling Castle5 km56.130N, 3.935W
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 Stirling Bridge
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 Stirling Bridge today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-05-30. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 7 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -1 to 416 m, 416 m of relief, steep country and today it is 43% grassland, 24% tree cover, 19% built-up.

grassland: 43%tree cover: 24%built-up: 19%cropland: 10%water: 4%grassland 43%tree cover 24%built-up 19%cropland 10%water 4%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 68 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 161 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

Contested ground: this site was fought over 6 times between 1297 and 1746.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1297

Historic Environment Scotland registers this as the Battle of Stirling Bridge battlefield (entry BTL28), 254 hectares, under the Open Government Licence.

Battle of Stirling Bridge 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 Q499626, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Stirling Bridge, revision 1382462168, 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.