May 13th 1568 saw the Battle of Langside.The Battle of Langside was fought between the forces of Mar

May 13th 1568 saw the Battle of Langside.

The Battle of Langside was fought between the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots and those of her half brother, Regent Moray. 

Moray was based in Glasgow while Mary had come from Hamilton via the southern bank of the River Clyde. Moray managed to position his troops on Langside Hill, while Mary`s troops were on the lesser Clincart Hill (now the site of Langside College),½ mile to the east. Mary herself watched from Cathcart Hill at a place now known as Court Knowe. 

After an unsuccessful cavalry charge, Mary`s foot soldiers approached Langside Hill up what is now Battlefield Road, but they were met by gunfire as well as other forces coming down from the site of Pathhead Farm. Between these two wings of Moray`s forces, archers and then the cavalry attacked the oncoming army. One hundred of Mary`s men were killed and her army fled; it’s written that the battle had only taken three quarters of an hour.

An estimated 300 were killed on Mary’s side, while only a handful of fatalities were recorded by her opponents.

After the battle, Mary fled south, spending her final night in her homeland at Dundrennan Abbey, near Kirkcudbright - commemorated by Dundrennan Road in Battlefield - before crossing over to England, more of that to come in the next few days………

The battle wasn’t the biggest in the history of our country, but its impact was massive - who knows, if Mary had broken through Langside and reached Dumbarton the history of our country could have been very different.

The painting is actually an embroidered picture illustrating ‘Mary Queen of Scots mourning the dying Douglas titled “ The Dying Douglas at the Battle of Langside” the embroidery measures 110 x 154.3 cm and is based on a painting by  Charles Landseer

 The last pic is the monument to the battle.