Edward I crushes Wallace at Falkirk

July 22, 1298

The English king, having returned from Flanders, hunted down the Scottish army and broke its schiltron formations with longbowmen. Wallace escaped but lost his credibility as a field commander. The war for Scottish independence would continue without him for another decade. The battle demonstrated the devastating effectiveness of the English longbow against massed infantry, a lesson that would be perfected at Crecy and Agincourt.