English defeated at Mitton
Whilst thus occupied, some large stacks of hay were set on fire by the enemy,and, under cover of a dense mass of smoke, a strong column of men threw themselves between the English army and the bridge. As the smoke cleared away, they found themselves attacked with great fury both in front and rear, by the fatal long spear of the Scottish infantry; and the army of the archbishop was in a few moments entirely broken and dispersed.f In an incredibly short time, four thousand were slain, and amongst these many priests, whose white surplices covered their armour. Great multitudes were drowned in attempting to recross the river, and it seems to have been fortunate for the English that the battle was fought in the evening, and that a September night soon closed upon the field; for had it been a morning attack, it is probable that Randolph and Douglas would have put the whole army to the sword. Three hundred ecclesiastics fell in this battle; from which circumstance, and in allusion to the prelates who led the troops, it was denominated, in the rude pleasantry of the times, " The Chapter of Mitton." "When the news of the disaster reached the camp before Berwick, the troops began to murmur, and the Earl of Lancaster soon after, in a fit of disgust, deserted the leaguer with his whole followers, composing nearly a third part of the army.Edward immediately raised the siege, and made a spirited effort to intercept Douglas and Randolph on their return, and compel them to fight at a disadvantage; but he had to deal with veteran soldiers, whose secret information was accurate, and who were intimately acquainted with the Border passes. While he attempted to intercept them by one road, they had already taken another, and leaving their route to be traced, as their advance had been, by the flames and smoke of villages and hamlets, they returned, without experiencing a check, into Scotland, loaded with booty, and confirmed in their feeling of military superiority. It may give some.idea of the far-spreading devastation occasioned by this and similar inroads of the Scottish army, when it is stated, that in an authentic document in the Foedera Angliae, it appears that eighty-four towns and villages were burnt and pillaged by the army of Randolph and Douglas in this expedition. These, on account of the great losses sustained, are, by a royal letter addressed to the tax-gatherers of the West Riding of Yorkshire, exempted from all contribution ;and in this list the private castles and hamlets which were destroyed in the same fiery inroad, do not appear to be included.
Bruce could not fail to be particularly gratified by these successes. Berwick, not only the richest commercial town in England, but of extreme importance as a key to that country, remained in his hands, after a siege directed by the King of England in person; and the young warrior, who had so bravely repulsed the enemy, was the Steward of Scotland, the husband of his only daughter, on whom the hopes and wishes of the nation mainly rested. The defeat upon the Swale was equally destructive and decisive, and it was followed up by another expedition of the restless and indefatigable Douglas, who, about All-Hallow tide of the same year, when the northern Borders had gathered in their harvest, broke into and burnt Gillsland and the surrounding country, ravaged Boroughon-Stanmore, and came sweeping home through Westmoreland and Cumberland, driving his cattle and his prisoners before him, and cruelly adding to the miseries of the recent famine, by a total destruction of the agricultural produce, which had been laid up for the winter.
It was a part of the character of Bruce, which marked his great abilities, that he knew as well when to make peace as to pursue war; and that, after any success, he could select the moment best fitted for permanently securing to his kingdom the advantages, which, had he reduced his enemy to extremity, might have eluded his grasp.