The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-23
TODAY IN HISTORY
Sir William Wallace Executed.
TUESDAY,, AUGUST %, 1910.

Sir William Wallace. the national hero
oil Scotland. is still SO vital and actual
personality today. more than six cen
turles after his execution, that 1t is a
snock 10 realize that all the authenticated
history We have OF him covers only the
Geeds leeds OF less than two years, Before
l-'is When he began to lead his country
men against Edward of England he
was an obscure outlaw. whose very birth
Gay can only be set at 1870 by vague
suessWork, his wanderlngs and doings
only Nouched for by the famous minstrel
Blind Harry, who, coming 200 years aft
er. had nothing but unfathered legend
10 depend on
After the defeat OF Wallace at Fall
Kirk. July %, l29S. he again vanishes IN
W NC great night OF eclipse0 heroes. and
nothing OF proved historical accuracy can
ne .old OF him until 1905. August % OF
that year is black letter day in the
Scottish calendar. Hauled exhausted into
london IN letters the day before, the
23rd saw him taken to Westminster hall
imPeached as traitor by Sir William
Mallorie, and executed Immediately un-
der circumstances Of cruelty which We're
age time.
,Wallace's defense against the charge
Oh treason was simple and unanswerable
aS EdWsrG ~ was ~ funnaTalinS traitor TO King
said. for never was his subject, never
swore fealty TO him"
Wallace is supposed to have been the
second son of Sir Malcolm Wallace, OF
Elderslie, in Renfrewshire No one knows
whether he received good education
The essentials for that age OF force he
possessed by tradition, great stature.
strength almost fabulous, and leonine
courage 1t Is probable that tradition
speaks truly, for, as has been said. no
man IN those time could have achieved
SUCH ascendancy without them"
In those times''-the distracted ones
Of the late thirteenth century when Scot
iand IAN raj, ran bllnd in her efforts 10 escape
n SIo
llsh youth named SeIby for insulting him,
coQid escape punishment by taking TO the
wilderness and raising a following OF
things. This Wallace did, His motives.
however, were sincerely patriotic, From
a Iorlorn band Of what today would be
1t included the best born families In Scot
land-the High Steward. Sir Andrew
Moray; Sir John NJ. Graham, Douglas
the Hardy. and even the Bishop of Glas-
gov.
Walace's men aroused Edward of Eng
land into action. particularly when they
burnt the Barns of Ayr, where English
Soldiery were quartcrcd.
When confronted at Irvine by a great
array OF EnSlishmen under Sir Henry
Percy and Sir Robert Clifford. the Scot
tish mobiles basely deserted Wallace and
swore allegiance TO Edward. Only Sir
Andrew Moray remained steadfast. But
Wallace depended on more stable stuff
than the ever-corruptible and insanely
jealous nodes from the nofIn lie gain
cred great yeoman force and with In
credible success in generalship had soon
recaptured almost all the fortresses which
the English had seized north OF the Forth.
One OF the brilliant episodes of this cam
patSn occurred September IL. 1897. The
English army, led by Cressingham and
Surrey, tried unsucccssfulIy to make
terms with him in his camp on the Abbey
Craig, in the neighborhood OF Stirling.
The bridge OF the Forth separated the
two armies.
But Wallace was not one 10 make
terms. Finding him unapproachable the
English began to cross the bridge TO at
tack him. While they were still "one
foot on sea and one on land" hampered
by the disorder incident to the charge.
he swept down in sudden savage at
tack. pursuing his advantage so valiantly
that nearly all the men on the bridge
including Cressingham, were wiped out
either killed or driven into the water.
while those who had not yet crossed fled
In fear, after setting fire to the bridge
His countrymen have raised monument
to the spot of Abbey Craig. where he
stood and watched the approaching foe.
Soon he possessed Scotland. and. uncon-
tented. invaded the north OF England with
such success that when he returned he
was made guardian of the kingdom. So