page_title: Clan Armstrong
section_title: 15th, 16th and 17th centuries
hierarchical_section_title: Clan Armstrong / History / 15th, 16th and 17th centuries
context_page_description: Clan Armstrong is a Lowland Scottish clan of the Scottish Borders. The clan does not currently have a chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms and therefore it is considered an Armigerous clan.
context_section_description: In around 1425 John Armstrong, brother of Armstrong of Mangerton in Liddesdale built a strong tower. The Armstrongs were able to raise three thousand horsemen and were said to be at one point in control of the debatable lands. In 1528, Lord Dacre, who was the English Warden of the Marches, attacked the Armstrongs' tower but the Armstrongs retaliated and burned Netherby. The power of the Armstrongs was seen by James V of Scotland as a threat to his own authority. According to tradition, James tricked John Armstrong of Gilnockie to a meeting at Hawick where the king hanged the Armstrong laird without further ado. King James continued his treatment of the Armstrongs when they failed to support him in 1542 at the Battle of Solway Moss.
  In 1603 the Union of the Crowns brought an official end to the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the Borders. In 1610 the last of the Armstrong lairds was hanged in Edinburgh for leading a raid on Penrith, England. This was followed by a ruthless campaign by the Crown to pacify the Borders. As a result, families were scattered with many of them seeking new homes in Ulster, particularly in County Fermanagh. Armstrong is now amongst the fifty most common names in Ulster. There has been no trace of the Armstrong chiefs since the clan was dispersed in the 17th century.
caption: Armstrong tartan
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