Battle of Glen Trool The Battle of Glen Trool was a minor engagement in the Scottish Wars of Independence , fought in April 1307 . Glen Trool is a narrow glen in the Southern Uplands of Galloway , Scotland . Loch Trool is aligned on an East - West axis and is flanked on both sides by steep rising hills , making it ideal for an ambush . The battlefield is currently under research to be inventoried and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009 . Robert Bruce had been involved in the murder of John " the Red " Comyn , a leading rival , and one of the most powerful men in Scotland , the previous year 1306 . This led to a bitter civil war between the Bruce ' s faction and the Comyns and their allies , notably Edward I . Descent of a King . After his defeat at the Battle of Methven and subsequently at the Battle of Dalry in the summer of 1306 the recently crowned King Robert was little better than a fugitive , disappearing altogether from the historical record for a number of months . It wasn ' t until the spring of 1307 that he made a reappearance , landing in the south - west of Scotland with soldiers recruited , for the most part , from the Western Isles . It was an understandable move ; for he came ashore in his own earldom of Carrick , where he could expect to command a large degree of local support . Perhaps even more important the countryside itself was well known to Bruce , and there were plenty of remote and difficult areas to allow cover and protection for his band of guerillas . But it was also a move bold to the point of foolhardiness . The English border was not far distant ; many of the local castles were strongly held by Edward ' s forces ; and , perhaps most important of all , the Lordship of Galloway , the old Balliol patrimony , was adjacent to Carrick , and many of the local families were hostile to Bruce and his cause . When his brothers Thomas and Alexander attempted a landing on the shores of Loch Ryan , they met with disaster at the hands of Dungal MacDougall , the leading Balliol supporter in the area . Battle in the Glen . Against all the odds Bruce managed to establish a firm base in the area ; but it was vital that he made progress against the enemy if his cause was to attract the additional support that was so clearly needed . An early success came with a raid on an English camp on the eastern shores of the Clatteringshaws Loch . This would have brought in fresh blood ; it also alerted the enemy to his presence . Aymer de Valence , Bruce ' s old opponent at Methven , received intelligence that his enemy was encamped in at the head of Glen Trool . This was a difficult position to approach , for the Loch takes up much of the glen , and only a narrow track led directly to Bruce ' s camp . It was arguably best not to attempt anything too dramatic , but Valence sent a small raiding party ahead , perhaps hoping to catch the enemy offguard , in much the same fashion as Methven . Things were otherwise this time ; making effective use of the terrain , and the knights lack of mobility , Bruce drove them back with seemingly no loss - apart from some horses - but much humiliation . Bruce not only survived but went on the following month to win his first important engagement at the Battle of Loudon Hill . A Propaganda Victory ? Much of the information we have about the Battle of Glen Trool comes from the rhyming account of John Barbour . Barbour is an important source ; but it should also be remembered that " The Bruce " allows propaganda to walk hand - in - hand with history , hardly surprising for the time . Glen Trool is in many ways best seen as the first wave of the Bruce flag , subject to considerable later amplification and exaggeration . It only receives a passing mention in the English records of the time in reference to some horses lost " in the pursuit of Robert de Brus between Glentruyl and Glenheur , on the army ' s last day in Galloway . " It is not in any sense the first milestone on the road to Bannockburn ; and the rebel king was chased just as closely as before . It did , nevertheless , prove that Bruce had acquired an almost chameleon - like ability to change and adapt to circumstances , advancing and retreating as the occasion demanded . This is the true key to his genius as a soldier .