Battle of Corrichie The Battle of Corrichie , also known as the Battle of Corrichy was a Scottish clan battle fought near Meikle Tap , near Aberdeen , on 28 October 1562 . It was fought between the forces of George Gordon , 4th Earl of Huntly , chief of Clan Gordon against the forces of Mary , Queen of Scots under James Stewart , 1st Earl of Moray . George Gordon had defeated the English twenty years earlier at the Battle of Haddon Rig , however at Corrichie he was defeated by Queen Mary ' s forces , and apparently he died of apoplexy after his capture . Mary had come in person to the north of Scotland intent on confronting the power of the Gordons . At Corrichie , the Gordon ' s tactic of charging with swords was defeated by Moray ' s pike drill . Context . George Buchanan described the events of 1562 in his " History of Scotland " . The Earl of Huntly had lost the earldoms of Moray and Mar , which he considered his heritage , and became an enemy of the new Earl of Moray , the half - brother of Mary , Queen of Scots . Mary and Moray arrived at Aberdeen in mid August , and met the Earl of Huntly and Countess . A stumbling block in their discussions was the case of their son , John Gordon . Mary wished that he be imprisoned in Stirling Castle . ( It had previously been suggested that John might marry Mary , but only in order to manipulate his father . ) Mary and Huntly journeyed together towards Huntly Castle but the Queen , impatient at Huntly ' s refusal to hand over his son turned back . The English diplomat Thomas Randolph wrote that Mary came within four miles of Huntly Castle , but would not go there . Randolph accepted an invitation and stayed two nights , commenting that the house was " fayer , beste furnishede of anye howse that I have seen in thys countrie . " Mary and her court then travelled to Inverness Castle , but the Gordon Captain refused to give the royal castle to the Queen ' s representative . At this time the Clan Chattan deserted Huntly and joined the Queen , and others of what Buchanan calls the " ancient Scots " meaning the Gàidhealtachd came to her aid , with the Frasers and Munros . They easily took Inverness Castle on 9 September , and the Gordon garrison was executed ( or at least , the Captain ) . Mary and her court returned to Aberdeen . Huntly tried to get intelligence of the Queen ' s intentions via his cousin the Earl of Sutherland , but Sutherland ' s correspondence was discovered and he was forced to flee . Huntly was now close to Aberdeen at Corrichie . The English diplomat Thomas Randolph , who accompanied Queen Mary to Aberdeen , described the battle in letters to William Cecil . These letters add more detail . Randolph says that Huntly had a royal cannon at Huntly Castle ( then called Strathbogie ) , which he had been given by Regent Arran . Mary demanded its return with short notice . Her men went to Huntly Castle on 9 October and attempted to capture the Earl , but he escaped over a low wall at the back gate . The Countess of Huntly stayed at Strathbogie and the Earl went to his house at Badenoch , the site of Ruthven Barracks , and was declared a rebel on 17 October . John Knox mentions another incident which angered the Queen ; Mary had sent Captain Stewart with 60 men to seize Findlater Castle . They were surprised in the night at Cullen by Huntly ' s son John Gordon and sustained a number of casualties . Corrichie , hill , and marsh . According to Thomas Randolph , Huntly marched towards Aberdeen with 700 men , and was said to have intended to capture the Queen . Two thousand men lead by the Earls of Moray , Atholl and Morton encircled his encampment on 28 October 1562 . The Gordons , now numbering 500 , had camped on a hill ( said Randolph ) , where the cavalry could not reach them , but arquebus shot drove them down to marshy ground where they were cornered . The Queen ' s army attacked , and at first her vanguard lost their nerve and threw away their spears . The Earl of Moray forced them to fight . Randolph wrote the battle ended " incontinent " meaning it was over straight away . About 120 Gordons were killed and about 100 captured . Randolph wrote that none of the Queen ' s army were killed but many were hurt and many horses were killed . The Earl of Huntly was mounted on a horse to be taken to Aberdeen as a captive and before leaving the battlefield suddenly and soundlessly died . George Buchanan says that Huntly waited for Moray ' s army in " a place surrounded by marshes , " and " fortified by nature . " Moray gained a small hill as a vantage point that overlooked Huntly ' s position . Buchanan wrote that Moray ' s vanguard broke because of the many ' traitors , ' who would not fight against Huntly and fixed heather on their bonnets . He continues that the Gordons threw away their spears expecting to use their swords in a pursuit . Moray and his second line stayed firm with extended pikes , despite the retreating vanguard who where forced to go around the pike line on either side . Moray ' s pikemen won the day because of the length of their pikes , Huntly ' s men being unable to approach . John Knox in his " History of the Reformation " gave further details . The Earl of Huntly got up late on the morning of the battle which did not help morale . Knox gives him some speeches , making the observation that Moray ' s vanguard was composed of his friends , and the small company on the hill side ( Moray ' s pike men ) were to be feared . Huntly ' s position was Corrichie Burn or the Fara Bank , meaning a slope amidst the Hills o ' Fare . After the vanguard broke , Knox credits the resolution of the second line to John Wishart of Pitarro , the Master of Lindsay , and the Tutor of Pitcur who marched forward with their " spears " through the retreating vanguard . Knox attributes a speech to the Queen ' s secretary William Maitland of Lethington who prayed for victory . The Latin account . Buchanan ' s original Latin description of this pike drill may be of interest , and is quoted below from the " Rerum Scoticarum Historia " , book 17 , chapter 40 or 29 ( 1582 ) , with translations of the key sentences . " Eo cum ventum esset , Moravius in clivio propinquo unde prospectus in paludes erat cum suis simplice ordine acie instructa stetit . reliqui statim inter ducendum adversus hostem aperte proditionis signum dederunt , quod ramos ericae ( cuius magna in illis locis copia erat ) ut ab hostibus agnoscerentur tegumentis capitum affixerunt . Ubi propius ventum est , Huntilaeani securi de exitu gradu ad eos accelerant et cum adversam aciem a proditoribus turbatam viderent , et iam in fugam conversam , ut expeditius sequerentur sarissas abiiciunt et strictis ensibus ad terrorem integrorum proditionem ingeminantes in hostem magno gradu feruntur . " < br > When Moray approached , the Gordons , sure of success , rushed towards them , and seeing the vanguard disordered by the traitors and put the flight , that they might more nimbly pursue them , they cast away their lances ( sarissa ) , and with their drawn swords ( ensis ) , to terrify those ranks that stood , they made repeated cries of " treason , " and violently rushed at their enemy . " Proditores eodem illo impetu etiam stantem una se rati in fugam aversuros ad eam accelerabant . Sed Moravius , qui nullam in fuga spem videret , neque quicquam prater honestae mortis decus restare crederet , exclamavit " ut sarissas sui prae se tenderent nec in aciem suam fugientes reciperent . " < br > But Murray , who saw no hope in flight , and believing nothing remained but to die an honest death , shouted the order to hold out their pikes and not to let those that were running away ( from the broken vanguard ) to come in amongst them . " Illi praeter opinionem exclusi cornua utrinque confusis ordinibus praeteriunt . Huntilaeani vero , qui iam profligatam rem putarant , cum aciem quidem parvam sed praetentis hastilibus horrentem cernerent , se , ut qui sparsi ac sine ordine sese inferabant , nec propter hastarum longitudinem ex adverso ad manus venire poterant , repentino terrore perculsi non paulo celerius fugiunt quam antea sequebantur . " < br > ( The excluded vanguard passed by . ) Huntley ' s men now thought the matter ended and the victory sure , when they saw the line , though but small in number , standing in a terrible manner with their pikes ( hastile ) forward . Huntly ' s men , who were advancing in disarray , and could not come to hand strokes because of the length of these pikes , were struck with a sudden terror , and fled with no smaller speed than their previous pursuit . " Eam fortunae mutationem proditores conspicati iam fugientibus instant , ac ut se a priore culpa purgarent qiucquid fuit caedis eo die ipsi ediderunt . Caesi ex Huntilaeanis circiter 120 , capti 100 . Ex altera acie nemo . " Aftermath . After the battle , Huntly ' s eldest son Sir John Gordon was taken to Aberdeen and executed three days later . A younger brother Adam Gordon of Auchindoun , also captured at Corrichie , was spared . The Earls body was preserved and taken to Edinburgh for trial . Huntly ' s cousin John Gordon , 12th Earl of Sutherland fled to Louvain in Flanders . At the Parliament of Scotland on 28 May 1563 , in the presence of Queen Mary , Huntly , Sutherland , and as John Knox noted eleven other Earls and Barons of the name Gordon were forfeited . In 1565 Queen Mary of Scotland restored the Earls of Huntly , Sutherland and others of the name Gordon who had been forfeited . The Earl of Sutherland was invited to return to Scotland . The Earl of Bedford , Governor of Berwick on Tweed sent a privateer called Wilson who carried Swedish letters of marque to intercept his ship , and the Earl was imprisoned at Berwick . Sutherland was considered a danger to English policy in Scotland . Mary , Queen of Scots , demanded the release of the Earl , who was now sick with an ague . Bedford wrote to Elizabeth on his behalf . The Earl was released in February 1566 after the assurance that he was reconciled with the Earl of Moray . On his return he married Marie Seton , daughter of Lord Seton . Both were poisoned at Helmsdale Castle by Isobel Sinclair , and died at Dunrobin Castle on 23 June 1567 .