Battle of Dalrigh The Battle of Dalrigh , also known as the Battle of Dail Righ , Battle of Dalry or Battle of Strathfillan , was fought in the summer of 1306 between the army of King Robert I of Scotland against the Clan MacDougall of Argyll who were allies of Clan Comyn and the English . It took place at the hamlet of Dalrigh ( the " King ' s Field " in the Scottish Gaelic language ) near Tyndrum in Argyll , Scotland ( not to be confused with Dalry , Ayrshire ) . Bruce ' s army , reeling westwards after defeat by the English at the Battle of Methven , was intercepted and all but destroyed , with Bruce himself narrowly escaping capture . The battle took place sometime between late July and early August , but the exact date is unknown . The Macdougalls . By the late 13th century , the Clan MacDougall had emerged as the most powerful of the descendants of Somerled , a former king of the Hebrides . Alexander MacDougall , the head of the family , was related by marriage to King John I of Scotland and his nephew John Comyn . He attained high office when John was king , being appointed sheriff of Lorn in February 1293 . Alexander managed to extend his power still further at the expense of the Macdonalds of Islay and the Campbells of Loch Awe , whom he defeated in battle sometime in the mid - 1290s . The outbreak of the War of Independence in 1296 placed the MacDougalls on the side of the Scottish patriots . This changed in the most dramatic fashion in February 1306 , when Robert Bruce killed John Comyn . Soon after Bruce seized the crown , and the Macdougalls and other families with Balliol and Comyn associations became allies of the English . The King ' s Field . In June 1306 , Robert Bruce and his army were caught unprepared at the Battle of Methven , west of Perth , by Aymer de Valence , an English general acting for Edward I . What was left of his army retreated westwards , towards the mountains of Argyll . When they reached Strathfillan they found their path blocked at Tyndrum by a large force of Macdougalls , said to have numbered 1000 men , commanded by Alexander ' s son , John of Lorne , also known as John Bacach - ' the Lame . ' We do not know Valence ' s exact location at this time , but it is likely that his army was not far to the east in pursuit of his defeated enemy . Unable to retreat Bruce ' s little army was forced into battle in disadvantageous circumstances . The exact site of the battle is known in Gaelic as " Dail Righ " - the King ' s Field - though it is uncertain if this was the name at the time or added afterwards by the chroniclers . Locals have placed the battle at a number of local place - names ( Lasantulich , Dalchaisnie , Inverchaddan and names with Sasunnaich ) . The only sources we have for the Battle of Dalrigh are pro - Bruce , and tend at every turn to put a favourable interpretation upon the King ' s actions . John Barbour has him ' boldly waiting ' to engage John in battle , though ' his followers were all too few ' . However , Bruce ' s army had just been defeated and would have needed time to recoup ; so it is possible that the Macdougalls took him by surprise . Barbour provides some justification for such an interpretation , providing no description of preparations or dispositions - as he does elsewhere - , just an account of a quick and very close engagement . Bruce ' s remaining horses were killed by the Macdougall axemen , who also wounded many of his men , including Sir James Douglas and Gilbert Hay . Under considerable pressure Bruce did his best to disengage ; " They thereupon withdrew . In this " " There was no mark of cowardice . " " They kept together ; and the king " " Was ever busy rescuing " " The rearmost of his company . " " With skill and valour there wrought he " , " And safely all his men withdrew . " " He daunted those that would pursue " " So none durst leave their cloe array , " " For he was never far away " . Bruce was so heavily involved in action with the rearguard that he found himself at one point alone and under attack between a hill and the lochside , a pass so narrow that he could not turn his horse . For the king to be placed in such a position , seemingly unsupported , provides some further evidence of the weakness of the royal forces . The enemy was fought off and the army retreated to safety ; but not long after it ceased to exist as an organised military force . Flight . After Dalrigh Bruce , now styled dismissively as ' King Hob ' in English propaganda , was little better than a fugitive , closely pursued by his many enemies , both domestic and foreign . For a time his party took refuge in the mountains of Atholl . From here the king sent Queen Elizabeth , his daughter Marjorie Bruce , his sister , Mary , and Isabella MacDuff the Countess of Buchan to the relative safety of Kildrummy Castle , near the River Don in Aberdeenshire . With James Douglas and a few others he then escaped southwards into the territory of his friend Maol Choluim II , Earl of Lennox . From here he was helped to cross over to the Kintyre Peninsula by way of Bute , where he was aided by Angus Og of Islay , chief of the Macdonalds and a bitter enemy of the Macdougalls . Bruce was given temporary refuge in Dunaverty Castle , a location far too exposed and dangerous to remain in for long . He fled from here into a very uncertain future , not fully reappearing on the stage of history until the early spring of 1307 . The recovery of his cause from this point counts as one of the most remarkable episodes in the history of warfare . Two years after Dalrigh the Macdougalls were destroyed at the Battle of Pass of Brander .