Battle of Kinghorn

Battle of Kinghorn
	Part of the Second War of Scottish Independence
Date	6 August 1332
Location	Wester Kinghorn (modern Burntisland)
Result	Rebel victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Scotland	Balliol supporters assisted by:; Kingdom of England
Commanders and leaders
Earl of Fife; Lord Liddesdale; Alexander Seton †	Edward Balliol; Henry de Beaumont
Strength
~4,000	1,500; • 500 men-at-arms; • 1,000 infantry
Casualties and losses
90, 900 or 1,000	Unknown, but few, if any

Wester Kinghorn

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The location of the battle within modern Fife

The Battle of Kinghorn was fought on 6 August 1332 at Wester Kinghorn (now Burntisland), Fife, Scotland. An invading seaborne force of 1,500 men was commanded by Edward Balliol and Henry Beaumont, Earl of Buchan. A Scottish army, possibly 4,000 strong, commanded by Duncan, Earl of Fife, and Robert Bruce, Lord of Liddesdale (an illegitimate son of King Robert the Bruce) was defeated with heavy loss. Balliol was the son of King John Balliol and was attempting to make good his claim to be the rightful king of Scotland. He hoped that many of the Scots would desert to him.

Balliol and Beaumont's forces were still disembarking from their ships when the Scots attacked them. The Scots pressed hard, but were beaten off by English longbowmen and some supporting infantry even before Balliol's men-at-arms could get ashore. The Scottish losses are disputed, but included several nobles. The invaders fought the main Scottish army five days later at the Battle of Dupplin Moor and inflicted a crushing defeat. Balliol was crowned king of Scotland on 24 September.