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The Battle of Craignaught Hill also known as the Battle of Boyd's Hill or the Battle of Boyd's Slack, was a Scottish clan battle fought on July 9, 1439.〔 It was fought between the Clan Boyd of Kilmarnock against the Stewart family of Darnely.〔 ==Background== In 1439 Alan Stewart of Darnley and Thomas Boyd, chief of the Clan Boyd were at feud.〔 At Polmaise Thorn, Thomas Boyd had attacked Alan Stewart and killed him.〔 Another account says that Polmaise Thorne was three miles from Falkirk and that the feud between Boyd and Stewart had at that time been in its third year.〔 Boyd then retraced his steps back to Ayrshire and prepared his house in Kilmarnock in anticipation of reprisal.〔 Alexander Stewart, brother of Alan, assembled his men at Darnley House and did not seek the aid of the civil authorities.〔 He divided his followers into three detachments, each consisting of about seventy men.〔 He instructed two of these detachments to enter the lands surrounding Boyd’s Dean Castle at different points and then to meet him the following night at Craignaught Hill.〔 Stewart and his detachment then went in a third route with the object of making the retaliation as wide spread as possible.〔 Sir Robert Boyd with one hundred of his men were waiting in Dean Castle, ready at a moment’s notice to ride out and give the Stewarts a stern welcome to Kilmarnock.〔 Boyd sent out a scout who returned only to report the one Stewart detachment that he had seen of about seventy men and that was led by Stewart of Darnley himself.〔 The Boyd’s thus expecting their enemy to be inferior in number were eager for the conflict.〔 Boyd said goodbye to his wife and he and his men left the castle for battle.〔 In the meantime Stewart of Darnley and his men had settled down for the night at Craignaught Hill with their captured cattle and sheep.〔 As Boyd’s men approached the Stewart's camp, Darnley sent out a scout who reported back that the Boyds were one hundred strong.〔 Darnley apparently “rubbed his hands gleefully together” and instructed his other two detachments to retire on either flank at a distance of about four hundred yards.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Craignaught Hill」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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