The forgotten resistance
Andrew Murray — not to be confused with the tennis player — was the son of Andrew Murray of Petty, who had fought alongside William Wallace at Stirling Bridge in 1297. The elder Murray was mortally wounded at Stirling Bridge, but his family's commitment to Scottish independence continued through the next generation.
The younger Andrew Murray emerged as one of the most effective leaders of the Scottish resistance in the 1330s, leading guerrilla campaigns against English forces in northern Scotland. While Robert the Bruce had secured Scotland's independence at Bannockburn in 1314, English attempts to reassert control continued. Murray's campaigns kept the flame of resistance alive in the Highlands during a turbulent period.
Murray served as Guardian of Scotland — regent of the kingdom during the minority of David II — and proved himself a skilled military commander. His strategy of avoiding pitched battles and instead harassing English forces through rapid raids and ambushes was perfectly suited to the Highland terrain. It was a style of warfare that Highland clans would continue to employ for centuries.
The Murray family's contribution to Scottish independence is often overlooked in favour of the more dramatic stories of Wallace and Bruce. But without the persistence of men like Andrew Murray — fighting in the hills when the grand battles had been won and lost — Scotland's independence might not have survived the turbulent decades that followed Bannockburn.