possibly the sister of Sir Peter, making the two barons brothers.in-law and the six Fleming sons with half Houstoun blood in their veins.

Soon the forces of Houstoun and Barochan linked up with other Renfrewshire neighbors and eventually joined with contingents of most of the nobility and gentry of Scotland. King James IV was assembling a great army for an invasion of England. James was a popular king and his subjects rallied readily to his call. King Henry VIII of England had gone to war with France. So King James, honoring his alliance with the French King, launched the attack on England.

After raiding a few castles in northern England, wasting valuable time, the Scottish army met the English near Flodden Hill. It was a desperate battle to the death, each side having taken positions from which there was no road of retreat. The Earl of Surrey, an old general, commanding the English army, outmaneuvered King James whose bravery exceeded his generalship.

English archers and cannon gained an initial advantage. The Scots became impatient and rushed down from their hill position for most effective use of their pike weapons. Historians disagree as to details of the battle. One asserts that the Scot pikemen were mowed down by Surrey’s halberdiers with their piked battleaxes. After surging back and forth, both wings of the Scottish army were virtually destroyed and only the center, led by James himself, remained. The battle continued from late afternoon until darkness fell. In the final stages of the struggle, Scottish spearmen formed a tight circle around the king and his nobles and fought to their death. As the circle drew less and less, only King James, now on foot, and a few of his nobles were left standing; these died fighting to the last man.

The fate of the men of Houstoun and Barochan is described by Campbell:

"Battling fiercely with the Southron foe, Sir Peter fell to rise no more. The 9th day of September, 1513, darkened over a gory field, strewn thickly with the corpses of all that Scotland held bravest and dearest, for there lay her gallant King, her chivalrous nobility and her brave peasantry.

"On the same sod which was Houstoun’s coach that night, lay the lifeless forms of Patrick of Barochan and his six brave