Terror spread through the English army, and its Welsh auxiliaries drew off in a body from the field.

But the generalship of Wallace was met by that of the king.
Drawing his bowmen to the front, Edward riddled the Scottish ranks with arrows and then hurled his cavalry afresh on the wavering line.

In a moment all was over, the maddened knights rode in and out of the broken ranks, slaying without mercy.

Thousands fell on the field, and Wallace himself escaped with difficulty, followed by a handful of men.
[Sidenote: Second Conquest of Scotland] But ruined as the cause of freedom seemed, his work was done.

He had roused Scotland into life, and even a defeat like Falkirk left her unconquered.
Edward remained master only of the ground he stood on: want of supplies forced him at last to retreat; and in the summer of the following year, 1299, when Balliol, released from his English prison, withdrew into France, a regency of the Scotch nobles under Robert Bruce and John Comyn continued the struggle for independence.