Today, Scottish patriots like stand their ground in Parliament in part because their predecessors fought for Scotland on the battlefield. Andrew de Moray was one such patriot, hundreds of years ago, who went to prison and later to war in the name of his country's liberty.

Andrew de Moray went to prison with his father, Sir Andrew de Moray, following the 1296 Battle of Dunbar. He escaped, and carried on the fight against English occupation of Scotland. While William Wallace fought English occupation in Southern Scotland in Andrew de Moray raised support for the same cause in Northern Scotland.

The rebels in Moray were based at Avoch Castle, near Inverness. They organized and carried out guerilla attacks on English occupants, and later took hold of Balconie Castle from the Countess of Ross, who sided with the English. Balconie Castle would prove to be a strategic stronghold for the Scottish rebels.

Wallace and de Moray met, and perhaps each took courage from the other's conviction. When Wallace prepared for the English invasion at Stirling, de Moray brought an army to join the cause, and the Scottish victory at Stirling Bridge is sometimes attributed to de Moray's tactical skill.

Unfortunately, the battle at Stirling Bridge cost de Moray his life; an arrow wound he suffered in the fight killed him two months later. De Moray's was married, though, and his son, also called Andrew, went on to fight for Scottish independence with that same fierce determination, inherited from his father and grandfather.