Battle of Bannockburn celebrated instance of single combat. Bohun charged at Bruce and, when the two passed side by side, Bruce split Bohun's head with his axe. The Scots then rushed the English forces under Gloucester's and Hereford's command, who retreated, struggling back over the Bannockburn. The second English cavalry force was commanded by Robert Clifford and Henry de Beaumont. Their forces included Sir Thomas de Grey of Heaton, father of the chronicler Thomas Grey. The younger Grey described the battle: <section begin=Beaumont-vs-Grey /> <section end=Beaumont-vs-Grey /> During the night the English forces crossed the stream known as the Bannockburn, establishing their position
Robert the Bruce to his eldest son, Robert, the future king, so as to protect the Bruce's kingship claim while their middle lord (Robert the Bruce's father) now held only English lands. While the Bruces' bid for the throne had ended in failure, the Balliols' triumph propelled the eighteen-year-old Robert the Bruce onto the political stage in his own right. Even after John's accession, Edward still continued to assert his authority over Scotland and relations between the two kings soon began to deteriorate. The Bruces sided with King Edward against King John and his Comyn allies. Robert the Bruce and his father both