However, clearer evidence indicates that, like most Gaelic Gallovidians, the early MacCullochs backed the house of Baliol, rather than De Brus, and hence - like other early supporters of independence, such as the MacDougalls and Comyns - were driven towards English service after Robert Bruce seized control of the patriot cause (having himself originally fought for Edward I). The early years of the Bruce ascendancy saw the MacCullochs stripped of many of their Galloway territories, and dispersed as refugees into England. Sir Patrick MacCulloch was an especially principled Baliol supporter, whose loyalty to the cause stood out against the many switches in allegiance among other Scottish knights and magnates of his generation. Sir Patrick served Edward III in his campaigns in Brittany, before finally returning to Scotland and into the king's peace, with half of his estates restored by David II in 1363. The pragmatism of David II - and, perhaps, the subsequent passing of the throne from the Bruces to the Stewarts - enabled the MacCullochs to undergo rapid reintegration into the kingdom of Scotland. Between the later 14th and mid-15th centuries, they were strong allies of the earls of Douglas, who had now acquired the Galloway lordship, witnessing their charters, supplying soldiers and ships of war for their forces, and maintaining places on their council. According to Michael Brown's history of "The Black Douglases", MacCullochs were part of the Douglas muster-roll that fought against the English armies at the Battle of Homildon Hill in 1402. John MacCulloch was chancellor to the Countess of Douglas in the 1420s. It was no wonder that Archibald, 4th Earl Douglas, added two Gaelic wild men to his personal coat of arms. Galloway's submission was complete.