had defected to the rebels, Edward dispatched Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, together with his father's vassals of Annandale, to attack Douglas's stronghold in Lanarkshire. Whilst traveling north to face Douglas, Bruce began to think about where his loyalties truly lay. He decided to follow the Scottish cause, being quoted as saying, "No man holds his flesh and blood in hatred, and I am no exception. I must join my own people and the nation in whom I was born." The confederacy of men that Bruce joined included James the Steward, Robert Wishart, Bishop of Glasgow and William Douglas. Dissension broke out in the Scottish camp when the Scottish and English armies met in July 1297 near Irvine. The aristocratic revolt apparently halted before it even started, but its leaders led long and futile negotiations. It has been suggested that this was a deliberate move in order to provide space and time for Wallace to levy and train men. Percy and Clifford assumed that this was the end of the problem and retired back to the south, only to be followed once more by Wallace and Moray. These two divided their forces and in a short time again forced the English south of the Forth, leaving them holding only the castle of Dundee. While laying siege to Dundee Castle, Wallace heard that an English army was again advancing north, this time under John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey. Wallace put the leading men of the town of Dundee in charge of the castle's siege and moved to halt the advance of the English army. Wallace and Moray, who had recently combined their forces, deployed on the Ochil Hills overlooking the bridge crossing the River Forth at Stirling and prepared to meet the English in battle. At the time, Wallace and Moray were both in their late twenties and neither could yet claim to be Scottish national heroes. Whereas some of the Scottish nobility had given in to English demands for allegiance (whilst still supporting the Scottish cause), Wallace's force remained unequivocally dedicated to the struggle for Scottish independence. Stirling Bridge and Guardian of Scotland On 11 September 1297, Scottish forces, under the joint command of Moray and Wallace, met the Earl of Surrey's army, at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The Scottish army deployed to the north-east of the bridge, and let the vanguard of Surrey's army cross the bridge