[1] The skirmish was fought between the Scottish captain Sir James Douglas, and an English raiding party from Berwick upon Tweed.
The English were having difficulty getting supplies to Berwick after the Scots had won back the surrounding territory and the garrison was facing starvation.
Under Edmond Caillou, a Gascon knight, about 80 men set out from Berwick to raid Teviotdale for cattle.
Douglas, having been informed that there were fewer in the raiding party, set out to cut them off.
The Scots under Douglas and Thomas Randolph went on to capture Berwick in April 1318.