(Langholm) in 1455, the
Raid of Reidswire (1575), and the bloody combat at Dryfe Sands (1593).
The English expeditions of 1544 and 1545 were exceptionally disastrous,
since they involved the destruction of the four Scottish border abbeys,
the sack of many towns, and the obliteration of Roxburgh. The only other
important conflict belongs to the Covenanters' time, when the marquess
of Montrose was defeated at Philiphaugh in 1645. Partly for the defence
of the kingdoms and partly to overawe the freebooters and mosstroopers
who were a perpetual menace to the peace until they were suppressed in
the 17th century, castles were erected at various points on both sides
of the border.

Even during the period when relations between England and Scotland were
strained, the sovereigns of both countries recognized it to be their
duty to protect property and regulate the lawlessness of the borders.
The frontier was divided into the East, Middle and West Marches, each
under the control of an English and a Scots warden. The posts were
generally filled by eminent and capable men who had to keep the peace,
enforce punishment for breach of the law, and take care that neither
country encroached on the boundary of the other. The wardens usually
conferred once a year on matters of common interest, and as a rule their
meetings were conducted in a friendly spirit, though in 1575 a display
of temper led to the affair of the Raid of Reidswire. The appointment
was not only one of the most important in this quarter of the kingdom,
but lucrative as well, part of the fines and forfeits falling to the
warden, who was also entitled to ration and forage for his retinue. On
the occasion of his first public progress to London, James I. of England
attended service in Berwick church (March 27, 1603) "to return thanks
for his peaceful entry into his new dominions." Anxious to blot out all
memory of the bitter past, he forbade the use of the word "Borders,"
hoping that the designation "Middle Shires" might take its place.
Frontier fortresses were also to be dismantled and their garrisons
reduced to nominal strength. In course of time this policy had the
desired effect, though the expression "Borders" proved too convenient
geographically to be dropped, the king's proposed amendment being in
point of fact merely sentimental and, in the relative positions then and
now of England and Scotland, meaningless. Some English strongholds, such
as Alnwick, Chillingham, Fo