Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie

Sir Alexander became Warden of the Middle Marches in command of Lothian men, and one of the Regent's chief commanders at Boroughmuir, where Guy de Namur, a Flemish ally of England, was defeated. He was present at the capture of Leuchars Castle, at St Andrews in 1335, and in June 1338 he relieved the Siege of Dunbar by assisting the Countess of Dunbar ("Black Agnes of Dunbar"). Together they successfully defended the castle against the siege by William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury of England.

His tragic story begins when he and his party of men recaptured Roxburgh Castle from the English in 1342. The titular constable of the Castle, Sir William Douglas, had several times tried unsuccessfully to retake it. For his brave and heroic feat, Sir Alexander was appointed constable of Roxburgh and Sheriff of Teviotdale. Sir William Douglas was so outraged by the appointments, that he sought revenge by capturing Sir Alexander and imprisoning him in the dungeon of Hermitage Castle where he was left to starve. Legend has it that he survived for seventeen days by eating small quantities of grain that fell through the cracks in the floor of the castle granary above the dungeon.

His brother, Sir William Ramsay of Inverleith succeeded Sir Alexander at Dalhousie in 1342 and was famous for his raid around Norham Castle, and the ensuing Battle of Nisbet Muir in 1355.

• Maxwell, Sir Herbert. A History of the House of Douglas (2 vols), Freemantle & Co., London 1902.
• Fraser, Sir William, The Douglas Book IV vols. Edinburgh 1885.