Lieutenant-General Sir William Erskine, 1st Baronet (1728 – 19 March 1795) was a British Army commander and the 1st Baronet of the Erskine of Torrie creation.

Background

Erskine was the son of Colonel the Honourable William Erskine of Torrie, Deputy Governor of

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blacknes ...

Linlithgowshire West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the Av ...

, and grandson of David Erskine, second

Lord Cardross Lord Cardross is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, since 1695 a subsidiary title of the earldom of Buchan. It was created in 1606 for John Erskine, Earl of Mar, with remainder to his heirs male and assignees whatsoever and with the power to nomi ...

.H. M. Stephens, ‘Erskine, Sir William, second baronet (1770–1813)’, rev. Roger T. Stearn, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 30 May 2008
/ref> Erskine first married Magdalen Myrton, daughter of Robert Myrton of Gogar, and then Frances Moray, daughter of James Moray of Abercairny. His eldest son by his second wife, Frances,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, the 2nd baronet was a cavalry officer who committed suicide in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, Portugal in 1813 after a mental breakdown. He had another son,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, who was an officer in the 133rd (Fraser's) Foot, and became baronet on his elder brother's death. His third son John, also became baronet, on the death of his brother James. Erskine joined his father’s regiment the

7th Dragoons The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...

in 1742 and served in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

, seeing action at the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought on 11 May 1745 near Tournai in modern Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Army of roughly the same size, led by th ...

, then in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. By March 1759 he was in Germany with the rank of Major in the 15th Light Dragoons, and was promoted

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

commanding the same regiment in 1762. Erskine performed exceptionally on the field at the

Battle of Emsdorf The Battle of Emsdorf was fought on 16 July 1760 during the Seven Years' War at Emsdorf in present-day Hesse, Germany, between forces of British, Hanoverian and Hessian troops under the Prince of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) against German tro ...

and was able to present

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

with 16 colors captured by his regiment. For his prowess, Erskine was knighted.

American War of Independence

Erskine was posted to America in 1776 as a Brigadier staff officer under

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

, seeing action in the

New York campaign The New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 was a series of American Revolutionary War battles for control of the Port of New York and the state of New Jersey, fought between British forces under General Sir Willia ...

and commanding the 7th Brigade at

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

27 August 1776. In 1777 he was Quartermaster-General to Lord Cornwallis. Erskine is credited with advising Cornwallis on the occasion of the Battle of the Assunpink Creek (also known as 'Five Mile Run') not to put off attacking the Continental Army on the night of 2 January 1777.At Five Mile Run he advised Cornwallis to attack in the night to prevent Washington’s escape, but was unfortunately overridden by the ill advice of Grant. Cornwallis agreed with Grant "‘At last we have run down the old fox… and we will bag him in the morning.’ Erskine could not believe what he heard and could not hold himself back. He quickly retorted ‘My Lord! If you trust those people tonight, you will see nothing of (the rebels) in the morning!’" (Freeman, Miniature Wargames Issue 123 p.28) The Continental forces moved away by night, fighting the

Battle of Princeton The Battle of Princeton was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought near Princeton, New Jersey on January 3, 1777, and ending in a small victory for the Colonials. General Lord Cornwallis had left 1,400 British troops under the comman ...

on 3 January. Erskine was made Colonel of the

80th Foot The 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot to form the South Staffordshire Regim ...

on 4 March 1777. Now a

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, Erskine accompanied British forces as second in command under General William Tryon with the assistance of General

James Agnew Sir James Willson Agnew (2 October 1815 – 8 November 1901) was an Irish-born Australian politician, who was Premier of Tasmania from 1886 to 1887. Early life Agnew was born in Ballyclare, Ireland and educated at London, Paris and Glasgow; h ...

on an inland raid against Patriot supply depots in

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

. After successfully destroying Patriot supplies, the British forces engaged and defeated

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

Generals

David Wooster David Wooster ( – May 2, 1777) was an American general who served in the French and Indian War and in the American Revolutionary War. He died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Ridgefield, Connecticut. Several cities, schools, and public ...

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

, and Gold S. Silliman and Patriot militiamen in the Battle of Ridgefield. Erskine served in the

Philadelphia campaign The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British effort in the American Revolutionary War to gain control of Philadelphia, which was then the seat of the Second Continental Congress. British General William Howe, after failing to draw ...

and then, following Sir William Howe's resignation in 1778, continued as Quartermaster-General under Henry Clinton. Erskine went on to lead troops at the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, co ...

and after that campaign was given command of the eastern district of Long Island. Erskine's last active duty in North America was commanding five infantry battalions and a cavalry squadron in pursuit of the

which was thought to be moving to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in November 1778. Promoted Major-General on 19 February 1779, Erskine sailed for London the same year.

Wars of the French Revolution

Erskine became Colonel-in-Chief of the 26th Foot (Cameronians) in 1782. On 28 September 1787 he was promoted

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. He became a baronet in 1791. After the declaration of war with revolutionary France he served on the staff of the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

in the

Flanders Campaign The Flanders Campaign (or Campaign in the Low Countries) was conducted from 20 April 1792 to 7 June 1795 during the first years of the War of the First Coalition. A coalition of states representing the Ancien Régime in Western Europe – Aus ...

from late 1793. He was present with York at the Siege of Dunkirk from 25 August to 10 September, and commanded the retreat to Furnes after the Battle of Hondschoote. Erskine was given command of the army during York’s absence through the Winter of 1793/1794. At the opening of the Spring campaign he was given command of York’s right wing in April 1794. He drove the French from Prémont on 16 April, but was unable to join York to complete the victory at Vaux. He commanded a column sent by Coburg to reinforce Clerfayt after the French breakthrough on 26 April, then commanded a 16-squadron cavalry reserve under York at the

Battle of Tourcoing The Battle of Tourcoing (17–18 May 1794) saw a Republican French army directed by General of Division Joseph Souham defend against an attack by a Coalition army led by Emperor Francis II and Austrian Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. T ...

on 17–18 May. He again fought at Tournai soon after. Erskine commanded the 2nd (British) Line Corps in August. Erskine died on 19 March 1795, aged 67, and is buried at

Torryburn Torryburn (previously called Torry/ Torrie) is a village and parish in Fife, Scotland, lying on the north shore of the Firth of Forth. It is one of a number of old port communities on this coast and at one point served as port for Dunfermline. It ...

, Fife. In the army he was nicknamed "Woolly" Erskine.

References

External links

Silverwhistle.co.uk
*

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, Sir William (1st Baronet) 1795 deaths 1728 births Military personnel from Edinburgh British Army lieutenant generals Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain 7th Queen's Own Hussars officers British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars 15th The King's Hussars officers British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War Cameronians officers