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, Falkirk, Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by George Crichton, 1st Earl of Caithness ...

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, and grandson of David Erskine, second Lord Cardross.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 masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

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

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, Portugal in 1813 after a mental breakdown. He had another son, James, who was an officer in the 133rd (Fraser's) Foot, and became baronet on his elder brother's death. His third son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, also became baronet, on the death of his brother James. Erskine joined his father's regiment the 7th Dragoons in 1742 and served in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

, seeing action at the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy took place on 11 May 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Tournai, then in the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Maurice, comte de Saxe, Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Ar ...

, then in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. By March 1759 he was in Germany with the rank of major in the 15th Light Dragoons, and was promoted lieutenant-colonel commanding the same regiment in 1762. Erskine performed exceptionally on the field at the Battle of Emsdorf and was able to present

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

with 16

colors Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

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, seeing action in the

New York campaign New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

and commanding the 7th Brigade at

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

27 August 1776. In 1777 he was quartermaster-general to

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best kn ...

. Erskine is credited with advising Cornwallis on the occasion of the

Battle of the Assunpink Creek The Battle of the Assunpink Creek, also known as the Second Battle of Trenton, was a battle between Thirteen Colonies, American and Kingdom of Great Britain, British troops that took place in and around Trenton, New Jersey, on January 2, 1 ...

(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 on 3 January. Erskine was made colonel of the 80th Foot on 4 March 1777. Now a brigadier-general, Erskine accompanied British forces as second in command under General

William Tryon Lieutenant-General William Tryon (8 June 172927 January 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of North Carolina from 1764 to 1771 and the governor of New York from 1771 to 1777. He also served durin ...

with the assistance of General James Agnew 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 2020 was 86,518. It is the third-largest city in Western Connecticut, and the seventh-largest ...

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

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

generals David Wooster,

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

, and Gold S. Silliman and Patriot militiamen in the

Battle of Ridgefield The Battle of Ridgefield was a series of American Revolutionary War skirmishes in Danbury, Connecticut and Ridgefield, Connecticut. History On April 25, a British Army during the American Revolutionary War, British force under the command of th ...

. Erskine served in the Philadelphia campaign 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 the Village of Monmouth Court House, New Jersey, Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey and Manalapan, New Jersey, Manalapan, on J ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

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 Colonel-in-Chief is a ceremonial position in an army regiment. It is in common use in several Commonwealth armies, where it is held by the regiment's patron, usually a member of the royal family. Some armed forces take a light-hearted approach to ...

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 military rank 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 battlefield, who was normall ...

. 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 List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

in the Flanders Campaign 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 The Battle of Hondschoote took place during the Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition, Flanders Campaign of the Campaigns of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars, Campaign of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars. It was foug ...

. 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 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, 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 Nobility from Fife Military personnel from Fife British Army lieutenant generals

301 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