Henry Erskine was born on 23 December 1710. He was the son of Sir John Erskine, 3rd Baronet, MP and former Jacobite leader, and Catherine St Clair, daughter of Henry, the 10th Lord Sinclair. The family home was at Alva in Clackmannanshire. Erskine studied law at Lincoln’s Inn in 1728, but chose a military career instead. His uncle and mentor, Lord Sinclair, was Colonel of the regiment later known as the 22nd Foot, and Henry became an ensign in that regiment in 1735. He was wounded twice in action.
His elder brother Charles inherited the baronetcy but was killed at Lauffeld in 1747, so the title passed to Henry, who became the 5th Baronet. Like many aristocrats of the period, he combined military service with politics. He admired Lord Bute and Pitt the Elder, but his voting record in Parliament placed him in the camp of the Prince of Wales, leading to his dismissal from the army in January 1756. Pitt defended him, and in 1757 Lord Bute secured for him the office of Surveyor of the King’s Roads as “atonement for unjust and cruel treatment”.
Erskine was restored to the army when George III acceded to the throne on 25 October 1760. He later befriended Lord George Sackville, whose reputation was damaged after his conduct at the Battle of Minden. Erskine married Janet Wedderburn, daughter of Lord Chesterhall, and they had two sons and a daughter. Sir Henry died at York on 9 August 1765. He was remembered as a faithful friend, a wit, and a minor poet. Alexander Carlyle wrote that he was “a truly honest man, but his views were not extensive nor his talents great.”
Career Summary
1735 – Ensign in St Clair’s Regiment (later 22nd Foot)
1736 – Lieutenant, same regiment
1743 – Captain in St Clair’s Regiment (later 1st Royal Scots)
1749 – MP for Ayr Burghs (29 Dec)
1754 – MP for Anstruther-Easter Burghs (9 Aug)
1756 – Dismissed from the army (January)
1757 – Surveyor of the King’s Private Roads
1760 – Reinstated as Major-General (Oct)
1760 – Colonel of the 67th Regiment (30 Oct)
1761 – Colonel of the 25th Regiment (29 May)
1762 – Colonel of the 1st Royal Regiment (17 Dec)
1765 – Promoted Lieutenant-General
1765 – Secretary of the Order of the Thistle
