PENINSULAR WAR. Letter to Lieutenant General Sir William Erskine, 1812. 18630

£100

Description

A long letter from Charles Stewart in Edinburgh, taking Erskine through the complexities of a property transaction, addressed to Erskine at “Lisbon or Elsewhere”.. 3 pp. 10 x 8 inches, some tears at folds, in clean condition, with red “PAID / at / EDINR” c.d.s. Total prepaid 2s 9d (Edinburgh to Falmouth 1s 4d., Falmouth to Lisbon 1s 5d.) Edinburgh, 1 August 1812. Major-General Sir William Erskine (1769-1813) commanded Hill’s cavalry in his advance on Madrid in 1812 after the victory at Salamanca, and covered his retreat when he had to retire from Andalusia, coincidentally with Wellington’s retreat from Burgos. Erskine had already shown several signs of insanity during this period, and at last it became so obvious he was ordered to leave the army. On 14 May 1813 he threw himself from a window in Lisbon and was killed on the spot.