Baron, William. In 1784 he was created Earl of Uxbridge, the title having become extinct in 1769. When he died in 1812, Henry William Paget (1768–1854),
Louisa’s eldest brother, became the 2nd Earl. A General and one of the army’s
best cavalry officers who, like Colonel Beckwith (with whom he fought at
Corunna in 1809), lost a leg leading the final charge of the battle at Waterloo,
he was created Marquis of Anglesey in 1815 in recognition of his services to
his country. Strangely, his lost limb was buried under a weeping willow tree
in a garden at Waterloo where the amputation took place, now the site of a
monument with the following inscription.
Here lies the Marquess of Anglesey’s leg,
Pray for the rest of his body we beg.
Therefore Louisa was in a position to marry well and in 1801, at the age
of 20, married Sir James Erskine, son of the 1st Baronet General Sir William
Erskine of Torry (Fife, Scotland). Nine years older than Lady Louisa, Erskine,
who later became the 3rd Baronet, was a Lieutenant-General who served with
the Duke of Wellington during the Napoleonic War. When Louisa gave birth
to her daughter in 1822, she was still married to Erskine, who did not die until
1825. The marriage between Lady Louisa Erskine and Sir George Murray took
place on 28 April 1825 at Sunninghill, Berkshire.
Louisa’s father, Sir George Murray, was of Scottish descent. Both his
parents were from well-established Scottish noble families. Sir George was
the second son of Sir William Murray (1746–1800), 5th Baronet Ochtertyre. An
ancestor of Sir George’s mother Lady Augusta Mackenzie, Colin Mackenzie
(d. 1633) was made Earl of Seaforth. In 1685, shortly after the accession of
James II, a later Earl was given a permanent peerage in Scotland, but when
James’ cause looked lost, Mackenzie made sure his own position was secure,
so that by the time Queen Anne came to the throne in 1702 he was appointed
Secretary of State (1702–1705) and created Earl.
Sir George Murray is usually described as a Scottish General and Statesman. During his varied career he made such an impact on the society of the
time that, amongst other things an Australian river and the Central administrative building in Hong Kong were named after him. The second son, he was
born on 6 February 1772 in the family home in Ochtertyre and was educated
in Edinburgh, both at the High School and the University, before being sent
to Geneva to learn French.
He began his military career in the Scots Guards in 1789; in 1794 he
was made a captain and by 1799 was Lieutenant General. At this point his
career began to veer more towards the role of Quartermaster General, a role
in which he was to excel and which was a relatively new post within the
British Army. A natural at the job, using his military expertise in order to
act as an operational consultant to the commander, he was in great demand.
Indeed, Murray was one of the few people who could quip with Wellington.
During discussions about the winter campaign in the Iberian Peninsula and
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