David Erskine

David Montagu Erskine was born in 1776, the eldest son of lawyer and statesman Thomas Erskine. He attended Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford, and was called to the bar in 1802. He entered Parliament for Portsmouth in 1806 before receiving the American mission that year. His marriage to a daughter of Philadelphia's General John Cadwalader gave him family connections in the United States. ¹

In April 1809 Erskine and Secretary of State Robert Smith exchanged notes designed to settle several grievances. Erskine offered reparation for the British attack on the frigate Chesapeake, including restoration of the seized men and provision for the sufferers. He then promised withdrawal of the Orders in Council of 1807, as they affected American trade, on 10 June. Smith replied that President Madison would reopen trade with Britain on the same day. ²

The arrangement failed because Erskine had exceeded his instructions. George Canning had made British concessions conditional on American restrictions against France and other requirements that Erskine did not secure. London disavowed the agreement, and Erskine returned to Britain in 1809. ^{3, 2, 1}

He inherited the Erskine title in 1823 and resumed diplomatic employment the following year at Stuttgart. In 1828 he moved to Munich, where he remained until retiring in 1843. He settled in Sussex and died on 19 March 1855. ¹