HE CHASED HER TIL SHE CAUGHT HIM: or The Scottish Lord and the Colonial Maiden MLord William Cathcart, otherwise the Colonel of the newly created British Legion, was in lust--multidirectionally. He was twenty three, sinfully handsome and randy as a coot. He also had an excellent brain behind his big, soft eyes when the blood wasnt pooling southward. New York in 1778 was a veritable gold mine of feminine beauty, and he had a stunning uniform to mine it--green short coatee, gold piping, white breeches leaving nothing to the imagination and mirror polished hessians. (The boots, not the Germans.) Elizabeth Elliot was one of the loveliest girls on offer from a selection of stunners. From the little we know of her she was well educated, musical and witty. Based on the rendering of her miniature, she was a diamond of the first water. Not to mention she was also Scotch (the term used in the 18th Century), as was Cathcart--heir to the 9th Baron Cathcart--and the daughter of the Lieutenant Governor, himself the son of the Second Baronet of Minto. Translation--she bled blue when cut. To quote a contemporary letter, The story is that he took himself in merely to pass the time away in winter-quarters; and because Miss E was a lively, pretty girl he made violent love to her, wrote letters &c. &c. Miss E listened and believed--For who can think such tender looks were meant but to deceive? Whether his lordship flew off afterwards I know not, but Mr. E laid the letters and the whole affair before Sir Henry (Clinton). Sir H advised Cathcart to marry. Cathcart wished to be excused til the end of the war: and the general informed him that after having gone so far (my note: one wonders exactly how far so might have been ) he must marry Miss E, or quit his family. A fine girl, a good fortune, to a Scotch lord with a moderate one, were not to be despised. You know the Peers of Scotland, having no legislative privileges, are not of that consequence that Lords of England or even those of Ireland are. And so His Lordship married Miss Elliot, and they will soon sail for England it is said. The were married on April 10, 1779 and returned to England in 1780. (Leaving Ban Tarleton in command of the British Legion.) To quote Marg Baskins wonderful website Oatmeal for the Foxhounds, Cathcarts new father-in law had a more upbeat take on the situation. About a week before the wedding Elliot commented in a letter that both parties seem highly pleased with their upcoming marriage. He corresponded with Cathcart throughout the war, and when his youngest daughter married years later expressed a wish that her husband would make her as happy as Betsy. The Cathcarts lived a charmed life--and an obviously loving one. They had ten children, five of them in the 1780s. He was eventually promoted to General and became a diplomat like his father before him being posted to St. Petersburg as Ambassador and military commissioner in 1812. In 1814 he was elevated to the English title of the First Earl of Cathcart. And yes, they really did live happily every after. William Schaw Cathcart died peacefully in bed in Scotland at the age of eighty seven. I have taken Betsys story as one of the inspirations--in a far more edgy way--for my current writing project featuring Ban Tarleton.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 19:07:24 +0000
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