Sir Henry Raeburn, R.A. (Edinburgh 1756-1823)

The third son of Alexander, 10th Lord Blentyre, The Hon. William Stuart was born in 1778. He appears here in the uniform of the Grenadier Guards. He received his commission in 1807. In 1815, William commanded the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the Guards, who met Napoleon's troops at Quatre Bras on the 16th of June. Colonel Stuart was wounded at that battle and spent a year in recovery. It is possible that he lost his arm at that time, although an old label on the reverse of the present painting suggests that he received that injury at Waterloo. He died unmarried in 1837.