This luminous portrait of Lieutenant Colonel Patrick McLeod of Geanies has been quietly on display in the Museum’s Seaforth Room for many years. As a result of the research undertaken for this digital exhibition, the painting is now the subject of an investigation aiming to prove that the work was painted by Sir Henry Raeburn RA.

McLeod was Lieutenant Colonel of the 78th Highlanders (Ross-Shire Buffs), and apart from his birth in 1775 in Geanies, Ross-shire, and his death in Egypt in 1807, his story is relatively obscure.

In recently published papers, it has come to light that Perthshire Sergeant Alexander Forbes of the 78th Highlanders wrote a Gaelic Lament for his Colonel, who died at Al Hammad in Egypt in 1807. His Colonel was, of course, Lieutenant Colonel Patrick MacLeod of Geanies. MacLeod was clearly well-loved by his regiment; Forbes writes, “And though I am blind, this distresses me not so much as to be deprived of your Friendship”. You can read the translated sixteen-stanza lament, courtesy of John G. Gibson, here.

MacLeod’s grave can be found in Tarbat Burial Ground, Portmahomack, Scotland.

These commemorative medals were presented to the Officers Mess Depot of the 78th Highlanders by the Highland Society of London in May 1880. The medals commemorate the actions of the Highland Regiments in Egypt in 1801 and 1807, including the Battle of El-Hammet (Al Hammad) during the Alexandria Expedition where MacLeod lost his life.

This battle is sometimes referred to as the El-Hammet disaster; British casualties amounted to 185 dead, 282 wounded, and 120 captives, which was a staggering loss for the British Army.