The Late Captain James Skinner, 61st Bengal Native Infantry, 1842

Coloured lithograph after Lieutenant Vincent Eyre, Bengal Artillery, 1842 (c).

James Skinner (1803-1842) was the son of Lieutenant-General John Skinner of the famous Anglo-Indian military family. He joined the 61st Bengal Native Infantry in 1825 as an ensign and was promoted to lieutenant the following year. After several years of regimental service he was appointed a commissariat officer with the 2nd Division of the Army of the Indus and took part in the 1st Afghan War (1839-1842). Promoted to captain in July 1839, Skinner was killed in action at the Jagdalak Pass during the Retreat from Kabul in 1842. A skilled linguist, Skinner was taken hostage prior to the British withdrawal. During his brief captivity he was forced by his jailers to translate letters into English from Persian and Pashtun.

From 'Portraits of the Kabul Prisoners', a set of pre-publication coloured lithographs later published by John Murray in 1843.

The artist's original drawings were made during his captivity in Afghanistan after the Retreat from Kabul during the 1st Afghan War (1838-1842).