Lieutenant Henry Briggs, 2nd Madras Light Cavalry, 1832 (c)

Oil on board by Godwin Williams, 1832.

Like many officers in the armies of the East India Company, Henry Briggs (1805-1834) came from a family with a long history of army service in India. He was commissioned as a cornet in the 2nd Madras Light Cavalry in 1821 and promoted to lieutenant in 1824.

Originally raised for the Nawab of Arcot's Army as the 3rd Regiment of Cavalry (Stevenson's), Briggs' unit transferred to British service as the 3rd Madras Native Cavalry in 1784. In 1819 it was re-named the 2nd Madras Light Cavalry.