'A Noble Commander', 1801

Coloured etching by and after Robert Dighton Junior, 1801. Published by Robert Dighton Junior, Charing Cross, London, 1801.

Caricature of William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart (1755-1843).

William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart (1755-1843) was a general in the British Army. He served in the American War of Independence (1775-1783), initially with the 17th Light Dragoons. Cathcart took command of the American loyalist British Legion with the notorious Banastre Tarleton as his subordinate. Back in England Cathcart served with the Coldstream Guards. He became Colonel of the 29th Foot and served in the Low Countries during the French Revolutionary Wars. Cathcart became Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards in 1797 and served as Gold Stick within the Royal Household. Like his father before him, Cathcart became an ambassador to Russia during the latter stages of the Napoleonic Wars, also serving at the allied headquarters as a military commissioner. After Napoleon was finally defeated Cathcart continued in his diplomatic role in St Petersburg until 1820. He died at his estate in Scotland in 1843.