Captain (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Robert Coney Whiting, 70th Bengal Native Infantry, Canton, 1859

Oil on canvas by Charles Wirgman, 1859.

Whiting (1825-1886) served in the 70th Bengal Native Infantry for his entire career, joining as ensign in 1844 and retiring as Lieutenant-Colonel in 1873. The 70th was one of only a handful of Bengal Army regiments not to mutiny in 1857-1859. It was also the first to volunteer for service in China in 1858, during the 2nd China War (1856-1860), where this was painted in July 1859. After retiring from British service in 1873, Whiting commanded the troops of the Raja of Nahan, in what is now Himachal Pradesh, India.