Captain C Troup, Shah's Service, 48th Bengal Native Infantry, 1842

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

Colin Troup (1804-1876) arrived in India in 1821 and was appointed ensign with the 24th Bengal Native Infantry. Promoted to lieutenant in 1823, that year he transferred to the 48th Bengal Native Infantry. Troup took part in the operations against the Bhils in 1827 and was second in command of the Oudh Auxillary Force in 1837. He rejoined his regiment, part of the Army of the Indus, in September 1838. Promoted to captain the following year, Troup then served as a brigade-major with Shah Shuja's Force. He was wounded at the Khoord Cabul Pass on 8 January 1842 and taken hostage the following day. Troup was eventually released in September 1842 when Major-General Sir George Pollock's Army of Retribution arrived in Kabul. Troup went on to serve during the First Sikh War (1845-1846), seeing action at Aliwal (1846). Promoted to major in 1847 and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1853, he was commanding the 68th Bengal Native Infantry when it mutinied at Bareilly in May 1857. Appointed a Companion of the Bath (CB) for his services during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859), Troup was later major-general commanding the Meerut Division between 1865 and 1869.

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).