Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Watson with (from left) grenadiers of the 13th, 11th, 67th, and 3rd Regiments of Foot, their officers, and soldiers of 25th Regiment of Foot, 1771 (c)

One of a set of six unsigned oil paintings on canvas attributed to Giuseppe Chiesa (d 1789), 1771 (c).

Robert Watson was Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment from 1763 until 1773. Among the guard he is inspecting is a grenadier of the 3rd Regiment of Foot (or the Buffs) [fourth from left] who wears an embroidered cloth grenadier cap even though these were obsolete from 1768. It demonstrates that uniforms could have a 'wearing out' time or that new patterns might be slow to arrive at overseas garrisons.

The 25th Regiment of Foot was stationed in Menorca from 6 June 1769 until 1775, one of several regiments garrisoned there to maintain British control of this important Mediterranean base, regained from Spain at the end of the Seven Years War (1756-1763).

This series of paintings depicting the 25th Regiment of Foot during its service in Menorca originally belonged to Lord George Lennox, (1737-1805), who was colonel of the regiment 1762-1805.