Lieutenant Charles Augustus Elderton (1789-1841), 9th Madras Native Infantry, 25 February 1811

Miniature portrait in watercolour on ivory, artist unknown, 1811.

Charles Elderton was a infantry cadet in 1804 and a lieutenant in the Madras Native Infantry from the following year. His father, Harry Elderton, wrote to Mary Anne Clarke, the mistress of Frederick, Duke of York, asking her to obtain introductions to the Governor General of Madras as well as to the Commander-in-Chief there. The letter formed one of the exhibits in the 1809 inquiry into the Duke's role in the sale of army commissions. Elderton sat for this portrait when he was on furlough, or extended leave, during 1810-1811.