General Sir James Hope Grant 1872

Alexander Bassano photographed Hope Grant in the early 1870s, according to the National Portrait Gallery. The sitting celebrated his promotion to General on 23 April 1872. This is confirmed by the embroidered rank badges on his collar. Generals had a crown and star on each side of a blue collar, covered all around by inch gold lace. Lieutenant-Generals had a crown only, Major-Generals a star only, and Brigadier-Generals no rank badge. The scarlet tunic has blue round cuffs edged with two rows of inch gold lace and a scarlet slash flap edged in inch gold lace with three gilt buttons. He has blue trousers with gold lace down the outside, two and half inches wide. He has a black mourning band on his left arm.
Grant has his general officer’s sash on his left shoulder, gold and crimson silk net, ending in tassels on his right hip. The sash on the other shoulder is red, for the Order of the Bath. A breast badge on his right breast is probably the insignia of a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, conferred by Napoleon III after the Second China War. The other breast badge is the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. His other medals are for the two Sikh Wars, the Indian Mutiny, and the two China Wars.

James Hope Grant | 9th Lancers