Drahonet’s painting of Private Alexander Ritchie (the artist inscribed the painting as A Ratchey) shows the uniform to good effect. The height of the bonnet is perhaps exaggerated, and he has a tall white plume on the left of the bonnet. The head-band is diced with red white and green squares and there are two black ribbons on the back.
His red jacket is single breasted with lace loops across the chest. The green cuffs have a red slash flap that has three buttons and loops, and his green collar is edged with lace and has a centrally placed loop on each side. The lace on infantry coats of the rank-and-file were still coloured at this time, the 79th colours being two red stripes and one yellow. Sergeants had plain white lace, as did the rank-and-file after 1836. The shoulders are built up with large white padded crescents on the end of wings, normally worn by flank company soldiers, but in the kilted Highland regiments all the companies had the same.
The soldier's kilt is worn in conjunction with a plaid attached to his shoulder, and this can be seen flying behind him. The front of the kilt has a complex sporran, basically of black fur but half covered in white fur and having five white tassels with red tops. There is no cantle as such at this stage.
Private Ritchie is posing as a sentry, challenging those approaching. As a sentry he would be expected to carry a valise on his back. This can be seen above his shoulders and accounts for the extra white straps on his chest. The broader straps on each shoulder support an ammunition pouch and a bayonet.
The image is taken fromPortraits for a King, the British Military Paintings of A-J Dubois Drahonet (1791-1834) by Jenny Spencer-Smith. The regiment was serving in Canada at the time of this painting. Ritchie was one of 62 men of the Reserve Company at Perth Barracks, sent out to Canada from Chatham in 1833. When Ritchie passed through London in March or April, on his way to Chatham, he was asked to pose for Drahonet. He had been promoted to corporal but had not had his stripes sewn on.
