Francis Cotes painted this portrait of Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Smith of the 10th Foot in 1764. Col Smith was wounded at Lexington in 1775. The regiment was stationed in Ireland during the Seven Years War and went to North America in 1767.
The coat is decorated with silver lace, but the facings are brown which does not agree with the Clothing Warrant of 1751 which listed the 10th as having bright yellow facings. Perhaps what we see here is a darkened or faded yellow. The distinctive slash style of the cuff is clearly shown in the pose held by the Colonel. He holds a spontoon which was carried by company officers from 1743 (grenadier company officers carried a musket). Before that date an officer’s weapon was known as a half-pike which was basically a spear. His waistcoat is also red with silver lace and buttons, and a silver gorget can just be seen hanging from his neck with a yellow ribbon. The crimson silk sash of office is draped over his coat from the right shoulder. His sword is suspended from a hidden waist-belt.
This portrait was reproduced in the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research vol XXVII no. 109 (Spring 1949) accompanied by an article written by L E Buckell.
