James Wallace Sleigh was born c1780. His father was William Sleigh of Hanworth House, Middlesex, and his mother, Frances, was the daughter of Admiral Sir James Wallace. He was commissioned into the 11th Light Dragoons in 1795 and served in Holland in 1799, the Peninsula War from 1911 to 1812, and reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel by the time he fought at Waterloo. He also commanded the cavalry at Bhurtpore in 1826. He was appointed Colonel of the 9th Lancers on 24 August 1839, a position he held for 26 years until his death in February 1865. He was promoted to General in 1854 and created KCB in 1856. Sir James was married in 1831 to Eliza Fagan, having 8 children. The engraving, from the National Portrait Gallery, is by John Cochran after a portrait by William Salter. It shows Sleigh as a major-general in the uniform of the 9th Lancers c1840.
