This chap was mentioned on tv briefly yesterday and the attached painting was shown. Having very limited access to the internet here at sea can anyone tell me what regiment he served in? He lost a leg at Burgos 1812.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/charles-mackenzie-fraser-mp-196243
What caught my eye were the black facings and off the top of my head the only regiment I can recall having black facings were the 50th Foot.

Roger.

Hi Roger,
This is published by the clan Frazer society.

A Victorian military coat goes on display at Castle Fraser, Aberdeenshire, for the first time this month.
The vivid red tailed jacket, newly arrived at the castle, is believed to have belonged to Charles Mackenzie Fraser, the castle’s laird in the 19th century. Charles (1792-1871) famously lost his leg during fierce fighting while serving in Spain with the Coldstream Guards during the peninsular war. But in his youth, he served briefly in the 78th Highlanders Ross-shire Buffs, a regiment founded by Francis Humberston Mackenzie of Seaforth and Charles’s father, Lieutenant General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser, and the jacket is thought to date from that time.
It features the thistle motif which identifies it as a Highland regiment. In the early 19th Century, these regiments often wore tartan trews as an alternative to the more usual kilt. (The castle’s collections care assistant welcomes any further light that can be shed on this item from military experts!)

Another snippet.


Charles Mackenzie-Fraser, II. of Castle Fraser, his heir, Captain Coldstream Guards (somewhere else I found this dated as 1812), Colonel Ross-shire Militia. He served in the Peninsular War with the 52nd Regiment in 1808-9,

This is a piece I found about his father.

Lieutenant General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser (1758-1809) had a distinguished military career. Born Alexander Mackenzie Yr of Kilcoy, he was first commissioned in Lord MacLeod's 73rd Highlanders in 1778, and served through the Siege of Gibraltar where he was wounded in 1782. He married Helen Mackenzie (of Seaforth), and when his brother in law Colonel Francis Humberston Mackenzie of Seaforth raised the 78th Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs) in 1793, Alexander Mackenzie became the first Lieutenant Colonel. He commanded the 78th during its first active service on the expedition to Holland 1794-95. As a Major General he commanded the expedition to Egypt in 1807, and as a Lieutenant General commanded a division under Sir John Moore in Portugal, and at Corunna in 1809. During Lord Chatham's expedition to the Low Countries in 1809 he fell victim of Walcheren fever, and died on his return to London. As heir to his mother's family the Frasers of Inverallochy, he adopted the additional name Fraser, but never lived to inherit the Castle Fraser estate.


Another painting of Frazer and one of an officer Grenadier Coldstream Guards - is this the uniform do you think?

cheers
Richie

Thanks very much Richie.
So during his military career he served in 78th, 52nd & Coldstream Guards. This leads me to the next question, are the "black" facings in the portrait really the dark blue of the Coldstream Guards? The belt plate certainly looks like Coldstream Guards.

Roger.

Hi Roger,
The "black facings" in the painting certainly could be a very dark blue(especially if you think of how dark a Naval blue can be). Lets hope someone with some knowledge in this particular field will jump in and clarify. Maybe someone like our own Colin Frazer.
cheers
Richie

Hello Richie, I forgot to mention the paired buttons also points to Coldstream. I could have found all this out if I was at home.... instead it's keeping me awake at night here.

Roger.

I'm late in thus and am certainly no expert - but I would ID the original painting as a Coldstream officer based on the attribution, dark blue facings, buttons in twos and belt plate. As folk periodically point out here, we often paint dark blue, and dark green much lighter than we should given surviving examples and portraits.

And this chap is one of those "other Frasers," the Frasers of Philorth (a lowland clan) rather than my lot - the Frasers of Lovat based in the Inverness area. I think Lord Saltoun, who commanded the light companies of the Grenadier Guards at Hougoumont in 1815 was also a member of this the other branch of the Fraser clan.

The newly arrived jacket described by Richie sounds to be from Fraser's pre-guards Scottish service though.

Colin

Coming late to this one but that's definitely a Coldstream tunic. Very dark blue facings on that tunic though A small note as well to avoid trouble with members of the Nulli Secundus club - it's Coldstream or Coldstreamers but never, ever under any circumstances Coldstreams.

Pete

Edited my post...... just in case.

Roger.

Anyone still interested besides me?

Roger.

All if my favourite misspellings do "Fraser" in one entry! Shows that is not a new phenomenon. My favourite is when telemarketers call asking for 'frayzh-er' (like the sitcom) instead of 'fray-zer' and My wife says "no one he by that name!

Colin Fraser