The Soldier’s Return
by Henry Nelson O'Neil
National Army Museum
Date painted: 1861
Oil on board, 53.1 x 41.7 cm
Collection: National Army Museum
A tired and injured veteran sits slumped beside a stile, while a woman and child bring him food. Presumably discharged from military service due to disability, the sergeant appears without means even to buy civilian clothes. He wears an assortment of regimental clothing, including a glengarry (forage cap) of the 93rd (Highland) Regiment of Foot.
This painting was almost certainly intended as a continuation of O'Neil's famous pair of narrative paintings, showing troops leaving for and returning from the Indian Mutiny (1857–1859), 'Eastward Ho! August 1857' and 'Home Again'. In 'Home Again', the highlander is seen distressed by a 'Dear John' letter. He appears here having become a vagrant, reliant upon charity.
Image via the BBC