Bimbashi “Yusuf Bey” A.D.C. to Genl. Beatson commanding the Bashi Bazouks. Late C. Fox. Grenr...

Bimbashi “Yusuf Bey” A.D.C. to General Beatson commanding the Bashi Bazouks. Late C. Fox. Grenadier Guards. Watercolour by Second Lieutenant W T Markham (1830-86), 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade, 1854 circa. 4,000 Bashi Bazouks, Turkish irregulars, were placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel (later Major-General) William Fergusson Beatson (1804-1872). The Bashi Bazouks had earned an unsavoury reputation for pillage and indiscipline during fighting in Silistria. In spite of the subsequent attempt of Beatson to instil order into the irregulars brought into British pay, his efforts were undermined by the refusal of Lord Raglan to make use of them. From an album of watercolour paintings and sketches by Colonel William Markham, 1820 circa and Second Lieutenant William Thomas Markham (1830-1886), 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade, relating to the Crimean War (1854-1856).