Colquhoun Grant
Major (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Colquhoun Grant is an officer of the 11th Foot and a member of Wellington's staff in the Peninsula. He specializes in military intelligence, frequently observing and making note of the movements of the French from close quarters. Scorning however to commit any act which might be seen as sneaking or underhand, he is careful always to wear his uniform when thus engaged. Unfortunately since the British uniform is bright red this makes him a relatively easy person to spot - though not necessarily to catch. When at one point Major Grant is, unluckily, captured by the French, he is rescued by the magic of Jonathan Strange and the efforts of a Portuguese guerrilla band under Jeronimo Saornil[31].
After Strange and Grant become acquainted in these odd circumstances a steady friendship grows between them, and the major is one of the party playing billiards with Strange at the Bedford coffee-house on the occasion that the latter first enters a mirror and ventures upon the King's Roads[35].
Major Grant is a native of Morayshire in Scotland. More can be found on his career here.