The son of
Charles Cathcart, 8th Lord Cathcart, and Marion Shaw, he was born on 21 March 1721. Opposed to the restoration of the
Stuart monarchy, he became an
aide-de-camp to
the Duke of Cumberland and during the
Battle of Fontenoy in 1745, was shot in the face. Joshua Reynolds' portrait (1753–55) shows the black silk patch he used to cover the scar on his cheek. This seemingly earned him the soubriquet 'Patch Cathcart'. The following year at the
Battle of Culloden, again acting as ADC to Cumberland, Cathcart was once more wounded in battle. Charles was the last Lord Cathcart to inherit the family estate of
Sundrum. Upon inheriting his mother's estates in Greenock he sold Sundrum to James Murray of Broughton in 1758. Through his mother he also inherited Schawpark near
Sauchie at Gartmorn. The house dated from 1700. A small group of cottages on the estate were involved in the "manufacture of
osnaburgs when visited by Bishop
Richard Pococke in 1760. In 1763 he was created a Knight of the
Order of the Thistle. In August 1768 he arrived as the ambassador at St Petersburg and was he was well received by
Catherine the Great. He served, poorly, at the Russian court until 1772. On his return to Britain he was elected
Rector of Glasgow University in 1773. In 1775 he commissioned
Robert Adam to remodel Schawpark, but he did not live to see completion of the works. He died on 14 August 1776. ==Personal life and children==