Looked at the general colour (6)
I believe the answer is:
leered
'looked' is the definition.
(leering is a kind of looking)
'at the general colour' is the wordplay.
'at' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'the general' becomes 'Lee' (Robert E. Lee - US revolutionary commander).
'colour' becomes 'red' (red is a kind of colour).
'lee' put next to 'red' is 'LEERED'.
(Other definitions for leered that I've seen before include "Looked and smiled lasciviously" , "Look suggestively" , "Gazed at lasciviously" , "Ogled" , "Looked suggestively" .)