Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
John Cameron of Fassiefern (1771–1815) of
Fassiefern,
Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in popula ...
, was a celebrated Scottish
military commander
The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitud ...
of the
Napoleonic wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. He was a cousin of the
Camerons of Lochiel
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands lies Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Chief ...
.
Cameron served as
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
of the
Gordon Highlanders
Gordon may refer to:
People
* Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters
* Gordon (surname), the surname
* Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War
* Clan Gord ...
and was killed in action at the
Battle of Quatre-Bras.
The Prince Regent
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
created his father a
baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...
in 1817 in recognition of Cameron's distinguished military service.
Early life
John Cameron was born in Inverscadale by
Loch Linnhe on 16 August 1771. He was one of six children of
Sir Ewen Cameron, 1st Baronet, of Fassiefern in the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
of
Kilmallie
Kilmallie ( gd, Cill Mhàilidh) is a civil parish in Lochaber, in the west highlands of Scotland. It is centered on the village of Caol, near Fort William and extends to Banavie and Corpach. It gives its name to the local shinty club, Kilmallie Sh ...
, and his first wife, Louisa (daughter of Duncan Campbell of Barcaldine and Glenure), Nursed by the wife of a family retainer whose son, Ewen McMillan, was his foster-brother and faithful attendant through life, young Cameron grew up in close sympathy with the traditions and associations of his home and people, who looked to his father as the representative head of the clan in the enforced absence of the chief of Lochiel. He received his schooling in part at
Fort William Grammar School
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
, but chiefly by private tuition, before going to
King's College, Aberdeen
King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...
. Cameron was then
articled as a clerk in Edinburgh to
James Fraser of Gorthleck,
WS.
French Revolutionary Wars
After the outbreak of the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
, at his special request, a
commission was obtained for Cameron, and he entered the
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
in May 1793 as
Ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
in the
26th Cameronians, before being promoted as
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
in a
newly-formed Highland Company, attached to the old
93rd Foot (
Shirley's, disbanded after
Demerara
Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state ...
).
In the following year,
George, Marquess of Huntly (later
George, 5th Duke of Gordon),
Captain 3rd Foot Guards, raised a
corps
Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...
of
Highlanders at
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, which originally was numbered as the
100th Foot, but a few years later was redesignated as the now
92nd Gordon Highlanders. Cameron was appointed to command a
company in this regiment on 24 June 1794, serving in
Corsica and
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
from 1795 to 1797 and in the
south of Ireland in 1798. There he is said to have fallen in love with a young Irish woman in
Kilkenny, but the match was broken off in submission to his father's wishes.
The next year, 1799 Cameron served in
North Holland, where he was wounded in the fierce battle on the sand dunes between
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
and
Egmont-op-Zee on 2 October, one of the last few occasions when
bayonets were used in action. He served as a captain in his regiment at the occupation of the
Île-d'Houat off
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
and at
Cadiz in 1800 before fighting in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
, where he was wounded at the
Battle of Alexandria, receiving the
Ottoman Porte
The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire.
History
The name ...
Gold Medal for the
Egyptian Campaign
The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed to defend French trade interests, to establish scientific enterprise in the region. It was the pr ...
.
Peninsular War
Cameron was promoted to
major in the
Cameron Highlanders in 1801, before appointment as
lieutenant-colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...
of a newly-formed
second battalion
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...
(later disbanded) on 23 June 1808 which served mainly in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
Upon the return of
1st Battalion Cameron Highlanders from
La Coruña, Cameron was transferred to its command and led the regiment in the
Walcheren Campaign
The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chath ...
, subsequently proceeding to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
landing there on 8 October 1810. He and his troops distinguished themselves repeatedly during the
succeeding campaigns, particularly at the
Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro
In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the British–Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida.
A bloody stalema ...
, 5 May 1811; at the
Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos, 28 October 1811; at
Battle of Almaraz, 19 May 1812; and at
Battle of Vittoria
At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leading ...
, 21 June 1813, where his services appear to have been strangely overlooked in the award of honours; at the
Passage of Maya, 13 July 1813; at the
battles on the Nive between 9 and 13 December 1813;
[ cites Napier's ''History ...'' p. 415] at the Passage of the
Gave at
Arriverette, 17 February 1814; and at the
Capture of Acre (misprinted "Aire" in some accounts), 2 March 1814. Some particulars of the
armorial
A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms.
The oldest extant armorials date to the mid-13th centu ...
and other
honour
Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...
s bestowed upon Cameron in recognition of his military service can be found in Cannon's ''Historical Record, 92nd Highlanders'' and in ''
Burke's Peerage & Baronetage''.
Waterloo Campaign and death at Quatre-Bras
![John cameron memorial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/John_cameron_memorial.jpg)
During the
Waterloo Campaign
The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, but he l ...
, Cameron's
92nd Foot alongside the
42nd Highlanders,
1st Royals, and
44th East Essex, formed
General Pack's
9th Brigade of
Sir Thomas Picton's 5th Division, and were among the first troops to march out of Brussels at daybreak on 16 June 1815. On that day, when leading his regiment in an attack on an enemy stronghold, on the
road to Charleroi near the village of
Quatre-Bras, Cameron was mortally wounded. He died the following morning and was buried there at the side of the road to Ghent road, during the
great storm of the 17th by his foster-brother and faithful attendant, Private Ewen McMillan, (who had followed his fortunes from the first day he joined the Army), James Gordon,
Regimental-Paymaster and a close personal friend, and a few soldiers of the regiment whose wounds prevented them engaging in combat on that day. At the request of his family, Cameron's remains were
disinterred soon afterwards, brought home in a
man-of-war and, in the presence of a gathering of three thousand
highlanders from the then still populous district of
Lochaber
Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creatio ...
, were laid to rest in
Kilmallie
Kilmallie ( gd, Cill Mhàilidh) is a civil parish in Lochaber, in the west highlands of Scotland. It is centered on the village of Caol, near Fort William and extends to Banavie and Corpach. It gives its name to the local shinty club, Kilmallie Sh ...
churchyard where an
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...
inscribed with a quotation by
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
marks the site of his
grave
A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grav ...
.
Family baronetcy
In 1817
a baronetcy was created for
Ewen Cameron of Fassiefern, as posthumous recognition of his late son's distinguished military service.
Sir Ewen Cameron died in 1828 at the age of ninety, when Cameron's younger brother succeeded as Sir Duncan Cameron, 2nd and last baronet. The
Cameron baronetcy of Fassiefern became
extinct in 1863.
Coat of arms
See also
*
Cameron baronets
*
Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands lies Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Chie ...
*
Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons)
The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Prior to 28 March 2006, the Highlanders was an infantry regiment in its own right; The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordon ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Attribution
* lists as sources
**''
Burke's Landed Gentry
''Burke's Landed Gentry'' (originally titled ''Burke's Commoners'') is a reference work listing families in Great Britain and Ireland who have owned rural estates of some size. The work has been in existence from the first half of the 19th cen ...
'', Vol. i.;
**''Army Lists and War Office Muster-Rolls'';
**Cannon's ''Hist. Rec. 92nd Highlanders'';
**Napier's ''Hist. Peninsular War'';
**Siborne's ''Waterloo'';
**Clerk's ''Memoir of Colonel John Cameron, 2nd ed''. (privately printed, Glasgow, 1858),
4to;
**''Gent. Mag.'' vol. xcix. pt. i. p. 87.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, John
1771 births
1815 deaths
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
Deaths by firearm in Belgium
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
Scottish soldiers
Recipients of the Army Gold Medal
Recipients of the Order of the Tower and Sword
British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
British Army personnel of the Peninsular War
Gordon Highlanders officers
Scottish military personnel killed in action
British military personnel killed in action in the Napoleonic Wars