General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir John Campbell KCSI, CB, (1802 – 1878) was a Scottish army officer who served in the East India Company and the British Army. He served in the Goomsoor war of 1836–7 and later governed

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

in a civil capacity.

Life

The grave of General Sir John Campbell, Dean Cemetery

He was born in Kingsburgh on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

the son of John Campbell of Lochend and his wife, Annabella Campbell of Melfort. He joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

as an Ensign in 1819 but instead decided to join the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

in 1820, where prospects appeared better. In April 1820 he was appointed a Lieutenant in the 41st Madras Native Infantry. He worked in the

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

area until 1830, when he was promoted to Captain. In 1834 he was asked to quell a rebellion in the Kimedy hills in the

region. On the death of Major Barclay he commanded the entire force, and was successful in this action. His knowledge of the area meant that he was chosen to lead the troops in the Goomsoor War of 1836/37. At the end of this period he was asked to be governor of the

Khonds Khonds (also spelt Kondha, Kandha etc.) are an indigenous Adivasi tribal community in India. Traditionally hunter-gatherers, they are divided into the hill-dwelling Khonds and plain-dwelling Khonds for census purposes; All the Khonds identify ...

, the hill tribes of the

, with a special task of trying to end

female infanticide Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of newborn female children. In countries with a history of female infanticide, the modern practice of gender-selective abortion is often discussed as a closely related issue. Female infanticide is a ma ...

in the area. In 1842 he joined his old regiment, the 41st, on a posting to China, and was soon after both promoted to Lt Colonel and awarded a Commander of the Order of the Bath (CB) in December. However, he was asked to return to Madras and from 1847 resumed control of the Khonds, as his successor was proving ineffective. In 1849 he went to the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

to improve his health. He returned to India in 1851. In 1853 he was promoted to Colonel. He returned to Scotland in 1855 and took up residence in Edinburgh. Although semi-retired he was promoted to Major General in 1859. In 1866

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

made him a Knight Commander of the Star of India (KCSI). He was promoted to Lt General in 1867 and full General in 1872. He died on 21 April 1878 and is buried in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

. The grave lies in the inner east section of one of the smaller sections in the centre of the main south path.

Publications

*''A personal narrative of thirteen years service amongst the wild tribes of Khondistan for the suppression of human sacrifice'' (1864)

Family

His wife Elizabeth died in 1883 and was buried next to him.grave of Elizabeth Campbell, Dean Cemetery

References

External links

* 1802 births 1878 deaths British East India Company Army generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Companions of the Order of the Bath British Indian Army generals {{British-Army-bio-stub