Lord William Campbell (11 July 1730 – 4 September 1778) was from a Scottish family loyal to the House of Hanover. His father was John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll. From 1752 to 1760, he served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. In 1762, because of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

, he was scheduled to serve in America. He met and married a lady named Sarah Izard from

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

in 1763. His brother-in-law was a future American rebel and member of the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...

Ralph Izard Ralph Izard (January 23, 1741/1742May 30, 1804) was a U.S. politician. He served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1794, and owned slaves. Early life Izard was born at "The Elms" near Charleston, South Carolina. He was ...

. In 1764, they returned to Britain where he became a member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, representing the family seat in

Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. In 1766 he was appointed

Governor of Nova Scotia The following is a list of the governors and lieutenant governors of Nova Scotia. Though the present day office of the lieutenant governor in Nova Scotia came into being only upon the province's entry into Canadian Confederation in 1867, the po ...

, a position he held until 1773. In June 1775, at the outbreak of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Campbell became the last British Governor of South Carolina, a position for which he had lobbied hard, because his wife was from South Carolina. Charged with bringing in the reins on the colony's revolutionaries, Campbell first decided to ignore the newly established Provincial Congress. The Provincial Congress was created in January 1775 in Charleston by former members of the South Carolina House of Commons as a separate ruling government independent of British authority and influence. Knowing the great rift between the aristocratic low-country and the backwoodsmen commoners of the backcountry, Campbell distributed

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...

s in mass numbers to backcountry citizens. The pamphlets stated that Charleston citizens kept lying and that the Provincial Congress could not be trusted. Governor Campbell soon realized he could no longer reside and govern in safety in Charleston. Intimidation from Patriots resulted in public hangings, assaults, and business/home raids of suspected Loyalists. One home raided included that of

Henry Laurens Henry Laurens (December 8, 1792) was an American Founding Father, merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laure ...

, who would go on to become the third President of the Second Continental Congress. Patriots were not afraid to intimidate or attack British officials, and several officials even fled the city to escape further persecution. In 1775, Campbell fled his home at 34 Meeting Street in

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

on a British warship, HMS ''Tamar'', and returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His departure marked the beginning of revolution in South Carolina and the end of British governance of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

. In 1776, during the Battle of Sullivan's Island, he was wounded in action while aboard Sir Peter Parker's flagship, HMS ''Bristol''. He never fully recovered, and died of its effects two years later at age 48.

Literature

*''The History of South Carolina in the Revolution'', (volume i, 1901) *''The Carolinian'', Rafael Sabatini (1924)

References

External links

Historical Biographies, Nova Scotia: Lord William Campbell (1730-1778)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, William 1730 births 1778 deaths Governors of the Colony of Nova Scotia British officials in the American Revolution Pre-statehood history of South Carolina Colonial governors of South Carolina Younger sons of dukes Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Year of birth uncertain Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 British military personnel killed in the American Revolutionary War