General Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet (12 March 1769 – 6 October 1843) was a Scottish soldier who served as an officer in 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 ...
. From 1824 to 1826, Gen. Campbell commanded the British forces in the
First Anglo-Burmese War
The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmes ...
, the longest and most expensive war in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
n history,
that gave the British control of
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, Manipur,
Cachar,
Jaintia,
Arakan
Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...
and
Tenasserim.
He became known as the "Hero of
Ava". From 1831 to 1837, he was the administrator of the colony of
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, Canada. The Canadian city of
Campbellton in the province of New Brunswick was named in his honour.
Early life
Archibald was born 12 March 1769, at
Glen Lyon
Glen Lyon ( gd, Gleann Lìomhann) is a glen in the Perth and Kinross region of Scotland. It is the longest enclosed glen in Scotland and runs for from Loch Lyon in the west to the village of Fortingall in the east.
This glen was also kno ...
, Perthshire, and educated at
Tonbridge School
(God Giveth the Increase)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding
, religion =
, president =
, head_label ...
, Kent, England. He was the third son of Captain Archibald Campbell and his wife Margaret Small of
Dirnanean
Dirnanean House is part of a private, traditional Highland estate located near Enochdhu in Moulin parish, Blairgowrie and Rattray, Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, 10 miles ENE of Pitlochry. The Dirnanean estate is situated adjacent to ...
, daughter of Captain
James Small,
factor
Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to:
Commerce
* Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent
* Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate
* Factors of production, suc ...
of the forfeited estates of the Robertsons of Struan. Archibald was a descendant of the Robertsons through his maternal great grandmother, Magdalen Robertson,
and also through his paternal grandmother, Janet Robertson.
Archibald's great-grandfather on his father's side, Duncan Campbell 2nd
Laird
Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...
of Duneaves, Perthshire, was a first cousin of
Robert Campbell, 5th of Glenlyon. One of Archibald's maternal great-uncles was Major-General
John Small who fought in 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 ...
and later became
Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey
The Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown. The role of the Lieutenant Governor is to act as the ''de facto'' head of state in Guernsey ...
.
Archibald grew up at Carie, formerly part of the Robertson estate on the south shore of
Loch Rannoch
Loch Rannoch (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Raineach'') is a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is over long in a west–east direction with an average width of about , and is deepest at its eastern end, reaching a depth of .Tom Weir. ...
within the parish of
Logierait.
Military career
Early career
Campbell entered the army aged 18, in 1787 as an
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 ...
. The next year he and his regiment, the
77th Regiment of Foot
The 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line regiment of the British Army, raised in 1787. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Cam ...
, left for India, where he took part in the campaign against
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...
in 1790. In 1791 he was promoted to Lieutenant. He served in the
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
campaign and the first siege of
Seringapatam
Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated at around 984 CE. Later, under the British rule the city wa ...
.
In 1795 his regiment was ordered to reduce the
Dutch garrison (Fort Stormsburg) of
Cochin
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
on the coast of
Malabar. In 1799 he took part of the reduction of the island of
Ceylon.
Later in 1799 he purchased the rank of
captain in the
67th but exchanged into the 88th so that he could continue with his foreign service. However, he was required by ill-health to return home in 1801. He was appointed major in the 6th battalion of reserve, stationed in
Guernsey.
He moved in 1805 to the 1st battalion which was leaving for Portugal. He fought in the battles of
Roliça,
Vimeiro and
Corunna. In 1809 he was promoted to
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 ...
and assisted General
Beresford in organising the Portuguese army. In that capacity he was made full
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 ...
and then
brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...
. He was present through most of the fighting in the
Peninsula.
In 1813 Campbell was appointed to the rank of
major-general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
in the Portuguese army. In 1816 he was given command of the Lisbon division. He returned to the service of Britain in 1820, after a revolution in Portugal. Campbell was appointed colonel of the
38th Regiment of Foot (in which post he was succeeded by
Field Marshal Sir
John Forster FitzGerald, GCB) and went to India with it. For his Peninsula service, Campbell was awarded the
Army Gold Cross with one clasp for the battles of Albuera, Vitoria, the Pyrenees, the Nivelle, and the Nive.
First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826)
Battle of Yangon (May–December 1824)
In India, General Campbell was directed to take command of an expedition against the Burmese in the First Anglo-Burmese War. In May 1824, he led a British naval force of over 10,000 men (5000 British soldiers and over 5000 Indian sepoys) to
Yangon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
(Rangoon), and took the deserted city with little resistance on 11 May 1824.
After fortifying the
Shwedagon Pagoda
The Shwedagon Pagoda (, ); mnw, ကျာ်ဒဂုၚ်; officially named ''Shwedagon Zedi Daw'' ( my, ရွှေတိဂုံစေတီတော်, , ) and also known as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda is a gilded stupa ...
compound, Campbell launched attacks on Burmese lines, and by July 1824, had successfully pushed the Burmese towards
Kamayut, from the Shwedagon, then successfully repelled Burmese efforts to retake the city in September.
In December 1824, Campbell and his 10,000 men decisively defeated the 30,000 strong Burmese forces led by General
Maha Bandula
General Maha Bandula ( my, မဟာဗန္ဓုလ ; 6 November 1782 – 1 April 1825) was commander-in-chief of the Royal Burmese Armed Forces from 1821 until his death in 1825 in the First Anglo-Burmese War. Bandula was a ...
in the final battle of Yangon. Thousands of Burmese soldiers were cut down under British gunfire and exploding
Congreve rocket
The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve in 1808.
The design was based upon the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against the East India Company during the Second, Third, ...
fire. Only 7000 of the 30,000 survived.
[ The Burmese retreated to their rear base at ]Danubyu
Danubyu ( my, ဓနုဖြူမြို့ ) is a town in the Ayeyarwady Division of south-west Myanmar, located on the west bank of the Ayeyarwaddy River in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta. It is the seat of the Danubyu Township in the Maubin Distri ...
in the Irrawaddy Delta
The Irrawaddy Delta or Ayeyarwady Delta lies in the Irrawaddy Division, the lowest expanse of land in Myanmar that fans out from the limit of tidal influence at Myan Aung to the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, to the south at the mouth of the ...
, from Yangon.
Occupation of Lower Burma (March–December 1825)
In late March 1825, Campbell ordered a 4000 strong British force, supported by a flotilla of gun boats, to take Danubyu
Danubyu ( my, ဓနုဖြူမြို့ ) is a town in the Ayeyarwady Division of south-west Myanmar, located on the west bank of the Ayeyarwaddy River in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta. It is the seat of the Danubyu Township in the Maubin Distri ...
. The fort, defended by 10,000 Burmese, fell after Bandula was killed by a mortar shell on 1 April 1825.[ After Danubyu, the British forces took Pyay (Prome), the traditional boundary between Upper and Lower Burma, and went on to consolidate gains in Lower Burma throughout the ]monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
season of 1825.
In November and December 1825, Campbell's forces, consisted of 2500 British and 1500 Indian sepoys, successfully repelled the last-ditch efforts by the Burmese forces led by their new commander-in-chief General Maha Ne Myo to retake Pyay.
March to Upper Burma and Victory (January–February 1826)
With the Burmese army in disarray, Campbell marched north to Upper Burma, and took the ancient capital of Pagan ( Bagan) in early February 1826. After Campbell's forces took the village of Yandabo
Yandabo is a village on the Ayeyarwady River in Myingyan Township, central Burma. The Treaty of Yandabo which ended the First Anglo-Burmese War
The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စ ...
, about from the capital Ava (Innwa), on 16 February, the Burmese finally agreed to full British demands "without discussion". As the chief commander of British forces, Campbell was the lead signatory of the Treaty of Yandabo
The Treaty of Yandabo ( my, ရန္တပိုစာချုပ် ) was the peace treaty that ended the First Anglo-Burmese War. The treaty was signed on 24February 1826, nearly two years after the war formally broke out on 5March 1824, by ...
on the British side. The Burmese agreed to cede to the British Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, Manipur, Arakan
Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...
and Tenasserim; stop all interference in Cachar and Jaintia; and pay an indemnity of one million pounds sterling.[
The treaty ended the longest and most expensive war in British Indian history. Fifteen thousand European and Indian soldiers died, together with an unknown (but almost certainly higher) number of Burmese. The campaign cost the British five million pounds sterling (roughly 18.5 billion in 2006 dollars)][ to 13 million pounds sterling that led to a severe economic crisis in British India in 1833.][
]
After the war
Campbell received the thanks of Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
, the governor-in-council
The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...
and the British 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 South ...
gave him a gold medal and a pension of £1000 per annum for life. In 1839 he was made Commander-in-chief in Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
but did not enjoy the post for long due to ill-health.
Lieutenant-governor
Campbell returned to England in 1829 and was given the colonelcy of the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot
The 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment, raised in 1823. Under the Childers Reforms, it amalgamated with the 45th (Nottinghamshire) (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment of Foot to form the Sherwood Foresters in 18 ...
(1828–1834). In 1831 he was made Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
The lieutenant governor of New Brunswick (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the viceregal representative in New Brunswick of the , who operates distinctly wit ...
, where he stayed for six years (1831–1837). Campbell was concerned for the safety of New Brunswick. For this reason he began the construction of a road, known as the "Royal Road", from Fredericton to Grand Falls, so as to improve the movement of troops into the northern part of the colony where the Americans had become a threat. The Canadian city of Campbellton in the province of New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
was named in his honour.
In 1834 he transferred as Colonel to the 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot and in 1840 transferred again to be Colonel of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot
The 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, which was raised in 1756 and saw service through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 99th (Lanarkshire) ...
, holding the latter post until his death in 1843 at age 74.
Family
Archibald Campbell married Helen MacDonald, a sister of John MacDonald of Garth, on 6 July 1801 at Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...
, London. She was also the sister of Mrs William McGillivray
Lt.-Colonel The Hon. William McGillivray (1764 – 16 October 1825), of Chateau St. Antoine, Montreal, was a Scottish-born fur trader who succeeded his uncle as the last chief partner of the North West Company. He was elected a member of the L ...
, née Magdalen MacDonald. The Campbells were the parents of two sons and three daughters. Archibald Campbell and his wife both spoke Gaelic. The family's primary residence was Garth House near Fortingall, Perthshire, Scotland.
One of his sons-in-law was his aide-de-camp, Lt. Col John James Snodgrass. Another son-in-law was General The Hon. Sir Augustus Almeric Spencer, G.C.B., a member of the Spencer family
The Spencer family is an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. From the 16th century, its members have held numerous titles including the dukedom of Marlborough, the earldoms of Sunderland and Spencer, and the Churchill barony. Two prom ...
and Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay Army
The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India.
It was established in 1662 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferred all presidencies to the d ...
between 1869 and 1875. One of Spencer's grandsons was the Reverend Canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
Henry Spencer Stephenson, Chaplain to King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...
and Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
.
Granddaughter Laura Augusta Mackenzie Douglas married Donald Mackenzie the son of Donald Mackenzie, stylised Lord Mackenzie, a Senator of the College of Justice, Edinburgh, Scotland. A second granddaughter, Helen Maria Mackenzie Douglas, married another of Mackenzie's sons, Andrew Mitchell Mackenzie.
After his service in Bombay, Campbell retired to private life. He died in Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
on 6 October 1843, and was buried in the churchyard of the Church of St John the Evangelist, Edinburgh. He is buried on one of the southern terraces, at its western end.
Sir Archibald's son, Sir John Campbell, 2nd Baronet succeeded to the baronetcy upon his death.
Decorations
*1813 Knight Commander of the Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword
The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit ( pt, Antiga e Muito Nobre Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower an ...
*1814 Knight Bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...
*1815 Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
*1826 Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
*1831 Baronet Campbell of New Brunswick
References
External links
Portrait of Young Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet
Color Portrait of Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet
*
* Text by Lt. Col John James Snodgrass.
Detailing the Operations of Major-General Archibald Campbell's Army, From its landing at Rangoon in May 1824, to the conclusion of a Treaty of Peace at Yandaboo in February 1826.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Archibald
1769 births
1843 deaths
People from Perth and Kinross
People educated at Tonbridge School
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
77th Regiment of Foot officers
British Army generals
Knights Bachelor
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Governors of the Colony of New Brunswick
British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
British military personnel of the First Anglo-Burmese War
People of the First Anglo-Burmese War
History of Myanmar
67th Regiment of Foot officers
Recipients of the Army Gold Cross
Scottish generals
Burials at St John's, Edinburgh