General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun (5 May 1705 – 27 April 1782) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who served as

Commander-in-Chief, North America The office of Commander-in-Chief, North America was a military position of the British Army. Established in 1755 in the early years of the Seven Years' War, holders of the post were generally responsible for land-based military personnel and a ...

from 1756 to 1757.

Early life and career

Born in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

two years before the creation of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in which his father, Hugh Campbell, 3rd Earl of Loudoun, was a significant figure, Campbell inherited his father's estates and peerages in 1731 and became Lord Loudoun. He raised a

Highland regiment Scottish regiments are military units which at some point during their existence have had a form of connection with Scotland. Though the military history of Scotland dates back to the era of classical antiquity, the first organised Scottish mi ...

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

Loudon's Highlanders Loudon's Highlanders, or the 64th Highlanders, or Earl of Loudon's Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the British Army. History Formation The great bravery of the 42nd Regiment of Foot, 43rd Highlanders (later renumbered the 42nd) an ...

, which took part in the

Jacobite Rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

on the side of the Hanoverian government. The regiment consisted of twelve companies, with Loudoun as colonel and John Campbell (later 5th Duke of Argyll) as lieutenant-colonel. The regiment served in several different parts of Scotland. Three of the twelve companies, raised in the south, were captured at the

Battle of Prestonpans The Battle of Prestonpans, also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, was fought on 21 September 1745, near Prestonpans, in East Lothian, the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Jacobitism, Jacobite forces, led by the Stua ...

. Eight companies, under the personal command of Lord Loudoun, were stationed in

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

. Loudoun set out in February 1746 with that portion of his regiment and several of the Independent Companies in an attempt to capture the Jacobite pretender,

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

. The expedition was met by a ruse de guerre by only four Jacobites, which suggested a large force was protecting Stuart, and it returned without engagement. That was later publicised as the Rout of Moy. Loudoun then fell back to join the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British royal family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom w ...

's army up and gave up the town of Inverness to the rebels. After the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...

, Loudoun led his mixed force of regulars, militia and Highlanders in mopping-up operations against the remaining rebels.

Seven Years' War

North America

In 1756, Loudoun was sent to North America as Commander-in-Chief and Governor General of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, where he was unpopular with many of the colonial leaders. When he learned that some merchants were still trading with the French while he was trying to fight a war against them, he temporarily closed all American ports. Despite his unpopularity the County of

Loudoun Loudoun () is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston parish, Galston Parish (which encompasses ...

, formed from Fairfax in 1757, was named in his honour. As Commander-in-Chief during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, called the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

in the Thirteen Colonies, he planned an expedition to seize

Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The harbour had been used by European mariners since at least the 1590s, when it was known as English Port and Havre à l'An ...

from the French in 1757 but he called it off when intelligence, possibly including a French

deception Deception is the act of convincing of one or many recipients of untrue information. The person creating the deception knows it to be false while the receiver of the information does not. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Tort of ...

, indicated that the French forces there were too strong for him to defeat. While Loudoun was thus engaged in Canada, French forces captured

Fort William Henry Fort William Henry was a British fort at the southern end of Lake George, in the province of New York. The fort's construction was ordered by Sir William Johnson in September 1755, during the French and Indian War, as a staging ground for a ...

from the British, and he was replaced by James Abercrombie and returned to London. Francis Parkman, a 19th-century historian of the Seven Years' War, rates Loudun's martial conduct of the affair poorly. Many historians debate whether he played a fundamental part in the Seven Years' War. Arguably, he was an influential figure as he embarked on reforms for the army such as replacing the ordinary musket with the flintlock musket for greater accuracy. He made improvements by embarking on a road improvement programme and recognised the need to supply the army as he replaced the traditional supply line with army wagons. His focus was centralising the system of supplies and had built storehouses in Halifax and Albany and recognised the importance of waterways as a means of transport. Most notably, he integrated regular troops with local militias, and the irregulars were to fight a different kind of war from the linear European style of warfare in which the British had previously been trained.

Benjamin Franklin's anecdotes of Lord Loudon

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

provides several first-hand anecdotes of Loudon's North American days in his ''

Autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

'', none of which is complimentary. The following are excerpts:

Portugal

In 1762, he was sent to Portugal to counter the

Spanish invasion of Portugal The Spanish invasion of Portugal (1762) between 5 May and 24 November, was a military episode in the wider Fantastic War in which Spain and France were defeated by the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance with broad popular resistance. It involved at f ...

as second in command, and he became overall commander in 1763. Despite being unable to prevent the loss of Almeida, the British forces soon launched a counter-attack that drove the invaders back across the border.

Later life

Back in Scotland, Loudon in 1763 was made Governor of Edinburgh Castle, a post that he held for the rest of his life. In 1770, he was promoted to full general.Haydn's ''Book of Dignities'' (1851
p. 318
Loudoun's interest in horticulture led to his estate being renowned for its landscaping. He collected willow species in particular from around the globe. On 23 January 1773, the town of Loudon, New Hampshire, was incorporated and named in his honor. Loudonville, New York, was also named after him as well as the unincorporated town of Loudon, Massachusetts, which was renamed to Otis upon its incorporation. Campbell remained a bachelor and on his death in 1782 was succeeded as earl by his cousin, James Mure-Campbell.

Coat of arms

References

External links

John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun
at wetpaint.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Loudoun, John Campbell, 4th Earl of 1705 births 1782 deaths Earls of Loudoun British Army personnel of the French and Indian War British Army generals Colonial governors of Virginia British Army personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745 Loudoun County, Virginia British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War Fellows of the Royal Society Scottish representative peers Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Grand masters of the Premier Grand Lodge of England