Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

Sir James Campbell, 1st Baronet (25 May 1763 – 5 June 1819) 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, politician and colonial administrator. He was Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the

Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

, Adjutant-General to the British Forces and Heritable Usher of the White Rod for Scotland. He is buried at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

Birth

The eldest son of Sir James Campbell, of Killean, 2nd of

Inverneill House Inverneill House is a country house in Argyll, western Scotland. It stands on the west shore of Loch Fyne, around south of Lochgilphead. Although the house is not listed, the walled gardens and mausoleum on the estate are protected as category ...

, Heritable Usher of the White Rod for Scotland and Member of Parliament for the Stirling Burghs. His father was recognized as the 9th Chief of Clan Tearlach, a branch of Campbell of Craignish, by the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officer of State, Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scotland, Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

in 1791. He was a nephew of his father's brother, General Sir Archibald Campbell, the Governor of Madras who purchased the Inverneill estate in 1773. His mother, Jean (died 1805), was the daughter of John Campbell of Askomil,

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

, of the Ballachlavan Campbells.G. Harvey Johnston, ''The Heraldry of the Campbells'', vol. II (1921
pp. 70–71
His sister, Jane Campbell, was the first woman to petition a private bill get a full divorce in the United Kingdom.

Military career

Campbell was commissioned into the 1st Royal Scots Regiment of Foot in 1780, making

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

the following year. He immediately exchanged into the 60th (Royal American) Regiment, serving with them during the last two campaigns of the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. On its conclusion, he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1783. In 1787, he joined the

73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot The 73rd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1780. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 42nd Regiment of Foot to form the Black Watch, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) in 1881. History Form ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, as aide-de-camp to his uncle, General Sir Archibald Campbell, who served as the Governor of Madras until 1789. He exchanged into the 19th Light Dragoons, serving in the three campaigns of the

Third Anglo-Mysore War The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company, the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore, the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy, and the Nizam of Hyderabad ...

under

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best kn ...

against Tippoo Sahib. In March 1794, he was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, and on returning to England in November of that year was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Cheshire Fencibles. He served in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

until 1800, when he was appointed assistant Adjutant-General at the Horse Guards. In 1801, he was promoted

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

by brevet and in 1804 he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot. In 1805, he was appointed adjutant general to the force destined for the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

under Sir James Henry Craig for the Anglo-Russian invasion of Naples. He acted in that capacity from 1805 to 1813, and was only absent on the occasion of the Battle of Maida, winning the confidence of all the generals who held command in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Governor of the Ionian Islands

In 1810, General Cavaignac managed to get 3,500 men safely across the Straits of Messina, placing one battalion on the cliffs while the others were fast disembarking. Campbell, by a rapid attack with the Royal Scots Fusiliers, repelled the disembarking battalions and forced those already landed to surrender. Forty three officers and over eight hundred men were taken prisoners, with a loss to the British of only three men wounded. During his tenure of office, in 1808, he had been promoted major general, and

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in 1813. The following year, in 1814, he was appointed to take possession of the

, and when the French Governor, François-Xavier Donzelot, refused to hand over the government of the Islands, Campbell threatened to open fire. He remained in the

as Governor and Commander-in-Chief until 1816, when Sir Thomas Maitland was appointed Lord High Commissioner. A French authority stated that Campbell acted in a most despotic way as governor, saying that he abolished the

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, the

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and the press established by the French. He returned to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1816. The following year he was made Knight Grand Cross of Hanover of the

Royal Guelphic Order The Royal Guelphic Order (), sometimes referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Kingdom of Hanover, Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It takes its name from the House ...

. On 3 October 1818, he was created the 1st (and last)

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 14th ...

of Inverneill. He was a Commander of the Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit.

Private life

Following the death of his father in 1805, he became the 10th Chief of Clan Tearlach and inherited the position of Heritable Usher of the White Rod for Scotland, selling the title to Sir Patrick Walker in 1806. In 1794, he had married Agnes Margaret, the daughter of one of the most distinguished surgeons and scientists of his day, John Hunter, for whom the Hunterian Society of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

is named. Agnes' mother, Anne (Home) Hunter, daughter of Robert Boyne Home of Greenlaw Castle,

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

, and the sister of Sir Everard Home, 1st Bt., of Well Manor,

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. She was described by the author Fanny Burney as "extremely pretty and reckoned very ingenious". Some of the poems of Agnes' mother, Anne Home were used to the music of

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

. Campbell was very close to his mother-in-law, Anne Hunter, and provided her with a small annuity. As such, Mrs Hunter was greatly saddened and disappointed in her daughter when she separated from Campbell. Campbell died without issue 5 June 1819, and is buried with his own monument at

, near to his distinguished uncle General Sir Archibald Campbell. After his death his baronetcy became extinct and the Inverneill estate was passed to his brothers, the 4th and 5th lairds of Inverneill.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, James 1763 births 1819 deaths People from Inveraray Nobility from Argyll and Bute Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Army lieutenant generals Burials at Westminster Abbey Scottish knights 18th-century Scottish people 18th-century British politicians Scottish civil servants Royal Scots officers Scottish landowners James King's Royal Rifle Corps officers 73rd Regiment of Foot officers 19th Light Dragoons officers British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Mysore War British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Horse Guards officers British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars

Birth

Military career

Governor of the Ionian Islands

Private life

See also

References