Campbell, Sir Archibald

CAMPBELL, SIR ARCHIBALD. (1739–1791). British army officer and colonial governor. Born at Inverary, Campbell was educated at Glasgow University and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He received a commission in the corps of engineers in 1758 and subsequently served with distinction in the West Indies. From 1768 to 1773 he was chief military engineer in Bengal, where he made a fortune from private ventures. The following year he was elected Member of Parliament for Stirling Boroughs, a seat he held until 1780.

In November 1775, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, he raised the Twenty-first Highlanders (Fraser Highlanders) and in May sailed with them to Boston for his first service on the American mainland. Arriving in June, after the Americans had occupied the city, he was captured and held captive at Concord until exchanged for Ethan Allen and six other American prisoners in May 1778. Resuming command of his regiment, he was given eight battalions to reconquer Georgia, a task in which he displayed impressive talents as a commander. He took Savannah on 29 December and occupied Augusta on 29 January 1779 before handing over command of British troops in the southern colonies to major general Augustin Prevost. Returning home a popular hero and a newly promoted colonel, on 7 July he married Amelia Ramsay, daughter of the portraitist Allan Ramsay.

The following year he was made brigadier general with command of the royal troops in Jamaica. After a dispute with the governor about the use of his soldiers, Campbell was appointed governor as well as commander in chief for troops in Jamaica in 1782. In the face of probable Bourbon attack he reorganized the island's defenses, daring to use black militia for the purpose. He returned home in August 1784 and was knighted for his outstanding services on 30 September 1785.

His friendship with Henry Dundas led to his appointment as governor of Madras, where he arrived in April 1786. He was an energetic and conscientious administrator and earned Cornwallis's praise (and the East India Company's censure) for a treaty that settled the Nawab of Arcot's debts. He resigned in 1789 and returned home to be re-elected for Stirling Boroughs. He died in London on 31 March 1791 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

SEE ALSO Allen, Ethan; Savannah, Georgia (29 December 1778).

                                        revised by John Oliphant