Major General Sir John Campbell, 2nd Baronet of

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

(14 April 1807 – 18 June 1855), was a British army officer and the son of General

Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet (12 March 1769 – 6 October 1843) was a British army officer. From 1824 to 1826, Gen. Campbell commanded the British forces in the First Anglo-Burmese War, the longest and most expensive war in British ...

of New Brunswick. He died in the

Battle of the Great Redan The Battle of the Great Redan (or the ''Storming of the Third Bastion'';Konstantin Staniukovich, Staniukovich K. M. ''Севастопольский мальчик'': Издательство "Cоветская Россия"; Moscow; 1985 ) w ...

Early life

John Campbell was born on 14 April 1807, the second son of General

,(1769-1843) and Helen, daughter of Capt. John McDonald or MacDonald, of Garth,

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

, Scotland. The Campbells were members of the Smalls 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 ...

in Perthshire. The Rev. Archibald Campbell, the elder son and heir to the

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, died unmarried in 1831 serving as a chaplain in

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 ...

. After his brother's death, John Campbell became his father's

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

. Campbell showed early skills as an artist, painting or sketching early gatherings and events in New Brunswick while his father served as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick. Today a number of those portraits are in the possession of the

Provincial Archives of New Brunswick Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) is the archives agency for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. It is located on the campus of the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city ...

Military career

Campbell entered the army as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the 38th regiment, which his father then commanded, in 1821, joining the regiment in India. He served as aide-de-camp to his father throughout the first Burmese War, and on 1 July 1824 he was promoted a Lieutenant, without

purchase Purchasing is the procurement process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary g ...

, and in 1826 thanked by the governor-general in council for his services. On 11 July 1826 he was promoted to a company and remained in Burmah in a civil capacity until 1829, when he returned to England and joined the depôt of his regiment. From 1831 to 1837 Campbell acted as aide-de-camp to his father when serving as

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...

of New Brunswick, and in the latter year he purchased the majority of his regiment. In 1840 he purchased the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 38th, and commanded it continuously in 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 ...

, the

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, and

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, until he was selected for the command of a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

in the expeditionary force intended for the East in 1854. In 1843 he had succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father. On 11 Nov. 1851 he had been 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 on 24 March 1854 he was posted to the command of the 2nd brigade of the 3rd division under Major-General Sir Richard England, with the rank of Brigadier-General. With that command he was present at the battles of the Alma and

Inkerman Inkerman (; ; ) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is '' de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but ''de jure'' within the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within Ukraine. It lies 5 kilometres (3 miles ...

, and on 12 December 1854 he was promoted major-general. After the

Battle of Inkerman The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, and w ...

as the senior brigadier-general with the army, he was posted to the temporary command of the 4th division.

Death

On 7 June 1855 he was superseded by Lieutenant-General Henry Bentinck, and on hearing of the intended assault upon the Great Redan at

Sebastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important Port of Sevastopol, por ...

he volunteered to lead the detachments of the 4th division to the attack. On 18 June he displayed "a courage amounting to rashness" and after sending away his aides-de-camp, Captain Hume and Captain Snodgrass, the latter the son of the historian of his father's war, he rushed out of the trenches with a few followers, and fell at once in the act of cheering on his men. Had he survived, Campbell would have been rewarded for his services in the winter, for in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' of 5 July it was announced that he would have been made a KCB. He was buried on Cathcart's Hill near

in what is now part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. His sword and boots were taken from his dead body while it lay on the battlefield, but returned later by a Russian officer. Memorials to Sir John Campbell's war service and death were erected at Church of St John the Evangelist,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland and in

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

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, United Kingdom. Sir John Campbell's name appears on the Crimean War Memorial in

Bath Abbey The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is a parish church of the Church of England and former Benedictines, Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in the 7th century, i ...

Cemetery,

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. Sir John Campbell's swords and other memorabilia related to the Campbell family's military service are on display at the

National War Museum of Scotland The National War Museum is a museum dedicated to warfare, which is located inside Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. Opened in 1933 in a converted 18th-century ordnance storehouse, the museum is run by the National Museums Scotland and c ...

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

Personal life

Campbell married Helen Margaret Crowe on 21 July 1841, the only child of Colonel John Crowe of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. The couple had eight children: five boys and three girls. The eldest son, Archibald Ava Campbell (1844-1913), became the third

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 ...

References

External links