- John Campbell, of Stonefield
Infobox Person
name = John Campbell, of Stonefield
birth_date =7 December 1753
birth_place =
death_date =23 March 1784
death_place =
other_names =
known_for = Defence ofMangalore
occupation =British Army Officer Lieutenant-Colonel John Campbell, of Stonefield (1753–1784), was a Scottish soldier known for his defence of
Mangalore .Early life
John Campbell was born at
Dumbarton on7 December 1753 , the second son of John Campbell of Stonefield ("d." 1801), a judge of theCourt of Session , and Lady Grace Stuart ("d." 1783), sister toJohn Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute . He was educated (1759-1763) at the Royal High School,Edinburgh .American Revolutionary War
Campbell joined the army as an ensign of the
37th Regiment of Foot on25 June 1771 and was appointed lieutenant in the 7th Fusiliers on9 May 1774 , serving inCanada , where he was taken prisoner at Fort St Johns in 1775. On his release he continued his American war service in the 71st Regiment of Foot (Fraser's Highlanders), being appointed a captain in December 1775, and a major of the 74th Regiment of Foot (Argyleshire Highlanders) in December 1777.Second Mysore War
Campbell returned to
England in 1780 and transferred into the100th Regiment of Foot , as a major and then a lieutenant-colonel from19 February 1781 .Having been diverted from the Cape to the defence of India, he disembarked with his troops at
Bombay on26 January 1782 , and subsequently transferred to the 2nd battalionBlack Watch , assuming its command in the Second Mysore War.Early in 1783, Campbell distinguished himself in a successful engagement against
Tipu Sultan at Paniana, receiving a serious wound. Forces under his command thereafter stormed the fort ofAnantapur on theMalabar coast .Siege of Mangalore
In May 1783 the Commander-in-Chief, Brigadier-General Richard Matthews, was accused of procrastination and suspended by the Government of Bombay, and Campbell received provisional command of the 1883-strong garrison at the strategic fort of Mangalore, but was soon after cut off by large concentrations of the enemy advancing from Bidnure.
Campbell held Mangalore against Tipu’s direct assault from
23 May to2 August 1783 , in the course of which the embattled garrison suffered 749 killed or wounded. Campbell then accepted a truce, and the siege was converted to a blockade which continued until24 January 1784 , by which time deprivations and exposure had further reduced the garrison to 856 men fit for duty. Campbell's defence of Mangalore won a valuable respite for the British position in India by occupying almost the whole of Tipu's forces, contemporaneously reckoned at 140,000 men with 100 artillery pieces, for eight months. On30 January 1783 the defenders capitulated to Tipu on excellent terms, and embarked for Tellicherry with the full honours of war.Death
Campbell died at Bombay of consumption aggravated by fatigue on
23 March 1784 .References
H. M. Stephens, ‘Campbell, John (1753–1784)’, rev. D. L. Prior, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/4517 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography] . Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved
27 September 2007 .Robert Chambers and Thomas Thomson, "A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen" (Glasgow: Blackie, 1853).
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