GIFT OF 
 SEELEY W. MUDD 
 
 and 
 
 GEORGE I. COCHRAN MEYER ELSASSER 
 DR. JOHN R. HAYNES WILLIAM L. II ON SOLD 
 JAMES R. MARTIN MRS. JOSEPH F. SARTORI 
 
 to the 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 SOUTHERN BRANCH 
 
 JOHN FISKE
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below 
 
 1 9 
 
 Form L-9-15w-8,'26 
 
 Southern Branch 
 of the 
 
 University of California 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
 Form L 1
 
 FOR SALC a/ 
 tt. I. LITTLEF.ELO, 
 
 07 CORN HILL, 
 OSTON.
 
 OF INVERNEILL 
 
 SOMETIME PRISONER OF WAR 
 
 In the Jail at Concord, Massachusetts 
 
 CHARLES H. WALCOTT 
 
 UllustrateO 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY THOMAS TODD 
 
 JGeacon predd 
 
 14 BEACON STREET, BOSTON 
 
 84380
 
 K ACE. 
 
 THIS sketch of the life of a distinguished British officer 
 arises indirectly from researches made at various times, for 
 several years past, into the history of my native town. Shat- 
 tuck's History does not mention Campbell, and later writers, 
 who have alluded to his confinement in the old Concord jail, 
 have given us no particulars as to his early life, or how he 
 was taken prisoner, or what were the later fortunes of his life. 
 Faint suggestions were encountered here and there of a dis- 
 tinguished career and a monument in Westminster Abbey, but 
 the name Archibald Campbell was borne by many contempo- 
 raries in Scotland, and who could identify the distinguished 
 general who reposes in the famous Abbey as one and the 
 same with the prisoner of Concord ? It was enough to excite 
 one's curiosity to learn who our sometime prisoner really was, 
 how he came to be a prisoner, how long he remained here, 
 and what became of him afterwards. As the inquiry pro- 
 ceeded it became evident that we were dealing with no 
 ordinary man ; one question led to another, friends on both 
 sides of the Atlantic lent kindly aid and encouragement, and 
 now that it is finished, the author ventures to hope that this 
 sketch will be thought to possess some interest and value as 
 a contribution to the history of our country at a time when 
 its great destiny depended upon the true judgment and steady 
 purpose of George Washington more than upon all else besides.
 
 Thanks are due to my friends, Mr. Edward W. Emerson 
 and Miss Alicia M. Keyes, of Concord, for much valuable 
 assistance and advice. For the beautiful photographs of Inver- 
 neill House and of the family portraits preserved there I am 
 indebted to the kindness of Lieutenant-Colonel Duncan Camp- 
 bell, the present proprietor of Inverneill House, and to Miss 
 Jane K. McDonald, of Gareloch. 
 
 CONCORD, MASS., 
 October, 1898.
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 '"To wards the last of April in the year 1776, at 
 Greenock, on the west coast of Scotland, the 
 7ist Regiment of Highlanders embarked for New 
 England to assist in the work of suppressing the 
 rebellion which had arisen in these parts. 
 
 The colonel of the regiment was Simon 
 Fraser, Lord of Lovat and member of Parlia- 
 ment, by whose exertions mainly and at whose 
 expense this force was raised expressly for service 
 in America. Sir William Erskine, afterwards 
 quartermaster-general at New York, was lieuten- 
 ant-colonel of the ist battalion; the senior officer 
 of the 2d battalion was Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Archibald Campbell, and next in command was 
 Major Robert Menzies all of them brave, expe- 
 rienced, and trustworthy officers. General David 
 Stewart says of the officers of this regiment: 
 
 " Sir William Erskine, Sir Archibald Camp- 
 bell, Major Menzies, Major Macdonell of Loch 
 Garry, and Major Lamont were officers of great 
 experience and approved talents, while three- 
 fourths of the others were accomplished gentle- 
 men." 
 
 Of these, Campbell was born August 21, 1739, 
 at the castle of Dunderaive, near Inverary, now
 
 I2 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 directions were herein set down for preserving 
 the health of the soldiers. The bedding was 
 to be brought on deck and thoroughly aired 
 every day when the weather should permit. 
 The berths were to be swept clean and sprinkled 
 with vinegar, and " pitch pots " burnt between 
 decks " to improve and correct the air." Ventilators, 
 or windsails, were to be used to convey fresh air 
 below the decks, ports and scuttles were required 
 to be thrown open as often as possible, and other 
 regulations were made for the health and comfort 
 of the voyagers. The men were to be frequently 
 exercised in the use of arms, especially in priming, 
 loading, leveling and firing at a mark. They wore 
 the Highland bonnet, red regimental coats, and 
 vests of the same color, which, however, it may be 
 inferred, were sometimes worn, on informal occa- 
 sions, with the red side next the person. The 
 soldiers were also supplied with " frocks ; " and in 
 case of alarm in the night time, the orders were 
 that they should " put on their frocks or the read- 
 iest Cloathing without distinction," but if an 
 alarm should be given by day, coats and vests 
 must be donned, " the red sides out." Officers 
 and men were divided into three watches of four 
 hours each, lights and fires were required to be 
 put out at eight o'clock in the evening, and careful 
 provision was made for the care of the sick, as well 
 as for guarding the powder and liquors. For
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 13 
 
 arms the men were supplied with fire-locks, 
 swords, cartridge-boxes and shot-pouches. 
 
 In the third week of the voyage a violent 
 gale arose and separated the fleet from the convoy, 
 scattering the transports in all directions. Some 
 found their way safely to New York ; but the 
 " George," " Experiment," " Annabella," " Millham," 
 and " Henry and Joseph " remained together for 
 some time longer, and on May 18 Campbell 
 assumed command of the fleet, or all that re- 
 mained of it, and issued new regulations pre- 
 scribing signals by means of which he could 
 communicate with the other transports, and they 
 with him. 
 
 After seven weary weeks at sea, the " George" 
 and " Annabella," bearing two companies of the 
 7ist Regiment, sighted Cape Ann, and at day- 
 light on June 16 they were at the entrance 
 to Boston harbor. 1 No vessel had been met 
 which could have given them any news, and 
 they were in complete ignorance of the fact 
 that the town had been evacuated by the British 
 forces even before the expedition had set out 
 
 'Campbell says that it was "on the I7th at daylight," but 
 apparently he is in error, for Price's diary, printed in the Pro- 
 ceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol. 7, p. 257, 
 states, under date of " Sunday, June 16," that firing was heard 
 in the bay that afternoon, and that the prisoners were landed on 
 the I7th. General Greene's order about the funeral was issued 
 on the i8th, the day on which Major Menzies was buried.
 
 I4 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 from Scotland. Banks, the English commodore, 
 was blamed for not leaving behind him one or two 
 cruisers to warn vessels that might approach the 
 harbor; 1 but, in point of fact, he lingered in the 
 lower harbor with his fleet, presumably for this 
 very purpose, as late as June 14, nearly three 
 months after the evacuation of the town, and 
 was at last driven away by a vigorous cannon- 
 ade directed from Hull and Paddock's Island and 
 Long Island. These timely operations of the 
 Americans, planned by General Benjamin Lin- 
 coln, were successfully carried out under the 
 direction of Colonel Whitcomb 2 only two days 
 before the ill-fated transports arrived at the mouth 
 of the harbor with the re-inforcements. 
 
 In the confident expectation of a friendly 
 welcome, and eager to reach the land and the 
 end of a tedious voyage, the luckless expedition, 
 without a convoy, headed for the inner harbor. 
 They knew not that the " Ann " transport, under 
 command of Captain Hamilton Maxwell of the 
 ist battalion, had already been waylaid, a week 
 
 1 Thomas Jones, in his History of New York during the Revolu- 
 tionary War, Vol. i, p. 54, complains that no cruisers were left 
 behind by Commodore Banks to warn approaching vessels, and 
 says that "one or two frigates stationed in the bay would have 
 prevented all this mischief." According to Stewart, "a ship was 
 left behind to give notice to ships not to enter the harbour, but was 
 itself blown off in a gale of wind." 
 
 2 Frothingham, Siege of Boston, p. 314, note; Bowen's Life of 
 Benjamin Lincoln, p. 229.
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. ,5 
 
 before, by privateers who carried ship and cargo 
 into Marblehead ; ' and even if they had known 
 this, it is not likely that a different course would 
 have been taken, for, according to their latest in- 
 formation, Boston was an English post and the 
 place of their destination. 
 
 How the transports were attacked and how 
 nobly they acquitted themselves is best told in 
 the language of the lieutenant-colonel command- 
 ing, in his report to Sir William Howe dated at 
 Boston June 19, 1776. The battle, which from a 
 military or naval point of view was creditable to 
 all concerned, has not received much notice from 
 the historians, with the one exception of Dr. 
 William Gordon, who appears to have been mainly 
 indebted for his information to Campbell's report : 
 
 "We found ourselves," says Campbell, "opposite to 
 the harbour's mouth of Boston, but from contrary winds 
 it was necessary to make several Tacks to reach it. 
 Four Schooners, which we took to be Pilots or armed 
 vessels in the Service of His Majestic (but which was 
 afterwards found to be four american Privateer of 8 
 Carriage guns, 12 Swevells & 40 men each), were 
 bearing down upon us at 4 o'clock in the morning. At 
 half an hour thereafter two of them engaged us and 
 about 7 o'clock the other two were close alongside. 
 
 The George transport, on board of which Maj r 
 Menzies & I with 108 of the 2 d Batt n the adjutant, 
 
 1 On June 10 the parole given out at the headquarters in Boston 
 was " Highlanders," and the countersign was " Taken." Mass. Hist. 
 Soc. Proc., 1878, p. 357.
 
 x6 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 the Q r Master 2 Lieutenants and five Volunteers 
 were passengers, had only six piece of Cannon to op- 
 pose and the Annabella, on board of which was Capt. 
 M'Kinzie together with 2 Subalterns volunteers and 
 82 private of the I 8t Batt n , had only two Swevells 
 for her defence under such Circumstances I thought it 
 expedient for the Annabella to keep ahead of the George 
 that our artillery might be used with more Effect and 
 less Obstruction. Two of the Privateers having stationed 
 themselves on our larborde Quarter and two upon our 
 Starboard quarter, a tollerable Cannonade ensued which 
 with very few intermissions lasted till four in the Evening 
 when the Enemy bore away and anchored in Plymouth 
 harbour. Our Loss upon this occasion was only three 
 men mortally wounded on board the George ; one killed 
 & one man slightly wounded on Board the Annabella. 
 As my orders were for the Port of Boston I thought 
 it my Duty at this happy Crisis to push forward into the 
 Harbour not doubting I should receive protection either 
 from a Fort or some ship of Force stationed there for 
 the Security of our Fleet. Towards the Close of the 
 Evening, we perceived the 4 Schooners that were en- 
 gaged with us in the morning joined by the Brig Defence 
 of 1 6 Carnage Guns 20 swevells & 117 [men] and a 
 schooner of eight Carriage Guns 12 swevells & 40 men 
 get under way and make towards us. As we stood up 
 for Nantasket road an American Battery opened upon 
 us ; which was the first serious proof we had that there 
 could scarcely be any friends of ours at Boston ; and we 
 were too far Embayed to retreat especially as the wind 
 had died away and the Tyde of flood not half expended. 
 After each of the vessells having twice run aground we 
 anchored at Georges Island 1 & prepared for action, but 
 the Annabella by some misfortune got aground so far 
 astern of the George, we could expect but a feeble 
 
 1 Now occupied by Fort Warren, the principal defense of the 
 harbor.
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 17 
 
 support from her musquetry. About no Clock two of 
 the Schooners anchored right on our Bow and one right 
 astern of us. The armed Brig took her Station on our 
 Starboard side at the distance of two hundred yards and 
 hailed us to strike the British Flag. Altho the mate of 
 our Ship, and every Sailor on board (the Capt. only ex- 
 cepted) refused positively to fight any longer, I have the 
 pleasure to Inform you that there was not an officer non- 
 commissioned officer or private man of the /ist, but stood 
 to their Quarters with a ready and chearful Obedience. 
 On our refusing to strike the British Flag the Action 
 was renewed with a good dale of warmth on both sides 
 and it was our misfortune after the sharp Combat of an 
 hour & one half to have expended every Shot of our 
 artillery. Under such Circumstances hemmed in as we 
 were with 6 Privateers in the middle of an Enemy's 
 harbour, beset with a dead Calm, without the power of 
 Escaping or even the most distant hope of releife I 
 thought it became my duty not to sacrifize the lives of 
 Gallant men wantonly in the Arduous attempt of an 
 evident impossibility. In this unfortunate affair Major 
 Menzies & 7 private Soldiers were killed, the Q r Master 
 and 12 private soldiers wounded. The Major was burried 
 in Boston with the Honours of War. 
 
 Since our Captivity I have the honour to acquent you 
 we have experienced the utmost Civility and good treat- 
 ment from the people in power at Boston, in so much Sir, 
 that I should do injustice to the feelings of Generosity, 
 did I not make this particular information with pleasure 
 & Satisfaction. 
 
 I have now to request of you that so soon as the 
 distracted state of this unfortunate Controversy will 
 admitt you will be pleased to take an early oppertunity 
 of settling a Cartell for myself and Officers." ' 
 
 1 In Almon's Remembrancer (Vol. 3, p. 289) is what purports to 
 be a copy of the lieutenant-colonel's report, and I have in my pos-
 
 !8 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 The side arms of the officers were restored to 
 them, and the Colonel was pleased to report to his 
 superior officer the " utmost civility and good treat- 
 ment " received from the people of Boston. 
 
 Ezekiel Price, a Boston man, wrote in his diary 
 under date of " Sunday, June 16," that the firing of 
 cannon was heard in the bay that afternoon ; and 
 on the next day he was at Boston and saw the 
 officers land on Long Wharf and pass up King 
 Street on their way to General Ward's head- 
 quarters. Great numbers of people were in the 
 streets. General Greene's orderly book contains 
 an order issued on the i8th, that "the Highland 
 major, who was slain in the last engagement on 
 board the ship, is to be buried this afternoon from 
 the State House. The Scotch officers will walk 
 as mourners, and all the officers in town off duty 
 are desired to walk in the procession." 
 
 The commanding officer of the expedition 
 was fully justified in saying that, everything con- 
 sidered, the result did not reflect dishonor upon 
 the officers and men under his command. Great, 
 however, must have been the exultation of the 
 Americans, whose pluck and persistency had at 
 
 session a MS. copy sent by Campbell at the time to his kinsman, 
 Captain Archibald Campbell, for the information of his friends at 
 home. This copy was recently obtained through the kindly offices 
 of Mr. Duncan Campbell of Craignish, and as it differs in some 
 material particulars from the printed report, I have thought best 
 to follow the manuscript.
 
 SfR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. ig 
 
 length been rewarded by the capture of an officer 
 of high rank, together with half his regiment, 
 before they could strike a blow in the enterprise 
 for which they were really enlisted. Officers and 
 men fought bravely until their ammunition failed, 
 but with such opponents to contend with, and 
 under all the adverse circumstances of the case, 
 defeat was inevitable. We note with pleasure the 
 courtesies extended by the victors to the van- 
 quished, and are glad to know that, thus far, at 
 least, our rough, untutored militia had in no 
 respect fallen short of what Campbell and his 
 brother officers might have expected from vet- 
 erans trained in all the etiquette and discipline 
 of European armies. 
 
 On the i gth, while Campbell was writing his 
 report, Captain Lawrence Campbell, in command 
 of the transport " Lord Howe," stood into the 
 harbor all ignorant of what had happened, and he 
 too was taken into camp by the insatiate rebels. 
 
 The situation at Boston was by no means 
 free from embarrassment ; for, as a result of these 
 operations, more than four hundred (some con- 
 temporary accounts say, seven hundred) prisoners 
 of war were suddenly thrown into the hands 
 of a people who had no sufficient means of 
 properly securing and caring for their unwilling 
 guests. There was also good reason to fear 
 that Commodore Banks, in his slow progress
 
 20 SfR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 towards Halifax, might touch at some intermedi- 
 ate point, and, learning of the captures in Boston 
 harbor, feel impelled to take advantage of any 
 favorable wind that might offer, and seek an 
 opportunity of doing something to lessen the 
 force of the adverse criticism which he was sure 
 to encounter when news of the disaster should 
 be received by the British commander-in-chief. 
 
 In May preceding the Continental Congress 
 had ordered that all persons taken in arms on 
 board any prize should be deemed prisoners of 
 war, to be taken in charge by the supreme executive 
 power in the colony to which they might be 
 brought. Officers were not to be permitted to 
 reside in or near any seaport town or public post- 
 road, nor were officers and privates to be suffered 
 to reside in the same place. Secure places must 
 be found in the more remote inland towns, from 
 which escape would be difficult, and where the 
 chances of a successful rescue would be least. 
 It was further ordered by Congress that officers 
 should be allowed to give their parole, if they 
 were willing, those who refused to be committed 
 to prison. Prisoners who were not officers might 
 be permitted to exercise their trades and to labor 
 for the support of themselves and their families. 
 
 Such, in general, were the directions of the Con- 
 tinental Congress to the Council of Massachusetts, 
 then the supreme executive power in the province ;
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 2 I 
 
 and, accordingly, on June 20, the Highland pris- 
 oners were ordered to the interior, in squads of 
 one hundred to each of the principal counties. 
 The officers were paroled ; but the sheriff desig- 
 nated in each order was required to deliver to 
 the Committees of Correspondence, Inspection, 
 and Safety, in the several towns, all the private 
 soldiers who were willing to labor under the 
 direction and inspection of the town committee 
 in the exercise of their trades, and to confine in 
 the county jails all who were not so inclined. 
 
 The Highlanders of the eighteenth century are 
 not usually associated in our minds with any occu- 
 pation so tame and commonplace as a useful trade ; 
 nevertheless, upon the rolls of this regiment men 
 are described not only as common laborers, but 
 there were also flax dressers, shoemakers, tailors, 
 weavers, plasterers, wrights and smiths, a salter, a 
 farmer, a gardener, a butcher, a land surveyor, a 
 stocking weaver, a baxter [baker's lad], a road- 
 maker, a nailer, and one merchant making 
 altogether a company of varied talents and 
 capacity for usefulness that would have been 
 a valuable accession to any colony. At this 
 particular time, however, their purpose was the 
 opposite of peaceful ; they had accepted the king's 
 shilling, for the time being their trade was war, 
 and to most of them an idle life in jail seemed 
 preferable to working at their trades unfettered,
 
 22 SIX ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 but under the galling espionage of a Committee 
 of Inspection. 1 Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell and 
 seven other officers were ordered to the town 
 of Reading and found quarters in the house of 
 Captain Nathan Parker, which is yet standing 
 near the railroad station in that town, in the 
 West Parish, now Reading. 
 
 A retinue of twenty-two servants, including 
 four women and two children, went down into 
 the country to minister to the comforts and 
 pleasures of this band of eight. Among them 
 were a cook, a carpenter, a shoemaker, a tailor, 
 and a piper. The officers were allowed to go 
 about freely within a radius of six miles ; and, 
 between the cook and the piper, life was not so 
 dull in Reading after all. But the plain country 
 people, unused to such splendor of bearing and 
 quaintness of apparel, looked with disfavor upon 
 the gay, red-coated strangers whose outlandish 
 costume and music disturbed the customary 
 serenity of their village, and whose repeated 
 demands upon the public treasury to feed and 
 clothe the servants of their luxurious habits were 
 
 1 In one of Campbell's letters it is stated that the soldiers were 
 expected to work for their captors without pay; but if this require- 
 ment was ever insisted upon it was soon waived, for in a letter from 
 Col. James Bowdoin, President of the Council, August 23, 1776, he 
 says, that of the Highlanders many and perhaps the largest part of 
 the privates were "by their own consent at labour for their subsis- 
 tence." Mass. Archives, Vol. 195, p. 447.
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 23 
 
 well calculated to offend the frugal, self-denying 
 farmers of Middlesex, as well as the " people in 
 power " at Boston. 
 
 Before long the supplies for the servants 
 became irregular, and then ceased altogether, 
 the honorable council thinking it " highly reason- 
 able " that the officers should either support their 
 servants, or dismiss them and allow them to go to 
 work. Accordingly, we find, about the middle of 
 August, that the lieutenant-colonel had dismissed 
 four of his servants. One went to work at his 
 trade of shoemaking; the other three, refusing to 
 work, were lodged in jail. Campbell hired a 
 house in Reading and continued to live there 
 comfortably with his companions and servants, 
 until the capture of General Charles Lee, in 
 December, 1776. 
 
 The grief and sense of loss everywhere felt by 
 the Americans upon hearing of the capture of Lee 
 were succeeded by feelings of indignant resent- 
 ment when it was learned that General Howe, 
 the British commander-in-chief at New York, 
 refused to entertain any proposition for the 
 exchange of Lee, although Campbell and five 
 Hessian field officers were offered as an equiva- 
 lent for the dashing but erratic general. Howe's 
 orders from the English government even re- 
 quired him to send Lee to England by the first 
 ship of war, to be tried there as a deserter from
 
 2 4 
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 the English army; but the British commander, in 
 the exercise of a superior discretion, chose to 
 disregard this part of his instructions, and in con- 
 sequence of the representations made by him the 
 government's mandate was withdrawn or qualified 
 in this respect. Then it was that, through a 
 curious combination of popular feeling and mis- 
 conception of material facts, Campbell's fortunes 
 became so closely involved with Lee's as to re- 
 quire much of the attention of the chief com- 
 manding officers on both sides. 
 
 The demand for retaliation upon the prisoners 
 in the hands of our people grew out of the wide- 
 spread belief that Lee was being maltreated, and 
 this demand was stimulated by the order of the 
 English government that Lee should be sent to 
 England to be tried for his life before a military 
 tribunal. The harsh treatment of Ethan Allen, 
 lurid accounts of Indian atrocities on the frontiers, 
 the excessive zeal of the tories, and other alleged 
 outrages, either perpetrated or connived at by 
 the British, were cited as just grounds for retal- 
 iation. 1 The order of Congress, passed January 
 6, 1777, was as follows: 
 
 Congress being informed that Major-General Lee 
 hath, since his captivity, been committed to the custody 
 of the provost, instead of being enlarged on his parole, 
 according to the humane practice that has taken place 
 
 1 Almon's Remembrancer, Vol. V, p. 139.
 
 SSJ? ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 25 
 
 with officers of the enemy who have fallen into the hands 
 of the American troops a treatment totally unworthy of 
 that gentleman's eminent qualifications, and his rank in 
 the service of the United States, and strongly indicative 
 of farther injuries to his person : 
 
 Resolved, That General Washington be directed to 
 send a flag to General Howe, and inform him that, should 
 the proffered exchange of General Lee for six Hessian 
 field officers not be accepted, and the treatment of him as 
 above mentioned be continued, the principles of retalia- 
 tion shall occasion five of the said Hessian field officers, 
 together with Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell, or 
 any other officers that are or shall be in our possession 
 equivalent in number or quality, to be detained, in order 
 that the same treatment which General Lee shall receive 
 may be exactly inflicted upon their persons. 
 
 Ordered, That a copy of the above resolution be 
 transmitted to the council of Massachusetts Bay, and 
 that they be desired to detain Lieutenant-Colonel Camp- 
 bell and keep him in safe custody 'till the farther order 
 of Congress, &c. 
 
 On February 20, the situation having appar- 
 ently undergone no change, Congress further 
 
 Resolved, That the Board of War be directed immedi- 
 ately to order the five Hessian field officers and Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel Campbell into safe and close custody, it being 
 the unalterable resolution of Congress to retaliate on them 
 the same punishment as may be inflicted on the person of 
 General Lee. Journal, Febmary 2Oth, 
 
 This order had already been anticipated by the 
 authorities of Massachusetts, who, upon receiving 
 notice of the preliminary resolve passed January 6
 
 26 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 had ordered that Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell's 
 parole be annulled, and that he be placed in the 
 keeping of the sheriff of Middlesex; and on 
 February i, 1777, the prisoner was committed to 
 close custody in the jail at Concord. 
 
 This jail, or "goal," as it is almost invariably 
 spelt in contemporaneous writings, was a wooden 
 building standing upon ground adjoining the West 
 Burying-Ground, on Main Street, and now forming 
 part of the estate of the late Reuben N. Rice. It was 
 two stories in height, was built of logs and had a 
 four-sided roof. Near the end of the last century 
 it was superseded by a larger structure of stone 
 which stood, until about thirty years ago, behind 
 the space between the Middlesex Hotel and the 
 County House, now occupied by the Rev. E. J. 
 Moriarty. A picture of the old wooden jail, 
 which is said to be a drawing made by Camp- 
 bell, hangs in the Concord Public Library and 
 shows the building as it appeared in Revolution- 
 ary times. Within the recollection of persons 
 now living it was used as a hatter's shop, and 
 later as an adjunct to the stable of Bigelow's 
 Tavern, long since demolished. 
 
 The old jail was built in the year 1755, and first 
 stood on land bought of Jonathan Heywood, and 
 situated on Walden Street near the house now 
 owned by Concord's Home for the Aged. It 
 adjoined Heywood's house on the northwest side,
 
 S/X ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 27 
 
 was thirty feet long and twenty-six feet wide, 
 exclusive of entry and stairway. The sides and 
 lower floor of the building were of timber seven 
 inches in thickness. The plan for its construc- 
 tion provided that it should be " divided into four 
 rooms " on each floor. 
 
 In January, 1756, it was reported ready for the 
 victims of the law, and Jonathan Heywood, a tan- 
 ner by trade, was appointed under-keeper and 
 soon afterwards obtained an innholder's license. 
 It was common in those days, here and elsewhere 
 the combination of a jail with a tavern, both 
 under one management. It was a thrifty arrange- 
 ment; for imprisoned debtors could obtain the 
 privilege of the " liberties " of the jail by giving 
 a bond that they would not attempt to escape ; 
 and the superior accommodations afforded by the 
 inn close by, compared with the ill-kept rooms and 
 wretched fare of the prison, caused many a shilling 
 to be diverted from the pockets of the prisoners to 
 the landlord's capacious purse. No one then had 
 any thought of prison reform in the modern sense 
 of the term, but in 1769 complaints from some 
 source were loud enough to make the Court of 
 General Sessions of the Peace aware of the fact 
 " that the Limits of the Prison Yard were very 
 much too contracted and thereby rendered very 
 nauseous & unwholesome, and also by Reason of 
 Gutters for the Wash and Filth of the Prison
 
 2 8 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 Keeper's House &c That the Prisoners for Debt 
 & others are debarr'd from Water unless they 
 purchase the same." The lot on which the jail 
 stood contained only about one-sixteenth of an 
 acre, and, as Mr. Heywood was unwilling to part 
 with any more land, the county bought of Captain 
 Ephraim Jones a dwelling - house and about 
 one-quarter of an acre of land next to the 
 burying - ground on Main Street, and in the 
 early spring of 1770, when there was yet a little 
 snow on the ground to make things slip along 
 easily, the jail was removed to the new lot, under 
 the superintendence of Joseph Hosmer, whose 
 courage, integrity, and sound judgment five years 
 later, at the North Bridge, and subsequently 
 throughout the war, won the confidence and 
 respect of his fellow citizens. The removal was 
 facilitated by the use of rollers, and green trunks 
 of trees, called " shoes," which, being made fast 
 underneath, slid over the slippery ground like the 
 runners of a sled. Twenty-six pairs of oxen drew 
 the load, and no doubt large and interested groups 
 of spectators were at hand to watch the passage 
 of the home of debtors and malefactors along 
 the road by the mill-pond, around the corner by 
 the old mill, and past the burying-ground to the 
 new location prepared for it. From this time 
 onwards it was connected with Jones's Tavern* 
 afterwards Bigelow's, and Captain Ephraim Jones
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 29 
 
 was appointed keeper under the sheriff of the 
 county. 
 
 I find no annals of this fortress of the law 
 before the outbreak of the Revolution. On 
 the 2oth of April, 1775, some British soldiers 
 wounded and captured on the preceding day 
 were confined here, and from time to time dur- 
 ing the war tories and prisoners-of-war were 
 consigned to its unpitying chambers, in obedi- 
 ence to the orders of the Council at Boston, or 
 of a local inquisitorial board, called a committee 
 of correspondence or committee of inspection. 
 There are interesting memorials of persons con- 
 fined here, of officers of the " Falcon " ship-of- 
 war and the schooner " Volante ; " of Dr. Josiah 
 Jones and Dr. Jonathan Hicks, notorious and 
 troublesome tories, who, after sending out in- 
 genious and unavailing protests, were fortunate 
 enough to be able to cut the knot of their 
 difficulties by effecting their escape. There, too, 
 was young Robert Campbell, only seventeen years 
 of age, who was taken at Falmouth, and proudly 
 informed the committee who were appointed to 
 examine and search him, that he was " son of 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Campbell, who is 
 now Lieutenant-Governor of Fort George in 
 Inverness, and is one of the first families in 
 Scotland." In the language of the report, "said 
 Robert Campbell further says he was born in
 
 30 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 y c army & now has a Recommendation for an 
 Ensign's commission in the 35th Regiment." 
 
 On September 25, 1775, a petition was for 
 warded by Sergeant Matthew Hayes, eight privates 
 of seven different regiments, and one marine, rep- 
 resenting that the signers had been confined in 
 this jail as prisoners of war "ever since the igth 
 day of April last," and that they were in need of 
 suitable clothing to cover their nakedness in the 
 approaching cold season. They were, in fact 
 taken on the igth, but were not sent to Concord 
 until the 25th, as appears by the following letter 
 from General Ward to Colonel James Barrett: 
 
 HEAD QUARTERS, APRIL 26th, 1775. 
 SIR, 
 
 I am informed that there are a Number of Prisoners 
 in Concord Goal, ten of which were conveyed thither 
 yesterday that were taken in the late Skirmish, who have 
 since that unhappy Event, been at Newton & done some 
 Labour; but being absent I cannot judge so well whether 
 it is safe to trust them as you may on the spot : There- 
 fore I refer it to you, to do with them, & any other Pris- 
 oners of the like sort, as you may think best : pray keep 
 them from any Infection that may arise from putting too 
 many in one Room : air them when necessary ; provide 
 everything needful for their comfortable subsistence: 
 no doubt you have things convenient for them in Con 
 cord ; & will be at some future time satisfied for your 
 trouble. 
 
 I am sir &c 
 
 A. WARD.
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 3! 
 
 Moved by the prisoners' petition, the Council 
 empowered and directed Ephraim Wood, one of 
 the selectmen, " to provide one Coat, one pair of 
 Breeches, one pair of stockings, one shirt, and 
 one pair of shoes " for such as were in need ; with 
 the assurance that the amount expended for this 
 purpose would be refunded. Let us hope that the 
 faintness of the assurance did not deter the select- 
 men from suitably providing for these men. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell was by far the 
 most interesting inmate of the jail, and was for 
 some time the prisoner of highest rank in the 
 hands of the Americans. Four days after his 
 confinement he addressed a forcible but manly 
 and dignified letter to General Washington, de- 
 scribing his surroundings, and protesting, as one 
 soldier to another, against such treatment. He 
 addresses Washington in his supposed character 
 of " dictator " as follows : 
 
 CONCORD GOAL, 4TH FEB'Y 1777. 
 SIR, 
 
 From the powers which I have lately understood has 
 been reposed in y'r Excell'y as dictator, and from the 
 character I have always entertained of y'r generosity of 
 sentiment, I am naturally led to use the freedom of 
 troubling you with the complaint of an officer, who 
 suffers at this instant a treatment more notoriously 
 dishonourable & inhuman than has ever existed in the 
 annals of any modern war. Y'r Excell'y well knows 
 that I was a prisoner at large upon my Parole of honour 
 in the town of Reading since the month of June last ;
 
 32 SfR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 during which period, I will venture to pronounce it is 
 even beyond the power of malevolent aspersion to charge 
 me justly with the most scrupulous violation. The first 
 of this month I was carried & lodged in the common Goal 
 of Concord by an order of Congress, thro' the council of 
 Boston ; intimating for a reason, that a refusal of Gen'l 
 Howe to give up Gen'l Lee for six field officers, of whom 
 I was one, and the placing of that Gentleman under the 
 charge of the Provost at New-York were the motives of 
 their particular ill-treatment of me. How far these as- 
 sertions may be founded on real matter of fact, & appear 
 to your Excell'cy consistent with Justice & the usual 
 practices in war, I shall not pretend to determine, but 
 when you are well informed of the real circumstances of 
 my present situation, of which I am persuaded you are 
 still ignorant, you will be a better judge of my usage, 
 & weigh as a soldier its propriety. I am lodged in a 
 dungeon of about 12 or 13 feet square, doubly planked 
 and spiked on every side, black with the grease and litter 
 of successive criminals & completely hung around with 
 cobwebs. Two small windows, or portholes, not glaz'd 
 but strongly grated w'th Iron on the inside and well 
 barricaded with shutters on the out, introduce a gloomy 
 light to the apartment. Two doors doubly planked & 
 locked, shut me from the prisoners yard, and the Goaler 
 has rec'd express orders against my going into it, even 
 for the necessary calls of nature, and an hole near the 
 middle of these doors serves either to admit my victuals, 
 or gratify the gaping curiosity of spectators. In the 
 corner of the room boxed up to the partition a wooden 
 necessary house stands uncovered, which does not seem 
 to have been emptied since the first hour of its being 
 consecrated to the natural ease of malefactors, and a 
 more loathsome black hole decorated with chains & Iron 
 rings well rivetted & clinched is granted me from my 
 inner chamber, from whence a notorious Felon was but 
 the moment before removed to make way for y'r humble
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 33 
 
 serv't, and in which his litter and his Excrement still 
 actually remain. This noisy malefactor occupies the 
 dungeon on my left, and a few Highlanders of the 7ist. 
 Reg't. under the same restrictions and hardships with 
 myself, for having refused to work for the Americans 
 without pay, are my quieter neighbors on the right. I 
 am even refused from council, the attendance of a single 
 servant on my person, and every kind of intercourse or 
 correspondence denied, except what passes through the 
 medium of the Coaler. In short, sir, to complete the 
 whole, such is my situation, was a fire to take place in 
 any one of the chambers, (which are all wood excepting 
 the mere chimney stacks) the whole of its Inhabitants 
 must perish before the Goaler could go through the 
 ceremony of unlocking the doors, notwithstanding I 
 think him a man of humanity ; because his house is so 
 remote from the Goal, any call or noise from within 
 might be difficult, especially in stormy weather to be 
 heard. I cannot also help representing to your Excell'y 
 the case of Capt. Jno. Walker, bearing his Majesty's 
 Commission in Col. Gorham's Corps. This Gentleman 
 is huddled into the same Goal & apartment with the 
 common men, a treatment highly inconsistent with his 
 rank. 
 
 Thus, sir, have I briefly laid before you without exag- 
 geration the real state of my treatment, and your own 
 feelings as an officer will suggest how far it is consistent 
 with the principles of Justice to suffer such dishonour to 
 be inflicted on a Gentleman, whose only crime is that of 
 being a Lieut. Col. in the service of his Brittannick 
 Majesty. When I was first taken prisoner into Boston, 
 I rec'd from those who took me and the controuling 
 power there, the fairest promises unasked, of my being 
 certain of Gentlemanly treatment. And your Excell'y 
 and they are no strangers to the Justice I render'd the 
 Americans by the most handsome representations to 
 Gen'l Howe & my friends in Britain by the letters
 
 34 
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 which lately passed thro' your hands. But I am per- 
 suaded y'r Excell'y is still ignorant of the early shameful 
 return made me for a well meant endeaver to suppress 
 what but too often happens in such unhappy controversies 
 The chance of ill grounded misrepresentation. Sir, the 
 truth is, that eight days had scarcely elapsed after my 
 first address to Gen'l Howe when I was actually plundered 
 of half my private property ; the very necessary articles 
 of living, by the Continental Agent Capt. Bradford ' of 
 Boston, who has since (as I am informed) seiz'd upon 
 and disposed of for the dirty consideration of Gain, the 
 very side arms of my officers, to whom they had been 
 restored by the captors after the action, & afterwards 
 lodged in the hands of Major Chase at Boston by order 
 of Gen'l Ward. 
 
 I should not have troubled your Excell'y with so 
 disagreeable a recital, were I not from my soul persuaded, 
 
 1 Captain John Bradford was styled " Agent of the Continental 
 armed vessels." He wrote a letter indignantly denying the charges 
 laid at his door, but I have been unable to find it. 
 
 "The very necessary articles of living" are more particularly 
 described in a letter from Campbell to the Council, dated April 2, 
 1777 (Mass. Archives, Vol. 196, p. 357), as follows : 
 I Cask Westphalia Hams 
 I Do Corn Beef 
 
 1 Do Salt Butter 
 
 5 Do Containing 45 Dozen of Wine. 
 
 Total 8 casks. 
 Also 
 
 44 Dozn of Wine 
 
 20 Dozn of Bottled Porter 
 
 10 Dozn of Bottled Beer 
 
 2 Cases of Portable Canteens 
 
 2 Tents and marquees for a Field off'' with their apparatus 
 
 complete 
 I Do for servants 
 i new Spanish Cloak 
 i set of Breakfast China.
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 35 
 
 you equally abhor as I heartily despise a treatment so 
 exceedingly cruel, mean & ungenerous, and I now look 
 forward to you for redress. 
 
 I have the honour to be respectfully 
 Sir, Y'r Excell'cy's much 
 injured h'ble serv't, 
 
 ARCH'D. CAMPBELL Lt. Col. 
 
 7 1 st. Regt. 
 His Excell'cy 
 
 Gen. Washington. 
 
 Ten days later, on February 14, Campbell 
 wrote to Sir William Howe a similar description 
 of his circumstances, in order that his lot might 
 be compared with the treatment of General Lee 
 in New York. These letters were received about 
 the same time, one by Washington at Morris- 
 town, and the other by Howe at New York. 
 Howe at once sent a courteous remonstrance to 
 the American commander, asserting that Camp- 
 bell had " an indubitable right " to be exchanged, 
 and that putting him in close confinement was 
 "contrary to the tenor of his parole, which is 
 binding on both parties." 
 
 Throughout the colonies the people had been 
 stirred up by stories of atrocities committed by 
 the enemy, and their minds filled with appre- 
 hensions of new horrors to come. Negotiations 
 for an exchange of prisoners were not favored 
 by Congress and were easily hampered and 
 obstructed in many ways, as was the case in the
 
 36 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 war of the Rebellion. The excitement found a 
 vent in the retaliatory resolves passed by Con- 
 gress. These votes undoubtedly expressed the 
 popular feeling of the moment ; but Washington 
 showed himself superior to the easily aroused 
 indignation of a people engaged in a hand-to- 
 hand struggle, and the wisdom of choosing him 
 to the supreme command of the army has no 
 better proof or illustration than is afforded in 
 the conduct of this episode in our national 
 history. The severity shown to an officer of 
 Campbell's rank caused the General great annoy- 
 ance, at a time, too, when all his vigilance was 
 sorely needed for the direction of active ope- 
 rations at the seat of war. Here, however, was 
 a wrong, and he promptly undertook to right 
 it, so far as it lay in his power to do so. 
 
 The first thing was to write a letter, dated 
 February 28, to Colonel James Bowdoin and 
 the Massachusetts Council, in which he refers 
 to Campbell's letter, saying, " It gives me such 
 an account of the severity of his confinement 
 as is scarce ever inflicted upon the most atro- 
 cious criminals." The resolve of Congress, 
 passed January 6, 1777, is quoted in order to 
 show that the order of the Massachusetts Coun- 
 cil was not justified "upon the most strict in- 
 terpretation of the resolve." The General then 
 expresses his wish that immediately upon the
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 37 
 
 receipt of this letter, the prisoner may be " re- 
 moved from his present situation and put into 
 a house where he may live comfortably." Ap- 
 parently the order of February 20, addressed by 
 Congress to the Board of War, had not yet been 
 communicated to the Commander-in-Chief, for 
 after touching upon other matters complained of, 
 a postscript suggests that " Colonel Campbell's 
 Confinement may be enlarged, without assigning 
 the Reasons publicly." The next day Washington 
 received notice of the new resolve and courteously 
 replied to Campbell's protest in the following 
 admirable letter (Sparks, " Writings," Vol. iv, p. 
 333): 
 
 MORRISTOWN, i MARCH, 1777. 
 SIR, 
 
 I last night received the favor of your letter, and am 
 much obliged by the opinion you are pleased to entertain 
 of me. I am not invested with the powers you suppose ; 
 and it is as incompatible with my authority, as my inclina- 
 tion, to contravene any determination Congress may make. 
 But as it does not appear to me, that your present treat- 
 ment is required by any resolution of theirs, but is the 
 result of misconception, I have written my opinion of 
 the matter to Colonel Bowdoin, which, I imagine, will 
 procure a mitigation of what you now suffer. I have 
 also requested, that inquiry be made into the case of 
 Captain Walker, and proper steps taken to remove all 
 just cause of complaint concerning him. I shall always 
 be happy to manifest my disinclination to any undue 
 severities towards those whom the fortune of war may 
 chance to throw into my hands. 
 
 I am &c. 
 
 84380
 
 38 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 In a letter to the President of Congress, of the 
 same date, Washington says (Sparks, Vol. iv, p. 334) : 
 
 I was this evening honored with your favor of the 23d 
 ultimo, accompanied by sundry proceedings of Congress. 
 Those respecting General Lee, which prescribe the treat- 
 ment of Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell and the five Hessian 
 field-officers, are the cause of this letter. Though I sin- 
 cerely commiserate the misfortunes of General Lee, and 
 feel much for his present unhappy situation, yet, with all 
 possible deference to the opinion of Congress, I fear that 
 these resolutions will not have the desired effect, are 
 founded in impolicy, and will if adhered to, produce 
 consequences of an extensive and melancholy nature. 
 Retaliation is certainly just, and sometimes necessary, 
 even where attended with the severest penalties ; but, 
 when the evils which may and must result from it exceed 
 those intended to be redressed, prudence and policy re 
 quire that it should be avoided. Having premised thus 
 much, I beg leave to examine the justice and expediency 
 of it in the instances now before us. ... Gen'l. Lee's 
 usage has not been so disgraceful and dishonorable as to 
 authorize the treatment decreed to these gentlemen . . . 
 Here retaliation seems to have been prematurely begun ; 
 or, to speak with more propriety, severities have been and 
 are exercised towards Colonel Campbell not justified by 
 any that General Lee has yet received . . . The mischiefs 
 which may and must inevitably flow from the execution of 
 the resolves appear to be endless and innumerable . . . 
 Persuading myself that Congress will indulge the liberty 
 I have taken upon the occasion, I have only to wish for 
 the result of their deliberations after they have recon- 
 sidered the resolves, and to assure them that I have the 
 honor to be &c. 
 
 Unwilling to let his appeal rest on this letter 
 alone, Washington wrote an earnest letter the
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 39 
 
 next day to Robert Morris, begging him to use 
 his influence with Congress to annul the resolves. 
 " Indeed, sir," he writes, " your observations on the 
 want of many capital characters in that senate 
 Congress are but too just." ' He says that the 
 resolves were "entered into without due attention 
 to consequences," and were "fraught with every 
 evil." After alluding to other business, he recurs 
 to the matter which caused him the most concern, 
 saying, " But the other matter, relative to the con- 
 finement of the officers, is what I am particularly 
 anxious about, as I think it will involve much more 
 than Congress have any idea of, and that they 
 surely will repent adhering to their unalterable 
 resolution." By another letter dated March 3d, 
 Washington replied to Howe reciting what he 
 had done in behalf of Colonel Campbell since he 
 first heard of his situation on the last day of 
 February, and adding : " I trust his situation will 
 be made more agreeable, it being my wish that 
 every reasonable indulgence and act of humanity 
 should be done to those whom the fortune of war 
 has or may put into our hands." 
 
 In spite, however, of the earnest remonstrances 
 of Washington, it was resolved, on March 14, 
 that he be informed that " Congress cannot agree 
 to any alteration in the Resolve passed on the 
 
 1 It was wittily said by Gouverneur Morris that this Congress 
 had depreciated as much as the currency.
 
 40 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 6th January 1777. And as to the complaints 
 of Colo. Campbell, it was never their Intention 
 that he should suffer any other Hardship than 
 such Confinement as is necessary to his Security 
 for the purpose of that Resolve." 
 
 Upon receipt of Washington's letter of Febru- 
 ary 28, the Council of Massachusetts voted that, 
 "Whereas the Goal at Concord where Lieut. 
 Colo'l Campbell is now confined is represented 
 as a place quite different from what it was sup- 
 posed to be when Colo'l Campbell was ordered 
 there to be retained and kept in Custody there- 
 fore Francis Dana Esq. 1 is desired as soon as may 
 be to repair to Concord and examine into the state 
 of the said Goal and in case Colo'l Campbell can be 
 accommodated with a room in the Coaler's House," 
 he is to be allowed the privilege of the yard, on 
 giving his parole. This partial relief was obtained 
 on March 6, and one servant, Peter Ferguson, was 
 permitted to attend him. Thus, after being con- 
 fined for a month the prisoner was allowed a 
 larger liberty; he had a room in the tavern near 
 by, was allowed one servant, and was permitted 
 to move about in a certain limited space called 
 the " liberties of the jail." 
 
 On March 17, in a letter to the Council, he 
 gratefully acknowledges the mitigation of his 
 
 Afterwards Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of 
 Massachusetts.
 
 Sf ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 41 
 
 treatment, but asks permission to return to his 
 house in Reading and reside there on parole. 
 " The motives," he says, " I had in view by such a 
 request were a peaceable retirement from the 
 tumultuous noise of a Publick Tavern, and a 
 reasonable deliverance from insult, to which I am 
 at present unavoidably exposed, from the lowest 
 class of passengers, and of which I experience 
 almost every day fresh and repeated instances, 
 more shameless than I would even choose to 
 express." This request was refused. Then came 
 a succession of letters in which Campbell acknowl- 
 edged that the treatment of him proceeded from 
 political necessity and misconception of facts, and 
 not from any desire to persecute him, and asked 
 that he might be permitted to live in a house with 
 his own servants. Concord people appear to have 
 treated him well. At least he calls Captain Jones, 
 the jailer, a kind-hearted man. He made the ac- 
 quaintance of Duncan Ingraham and his wife, 
 formerly Mrs. Merrick, who lived across the way, 
 and, incidentally, of young Tilly Merrick, whose 
 mother, Mrs. Ingraham, kindly took the stranger 
 into her house and nursed him when he was ill. 1 
 On May 17, 1777, the Council administered a 
 
 1 Twice during the war young Merrick had occasion to cross 
 the Atlantic as attach^ to an embassy, and on both occasions was 
 captured by the British. The second time he was so fortunate as 
 to meet with Colonel Campbell, who greeted him cordially and 
 exerted himself in his behalf.
 
 42 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 rebuke to " Mr. Nathan Stow Clerk of the Comt ee 
 of Correspondence &c at Concord " for permitting 
 Campbell to send a letter to Cambridge by the 
 hand of one of the prisoners : 
 
 " The Board are much dissatisfied with your conduct 
 in permitting a Highland prisoner of war under your care 
 at Concord to go to Cambridge, only to carry a Letter 
 from Col. Campbell, which might easily have been sent 
 by other conveyances. This man went at large at Cam- 
 bridge for three days together, and took a view of every 
 thing, and conversed with every person he pleased. The 
 Board are of opinion that it is extremely dangerous to 
 allow such liberties to Prisoners of War and expect that 
 for the future the Com tee will take effectual care that no 
 prisoner of war shall be permitted to go without the limits 
 of the Town. 
 
 By order of the Council." 
 
 On May 22, 1777, Howe again protested to 
 Washington, " It is with concern I receive fre- 
 quent accounts of the ill-treatment still exercised 
 upon Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, which I had 
 reason to flatter myself you would have pre- 
 vented. He has, it is true, been taken out of a 
 common dungeon, where he had been confined, 
 with a degree of rigour, that the most atrocious 
 crimes would not have justified ; but he is still 
 kept in the jailer's house, exposed to daily insult 
 from the deluded populace. This usage being 
 repugnant to every sentiment of humanity, and 
 highly unworthy the character you profess, I am 
 compelled to repeat my complaints against it, and
 
 SIX ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 43 
 
 to claim immediate redress to this much injured 
 gentleman." (Sparks, Vol. iv, p. 559.) 
 
 The American general complained to Congress 
 that, notwithstanding his recommendation, Camp- 
 bell's treatment continued to be such as " cannot 
 be justified either on the principles of generosity 
 or strict retaliation." 
 
 A letter written by General Lee " to the Presi- 
 dent of the State or Convention of Massachusetts 
 Bay" (Mass. Archives, Vol. 197, p. 25), was received 
 about this time and helped to clear up the ques- 
 tions of fact involved. The following is a copy : 
 
 "NEW YORK MAY y e 7th 1777. 
 SIR 
 
 It is with the greatest concern (altho it is somewhat 
 flattering to me) that I learn a misrepresentation of the 
 treatment I receive has been the occasion of Colonel 
 Campbel and some other Gentlemen Prisoners with you 
 being closely confin'd and in other respects harshly dealt 
 with. Sir William Howe as a servant of the Public 
 thinks it is incumbent upon him to guard me securely 
 but I give you my word and honour that from the begin- 
 ning I have been treated with tenderness generosity and 
 respect gratitude truth and humanity impose it upon 
 me as a duty to undeceive you on this head, and I am 
 confident, the instant you are undeceived, that Colonel 
 Campbel and the rest of the Gentlemen will have reason 
 to be convinced that what they have suffered ought not 
 be attributed to an illiberal way of thinking or want of 
 humanity in those who have the direction of affairs in 
 Boston, but to the privilege of self defence which fre- 
 quently in times of civil contest obliges us to assume a 
 severity repugnant to our natures, and I can venture to
 
 44 SIX ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 say that severity and harshness is not the characteristic 
 of New England In short I flatter myself and am per- 
 suaded that the moment you receive this note, Colonel 
 Campbel and the other Gentlemen will be put in the situ- 
 ation which their rank and character entitle 'em to. 
 
 I beg you will believe and assure the other Gentlemen 
 of the State that I remain, sir, your and their most de- 
 voted humble serv't 
 
 CHARLES LEE." 
 
 On the authority of Thomas Jones, a tory 
 justice of the Supreme Court of the Province of 
 New York, who published a history of his times, 
 we learn that Lee lived " in genteel apartments, 
 supplied at the expense of the nation with 
 all the luxuries that New York could afford, 
 had friends to dine with him, a good bed to sleep 
 upon, into which he tumbled jovially mellow 
 every night ; for, to do him justice, he loved good 
 fellowship, a long set, a good dinner, and a con- 
 vivial glass, when he could enjoy them at any 
 other expense than his own." He says further: 
 " General Lee was confined in the Council Cham- 
 ber in the City Hall, one of the genteelest public 
 rooms in the City, square, compact, tight and 
 warm. A sentry, it is true, stood at his door. His 
 fire-wood and candles were provided for him. He 
 had directions to order a dinner every day from a 
 public house, sufficient for six people, with what 
 liquor he wanted, and of what kind he pleased. 
 He had the privilege of asking any five friends he
 
 SIR ARCH/BALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 45 
 
 thought proper to dine with him each day. This 
 was all furnished at the expense of the nation. 
 Hull, who kept the City Arms, in New York, 
 waited upon him by General Howe's orders, with a 
 bill of fare every morning, and Lee ordered his 
 own dinner and his own liquors. It was cooked 
 at Hull's and always upon the table at the time 
 appointed. His servant had free access to him at 
 all times." 
 
 Soon after the receipt of Lee's letter, Campbell 
 was allowed to hire a house outside the jail limits, 
 which he describes as " situated close under a high 
 wooded bank, and surrounded with Marshes, in a 
 manner totally excluded from the air and perfectly 
 exposed to the sultry heats of the sun." He at 
 length began to suffer from bilious fever, and was 
 attended by Dr. Danforth of Boston and the sur- 
 geon's mate of his own regiment. 
 
 The following letter is preserved in the Massa- 
 chusetts Archives (Vol. 197, f . 44) : 
 
 "LIBERTIES OF CONCORD GOAL nth May 1777 
 
 GENTLEMEN 
 
 After repeated testimonies exhibited in the Publick 
 prints of Boston, with respect to Gen'l Lee being treated 
 as a Gentleman in his confinement ; I hope I may again 
 be permitted the liberty of addressing the Candour of 
 your Hon'ble Board, on the propriety of my removal 
 from the common Goal of Concord ; where I am sorry to 
 observe, I experience at this late hour a degree of usage 
 less becoming than the just principles of Retaliation 
 require.
 
 46 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 In my letter of the i/th of March, addressed to the 
 Hon'ble The President of Council, I stated the extreme 
 inconvenience and impropriety of my situation at Con- 
 cord, together with the objects I had in view by the 
 moderate request of a removal ; and I would hope your 
 Hon'ble Board on a Reconsideration of the matter, may 
 be pleased at this juncture, to honour that request with a 
 compliance ; at least so far that I may be removed with 
 my servants and effects to some retired habitation in the 
 Country, and with a guard upon my person (if thought 
 necessary) a ceremonious security better adapted to the 
 distinction and feelings of a British Lieut. Col. against 
 whom there is no personal charge, than that which I at 
 present experience by being ignominiously placed under 
 the charge of a Goal keeper. But should reasons of 
 Policy render it expedient to remove me at a greater 
 distance from Boston, than my former abode at Reading, 
 I should esteem it a singular act of kindness in your 
 Hon'ble Board, to fix my residence henceforth at Dun- 
 stable, or at Lancaster; towns, which I understand are 
 pleasant in their situations, weell supplied in provisions, 
 and where there are at this period tollerable accommoda- 
 tions to Lett. 
 
 I have here annexed for your Hon'ble Board the list 
 of servants I wish to have along with me in my confine- 
 ment ; as they are all at Reading, one excepted who is 
 here with me, named Peter Ferguson. I shall consider 
 it as an additional obligation to receive your Order for 
 their being sent to whatever quarter you are pleased to 
 allot for my future residence ; together with my Baggage 
 and those articles belonging to me which are now lying 
 at Reading. 
 
 Gen'l Heath having signified that an equal number of 
 Americans ought to be released on their paroles, to com- 
 pensate for the indulgence of granting me these servants, 
 I sent him a letter of Certificate addressed to the British 
 Commissary for Prisoners of War at Rhode Island, and I
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 47 
 
 doubt not but a matter of such justice will be strictly 
 agreed to by that gentleman on the certificate being 
 presented. 
 
 I have the honour to be with due respect 
 Gentlemen 
 
 Your most obed't Humble servt. 
 ARCH'D CAMPBELL 
 
 Lieut. Col. 7 1 st. Regt. 
 
 List of Servants 
 Clerk John Wilson volunteer 
 
 Groom David Johnston ) . 
 
 r< i A vj c"i Private Soldiers 
 
 Cook Arch d Silver ) 
 
 Do. Wife and 2 Children 
 
 Servants (William Boyd) ) ,, . .,. , 
 
 ( t Not soldiers but as 
 
 (Peter Ferguson) ) 
 
 Prisoners of War Classed 
 as such. 
 
 The Hon'ble Council of Massachusetts Bay." 
 Again, on May 26, 1777, the following letter 
 was addressed to the Council : 
 
 " GENTLEMEN, 
 
 Lest it should not be consistent with your sentiments 
 to grant me, even at this late period, the indulgence of 
 being removed from the Liberties of a Goal ; the follow- 
 ing request will, I hope, be deemed by your Hon'ble Board 
 not to interfere with the nature of that determination. 
 
 Within the Liberties of the Goal at Concord stands a 
 house (which I understand is the County house) at present 
 in the possession of Mr. Coverly, a Printer, who means in 
 a few days to evacuate it. As this house has a Kitchen in 
 it, and such other apartments as might for the present 
 accommodate me and my servants in a tollerable degree
 
 48 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 of Comfort, I beg leave to solicit your Hon'ble Board for 
 permission to Rent and occupy it, with my servants and 
 Baggage, till such time as it may be your pleasure to dis- 
 pose of me in a manner better suited to my circumstances, 
 as a Prisoner of War. By this indulgence I shall be freed 
 from the tumultuous noise of irregular Company and in a 
 great measure removed from that unavoidable interference 
 with Passengers and other visitors, to whose insults I am 
 even at this hour exposed by my residence at a Tavern 
 upon the Publick Road. 
 
 I shall nevertheless be within the liberties of the Goal, 
 and shall engage on my Parole of honour, that my servants 
 shall strictly conform themselves to the same limitations 
 and restrictions to which I am at present confined. The 
 honour of your approbation to this request will lay me 
 under a singular obligation, and convince me that although 
 I have the present misfortune to be under the present 
 unmerited confinement, from motives of political necessity, 
 yet the Generosity of your Hon'ble Board is disposed to 
 soften the rigour of that necessity by such an act of kind- 
 ness as may render my confinement as comfortable as the 
 nature of the present circumstances will admit. 
 
 I have the honour to be with all due respect 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your most obedient and 
 most humble servant, 
 
 ARCH CAMPBELL 
 
 Lieut Colo'l 71!! Regt. 
 
 Liberties of Concord Goal 
 May the 26th 1777. 
 
 The Hon'ble Council of Massachusetts Bay." 
 
 The following letter, which bears no date, was 
 addressed to one of his lieutenants, and is interest-
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. ^ 
 
 ing evidence of Campbell's relations to his subordi- 
 nate officers : 
 
 "DEAR SlR, 
 
 It would have afforded me much pleasure to have had 
 it in my power to agree to your being exchanged, did the 
 Interest of His Majesty's service correspond with my 
 wishes for your ease and comfort. For me to allow all 
 the officers of the /ist to quit their men, on the present 
 critical state of our affairs would indicate a degree of in- 
 consistency in my conduct, different to what my friends 
 would have expected of me ; and for that reason, I have 
 determined that Lt. Fraser of the Light Infantry, Lieut. 
 McLean of the Gren'ds, & Ensign Fraser of McKenzie's 
 Company shall not be exchanged till something shall ulti- 
 mately be determined upon with respect to the exchange 
 of our Private Soldiers. Having hourly expectation of 
 receiving our clothing for those poor fellows, it is neces- 
 sary that an officer of each company shall take charge of 
 the same and distribute them to the men. Surely you 
 Gentlemen cannot expect that I must execute your duty 
 in this respect ; or that the men when they are exchanged 
 shall not have a single off'r to head or conduct them to 
 quarters but the Lt. Colo'l. 
 
 I am sorry to hear of your misfortune in matters of 
 intrigue. If the town is too Hot for you, let Fraser and 
 you Petition to go to Dunstable ; where there is an excel- 
 lent House, cheap living, and kindly neighbors to associate 
 with, or to any more favourable spot in which you can live 
 in peace and Quiet. Make my desire on this subject 
 known to Ensign Fraser ; and acquaint him that there 
 has not a single letter come from the Cartel that went to 
 New York. 
 
 I have as yet had no account of your Clothes from 
 Capt. Smith ; and I must tell you that I have reason to 
 believe that Gentleman has too little interest at Boston to 
 serve you (if occasion required) in the object of a Partial
 
 50 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 Exchange. Content yourself, my friend, with the disap- 
 pointment. Soldiers must expect such trifles now & 
 then, but be assured, that such as it may appear to you 
 at present, no detriment shall fall to your Lot, or that of 
 any other of the Officers on account of it. 
 I am sincerely your friend 
 ARCH'D CAMPBELL, 
 
 Lieut. Colo'l 7 ist Regt. 
 
 P. S. Tell Duncanson that this letter is also an 
 answer to his request." 
 On the back : 
 
 "Lieut. McLean 
 
 7ist Regt Upton." 
 
 On June 10, 1777, Washington wrote frankly 
 in reply to General Howe: 
 
 " The situation of Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, as 
 represented by you, is such as I neither wished nor 
 approve. Upon the first intimation of his complaints, 
 I wrote upon the subject, and hoped there would have 
 been no further cause of uneasiness. That gentleman, 
 I am persuaded, will do me the justice to say he has 
 received no ill treatment at my instance. Unnecessary 
 severity and every species of insult I despise, and, I 
 trust, none will ever have just reason to censure me in 
 this respect. I have written again on your remonstrance, 
 and have no doubt such a line of conduct will be adopted 
 as will be consistent with the dictates of humanity and 
 agreeable to both his and your wishes." 
 
 At length, on August 19, Washington received 
 authority from Congress to admit Campbell and 
 the Hessian officers to their parole, and to propose 
 to General Howe that they be exchanged for a like
 
 SIR. ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. j! 
 
 number of our men of equal rank. There was 
 more vexatious delay, but Howe at last agreed to 
 enlarge the officers in his hands on their parole. 
 
 In November Campbell was allowed to go and 
 come anywhere within the bounds of Concord, 
 upon giving his parole of honor that he would not 
 pass beyond those limits nor give any information 
 to the enemy. 1 Another weary winter passed 
 under these conditions, but in the spring came at 
 last the much-desired relief, and in May, 1778, 
 Campbell was exchanged for Colonel Ethan Allen, 
 at New York. 
 
 Thus ended a captivity of two years, during 
 which time this capable and zealous officer had 
 been afforded no opportunity to demonstrate 
 
 'The form of parole prescribed by the Council was as follows 
 (Mass. Archives, Vol. 173, f. 572): 
 
 I Archibald Campbell Lt Colo, of the 71!! Regt being made a 
 prisoner of war by the Forces of the United State of America, do 
 promise and Engage on my Word & honour & on the Faith of a 
 Gentleman, that I will remain within the Limits & Boundaries of the 
 Town of Concord in the County of Middlesex & will not Depart out 
 of the same, during the present War between G. Brittf and the 
 United States, or untill the Continental Congress or the Assembly 
 or the Council of the State of Massachusetts Bay shall order other- 
 wise: And that I will not, directly or indirectly give any Intelligence 
 whatsoever to the Enemies of the United States, or do or say any- 
 thing in opposition to the measures & proceedings of any Congress 
 or Assembly or any Officer of the United States, or of either of 
 them, during the present Troubles, or untill I am duly Exchanged or 
 Discharged. And I do likewise engage that Peter Ferguson my 
 servant who is allowed to attend me, shall be under the same 
 restrictions and Limitations with myself. Witness my hand this 
 I4th Nov? A.D. 1777.
 
 ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 *j- 
 
 his ability as a military leader. But now he 
 was to have his revenge the revenge of a 
 soldier. For he was soon placed in command 
 of a force of 3,500 men, including the yist Regi- 
 ment, who sailed to the southward from New 
 York in November of the same year, under 
 orders from Sir Henry Clinton, and escorted by 
 a squadron of ships-of-war commanded by Com- 
 modore Hyde Parker. The Highlanders were 
 mustered one thousand strong, and their fine 
 soldierly appearance was favorably remarked 
 upon in the publications of the time. 
 
 The object of the campaign was the sub- 
 jugation of the southern colonies and the pro- 
 tection of the Georgia loyalists. Savannah, the 
 first point of attack, was guarded by a small 
 force of Americans under General Robert Howe. 
 Major-General A. Prevost, then at St. Augustine, 
 was ordered by General Clinton to move north- 
 ward and assume the general direction of affairs 
 at Savannah. This order was dated October 20, 
 and received November 27, the very day on 
 which the expedition sailed from Sandy Hook. 
 Campbell arrived with the fleet off Tybee Island 
 on December 23. Learning upon his arrival 
 that the Americans were already informed of his 
 approach, that their batteries were out of repair, 
 that the Americans in the town were few in 
 number, but expecting re-inforcements every day,
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 53 
 
 Campbell pushed rapidly forward without waiting 
 for re-inforcements to come up, or for the slow 
 approach of his superior officer. Captain Hyde 
 Parker, acting commodore in command of the 
 fleet, actively co-operated. Our people were not 
 accustomed to such energy on the part of their 
 foes. In the dashing impetuosity of the High- 
 land leader there was no trace visible of the slow, 
 irresolute, halting tactics of Gage, the Howes, of 
 Clinton and Burgoyne. The immediate results of 
 the new policy were startling. By one prompt 
 movement vigorously pressed Savannah was taken ; 
 and our forces, largely inferior in numbers, be it 
 said, and unskillfully handled, everywhere melted 
 away before the determined purpose of a genuine 
 leader of men. Bancroft says : " No victory was 
 ever more complete." In ten days Georgia was 
 brought under the sway of the British, and the 
 campaign virtually ended all before the arrival 
 of General Prevost at the scene of operations 
 some time after the middle of January. 1 
 
 There is some reason to believe that the brilliant 
 and complete success achieved by his subordinate 
 in rank was not altogether pleasing to General 
 Prevost, and that their subsequent co-operation, 
 though outwardly beseeming their respective posi- 
 tions, was not agreeable to either. Certain it is 
 
 1 See Campbell's report to Lord George Germain, Almon's Re- 
 membrancer, Vol. 7, p. 235 ; Captain Parker's report, id. p. 244.
 
 54 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, 
 
 that Prevost adopted a plan of campaign against 
 the judgment of Campbell, and with the result 
 that most of the ground won by the skill and 
 prowess of the Highland chieftain was soon lost 
 to the British and never again recovered. 
 
 Campbell soon obtained leave of absence and 
 returned home to Scotland, 1 where, in June, 
 1779, he married Amelia, daughter of Allan 
 Ramsay of Kinkell, the painter, and son of the 
 poet of the same name. It is said that King 
 George was especially pleased with Campbell 
 because of his success in the Georgia cam- 
 
 m & 
 
 paign, and on December 7, 1779, appointed him 
 Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica, with the rank 
 of Brigadier-General and Aide-de-Camp to the 
 King. Here on October 29, in the same year, 
 he made a report to the Earl of Shelburne 
 concerning two successful engagements with the 
 Spaniards, generously giving due credit to the 
 officers in command of the British forces on 
 those occasions. 2 In the year 1782 he became 
 Governor of the island, and in the following year 
 was commissioned as Major-General in the line. 
 In August, 1784, he returned home, bearing 
 
 1 In Winsor's History of 'America (Vol. vi, p. 519 n.) it is said: 
 "This attack on Savannah is illustrated in the Faden Map (1780) 
 called ' Sketch of the Northern Frontiers of Georgia from the mouth 
 of the River Savannah to the town of Augusta, by Lieut. Col 
 Arch? Campbell.'" 
 
 "Southey's Hist. W. Indies, II, 534.
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 55 
 
 with him an elegant service of plate, presented 
 by the assembly of that colony in recognition of 
 his distinguished services. 
 
 On March 9, 1785, Campbell was appointed 
 Governor of Fort St. George, at Madras, on the 
 southeastern coast of India; and on September 3 
 in the same year he was created a Knight of the 
 Bath. The patent from the Herald's Office bears 
 date of December 22, 1785, and styles the re- 
 cipient of the honor " Sir Archibald Campbell, 
 Major General of his Majesty's Forces and Gov- 
 ernour of Fort St. George in the East Indies." 
 This appointment to the important and difficult 
 post of Governor at Madras was conferred dur- 
 ing the administration of the younger Pitt, and 
 when at the head of the Board of Control was 
 Henry Dundas, a good friend of Campbell. In 
 1786 Earl Cornwallis became Governor-General 
 of India, and gave frequent testimony in his 
 correspondence to the ability, efficiency, and 
 zeal of Sir Archibald Campbell, whom he had 
 known favorably in America, and of whom he 
 had written, two years before, that he ought to 
 have "a commission of General to command in 
 chief in India." 
 
 Campbell's first important work in India was 
 the new modeling of the forces of the East India 
 Company at Madras, according to a plan sub- 
 mitted by him before leaving England. In
 
 56 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 September, 1786, he was appointed by the King 
 and the East India Company Commander-in- 
 Chief of the forces on the coast of Coromandel, 
 to succeed Lieutenant-General Sir John Dolling. 
 Campbell was also mainly instrumental in the 
 negotiation of the treaty of February 24, 1787, 
 concerning the debts of the Nabob of Arcot, a 
 settlement advantageous to all concerned, for 
 which he took much credit to himself, saying: 
 " The power of the purse and sword is now 
 completely secured to the company, without les- 
 sening the consequence of the Nabob." 
 
 About this time Cornwallis wrote : " The most 
 perfect harmony subsists here ; no Governour ever 
 was more popular than Sir A. Campbell ;" and again, 
 " I must do Sir A. Campbell the justice to say that 
 he seconds me nobly. By his good management 
 and economy we shall now be relieved from the 
 heavy burden of paying the King's troops on the 
 coast, and I have no doubt that his conduct will 
 be as universally approved of in England as it is on 
 this side of the Cape of Good Hope." 
 
 Notwithstanding this strong testimony to the 
 efficiency and popularity of the Governor, clouds 
 of criticism and disparagement were already 
 gathering at home. The treaty was indeed for- 
 mally approved as a whole by the Court of 
 Directors of the East India Company sitting in 
 London, but a hostile feeling on the part of some
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 57 
 
 of the directors was equally manifest, and every 
 opportunity was seized upon to attack him. The 
 favorable opinion expressed by him concerning 
 the Nabob was quoted against him, especially 
 when, a little later, " that venerable prince " was 
 openly accused of double dealing. Cornwallis at 
 Calcutta deprecated these attacks upon Camp- 
 bell, and Mr. Dundas at the seat of government 
 did not fail to express his satisfaction with the 
 " very high opinion " expressed by the Governor- 
 General concerning Campbell's administration. " I 
 agree with you and him," he says, "that he is 
 very illiberally treated by the Court of Directors, 
 but he is not singular in that respect. We are 
 all (except your Lordship, as yet) sharers in it." 
 Again Cornwallis wrote : " Nothing could give 
 me personally greater concern, and nothing, in 
 my opinion, could be more fatal to the British 
 interest in India than his removal. He has shown 
 great ability, and the most perfect uprightness and 
 integrity, and possesses the esteem and confidence 
 of the civil as well as military part of the settle- 
 ment." But these expostulations failed to impress 
 the management of the East India Company. An 
 administration of affairs that aimed to do justice, 
 to enforce economy, and thereby save money for 
 the crown did not especially interest the directors. 
 They wanted more lacs of rupees for the com- 
 pany, and, as for any sympathy with the natives,
 
 58 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 it was, in their opinion, entirely out of place in 
 the transaction of business in India. 
 
 A high-minded man like Campbell, earnestly 
 desirous of administering his office honorably, 
 faithfully, and with justice to all concerned, may 
 withstand opposition of this sort for a season with 
 comparative serenity, secure in the approval of his 
 own conscience, but the time surely comes when 
 he will not or cannot suffer it longer. Some time 
 in the year 1787, with a full understanding of 
 the influences which were working against him, 
 and knowing that the opposition must in the 
 end be successful, he gave notice that he should 
 retire from his office and return to England 
 early in 1789. 
 
 On October 12, 1787, he received a commission 
 as Colonel of the 74th Highland Regiment of Foot, 
 which was raised by himself, and was one of four 
 that were especially designed for service in the 
 East. 1 But notwithstanding the honors which 
 were heaped upon him, it is only too evident 
 that this faithful and high-spirited public servant 
 realized that in India it was impossible for him to 
 serve God and the King, and at the same time 
 commend his administration to the managers of 
 a trading corporation, whose anomalous relations 
 
 1 Brown's History of the Highlands, &c. Edinburgh and Lon- 
 don, 1859.
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 59 
 
 to the government caused frequent embarrassment 
 to ministers of the best intentions. In February, 
 1789, Sir Archibald resigned his office and com- 
 mission in the East, and sailed for home with 
 health sadly impaired, and, although he had given 
 the directors ample notice, before they were able 
 to agree upon a successor in his office. 1 
 
 In the following year he was unanimously 
 re-elected to Parliament and took his seat for the 
 district formerly represented by him, Sir James, his 
 brother, having resigned in his favor. But the 
 change from the climate of India to that of the 
 British Isles was too much for a constitution 
 already weakened by a four years' sojourn in 
 the East. He caught cold on a hurried journey 
 from Scotland, on being sent for to consult with 
 the government concerning an armament which 
 was being made ready by reason of a dispute 
 with Spain concerning trade to the northwest 
 coast of America. He felt obliged to decline the 
 command which was offered him because of the 
 state of his health, and although a visit to Bath 
 was somewhat beneficial, death came upon him 
 at his home in Upper Grosvenor Street, London, 
 on March 31, 1791, in the fifty-second year of 
 his age. 
 
 1 For Campbell's life in India, see Correspondence of Charles, 
 first Marquis Cornwallis; London, 1859; also Mill's History of British 
 India; London, 1817.
 
 60 SIX ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 The whole career of Sir Archibald Campbell, 
 his letters, the letters of Washington, and the 
 uniformly favorable comments of contemporaries, 
 all go to show that he was a gentleman in a 
 true and universal sense courteous, high-minded, 
 considerate of others, a faithful and efficient ad- 
 ministrator of affairs, a brave and accomplished 
 officer. In a letter of one of General Howe's 
 field officers he is spoken of as " our worthy 
 friend," whose capture "gives unexpressible con- 
 cern to his friends, who you know are numerous." 
 Dr. David Ramsay, the American historian, de- 
 scribes him as " a humane man and a meritorious 
 officer," who, although " he had personally suffered 
 from the Americans, treated all who fell into his 
 hands with humanity, his course in this respect 
 being in marked contrast with the conduct of his 
 successors in command." 
 
 Having no issue, Sir Archibald bequeathed 
 the greater part of his fortune to his two surviv- 
 ing brothers, Sir James Campbell and Commis- 
 sary Duncan Campbell, in equal shares, but 
 subject to the payment of some legacies, and a 
 jointure to the widow of one thousand pounds 
 sterling per year. To his nephew, Captain James 
 Campbell, eldest son of Sir James, he gave all 
 his military books, instruments, and drawings, 
 also his arms, " knowing that he will never tar- 
 nish them." The brothers caused a monument to
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 6 1 
 
 be erected over the remains, in the Poets' Corner 
 of Westminster Abbey, upon which is inscribed 
 the following : 
 
 Sacred to the memory of Major General Sir Archi- 
 bald Campbell, Knight of the Bath, M. P., Colonel of the 
 74 th Highland Regiment of Foot, Hereditary Usher of 
 the White Rod for Scotland, late Governor of Jamaica, 
 Governor of Fort St. George, & Commander-in-Chief 
 of the Forces on the Coast of Coromandel in the East 
 Indies. He died equally regretted & admired for his 
 eminent civil & military services to his country, pos- 
 sessed of distinguished endowments of mind, dignified 
 manners, inflexible integrity, unfeigned benevolence, with 
 every social & amiable virtue. He departed this life 
 March 31"*, 1791, aged 52. Heu pietas, heu prisca fides 
 et bellica virtus, Quando Habitiira Parent. 
 
 Following is a copy of the inscription on the 
 stone in the floor over the grave: 
 
 Sir Archibald Campbell 
 
 of Inverneil. 
 
 Knight of the most honorable order of the Bath, Major 
 General of His Majesty's Forces, Colonel of His Majesty's 
 74 th Highland Regiment of Foot, Hereditary Usher of 
 the White Rod for Scotland, late Governor of Jamaica, 
 afterwards Governor of Fort St. George and Commander- 
 in-Chief on the Coast of Coromandel in the East Indies. 
 He died 3i st March, 1791, in the 52** year of his age. 
 
 Surely, at this distance in time the loyal sons 
 of America need not hesitate to award to the 
 memory of this remarkable man full measure of 
 respectful recognition, even though he was op- 
 posed in arms to our fathers in their great
 
 62 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 
 
 struggle for full political rights. By reason of 
 the hard fortune of war it was impossible, in the 
 nature of the case, that he should have enjoyed 
 his sojourn in Concord, but we of a later genera- 
 tion must needs regret that his enforced residence 
 in our town was not made pleasanter, or at least 
 less irksome to him. Possibly we may think it 
 especially incumbent upon us, so far as it rests 
 in our power, to see to it that he be remembered 
 with that just appreciation of his merits which 
 in his lifetime, because of untoward circumstances 
 and the harshness born of warfare, was not be- 
 stowed upon him by our fathers.