Lieutenant General Colin Campbell (21 November 1754 – 2 April 1814) was Lieutenant Governor of Gibraltar.

Early life

Campbell was born in Edinburgh on 21 November 1754. He was the son of John Campbell, First Cashier of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Anne Carolina Campbell, herself a daughter of landowner James Campbell of Tofts. His father was an illegitimate son of the Hon. Colin Campbell of Ardmaddie, a son of John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland by his second marriage to the former Mary Sinclair, Countess of Caithness ( Lady Mary Campbell), the widow of George Sinclair, 6th Earl of Caithness who was a daughter of Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll).

Military career

Campbell was commissioned into the 71st Regiment of Foot in 1771 and then transferred to the 6th Regiment of Foot in 1783. In 1796 he went to Ireland and two years later fought at the Battle of Vinegar Hill. In 1810 he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Gibraltar. During the Peninsular War he insisted on keeping Gibraltar well garrisoned and also regarded Tarifa as within his command and denied it to the French invading force there.

Personal life

Campbell was married to Mary Johnson (c. 1764–1832), a daughter of Guy Johnson and Mary "Polly" Johnson (the daughter of Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet). Together, they were the parents of: Campbell died on 2 April 1814. His son Guy was created a Baronet in his honour in 1815.

Descendants

Through his son William, he was a grandfather of Mary Caroline Campbell (1820–1876), who married Andrés Avelino de Silva y Fernández de Córdoba (younger son of the 12th Duke of Híjar. Mary and William were the parents of Alfonso de Silva y Campbell, 15th Duke of Híjar.