General Patrick Campbell first appears in Southampton, aged 60, in the 1841 census at 8 Rockstone Place, the residence of his brother-in-law Colonel Archibald Maclachlan and his wife Jane. Also present were a younger sister, Elizabeth Campbell, and two young daughters - Jane and Elizabeth - of General Archibald Dyce. General Campbell continued to live chez the Maclachlans until his death on 29 August 1857 aged 77. His sister Elizabeth remained in the house - latterly alone apart from servants - until her death on 26 November 1878, aged 93.
Patrick Campbell was the youngest of three unmarried brothers, the offspring of Captain Neil Campbell of Duntroon in Argyllshire.
The eldest, James (1773-99), saw service in India, the Cape of Good Hope and the Low Countries, before being killed at Bergen in 1799.
Neil (1771-1827) served in the West Indies, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands and France, and was present at the battle of Waterloo. In 1814, as British commissioner, he accompanied Napoleon on his exile to Elba. He was knighted and appointed CB in 1815. Promoted major-general in 1825, he became governor of Sierra Leone in 1826, succumbing to the climate the following year.
Patrick (born 17 December 1779 at Kilmartin in Argyllshire) spent his military career in the Royal Artillery. He entered the army as a gentleman cadet in March 1793, serving initially in the West Indies, being present at the capture of St Lucia in 1796. In 1800 he became brigade major to the Royal Artillery in Gibraltar. He went as a volunteer in 1809 to serve with the Spanish army in the Peninsular War, taking part in the battle of Talavera and was later in command of a Spanish brigade. Promoted to lieutenant-colonel in July 1825, he retired from the army on full pay on 11 November 1836. Subsequent semi-automatic promotions led to the rank of general on 26 November 1854. In 1823 he entered the diplomatic service. He was one of three commissioners sent that year by George Canning to Bogata, capital of the new republic of Columbia founded by Simon Bolivar. He became secretary of legation in Columbia in December 1826. In January 1833 he was appointed consul-general and diplomatic agent in Egypt, then under the rule of Mehemet Ali, with a residence in Alexandria. He was involved in negotiations for an overland route to the Red Sea - vital to the trade of Southampton - and was instrumental in the excavation of the Great Pyramid of Giza. 'Campbell's Chamber' within the pyramid was named in his honour. He retired from diplomatic service on a superannuation allowance on 13 August 1841, by now a resident of Southampton.
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