(Excerpt from Memoirs of the War in the Southern Departmen...)
Excerpt from Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States IN testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed the public seal of my office, the day and year aforesaid. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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William Campbell was born in 1745 in Augusta County, Virginia, United States. His branch of the famous Campbell family came from Argyll, Scotland, by way of northern Ireland and Pennsylvania. His father was Charles Campbell, his mother's surname was Buchanan.
Campbell settled in the valley of the Holston River at Aspenvale (near Abingdon), Virginia, soon rose to prominence; as captain of militia he was active in intermittent border warfare against the Cherokees, and he held office as justice of Fincastle County. Like so many other frontiersmen, he participated in Dunmore's War against the Indians in 1774. In January 1775 he with others signed an address from the people of Fincastle County to the Continental Congress, protesting their loyalty to the Crown but declaring their willingness to fight for their "constitutional rights". Campbell led a company to join Patrick Henry's regiment at the capital, Williamsburg, and aided in the expulsion of the royal governor, Lord Dunmore. Resigning in October 1776, he resumed his activities on the frontier; he had a share in the irregular warfare, and was boundary commissioner between Virginia and the Cherokees; in the Virginia militia he held the rank of colonel 1777-80. He was also a justice in Washington County, and a delegate to the Virginia legislature. The great event in his life came near the close of the war. By the autumn of 1780 the prospect for independence seemed almost hopeless in the South. The Americans had lost Charleston, the battle of Camden, and their hold upon South Carolina and Georgia. Ferguson, the ablest of the Loyalist commanders, was operating in the Carolinas, encouraging the Tories and terrorizing the Whigs. To defeat him, there collected a small army of backwoodsmen, the "rear-guard of the Revolution. " One of their leaders, Shelby, urged Campbell to join them. At first he declined, giving as a reason the necessity of defending Virginia against invasion by Cornwallis. Finally accepting, he marched with 400 men of Washington County to the rendezvous at Sycamore Shoals (on the upper Watauga). When the army reached Cowpens, nearly in touch with Ferguson, it numbered about 1, 800 men under various commanders, Shelby, Sevier, Campbell, and others. The officers being of equal rank, Campbell was elected officer of the day to execute the decisions of the council of officers. About 900 men were picked, and the march began on a rainy night toward Ferguson's position. This was on the knob of a ridge called King's Mountain. Ferguson's ground, which he held with about 1, 100 men, was supposed by him to be impregnable. During the battle (Oct. 7, 1780), Campbell is said to have been in the thick of the fight, leading his men.
His part in the exploit was recognized by Cornwallis with a threat of death--in the case of capture. At the battle of Guilford, March 15, 1781, Campbell brought only a few Virginians to the aid of Gen. Greene, since the Cherokees were on the frontier; with his riflemen he fought under the immediate command of Gen. Henry Lee, and he claimed later that Lee withheld his support. He received the thanks of Congress for his services, and from his state legislature a vote of thanks together with a horse and a sword. He was elected again to the legislature, was appointed brigadier-general of militia, and began the final campaign under Lafayette at Jamestown, but died shortly after at Rocky Mills, Hanover County, Va. Thirty years later Shelby and Sevier questioned Campbell's share in the victory of King's Mountain, alleging that he remained in the rear; but the charge was never proved.
He was known as the "bloody tyrant of Washington County" known for his leadership at the Battle of Kings Mountain and the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. He was also prominent in the Battle of Kings Mountain, defeating the British Forces. Campbell County, Virginia, is named for General Campbell, as is one of the counties high schools, William Campbell Middle and High School.
(Excerpt from Memoirs of the War in the Southern Departmen...)
William Campbell was a "typical pioneer"; very tall, of great strength and endurance, fair of complexion, grim toward his enemies, and a hater of Tories.
He married Elizabeth, sister of Patrick Henry. They had two children: Sarah Buchanan Campbell, and Charles Henry Campbell.
