George Campbell of Inverneill, one of the most successful military officers in India who fought on behalf of the British East India Company, playing a significant role in suppressing the 1857 Indian Uprising, died on this day.
He received rich tributes from the British authorities, who considered him an outstanding officer and an exceptional sportsman. Part of his reputation as a sportsman was built on the number of tigers he had killed, tiger-hunting being a major sport then.
Campbell joined the Royal Horse Artillery of the Bengal Army in 1822 and served in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-26). He served in the North-Western Provinces and fought in the first and second Anglo-Sikh Wars. In 1853, he was given the charge of the artillery divisions in Agra, Meerut and Kanpur. In 1856, one year before the Uprising, he was appointed brigadier-general and posted at Rawalpindi. During the Uprising, he was present at the “Siege of Cawnpore”. He received the “Indian Mutiny Medal”.
After he returned to England in 1871, he was given the full rank of general and named commander of the Royal Artillery.
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