CLYDE, Baron, in the peerage of the United Kingdom (Sir Colin Campbell, G.C.B.,) a distinguished military commander, was born in the Tron parish, Glasgow, about 1790. His father is said to have been John Macliver, a cabinetmaker in Glasgow. His mother was a native of Islay. They had two sons and a daughter, the eldest son being the subject of this notice. His brother, John, a lieutenant in the army, died young. The name of Campbell was adopted to gratify an uncle by the mother’s side, who bore that name, and had influence to procure commissions for his two nephews. Lord Clyde entered the army in 1808, as ensign in the 9th foot. His first commission is dated 26th May that year. On 28th June 1809, he became lieutenant, and on 9th November 1813, captain. He served with the 9th at Vindera and at Walcheren; was at the battles of Corunna, Barossa, and Vittoria, and at the defence of Tarifa. At the siege of San Sebastian he led the storming party, and was twice severely wounded. For these services he received the silver medal. At the passage of the Bidassoa he was also wounded.

During 1814 and 1815, his lordship took part in the expedition to the United States. He became major, 22d November 1825; lieutenant-colonel, 26th October 1832; and colonel, 23d December 1842. In the latter year he commanded the 98th regiment in the expedition to China, and distinguished himself at the siege and capture of Chin-Kiang-Foo. In the campaign in the Punjaub, in 1848-49, he held the rank of general of brigade; and as commander of the advanced force, he defeated the Sikhs in the action near Rammugger, 22d November 1848. He also took a leading part at the passage of the Chenab, 3d December the same year. At the battle of Chillianwallah, where he was wounded, he commanded the third infantry division, which formed the left of the army. Lord Gough, in his dispatch to the commander-in-chief, after the victory, said, “Brigadier-general Campbell, with that steady coolness and military precision for which he is so remarkable, carried every thing before him.” He also took part in the great battle of Goojerat in 1849. For his services in this campaign he was created K.C.B., and received the thanks of parliament and of the East India Company. In 1851 and 1852, he commanded the Peshawur district, then in a very unsettled state. Under Sir Charles Napier he was employed at the forcing of the Kohat pass. In the latter year he was constantly engaged in encounters with the hill tribes. At the close of the Punjaub campaign he received the Grand Cross of the order of the Bath. In 1854 he was appointed to the command of the Highland brigade in the Crimea. At Alma, September 20th, the Guards and Highlanders, forming the first or duke of Cambridge’s division, were ordered to advance, at the very crisis of the battle, to support the Light division. “Highlanders,” exclaimed Sir Colin, as they came to the charge, “grant me a favour. Let me have to ask the queen’s permission for you to wear a bonnet! Don’t pull a trigger until you get within a yard of the Russians.” They did not fire a shot until close upon the Russian column, when they delivered a volley and charged. The enemy fell back, but at a short distance rallied, and advanced a few steps with lowered bayonets. The Scots accepted the challenge with a cheer, and charged at them, on which the Russians, throwing off their packs, fled. When the siege of Sebastopol was commenced, Sir Colin was placed by Lord Raglan at Balaklava, in command of a miscellaneous force, composed principally of the 93d Highlanders, the marines from the fleet, and a few Turkish troops. On the 25th October, the Russians, in great force, advanced upon Katichoi. Against Sir Colin’s regiment of Highlanders, the Russian commander sent five hundred cavalry. They were received in line, instead of in a square, and two discharges, the second reserved until the Russian horse were within shot range, soon scattered them, and Balaklava, with all its stores and shipping, was preserved, as the position of the Highlanders closed the access to the harbour. In June 1854, Sir Colin Campbell was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in October of the same year he was nominated colonel of the 67th foot. In 1855 he received the local rank of general in Turkey, and in 1856, that of lieutenant-general in the army. He was also created Grand-cross of the Sardinian order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus, presented with the freedom of the city of London, and made an honorary doctor of civil laws of Oxford. In 1857, on the mutiny of the Sepoy regiments in India, Sir Colin was appointed commander-in-chief there, with the local rank of general. His skill, judgment and bravery, enabled him, in one short campaign, to tranquillize the Doab, crush the Gwalior Contingent, take Lucknow, overrun Oude with moveable columns, wrest Rohilcund from the rule of the rebels, secure our possession of that rich province, and re-establish the civil rule of the Company in its old sites of power. As a reward for his services, he was, in August of the same year, raised to the peerage of the United Kingdom, by the title of Baron Clyde of Clydesdale. In 1858 he was raised to the rank of general, and on the coming of age of the Prince of Wales, Nov. 9, 1862, he was created a field-marshal.