John Campbell, Second Duke of Argyll

English-born Scottish general and politician

• Born: October 10, 1680
• Birthplace: Ham House, Petersham, Surrey, England
• Died: October 4, 1743
• Place of death: Sudbrook, Surrey, England

Thoroughly pro-English, Argyll used his political status as the most powerful Scottish lord and his military generalship to advance the cause of union between Scotland and England despite various Jacobite uprisings.

Early Life

The second duke of Argyll, given the name John Campbell at birth, was the elder of the two sons of Archibald Campbell, tenth earl and first duke of Argyll, and Elizabeth Tollmash. As head of Clan Campbell, the largest clan in Scotland, the ruler of Argyll occupied a unique position to influence Scottish politics and Anglo-Scottish relations. When the ninth earl, Archibald’s father, was beheaded in Edinburgh on June 30, 1685, under orders of English king James II on trumped-up charges of treason dating from 1681, Archibald took refuge in the Netherlands and actively supported the Glorious Revolution of 1688 that replaced James with William of Orange (who became King William III). John grew up immersed in this atmosphere of strong affinity to English Protestant politics and was in many ways more English than Scottish.

King William III and Mary II commissioned fourteen-year-old John Campbell as colonel of the earl of Argyll’s Regiment of Foot in 1694. This regiment had been created in 1689 as the first Scots Highland regiment in the army of Great Britain. Accompanied by his tutor, Alexander Cunningham, the boy traveled with the regiment until it was disbanded in 1697. Cunningham then took Campbell on a tour of Europe from 1699 to 1700. Campbell preferred the military life and returned to armed service in 1702 under the command of John Churchill, duke of Marlborough, in the War of the Spanish Succession. He saw action that summer as colonel of the Tenth Regiment of Foot.

Among the many favors that William gave Archibald in return for his service was the newly created dukedom of Argyll, which superseded the earldom, on June 21, 1701. Campbell succeeded as duke when his father died on September 25, 1703.

Life’s Work

Appointed as high commissioner of the Scottish parliament in April, 1705, John Campbell (now the second duke of Argyll) immediately used this position to promote union with England, mostly by threats and intimidation. Queen Anne of England rewarded him for these efforts by creating him earl of Greenwich in November, 1705, and promoting him to major general in 1706.

Argyll soon wearied of civilian political machinations, and so he returned to Marlborough’s service in the War of the Spanish Succession. He distinguished himself in the Flanders campaign of 1706, saving Marlborough’s life at Ramillies. He played key roles at Menin and Ostend in 1706, Oudenarde in 1708, and Ghent in 1708-1709. These exploits earned him the nickname Red John of the Battles. Promoted to lieutenant general in 1709, he participated in the Siege of Tournai and fought with extraordinary courage at Malplaquet, also in 1709. Upon returning to England in 1710 he was knighted for his military accomplishments. Meanwhile, however, the former mentor-protégé relationship between Marlborough and Argyll had deteriorated to the extent that the two generals actively hated each other. Mainly to keep Argyll away from Marlborough, the queen promoted Argyll to general and gave him the command of British forces in Spain in 1711.

Argyll and his younger brother Archibald grew increasingly upset with the English handling of Scottish affairs, particularly regarding the malt tax. Although loyal to the English crown, Argyll never was afraid to speak his opinion, especially in defense of Scotland against English aspirations or chauvinism. In 1713, Argyll went so far as to advocate revoking the Act of Union of 1707. Anne perceived this as disloyalty and stripped him of several of his most important offices in March of 1714.

Queen Anne’s death on August 1, 1714, opened the door to Argyll’s restoration to favor. The succession to the British throne was in doubt, with Jacobite Scots supporting the claim of James Edward Stuart, the Roman Catholic son of James II, and nearly everyone else supporting George Louis, elector of Hanover, Anne’s German Protestant second cousin. Hanover peacefully ascended as King George I in accordance with the 1701 Act of Settlement. Since Argyll was well known as an anti-Jacobite, George immediately restored all his offices.

Argyll’s former ally in the Scottish parliament, John Erskine, the sixth earl of Mar, rallied Jacobite sentiment throughout Scotland and started the first Jacobite Rebellion on September 6, 1715. Argyll’s small army of infantry and dragoons defeated Mar’s superior force at Sheriffmuir on October 13, 1715. Mar retreated north, James Stuart arrived in Scotland to find an already defeated cause, and the two went into permanent exile. English and Dutch reinforcements under General William Cadogan mopped up. Even though Argyll was honored for the victory at Sherrifmuir, Cadogan, a close friend of Marlborough, reported that Argyll had not pursued the enemy with sufficient zeal. George reacted by stripping Argyll of his offices once again.

Various intrigues soon reinstated Argyll as a powerful member of the British court. George I made him duke of Greenwich in 1719, and George II elevated him to field marshal in 1736. From the mid-1720’s until the abrupt end of his public career in 1742, Argyll was at odds with the prime minister, Robert Walpole, especially in the aftermath of the Porteous riots in Edinburgh in 1736. Throughout the 1730’s, Argyll defended Scotland against what he perceived was unwarranted English intrusion into Scottish affairs. In these efforts he was opposed as much by his own brother Archibald as by Walpole, for Argyll ran his dukedom as an absolute monarchy and wanted no interference. After the Scots, encouraged by Argyll, defeated Walpole in the election of 1741, matters came to a head. The king sided with Walpole and forced Argyll to retire from all his public offices in March, 1742.

Argyll is buried in Westminster Abbey. Since he had five daughters but no male heir, his English titles ended with him and the Scottish titles—and the dukedom of Argyll—passed to his brother Archibald.

Significance

The second duke of Argyll’s greatest legacy was his help in cementing the union among Scotland, England, and Wales to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. His military accomplishments against the Jacobites and, especially, his political maneuvers, contributed to this end. He was typically more interested in his personal advancement than in the cause of either Scotland or England, but usually this meant siding with England.

He always expected and nearly always received royal favors for his services. He was an obnoxious man and made enemies easily, but his skill at both diplomacy and war persuaded Queen Anne, the first duke of Marlborough, and others who intensely disliked and even distrusted him to swallow their antipathy and use him to their advantage.

Bibliography

Campbell of Airds, Alastair. From the Restoration to the Present Day. Vol. 3 in A History of Clan Campbell. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004. The definitive work on its subject, commissioned by the Clan Campbell Education Foundation. Much of Chapter 5, “Sheriffmuir and After,” concerns Argyll.

Dickson, Patricia. Red John of the Battles: John, Second Duke of Argyll and First Duke of Greenwich, 1680-1743. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1973. The only full-length biography of Argyll.

Ferguson, William. Scotland: 1689 to the Present. Edinburgh: Mercat Press, 1987. A standard history of Scotland, with a strong focus on the eighteenth century.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Scotland’s Relations with England: A Survey to 1707. Edinburgh: Saltire Society, 1994. An authoritative work by a professor of history at the University of Edinburgh.

Phillipson, Nicholas T., and Rosalind Mitchison, eds. Scotland in the Age of Improvement: Essays in Scottish History in the Eighteenth Century. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1996. Two articles, “The Changing Role of the House of Argyll in the Scottish Highlands,” by Eric Cregeen, and “Who Steered the Gravy Train, 1707-1766?,” by J. M. Simpson, explore Argyll’s life.

Shaw, J. Stuart. The Political History of Eighteenth-Century Scotland. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999. A well-reviewed and rich interpretation of the achievements of the second and third dukes of Argyll—the period of Scottish history from 1703 to 1761.