LX.
LX. JOHN CAMPBELL.
LX. Earl of Loudon.
LX. July, 1756, to 1768.
John Campbell, son of Hugh, Earl of Loudon, was born
in 1705, and succeeded to his title in November, 1731. He
was in 1756 appointed Commander-in-Chief of the troops in
North America, but, being detained in England, Major-General
Abercrombie was ordered to proceed immediately to
America to take command of the troops until his lordship
should arrive. The Earl was likewise constituted Governor
of Virginia, and was also invested with such powers as were
thought necessary to enable him to promote a union among
the English Colonies.
The Earl of Loudon arrived in America, July 29, 1756,
and assumed command of the Army. In the month of January,
1757, a Council was held at Boston, composed of Lord
Loudon and the Governors of the New England provinces
and of Nova Scotia. At this Council his lordship proposed
that New England should raise 4,000 men for the ensuing
campaign; and that requisitions proportionately large should
be made on New York and New Jersey. The requisitions
were complied with, and his lordship found himself, in the
spring, at the head of a very considerable army. In 1758
Lord Loudon returned to England, and General Abercrombie,
on whom the chief command of the entire forces for the
American war had devolved, was now at the head of 50,000
men; the most powerful army ever seen in America.
It does not appear that the Earl of Loudon ever came to
Virginia. He was succeeded by Norborne Berkeley, Baron
de Botetourt, as Governor-in-Chief of this Colony, in 1768.
He died April 27, 1782.
