John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll

Early military career Campbell was commissioned, after his father had given William III some encouragement, as colonel of Lord Lorne's Regiment of Foot, a regiment entirely raised by the Argyll family, on 7 April 1694. He also served under the Duke of Marlborough at the Siege of Kaiserswerth in April 1702 during the War of the Spanish Succession. He then returned to the continent and, having been promoted to major-general early in 1706, served as a brigade commander under Marlborough at the Battle of Ramillies in May 1706 and at the Siege of Ostend in June 1706.

After conducting a successful evacuation of the troops from Spain he became Commander-in-Chief, Scotland in 1712.

Later career Campbell arrived back in London early in March 1716, and at first stood high in the king's favour, but in a few months was stripped of his offices. This, however, did not deter him from the discharge of his parliamentary duties; he supported the bill for the impeachment of Bishop Atterbury, and lent his aid to his countrymen by opposing the bill for punishing the city of Edinburgh for the Porteous Riots. At the beginning of the year 1719 he was again admitted into favour, and in April was created Duke of Greenwich. under the Walpole–Townshend Ministry. He also became colonel of the Queen's Regiment of Horse in August 1726 and, having been appointed Governor of Portsmouth in November 1730, he was restored to the colonelcy of the Royal Horse Guards in August 1733.

In the 1720s he commissioned the architect James Gibbs to design a Palladian house at Sudbrook Park close to his birthplace at Ham House.

Promoted to field marshal on 31 January 1735, Campbell was stripped of his post as Master-General of the Ordnance and the colonelcy of the Royal Horse Guards for opposing the Government of Robert Walpole in 1740. However he was restored to his post as Master-General of the Ordnance in February 1741 and restored to his colonelcy a few days later. However, disapproving the measures of the new administration, and apparently disappointed at not being given the command of the army, he shortly resigned all his posts, and spent the rest of his life in privacy and retirement.

Campbell died at Sudbrook Park, Petersham on 4 October 1743 and was buried in Westminster Abbey; his grave is marked by a small lozenge stone to the north east of Henry VII's tomb. A large monument, designed by the French sculptor, Louis-François Roubiliac, was erected for him in the south transept and unveiled in 1749.

Argyll Street in London's West End is named after him.

Family

Campbell married first, Mary Brown, daughter of John Brown and Ursula Duncombe, in 1701: they separated soon after the marriage and she died in 1717 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. He had four daughters who reached maturity: Caroline Townshend, 1st Baroness Greenwich, Lady Elizabeth Campbell, Lady Anne Campbell and Lady Mary Coke.

In popular culture Campbell is played by James Robertson Justice in the 1953 film Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue. He is played by Andrew Keir in Michael Caton-Jones's Rob Roy.