John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
Encyclopedia : J : JO : JOH : John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
- For other persons with the name, see John Campbell (disambiguation).
Born in Petersham, Surrey, to Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll and Elizabeth Tollemache, daughter of Sir Lionel Tollemache, 3rd Bt, he succeeded his father as Duke of Argyll and Chief of Clan Campbell in 1703. In 1705, for his support of the Act of Union, he was created Baron Chatham and Earl of Greenwich. He fought during the War of the Spanish Succession under the British Army's overall commander, the Duke of Marlborough, and he fought at the battles of Oudenarde and Malplaquet.
In 1710 he was made a Knight of the Garter, and in 1711 he was appointed commander-in-chief of British forces in Spain by the Tory ministry of Lord Oxford and Lord Bolingbroke. By 1713, however, Argyll had become critical of the ministry, and he joined the Whig opposition in making speeches against the government in the House of Lords. In July 1714, in Queen Anne's last illness, the unexpected presence of Argyll and the Duke of Somerset at the Privy Council prevented Bolingbroke from taking full power on the fall of Oxford, and thus perhaps secured the Hanoverian succession. In "the Fifteen", Argyll led the government army at Sheriffmuir and defeated the Jacobites led by the Earl of Mar. In 1719 he was rewarded by being given the Dukedom of Greenwich. He was promoted to Field Marshal in 1736. In 1742, a year before his death, he was given the position of Commander in Chief of the British Army.
He received the colonelcy of various regiments, including the Horse Guards (now part of the Household Cavalry Regiment) and The Queen's Dragoon Guards (now part of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards).
See also
- Royal family
- John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll
- John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll
- John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll
- Military of the United Kingdom
- History of the United Kingdom
Sources
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