Early Career
Educated at Glasgow University, and afterwards at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. In 1758, he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers. He served with them in the Seven Years' War and was wounded at the Siege of Quebec. He participated in a number of raids along the coast of France, as well as in expeditions in the West Indies. A decade later, in 1768, Colonel Campbell, was made Chief Engineer of the British East India Company at Bengal, and was successfully employed by the company to head the works on Fort William in Calcutta.
In Calcutta, Campbell laid the foundation of his wealth. With Captain Henry Watson, he privately invested in a dockyard at Kidderpore, and the two men acted as contractors for building and repairing ships until the government bought their concern. He also made a fortune trading in silk. Campbell used his wealth to become a major landowner in his native Argyll. He spent over £30,000 purchasing the estates of Danna, Inverneill, Knap, Taynish, and Ulva. He also purchased the houses of Inverkeithing and Queensferry.
In 1774, after an unusually bitter electoral battle with Colonel James Masterton (1715–1777), of Newton, Colonel Archibald Campbell (now styled 'of Inverneill') became the Member of Parliament for the Stirling Burghs, aided by his guardian, Viscount Melville. James Boswell acted as Campbell's legal advisor.
Read more about this topic: Archibald Campbell (British Army Officer)
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