Portrait of Captain Patrick Campbell (ca. 1745-1782)
Date1775-1776
OriginScotland
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsFramed: 35 3/4" H x 31" W; approx. unframed: 30 1/2" H x 25 1/2' W
Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund
Object number2018-261,A&B
DescriptionPortrait of a man wearing the uniform of the 71st Regiment of Foot, including a white-faced red coat with regimental buttons and a plaid draped over his left arm. He has a basket-hilted sword tucked into his left arm and is wearing a regimental black bonnet with a black plume.Label TextLikenesses of British and American officers who served in the Revolutionary War are rare underscoring the importance of this portrayal of Captain Patrick Campbell, a Scottish officer who served in the British lines at the Siege of Yorktown. It was painted by a yet-to-be-identified Scottish painter before Campbell left for America in late 1775 or early 1776.
Campbell's unit, the 71st Regiment of Foot, was raised specifically to fight in the American Revolution. They departed Scotland for America in April 1776 and were the most active British unit during the war. The 71st saw action in every major campaign of the Revolution except Saratoga, including the Siege of Yorktown, where many, including Campbell, were captured. Shortly after the surrender, Campbell was paroled and returned to his wife and child in New York City where he died less than a year later.
ProvenanceFrom the sitter to his sister Lucy Campbell Cameron (Mrs. Ewen Cameron of Fassifern) from whose line it descended until its more recent exchange of hands and ultimate deposit at CWF.
1825-1850 (possibly)