George Campbell (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral Sir George Campbell GCB (14 August 1759 – 23 January 1821) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.

Sir George Campbell GCB
Portrait by Sir William Beechey, 1818
Born	14 August 1759
Died	23 January 1821(1821-01-23) (aged 61) Portsmouth
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1771–1821
Rank	Admiral
Commands	HMS Sylph HMS Aurora HMS Orpheus HMS Nymphe HMS Leda HMS Berwick HMS Terrible HMS Dragon Downs Station Portsmouth Command
Battles / wars	American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars Battle of Genoa Battle of the Hyères Islands Napoleonic Wars
Spouse(s)	Eustacia Campbell-Hooke ​ ​ (m. 1805)​
Relations	Pryse Campbell (father) John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor (brother)
Other work	Groom of the Bedchamber
Member of Parliament for Carmarthen
In office 1806–1813
Preceded by	Sir William Paxton
Succeeded by	John Campbell

Naval career

Campbell joined the Royal Navy in 1771.^[1] He was given command of HMS Terrible and took part in the Battle of Genoa in 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars; he subsequently commanded HMS Berwick.^[2] In 1802 he went to Jamaica where he commanded the squadron.^[3] He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, The Downs in 1808^[4] and Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in 1818^[5] and committed suicide in 1821 while still in that role.^[6] Campbell was a Groom of the Bedchamber from 1816 until his death.^[6]

In the summer of 1809 he served on the panel of judges at the Court-martial of James, Lord Gambier which assessed whether Admiral Lord Gambier had failed to support Captain Lord Cochrane at the Battle of Basque Roads in April 1809. Gambier was controversially cleared of all charges.^[7]