Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde, was the son of a Glasgow carpenter who rose, by sheer ability, to become a field marshal and one of the greatest British soldiers of the nineteenth century. He commanded the famous ‘Thin Red Line’ in the Crimea and the relief of Lucknow in India.
From Glasgow to the army
Born Colin Macliver in Glasgow in 1792, the son of a carpenter, he was educated at the High School of Glasgow and took his mother’s family name, Campbell, when he joined the army at sixteen. Without money or connections, his rise was slow, won through courage and skill over a career that ran from the Napoleonic Wars to the far side of the world.
The Thin Red Line
Campbell made his name in the Crimean War, commanding the Highland Brigade. At the Battle of Balaclava in 1854 his 93rd Highlanders stood in a thin two-deep line and threw back a charge of Russian cavalry, a moment that passed into legend as the ‘Thin Red Line’, and one of the most celebrated episodes in the history of Glasgow and war.
India and after
In 1857 he was sent to India as commander-in-chief during the rebellion of that year, and led the relief of Lucknow in a hard and bloody campaign. He was made Baron Clyde, and in 1862 a field marshal. Known as ‘Old Careful’ for the care he took with his soldiers’ lives, he was devoted to his men and they to him. He died in 1863 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, while a statue of him stands in George Square in his native city.
Related questions
Who was Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde?
A Glasgow-born field marshal, one of the leading British soldiers of the nineteenth century, famous for the ‘Thin Red Line’ at Balaclava and the relief of Lucknow.
What was the ‘Thin Red Line’?
At the Battle of Balaclava in 1854, Campbell’s Highlanders repelled a Russian cavalry charge while drawn up in a thin two-deep line, a feat that became famous as the ‘Thin Red Line’.
Where was Lord Clyde born?
He was born Colin Macliver in Glasgow in 1792, the son of a carpenter. A statue of him stands in George Square.