A Guide to the John Campbell, Earl of Loudoun Bookplate, n.d. Campbell, John, Earl of Loudoun Bookplate SC 0017

A Guide to the John Campbell, Earl of Loudoun Bookplate, n.d.

A Collection in the
Thomas Balch Library
Collection Number SC 0017


[logo]

Thomas Balch Library

Thomas Balch Library
208 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
USA
Phone: (703) 737-7195
Fax: (703) 737-7195
Email: balchlib@leesburgva.gov
URL: http://www.leesburgva.gov/departments/thomas-balch-library/

© 2006 By Thomas Balch Library. All rights reserved.

Processed by: D. Nichole Recker

Repository
Thomas Balch Library
Title
John Campbell, Earl of Loudoun Bookplate n.d.
Size
1 item
Language
English
Abstract
One bookplate belonging to John Campbell, Fourth Earl of Loudoun bearing the motto, "I Bide My Time. "

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

No physical characteristics affect use of this material.

Preferred Citation

John Campbell, Earl of Loudoun Bookplate (SC 0017), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA., Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Lewis Leigh, Loudoun County, Virginia

Alternative Form Available

None

Accruals

2007.0044

Processing Information

Processed by D. Nichole Recker, 1 May 2007

Biographical Information

John Campbell, Fourth Earl of Loudoun (5 May 1705 - 27 Apr 1782) was the only son of Hugh Campbell, Third Earl of Loudoun (b. before 1684 - 20 Nov 1731) and Lady Margaret Dalrymple (1677 - Apr 1777). Campbell gained peerage as Earl of Loudoun upon his father's death in 1731. The Scottish family was distinguished for their allegiance to the Crown of England. After entering the army in 1727, Campbell raised a regiment of highlanders to fight for the British Government against the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745, ensuring the favor of King George II. He acted as an adjunct general to Sir John Cope and suffered a series of defeats in the 1745 war. He was granted colonel in 54th Foot in 1745, 30th in 1749, and major general in 1755. On 17 Feb 1756, Campbell was appointed captain-general and governor-in-chief of the province of Virginia, and on 20 Mar, he was made commander-in-chief of the British troops in America.

Campbell arrived in New York on 3 Jul 1756 and took command of the forces at Albany. The colonists were unwilling to cooperate with Campbell and he had little real authority over them, making his stay unpleasant for both. In efforts to conceal his plans for a siege of French-held Louisbourg in Jan 1757, Campbell put an embargo on all out-ward bound ships, upsetting both the Americans and the English. Once he finally amassed a force sufficient for siege, he was unable to decide on a course for action and lost his opportunity for attack. He was summarily recalled to England.

Once Spain was drawn into the Seven Years War, Campbell was appointed second in command under Lord Tyrawley and sent there in 1762, gaining full command in 1763. He was also colonel in the 3rd Foot Guards from 1770 until his death. Campbell died at Loudoun Castle, Ashyire, Scotland and his title passed to his cousin James Mure Campbell, as Campbell never married and was without heir. His interest in landscaping and trees, specifically willow, gained Campbell's estate renown for the improvements he made to it. Many of the specimens he owned were collected from around the world.

Although Campbell never set foot in Virginia, Loudoun County was named in his honor in 1757. The Loudoun County board of supervisors adopted the county's official coat of arms modeled after Campbell's coat of arms on 16 Jan 1968.

Scope and Content

This collection contains one bookplate belonging to John Campbell, Fourth Earl of Loudoun bearing the motto, "I Bide My Time." The bookplate's printed coat of arms features a two-headed dragon decorated with mantling, which is resting on a helm that is nestled into a five-pronged crown. A shield is below the crown, divided into eight pie-slices that alternate between ermine fur and dark sections. The shield is stabilized on either side by a soldier with an upright spear and a woman holding a roll of paper. The shield most likely was colored Argent and Sable, or black and white.

Used to identify one's own library with a printed or engraved coat of arms, bookplates came into regular use by gentry families of Scotland halfway through the 17th century. Only one person can legally bear a coat of arms, which is granted and regulated by the Court of the Lord Lyon. Typically the eldest son will inherit rights to a coat of arms upon his father's death, but all other family members must sufficiently difference the arms.

The bookplate was mounted inside the cover of The Memoirs of Cap. George Carleton, an English Officer, Who Served in the Two Last Wars against France and Spain, and was Present in Several Engagements both in the Fleet and Army , printed in London, 1743 for Thomas Astley.

Bought with money donated to the Thomas Balch Library in memory of volunteer Warren Weitman, the bookplate has also been used as the cover design for Thomas Balch Library's 250th anniversary lecture series.

Related Material

Craufuird C. Loudoun, A History of the House of Loudoun and Associated Families . [Darvel?]: C.C. Loudoun, 1997.

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography

International Heraldry Civic Site: Loudoun County, Joe VanDyke, 1996. http://www.ngw.nl/int/usa/loudon.htm
Loudoun County Office of Public Information, "250 Years of Service," no. 3, January 11, 2007. http://www.co.loudoun.va.us/anniversary/highlights/release03.htm
Loudoun, Craufuird C. A History of the House of Loudoun and Associated Families. [Darvel?]: C.C. Loudoun, 1997.
Scottish Heraldry Pages: Some Distinctive Characteristics of Scots Arms by Alexander M. Findlater. Beginners Heraldry by Mark Harden. http://www.heraldry-scotland.co.uk/scotsherald.html
Williams, E. T., and Helen Palmer. The Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.

Other Finding Aid

None


Other Finding Aid

None


Bibliography

International Heraldry Civic Site: Loudoun County, Joe VanDyke, 1996. http://www.ngw.nl/int/usa/loudon.htm
Loudoun County Office of Public Information, "250 Years of Service," no. 3, January 11, 2007. http://www.co.loudoun.va.us/anniversary/highlights/release03.htm
Loudoun, Craufuird C. A History of the House of Loudoun and Associated Families. [Darvel?]: C.C. Loudoun, 1997.
Scottish Heraldry Pages: Some Distinctive Characteristics of Scots Arms by Alexander M. Findlater. Beginners Heraldry by Mark Harden. http://www.heraldry-scotland.co.uk/scotsherald.html
Williams, E. T., and Helen Palmer. The Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.

Contents List

Folder 1: John Campbell, Earl of Loudon Bookplate, n.d.