Patriot - Colonel Arthur Campbell

Virginia Militia

November 3, 1743 - August 8, 1811

Background

Middleboro's most famous patriot was Colonel Arthur Campbell from Middlesboro, Kentucky.  Arthur Campbell was a colonel in the Virginia militia during the Revolutionary War.  He attained the title of county lieutenant of Washington County, Virginia in 1777.  in 1780, Arthur Campbell sent 200 men, under the command of William Campbell, from Washington County, Virginia to Sycamore Shoals to participate in the upcoming Battle of Kings Mountain.

After the Revolutionary War, in the early 1780s, he negotiated treaties with various Indian tribes that opened up Kentucky and Tennessee for settlement.  In 1784, he led a secession movement to form the state of Franklin (early Tennessee).  Four years later, in 1788, he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgess, and played a key role in helping get approval for ratification of the United States Constitution. 

After his term expired in the Virginia House of Burgess, Arthur Campbell moved to the Yellow Creek region of Cumberland Gap, now known as modern day Middlesboro, KY.  Being a staunch Scotchman, Campbell refused to call the Gap region Cumberland because it commemorated the Duke of Cumberland, "the Butcher of Scotland".  He preferred to call the area Omasioto, the Indian name for the Gap region.

Arthur Campbell died on August 8, 1811.  He is buried on the corner of 24th Street and Gloucester Avenue in Middlesboro, Kentucky.

 Dedication

The General Joseph Martin Chapter of the Tennessee Society Sons of the American Revolution honored Patriot Arthur Campbell by erecting a new commemorative monument over his grave on April 25, 2005.  The monument was erected by Compatriots Todd and Terry Williams of Middlesboro and members of the General Joseph Martin Chapter.  The monument was provided by the Veterans Administration.

 Sources of Information and Acknowledgements:

1.     The Daily News, Middlesboro, KY

2.     Compatriots Todd & Terry Williams

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