Memoirs of Charles Campbell, at present prisoner in the jail of Glasgow : including his adventures as a seaman and as an overseer in the West Indies ... to which is appended, an account of his trial before the Circuit Court of Justiciary at Glasgow, 27th April, 1826.

Written from a Glasgow jail, this candid memoir traces the life of a Scottish working man whose experiences carry him far beyond his birthplace in Tarbert, Argyllshire. Campbell begins with his family history, including the daring escape of an ancestor during the upheavals of Montrose’s invasion, before turning to his own upbringing and early ambitions.

His story unfolds through years at sea and later employment as an overseer in the West Indies, offering glimpses of travel, labor, hardship, and the changing worlds he encountered. He writes without claiming heroism, focusing instead on what he witnessed, felt, and endured. The narrative is framed by his long imprisonment and his hope that publication might bring relief, while an appended courtroom account places his personal testimony alongside the formal record of his trial in Glasgow. Direct, reflective, and shaped by precarious circumstances, this memoir offers an intimate voice from the working world of the early nineteenth century.