author
Charles Campbell
1791–1878
Best known for bringing early Virginia history to life, this 19th-century historian and editor spent decades collecting documents, stories, and local records that might otherwise have been lost. His books helped shape how later generations understood colonial Virginia and the American Revolution in the state.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Petersburg, Virginia, in 1807, Charles Campbell became an educator, editor, and historian with a deep interest in Virginia's past. He studied at the College of New Jersey, later Princeton, and went on to teach while building a reputation as a careful collector of historical manuscripts and traditions.
He is especially remembered for works such as History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia and for editing and contributing to periodicals. His writing focused on Virginia before and during the Revolutionary era, and he was known for gathering source material that preserved details of local and colonial history.
Campbell also played a part in preserving first-person accounts, including the reminiscences of Isaac Jefferson of Petersburg. He died in 1878, leaving behind a body of work that remains useful to readers interested in early American and Virginia history.