Philips Cameron was the eldest son of Sir Alan Cameron, founder of the 79th Regiment. He was appointed captain on 6 June 1794 and served with the regiment in Holland in 1799, fighting at Egmont-op-Zee, and was with the 79th in Egypt, at the battle of Alexandria in 1801. He was one of the officers presented with a Gold Medal by Sultan Selim III, and was promoted to major. On 19 April 1904 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and appointed commanding officer on 11 Dec 1806. He was present at the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and proceeded to Portugal with his regiment. The campaign went badly and the British army was forced to retreat through the mountains to Corunna at the coldest time of the year. Philips Cameron was in command of the 79th for this disastrous episode in the regimental history.
He returned with the regiment to the Peninsula and fought at Fuentes d’Onor in May 1811 where he was mortally wounded. At the battle he commanded a brigade, entrusted with the defence of the village, consisting of the 71st, 79th, 24th and several light companies. After desperate fighting on 3 May they were driven from their position but regained occupation on the next day. The brigade came under renewed attack on 5 May. While the regiment was engaged in hand-to-hand fighting with the French Imperial Guard, a sniper was seen to take aim at Lt-Col Philips Cameron as he rode his horse. He fell mortally wounded and his men were enraged that he had been shot. This spurred them on and their determined effort forced the French back ‘with great slaughter’.
