Roll of Honor

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Town Marshal

Silas W. Campbell

Bartow Police Department — Bartow, FL

Felonious

End of Watch May 15, 1886

Age 37

Tour of Duty 1 yrs

The Vigil Panel 8 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 1

Incident

Marshal Campbell was shot and killed while attempting to arrest two drunk brothers who were creating a disturbance. The two men were arrested by other officers but were removed from the jail by an angry mob and lynched.

Survivors

Marshal Campbell had served as town marshal for one year and was survived by his wife and children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-FL-E64D993E
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: April 2, 2026
Last updated: July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

140 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Town Marshal Campbell gave the Bartow Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Bartow community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Bartow Police Department

Location Bartow, FL

Platform Identity bpd.polk.fl.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 15, 1886

Tour of Duty 1 yrs

Age 37

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Gun; Unknown type

Offender Lynched by mob

Town Marshal Silas W. Campbell is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In FL, 539 of 1,008 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53.5% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.

At Bartow Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.

Bartow Police Department

of 2 officers

50% Felonious

FL — Statewide

539

of 1,008 officers

53.5% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Silas W. Campbell's cause is highlighted.

Felonious

17,623 (54.2%)

Accident

10,088 (31%)

Illness

2,974 (9.1%)

Cardiac

1,306 (4%)

Undetermined

260 (0.8%)

Suicide

256 (0.8%)

vehicular

1 (0%)

How Silas W. Campbell Compares

Age at End of Watch

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

Years of Service

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 8.5 years

Offender Outcome

Lynched by mob

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Silas W. Campbell is highlighted in May.

Jan

1,392

Feb

1,295

Mar

1,373

Apr

1,517

May

1,505

Jun

1,443

Jul

1,587

Aug

1,516

Sep

1,553

Oct

1,371

Nov

1,447

Dec

1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Silas W. Campbell was killed by gun; unknown type.

Gun; Unknown type

5,083

Handgun

2,077

Shotgun

922

Officer's handgun

909

Automobile; Alcohol involved

530

Rifle

518

Others Who Wore This Badge

1 officer from Bartow Police Department are honored on badge.nw.