Thomas F. Campbell was born around 1845 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, to Josiah and Rosanna Campbell. His father was a carpenter who owned $300 of real estate in 1850. He grew up and attended school in Hanover, Pennsylvania, and by the early 1860s, he was working as a carpenter. He enlisted in the Union army on February 29, 1864, and he mustered in as a private in Company B of the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry later that day. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with dark hair and brown eyes. The regiment took part in the Overland Campaign. Confederate forces captured him on September 29, 1864, and he died sometime afterward.