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GORDON.
on 2 Jan. 1815, by the conferrence upon him of the K.C.B. His after-appointments were – 7 Not. 1815 and 24 Oct. 1816, to the Madagascar and Maeander frigates, the latter of which was all but lost, off Orfordness, in Dec. 1816 – 11 Jan. 1819, to the Active 46, employed on the Halifax and Mediterranean stations – and, in July, 1832, to the superintendentship of Chatham Dockyard, where he remained, with his name part of the time on the books of the Chatham yacht, until his promotion to Flag-rank 10 Jan. 1837. He has been Lieutenant-Governor, since 1 July, 1840, of the Royal Hospital at Greenwich.
Sir Jas. Alex. Gordon was presented by the Board of Admiralty in 1812 with a gold medal, descriptive of the action off Lissa, to be worn with his uniform in the usual manner; and he has been in the receipt, since 31 July in that year, of a pension of 300l. In 1817 he was presented with the freedom of Aberdeen. He married, 27 Aug. 1812, the youngest daughter of John Ward, Esq., of Marlborough, co. Wilts, by whom he had issue an only son, the late Commander J. A. Gordon, R.N.
GORDON. (Commander, 1842.)
James Alexander Gordon was born 19 March, 1816, and died 6 Jan. 1847. He was only son of Rear-Admiral Sir Jas. A. Gordon, K.C.B.
This officer entered the Navy 16 March, 1829; passed his examination 6 May, 1835; and obtained his first commission 27 June, 1838. His appointments, as Lieutenant, were – 17 Sept. 1838, as Additional, to the Niagara 20, Capt. Williams Sandom, on the Lakes of Canada – 23 Oct. 1839, in a similar capacity, to the Donegal 78, flag-ship off Lisbon of Sir John Acworth Ommanney – and (after several months of half-pay), 18 Aug. 1841, as Senior, to the Warspite 50, Capt. Lord John Hay, on the North America and West India station. He attained the rank of Commander 15 Oct. 1842; and, from 17 Jan. 1845 until the period of his death, which took place as above off Labuan, on the coast of Norway [errata 1], commanded the Wolf sloop, of 18 guns. Agents – Coplands and Burnett.
GORDON. (Lieut., 1814. f-p., 12; h-p., 31.)
James Alexander Gordon (a) entered the Navy, 16 April, 1804, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Ville de Paris 110, Capt. Thos. Le Marchant Gosselin, bearing the flag of Hon. Wm. Cornwallis, Commander-in-Chief in the Channel, where he attained the rating of Midshipman 1 Nov. following. Removing, in Nov. 1806, to the Royal Sovereign 100, flag-ship in the Mediterranean of Vice-Admiral Edw. Thornbrough, he there served for four years, principally at the blockade of Toulon. He then returned to England in the Montagu 74, Capt. John Halliday, and after a brief attachment to the Egmont 74, Capt. Joseph Bingham, fitting at Sheerness, joined the Laurestinus 24, Capts. Hon. Wm. Gordon and Thos. Graves; in which ship, having first visited the Rio de la Plata, and escorted convoy to Halifax, he took a warm part, as Master’s Mate, in the hostilities against the Americans in the Chesapeake, and was present in the attack upon Crany Island. The Laurestinus being in the end wrecked, on the Silver Keys, off the Bahamas, on the night of 21 Aug, 1813, Mr. Gordon came home in the Diomede troop-ship, Capt. Chas. Montagu Fabian, but sailed soon after his arrival for Bermuda as Admiralty-Midshipman of the Asia 64, flagship of Hon. Sir Alex. Cochrane; by whom he was appointed, 1 April, 1814, Lieutenant of the Manly 14, Capts. Henry C. Merser, Nagle Lock, and Chas. Simeon. His promotion being confirmed by commission dated 26 May in the same year, he continued to serve in the Manly until paid off in Sept. 1815, and had thus an opportunity of being again employed in the Chesapeake, and of accompanying the expedition to New Orleans. He has since, however, been on half-pay.
GORDON. (Lieut., 1811. f-p., 11; h-p., 32.)
James Edward Gordon entered the Navy, 16 April, 1804, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Ville de Paris 110, Capt. Thos. Le Marchant Gosselin, flagship in the Channel of Hon. Wm. Cornwallis, by whom he was soon awarded the rating of Midshipman. Between 25 Nov. 1806 and 5 May, 1811, he served, on the Mediterranean and Lisbon stations, in the Royal Sovereign 100, bearing the flag of Vice-Admiral Edw. Thornbrough, Malta 84, Capt. Robt. Waller Otway, Ville de Paris again, flag-ship at the time of Lord Collingwood, and Barfleur 98, bearing the flag of Hon. Geo. Cranfield Berkeley. He then became Acting-Lieutenant of the Vestal, Capt. Maurice Fred. Fitzhardinge Berkeley, and on 17 of the same month had the fortune to be confirmed by the Admiralty. His succeeding appointments were – on the North Sea and American stations – 16 Nov. 1811, to the Valiant 74, Capt. Robt. Dudley Oliver – 21 Dec. 1812, to the Lacedaemonian 38, Capt. Sam. Jackson – and 16 Nov. 1814, to the command of the St. Lawrence schooner, of 12 12-pounder carronades, 1 long 9-pounder, and 51 men. In the latter vessel Mr. Gordon had the ill luck, while proceeding with despatches from Rear-Admiral Cockburn relative to the peace between Great Britain and the United States, to be captured, after a desperate and sanguinary action, by the American privateer brig Chasseur, of 6 long 9-pounders, 8 18-pounder carronades, and 115 men, 26 Feb. 1815.[1] Being shortly afterwards, however, retaken, the St. Lawrence, in compliance with the orders of Sir Jas. Alex. Gordon, was commissioned afresh at the Havana by her late Commander, who nevertheless went on half-pay on 23 of the following April, and has not since been employed.
Lieut. Gordon sat for some time as M.P. for Dundalk. He married, 25 Oct. 1836, Barbara, daughter of the late Sam. Smith, Esq., of Berkeley Square, London, and of Woodnall Park, Herts. Agents – Coplands and Burnett.
GORDON. (Commander, 1815. f-p., 17; h-p., 29.)
James Gabriel Gordon entered the Navy, 19 Aug. 1801, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Vengeance 74, Capt. Geo. Duff, of which ship, successively stationed in the Channel and West Indies, he became Midshipman 5 Sept. following. During the years 1802-3 he appears to have been employed at Portsmouth on board the Neptune 98, Capts. Eras. Wm. Austen and Wm. O’Brien Drury, Topaze 38, Capt. Willoughby Thos. Lake, and Puissant 74, Capt. John Irwin. Joining, then, the Illustrious 74, Capts. Sir Chas. Hamilton, Michael Seymour, Wm. Shield, and Wm. Robt. Broughton, he commanded the barge belonging to that ship at the cutting out of a brig from Vivero Harbour, was also present at the attack on the French fleet in Aix Roads, and had further charge of a gun-boat during the expedition to the Walcheren, where he was severely wounded. We are informed that on 18 Dec. 1809 Mr. Gordon, while in the Freija frigate, witnessed the capture, at Guadeloupe, of the two French frigates Loire and Seine. He shortly afterwards joined the Pompée 80, bearing the flag of Sir Alex. Cochrane, by whom, on 22 Jan. 1810, he was promoted, in consequence of a death vacancy, to a Lieutenancy in the Guadeloupe sloop, Capt. Michael Head, part of the force employed at the ensuing reduction of the island bearing that name. Being confirmed by the Admiralty 3 Oct. following, Mr. Gordon next joined – on 6 of the same month, the Tonnant 80, Capt. Sir John Gore – and in 1812-14, the Egmont, Porcupine, and Queen, flag-ships on the Home and Mediterranean stations of Rear-Admirals Sir Geo. Hope and Chas. Vinicombe Penrose, under the latter of whom, after sharing in the operations connected with the forcing
- ↑ Mr. James, in his Naval History, has erroneously attributed the command of the St. Lawrence to Lieut. Henry Cranmer Gordon, an account of whose services we have given above.
