no disturbance, and had not been absent from home during the riots. He was, however, arrested, talien to Morant bay and tried by a court-martial, who adjudged him guilty. The evidence brought for- ward against him stated that he had been seen on one Sunday at a certain chapel at which Paul Bogle, another so-called rebel leader, worshipped ; that somebody had said that Mr. Gordon had desired the people of a certain district in the parish to hold a meeting ; that certain placards in blank had been found in Mr. Gordon's portmanteau ; that a placard headed " The State of the Island " (in which there was not a single word of disloyalty or sedition) had been penned by Mr. Gordon ; that he had used some strong language in a meeting of the people he had some weeks before addressed in the parish of Vere ; and that he had written a letter to one Chisholm, advismg him, with reference to the suf- ferings of the people, to "pray to God for help and deliverance." Mr. Gordon protested solemnly against having had knowledge of or part in the plot. Nevertheless Gov. Eyre sanctioned the find- ing of the court-martial, and Gordon was hanged on 23 Oct. At the close of that month the num- ber of those shot and hanged by the soldiery with- out trial, or by order of the court-martial, was re- ported as reaching 2,000.
GORDON, Sir James Alexander, British naval
officer, b. about 1783; d. in Greenwich hospital,
England, 8 Jan., 1869. He entered the navy in
1798, and rose rapidly in his profession. He was
at the battle of the Nile, served in the West Indies,
the Mediterranean, and the Adriatic ; commanded
the frigate " Active " at the battle of Lissa, for which
he received a gold medal and a pension of £300, and,
at the capture of the French frigate " La Pomone,"
had a leg carried away by a 36-pounder. In August,
1814. with a squadron mider his command, he en-
tered the Potomac, reduced Port Washington and
other batteries, and subsequently forced the city
of Alexandria to capitulate. He also took part in
the operations against New Orleans in 1814r-'15.
In 1827 he was appointed governor of the royal
naval hospital at Plymouth. In 1840 he became
lieutenant-governor of Greenwich hospital, and in
1853 was advanced to the post of governor of that
establishment.- Altogether he served in the navy
nearly seventy-six years, and was the last survivor
of Lord Nelson's band of captains. He was created
aK.C. B. in 1815; in 1854, G. C. B. ; and became
admiral of the fleet in 1868.
GORDON, James D., missionary, b. in Prince
Edward island ; d. in Erromanga, New Hebrides,
25 Feb., 1872. He entered the ministry of the
Presbyterian church, and in 1864 went to Erro-
manga, one of the New Hebrides group of islands,
as a missionary. At the end of six years he with-
drew from outside support, and entirely alone
trusted himself unreservedly among the natives
until his death. During his residence on the island
he translated portions of the Bible into the lan-
guage of iiirromanga. besides preparing primers
and hymns for their use. He also acquired a
knowledge of the language of the island of Espiritu
Santo, and spent a winter there teaching the peo-
ple. He perished at the hands of hostile natives.
GORDON, John Brown, governor of Georgia,
b. in Uspon county, Ga., 6 Feb., 1832. He was edu-
cated at the University of Georgia, studied law and
was admitted to the bar, but had practised only a
short time when he entered the Confederate army
as a captain of infantry. He rose successively to
the rank of major-genei'al. He commanded one
wing of Lee's army at Appomattox i'ourt-House,
and was wounded in battle eight times daring
the war. He was the Democratic candidate for
governor of Georgia in 1868, but, though his
election was claimed by his party, his opponent,
Rufus B. Bullock,
secured the office.
He was a member
of the National
Democratic con-
ventions of 1868
and 1872, presi-
dential elector for
the same years,
and in January,
1873, was elected
to the U. S. sen-
ate. He was re- ,
elected in 1879,
but resigned his
seat in 1880. He
took an active
part in the pro-
ceedings of the
senate. In 1886
he was elected
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governor of Georgia, and in 1890 he was again sent to the U. S. senate.
GORDON, Patrick, soldier, b. in 1644; d. in
Philadelphia, Pa., 5 Aug., 1736. He was bred to
arms in the British service, and served from his
youth to the close of Queen Anne's reign with a
high reputation. He was afterward appointed
governor of Pennsylvania, arrived there with his
family in the summer of 1726, and met the assembly
in August. In his first address he said that he
had been a soldier,
knew nothing
of the crooked
ways of professed
politicians, and
must rely upon a
blunt, straight-
forward course in
his communica-
tions with them
and in the admin-
istration of the
government. At
a council held in
Philadelphia on
26 May, 1728, for
the purpose of re-
newing treaties
with the Indian
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tribes there represented, it was said by the Indians in reference to the governor's address, " The governor's words were all right and good ; we have never had any such speech since William Penn was here." Gov. Gordon was equally popular with his own people. He published " Two Indian Treaties at Conestogoe, 1728 " (Philadelphia, 1728).
GORDON, Thomas, statesman, b. in Pitlochie,
Scotland ; d. in Amboy, N. J., in 1722. He came
to New Jersey in 1684, and settled in Scotch Plains.
He was elected attorney-general of the eastern dis-
trict in 1698, chief secretary and register in 1702,
licensed as an attorney in 1704, elected to the legis-
lature, and became speaker of the assembly. In
1709 he became chief justice, and was afterward
receiver-general and treasurer of the province.
GORDON, Thomas F., historian, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1787; d. in Beverly, N. J., 17 Jan., 1860. lie was a member of the Philadelphia bar, but devoted much of his time to historical and archæological researches. He published " Digest