Alexander Gordon (1781–1873) was a British officer during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. He was commissioned a captain in the 15th Hussars and he fought in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. His correspondence during the

Corunna Campaign The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, ...

were collated and published early in the 20th century.

Biography

Gordon was the son of George Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aberdeen and his mistress Penelope Dearing. His commission was purchased for him in 1803. After service in the Peninsular War he sold his commission in 1811 on his marriage to Albinia Elizabeth Cumberland. He was acknowledged by the 3rd Earl as being his son and was provided for in the Earl's will. He died at Ellon in Aberdeenshire on 21 March 1873.

Family

On 20 May 1811 Gordon married Albinia Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Cumberland and granddaughter of

George Hobart, 3rd Earl of Buckinghamshire George Hobart George Hobart, 3rd Earl of Buckinghamshire (8 September 173114 November 1804) was a British peer, styled The Honourable George Hobart from 1733 until 1793. Life Hobart was the son of John Hobart, 1st Earl of Buckinghamshire by his ...

. They had five sons and four daughters: *

George John Robert Gordon George John Robert Gordon (1812-1912) was a British diplomat who served as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Confederation from 1854 until 1858. He was born in Maryculter, Aberdeenshire, on 4 March 1812, the oldest child of Alexander Gordon ...

, JP, DL, of Ellon Castle, Aberdeenshire (1812–1912) - British diplomat in Sweden and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

who married Rosa Justina Young and had two sons and one daughter: **Cosmo Frederick Maitland Gordon (b.1843) - naval officer **Alicia Albinia Georgiana Gordon (1845–1930) - married as a Gräfin von Dillen−Spiering **Arthur John Lewis Gordon (1847–1918) - British diplomat, married 1885 Caroline Augusta Hamilton Gordon, daughter of Colonel Sir Alexander Hamilton Gordon (1817–1890) *Sophia Albinia Georgiana Gordon, (b.1813) *Bertie Edward Murray Gordon (1813–1870) - army officer who married Katherine Alicia Hacket *Richard Louis Hobart Gordon (1815–1835) - naval officer who drowned in the wreck of HMS Challenger *Harriet Albinia Louisa Gordon (1816–1854) who married Charles Elphinstone-Dalrymple, son of Sir Robert Dalrymple-Horn-Elphinstone, 1st Bart., and had one son: **William Robert Elphinstone-Dalrymple (b.1854) - army officer *William Everard Alphonso Gordon, CB (b.1817) - naval officer *Catherine Louisa Caroline Gordon, (b.1819) *Charles Alexander Boswell Gordon (b.1823) - army officer who married Eweretta Rosa Johnstone * Eleanor Vere Gordon (1825–1916) - artist and author who married the Rev. and Hon. Richard Cavendish Boyle, son of

Edmund Boyle, 8th Earl of Cork General Edmund Boyle, 8th Earl of Cork and 8th Earl of Orrery KP (21 October 1767 – 29 June 1856), styled Viscount Dungarvan from 1768 to 1798, was an Irish soldier and peer. Early life Boyle was the eldest surviving son of Edmund Boyle, 7th E ...

, and had three sons and one daughter: **Isabella Albinia Boyle **Hamilton Richard Boyle (b.1848) - army officer **Charles John Boyle (b.1849) - army officer **Algernon Edward Richard Boyle, JP - (b.1854)

Bibliography

"This is a valuable eye-witness account of an often overlooked campaign by a perceptive and informed professional observer".

Notes

References

* * * 1781 births 1873 deaths 15th The King's Hussars officers British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars {{British-Army-bio-stub