General Gordon Forbes (1738 – 17 January 1828) was a senior officer in the British Army.

Early life

He was born the son of Laird Nathaniel Forbes, 1st of Auchernach into the Forbes family of Skellator, Aberdeenshire, Scotland and joined the British Army in 1756 as an ensign in the

33rd Regiment of Foot The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

Military career

The following year he was made a lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion, promoted Captain in 1762 and served in Havannah. In 1764 he exchanged to the

34th Regiment of Foot The 34th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot to form the Border Regiment in 1881. History Early history The regim ...

based in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. He was raised to Major of the

9th Regiment of Foot 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

in 1776 and took part in the disastrous 1777 Burgoyne Expedition into New York colony, where he was twice wounded. In 1781, promoted to Lieut.-Colonel of the newly formed and short-lived 102nd Regiment of Foot, he sailed to the East Indies, where he was given the local rank of Colonel. After a brief spell in the 74th Regiment of Foot he became Colonel in 1794 of the 105th Regiment of Foot, which however soon disbanded. Promoted to Major General in the 81st Regiment of Foot he was in 1795 appointed Governor of Saint Nicolas Mole, a French settlement in St Domingo (now Haiti) which had surrendered to the British forces. Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, who was the

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

to prime minister

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...

, instructed Sir Adam Williamson, the lieutenant-governor of Jamaica, to sign an agreement with representatives of the French colonists that promised to restore the

ancien regime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

, slavery and discrimination against mixed-race colonists, a move that drew criticism from abolitionists

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

and Thomas Clarkson. However, Toussaint L'Ouverture and his army of former enslaved people, under the command of

Alexandre Petion Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander * Xano (disambiguation) Xano is the name of: * Xano, a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name " Alexandre (disambiguation)" * Idálio Ale ...

, defeated the British forces. He was appointed Colonel of the 81st Foot in 1797, but transferred to the Colonelcy of the

29th Regiment of Foot The 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, the Worcestershire Reg ...

later that year. He was made Lieut.-General in 1801 and full General on 1 January 1812.

Death and family

He died on 17 January 1828 in a house later known as Gordon House on Ham Common, London, and was buried nearby at St Peter's Church, Petersham. He had married Margaret Sullivan of Cork, with whom he had five sons and five daughters. His eldest daughter Isabella married the writer

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in 1791 at All Saints Church, Kingston upon Thames. Another daughter, Maria, married in 1814 James Dawkins MP, a member of the Dawkins family which owned plantations and slaves in Jamaica.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Gordon 1738 births 1828 deaths Scottish military personnel Military personnel from Aberdeenshire British Army generals Highland Light Infantry officers 34th Regiment of Foot officers Royal Norfolk Regiment officers 29th Regiment of Foot officers Burials at St Peter's, Petersham