General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

William Gordon (1736 – 25 May 1816), of

Fyvie Fyvie is a village in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Geography Fyvie lies alongside the River Ythan and is on the A947 road. Architecture What in 1990, at least, was a Clydesdale Bank was built in 1866 by James Matthews. The ...

, was a British general and courtier. He was several times returned to Parliament by the interest of the

Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an Engl ...

, and precipitated a family quarrel with his nephew, the

Duke of Gordon The title Duke of Gordon has been created once in the Peerage of Scotland and again in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Dukedom, named after the Clan Gordon, was first created for the 4th Marquess of Huntly, who on 3 November 1684 was c ...

, by commandeering a regiment that the latter was raising.

Military career

He was the son of

William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen (1679 – 30 March 1745), known between c. 1691 and 1720 as Lord Haddo, was a Scottish landowner and Tory politician who sat in the British House of Commons briefly from 1708 to 1709 when he was declared inelig ...

and his third wife Lady Anne Gordon. Educated at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, he was commissioned a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

in the

11th Regiment of Dragoons The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...

in 1756. On 11 August 1759, he was appointed to a captaincy in the newly raised 16th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons. Appointed a lieutenant-colonel in the 105th Regiment of Foot (Queen's Own Royal Regiment of Highlanders) on 11 October 1762, he went on

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the Eng ...

when that regiment was disbanded in 1763. On his

grand tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

of Europe, he passed through Rome, where he was painted by

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign visitors tra ...

in 1765–66, wearing the uniform of the 105th but with his tartan arranged like a

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

. In 1767, Gordon was returned as Member of Parliament for

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

, through the influence of his friend the

. He was re-elected in 1768; in 1774, Marlborough put him in for

Heytesbury Heytesbury is a village (formerly considered to be a town) and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies on the north bank of the Wylye, about southeast of the town of Warminster. The civil parish includes most of the small neigh ...

instead. In Parliament, Gordon supported the Government, although his attendance was irregular. In 1775, Marlborough obtained for him an appointment as Groom of the Bedchamber to King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, whom he served until 1812; Gordon was returned again for Heytesbury at the ensuing

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. In 1777, Gordon became involved in a family quarrel with his nephew,

Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, KT (18 June 1743 – 17 June 1827), styled Marquess of Huntly until 1752, was a Scottish nobleman, described by Kaimes as the "greatest subject in Britain", and was also known as the Cock o' the North, the tr ...

. The Duke had offered to raise a new regiment for the King, with the intent of bestowing the colonelcy upon his brother,

Lord William Gordon Lord William Gordon (1744–1823) was a Scottish nobleman. Background He was the second son of Cosmo Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon (1720–1752) and his wife Lady Catherine Gordon (1718 – 10 December 1779), daughter of William Gordon, 2nd Ear ...

. King George objected, however, to Lord William, who had disgraced himself by eloping with and then abandoning Lady Sarah Bunbury. Gordon of Fyvie seized the opportunity to write to Lord Germain to request the colonelcy, assuring him of his nephew's support. He was breveted a colonel on 29 August 1777 and appointed colonel of the regiment on 19 December. However, the Duke discovered that Gordon of Fyvie had already chosen the officers of the regiment and written to them before he even knew if he would get the command; and the appointments, he thought, were arranged so as to threaten his electoral influence in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

. Ultimately, the Duke prevailed upon the King to raise a

Fencible The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Frenc ...

regiment under his personal command, but the competition in recruiting that followed created a permanent breach between the Duke and Fyvie's branch of the family, including his brother Sandy. Gordon remained a consistent supporter of the Government when not absent with his regiment. During the

Gordon Riots The Gordon Riots of 1780 were several days of rioting in London motivated by anti-Catholic sentiment. They began with a large and orderly protest against the Papists Act 1778, which was intended to reduce official discrimination against British ...

of 1780, provoked by his nephew

Lord George Gordon Lord George Gordon (26 December 1751 – 1 November 1793) was a British politician best known for lending his name to the Gordon Riots of 1780. An eccentric and flighty personality, he was born into the Scottish nobility and sat in the Hous ...

(then also an MP), Gordon of Fyvie asked him if he meant to admit the mob to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

and threatened to run him through with his sword if he did. Marlborough did not put him up for Heytesbury in the 1780 election, and Gordon made no attempt to contest Aberdeenshire. He was promoted

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on 19 October 1781. His regiment was disbanded in 1783, and he again went on half-pay. Gordon was appointed colonel-commandant of the 4th Battalion of the

60th Regiment of Foot 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

on 3 October 1787, of the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fuzileers) on 29 October 1788, and to the 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot on 19 April 1789. Gordon was promoted

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

on 12 October 1793 and general on 1 January 1798. He was appointed to the colonelcy of the 21st Regiment of Foot on 6 August 1803, which he commanded until his death. He lived at

Martins Heron Martins Heron is a suburb of Bracknell west of London in Berkshire, England. Martins Heron and the neighbouring suburb The Warren are after a Parliamentary Boundary review in the Bracknell constituency – until 2010 they were in the Windsor Co ...

House at

Winkfield Winkfield is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest unitary authority of Berkshire, England. Geography According to the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 14,998. The parish includes the hamlets of Winkfield, Maidens Green ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. He married his housekeeper Isobel Black, by whom he had already had a son, William Gordon (? - 09-Jan-1847).

References

External links

"Colonel the Hon. William Gordon of Fyvie"
''National Trust for Scotland (Fyvie Castle)''
PORTRAITURE AND THE MAKING OF CULTURAL IDENTITY: POMPEO BATONI'S THE HONOURABLE COLONEL WILLIAM GORDON (1765–66) IN ITALY AND NORTH BRITAIN
- Art History , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, William 1736 births 1816 deaths 11th Hussars officers 16th The Queen's Lancers officers 71st Highlanders officers British Army generals British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 King's Royal Rifle Corps officers Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People from Winkfield Royal Fusiliers officers Royal Scots Fusiliers officers Younger sons of earls