William Gordon, 6th Viscount of Kenmure and Lord Lochinvar (c. 167224 February 1716) was a Scottish Jacobite. William Gordon was the only son of Alexander Gordon, 5th Viscount of Kenmure of

Kenmure Castle Kenmure Castle is a fortified house or castle in The Glenkens, south of the town of New Galloway in Kirkcudbrightshire, Galloway, south-west Scotland. The site was occupied from the Middle Ages, and the house incorporates part of a 17th-century c ...

and succeeded his father on his death in 1698, but was not able to inherit his family's property until 1700, because of a protracted lawsuit. Not initially an active supporter of the exiled

Stuarts The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

, Lord Kenmure became the leader of the

Lowlands Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of p ...

nobles, who opposed the Act of Union in 1701. Absenting himself from parliament, early in Queen Anne's reign, the sixth Viscount Kenmure was deeply involved in plotting for a Jacobite rising and French invasion. Late in 1705, he was chosen by Lowlands Jacobites as a delegate to St Germain, although he did not travel there. Early in 1706 he claimed that disaffection was driving the Galloway Cameronians into Jacobitism. In 1707 he was one of the Jacobite peers for whose conduct

David Murray, fifth Viscount Stormont David Murray, 5th Viscount of Stormont (1665 – 19 November 1731) was a Scottish peer. He was the son of David Murray, 4th Viscount Stormont (died 1668), and Jean Carnegie, daughter of James Carnegie, 2nd Earl of Southesk and Lady Mary Kerr. H ...

, answered to Colonel Nathaniel Hooke, envoy from St Germain. In the same year,

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from ...

granted him a

marquessate A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

. In 1711, he married Mary (died 1776), daughter of

Sir John Dalzell, 2nd Baronet Sir John Dalzell, 2nd Baronet (died 1689) was a Scottish politician. He was the son of Sir Robert Dalzell, 1st Baronet and Violet Riddell. He married Harriet Murray, daughter of Sir William Murray, 1st Baronet, of Stanhope on 16 June 1686. H ...

(died 1698), sister of Robert Dalzell, 5th Earl of Carnwath, and niece of Captain James Dalzell, his long-time Jacobite friend. They had three sons and a daughter. At the urging of his brother-in-law, Lord Carnwath, he joined the

Jacobite rising , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

planned by John Erskine, Earl of Mar, who appointed Kenmure, despite his total lack of military experience, commander of the Lowland Jacobite forces. Kenmure raised the

Royal Banner of Scotland The Royal Banner of the Royal Arms of Scotland, also known as the Royal Banner of Scotland, or more commonly the Lion Rampant of Scotland, and historically as the Royal Standard of Scotland, ( gd, Bratach rìoghail na h-Alba, sco, Ryal banner ...

Lochmaben Lochmaben ( Gaelic: ''Loch Mhabain'') is a small town and civil parish in Scotland, and site of a castle. It lies west of Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway. By the 12th century the Bruce family had become the local landowners and, in the 14th ...

on 12 October 1715, and was joined by about two hundred gentlemen, with the Earl of Carnwath,

William Maxwell, 5th Earl of Nithsdale {{Infobox noble, type , name = William Maxwell , title = 5th Earl of Nithsdale , image = , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession ...

, and

George Seton, 5th Earl of Winton George Seton, 5th Earl of Winton (c. 1678–1749) was a Scottish nobleman who took part in the Jacobite rising of 1715 supporting "The Old Pretender" James Stuart. Captured by the English, Seton was tried and sentenced to death, but escaped and ...

. This small force received some additions before Kenmure reached

Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one of ...

, where he learnt the news of the English Jacobite rising. He joined with Thomas Forster and

James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater (26 June 1689 – 24 February 1716) was an English Jacobite, executed for treason. Life Radclyffe was the son of Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater and Lady Mary Tudor, the natural daughter of ...

, at Rothbury. Their united forces of some hundred and fifty

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

, after a series of marches, halted at the border, at Kelso, where they were reinforced by a brigade under William Mackintosh of Borlum. There, on 24 October 1715, Kenmure proclaimed King James VIII. Joining with

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

n insurgents, he marched into England under the command of Forster. He was taken prisoner at the barricades of Preston, and brought to London. He was subsequently tried, found guilty, and beheaded on

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher grou ...

on 24 February 1716, and his title and estates forfeited. Some accounts state that his body was returned to his family at Kenmure for burial. In 1824 an

act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

repealed the forfeiture, and his direct descendant, John Gordon (1750–1840), became Viscount Kenmure. There are believed to be other descendants still living, although the title remains dormant.

References

*Paul Hopkins (2004
'Gordon, William, sixth Viscount Kenmure and Jacobite marquess of Kenmure (died 1716)’
Oxford DNB.

External links

a ballad about William Gordon {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenmure, William Gordon, 6th Viscount of 1672 births 1716 deaths Executed Scottish people Scottish Jacobites Marquesses in the Jacobite peerage Scottish politicians Viscounts in the Peerage of Scotland People executed by the Kingdom of Great Britain People of the Jacobite rising of 1715 Place of birth missing People executed by the United Kingdom by decapitation Scottish politicians convicted of crimes