Lord Adam Gordon
Gordon in 1799, by Henri-Pierre Danloux
Bornc. 1726
Died13 August 1801
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
RankGeneral
Commands heldCommander-in-Chief, Scotland
Battles/warsSeven Years' War

Lord Adam Gordon (c. 1726 – 13 August 1801) was a Scottish career army officer, achieving the rank of general, and a younger son of Alexander Gordon, 2nd Duke of Gordon, and Lady Henrietta Mordaunt.

Early life and education

He entered the army as an ensign in the 2nd Dragoons in 1741, and attended Eton from 1742 to 1743. That year he was promoted to lieutenant, and in 1746 became a captain of the 18th Regiment of Foot.[1]

Seven Years' War

Further information: Great Britain in the Seven Years' War

Gordon was returned for Aberdeenshire in 1754, and was made lieutenant-colonel of the 3rd Foot Guards in 1756. He supported the recently fallen Duke of Newcastle during the parliamentary inquiry into his ministry's role in the loss of Menorca.[1]

In 1758, he took part in the descent on Cherbourg, and fought bravely at the Battle of St. Cast,[1] leading the grenadier company of the Guards as part of the rearguard there.[2]

Gordon continued in Parliament after the 1761 election as a supporter of the rising Lord Bute. On 19 January 1763, he was made colonel of the 66th Regiment of Foot, and the next year, toured the West Indies, the American colonies, and Canada, looking to invest in land. He returned to England in 1765.[1]

On 2 September 1767, he married Jean, Dowager Duchess of Atholl (daughter of John Drummond[3]), and laid aside his American projects. He left Parliament in 1768, but returned again for Kincardineshire in 1774. He had, by 1772, been promoted major-general.[1]

On 27 December 1775, Gordon was appointed colonel of the 26th Regiment of Foot, but he did not receive a command during the American Revolution. A zealous supporter of Lord North's government, he was appointed Governor of Tynemouth in 1778 and colonel of The Royal Scots on 9 May 1782. Unhappy with the terms of the Treaty of Paris and the fate of the loyalists, he supported the new ministry of Pitt in 1783.

He left Parliament in 1788. Gordon was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Scotland in 1789, promoted general in 1793, and resigned Tynemouth for the governorship of Edinburgh Castle in 1796. He was replaced as Commander-in-Chief in 1798 and retired to his seat in Kincardineshire, where he died in 1801.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Handley, Stuart, ed. (2004). "Gordon, Lord Adam (c.1726–1801)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/11013. Retrieved 21 September 2006. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ Galt, John (1813). "Letters From the Levant". Retrieved 21 September 2006.[dead link]
  3. ^ Burke, Sir Bernard (1853). Index to Burke's Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. Colburn and Company. p. 109. Retrieved 1 July 2014.

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Parliament of Great Britain Preceded byAndrew Mitchell Member of Parliament for Aberdeenshire 1754–1768 Succeeded byAlexander Garden Preceded byRobert Rickart Hepburn Member of Parliament for Kincardineshire 1774–1788 Succeeded byRobert Barclay-Allardice Military offices Preceded byJohn La Fausille Colonel of the 66th Regiment of Foot 1763–1775 Succeeded byJoseph Gabbett Preceded byJohn Scott Colonel of the 26th Regiment of Foot 1775–1782 Succeeded bySir William Erskine, Bt Preceded byThe Duke of Argyll Colonel of The Royal Scots 1782–1801 Succeeded byThe Duke of Kent and Strathearn Unknown Commander-in-Chief in Scotland 1789–1798 Succeeded bySir Ralph Abercromby Preceded byThe Earl of Eglinton Governor of Edinburgh Castle 1796–1801 Succeeded bySir Robert Abercromby
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