Alexander Gordon (British staff officer)
Encyclopedia
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(1786–1815), was a British Army Officer who was killed at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. His correspondence were collated and published early in the early 21st century.
Life
Gordon was the third son of George Gordon, Lord HaddoGeorge Gordon, Lord Haddo
George Gordon, Lord Haddo was a Scottish Freemason and the eldest son of George Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aberdeen.On 18 June 1782, Haddo married Charlotte Baird, a sister of Sir David Baird, Bt. and they had seven children:...
, son of George Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aberdeen
George Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aberdeen
George Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aberdeen , styled Lord Haddo until 1745, was a Scottish peer. He sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish Representative Peer from 1747 to 1761, and from 1774 to 1790...
. His mother was Charlotte, daughter of William Baird, while Prime Minister George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen KG, KT, FRS, PC , styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a Scottish politician, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1852 until 1855.-Early life:Born in Edinburgh on 28 January 1784, he...
, and Sir Robert Gordon
Robert Gordon (diplomat)
Sir Robert Gordon GCB GCH PC was a British diplomat.Gordon was a younger son of George Gordon, Lord Haddo and a brother of the 4th Earl of Aberdeen...
were his brothers. He joined the military campaign against Napoleon during the Battle of Corunna
Battle of Corunna
The Battle of Corunna refers to a battle of the Peninsular War. On January 16, 1809, a French army under Marshal Soult attacked the British under Sir John Moore...
in 1808, as the Aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to his uncle General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet
Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet
General Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet GCB was a British military leader.-Military career:He was born at Newbyth House in Haddingtonshire, Scotland, the son of an Edinburgh merchant family, and entered the British Army in 1772. He was sent to India in 1779 with the 73rd Highlanders, in which he...
. He subsequently became ADC to the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
for the next six years, until he was killed at Waterloo.
Letters to his brother Lord Aberdeen
The remarkable thing about Gordon's letters is their insight, fullness and frankness. Indeed they are so frank that in reply Aberdeen begs more discretion, which fortunately his head strong brother seems not to have headed. As in one letter by the 22 yr old, he clearly states his dismay for his commanding officer,It has been speculated this was a snub due to party politics as Gordon and his family were Tory, whilst Moore served as a Whig MP.
He even writes to his brother about the possibility of looting and then asks for an idea of what paintings and artifacts his brother would be interested in acquiring from Madrid,
Military
Gordon received brevet promotions to MajorMajor
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
and the Lieutenant-Colonel as was custom, as reward for carrying to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
despatches
Despatch rider
A despatch rider is a military messenger, mounted on horse or motorcycle.Despatch riders were used by armed forces to deliver urgent orders and messages between headquarters and military units...
announcing victory, first at the Battle of Corunna
Battle of Corunna
The Battle of Corunna refers to a battle of the Peninsular War. On January 16, 1809, a French army under Marshal Soult attacked the British under Sir John Moore...
and then at Ciudad Rodrigo. After Bonaparte's exile to Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
in 1814 he was made a KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
. He was mortally wounded at Waterloo, whilst rallying some Brunswickers near La Haye Sainte
La Haye Sainte
La Haye Sainte is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment on the Charleroi-Brussels road. It has changed very little since it played a very important part in the battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815...
, and died in Wellington's own camp bed in his headquarters during the night.
The following is an account by Dr Hume who was visiting the Duke of Wellington after the Battle of Waterloo,
Wellington wrote to Lord Aberdeen after his brothers death,