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{{short description|General in the British Army}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|honorific_prefix = Sir
|name = John James Hood Gordon
|honorific_suffix = [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath|GCB]]
|image =
|image_upright =
|alt =
|caption =
|native_name =
|native_name_lang = en
|birth_name =
|other_name =
|nickname =
|birth_date = {{birth date|df= y|1832|01|12}}
|birth_place =
|death_date = {{death date and age|df= y|1908|11|02|1832|01|12}}
|death_place = Edinburgh, Scotland
|placeofburial = [[Dean Cemetery]]
|placeofburial_label =
|placeofburial_coordinates = 
|allegiance = {{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}
|branch = {{army|United Kingdom}}<br />
{{flagicon|East India Company|1801}} [[Bengal Army]]
|branch_label = Service
|serviceyears = 1849–1908
|serviceyears_label =
|rank = General
|rank_label =
|servicenumber =
|unit =
|commands = {{Plainlist|*[[29th Punjabis]] (1875–79)
*[[Bengal Army]] brigade (1882–87)}}
|battles =
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|memorials =
|alma_mater = [[Scottish Naval and Military Academy]]
|spouse = {{marriage|Ella Gordon|1871|1903}}
|children = two
|relations = {{Plainlist|* Sir [[Thomas Edward Gordon]], twin brother
*[[Edward Gordon, Baron Gordon of Drumearn|Edward Strathearn Gordon]], cousin and father-in-law}}
|laterwork = {{Plainlist|*[[Military Secretary to the India Office|Assistant Military Secretary to the India Office]] (1890–96)
*[[Council of India]] (1897–1907)}}
|signature =
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'''Sir John James Hood Gordon''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|GCB}} (12 January 1832 – 2 November 1908) was a [[General (United Kingdom)|general]] in the [[British Army]].

==Early life==

Gordon was born on 12 January 1832 in [[Aberdeen]] and was a twin son of Captain William Gordon (1788–1834) of the 2nd Queen's Royal Regiment. His father had served in the [[Peninsular War]] and was married at [[Santarém, Portugal|Santarém]], in 1818, to Marianna Carlotta Loi Gonçalves de Mello, daughter of Luiz Gonçalves de Mello, a Spanish government official in the province of [[Estremadura Province (historical)|Estremadura]].<ref name="DNB">{{cite DNB |wstitle=Gordon, John James Hood|supplement=2|last=Vibart|first=Henry Meredith |volume=2}}</ref>

His father William Gordon was one of the sons of Adam Gordon (1750–1831) of Griamachary in the parish of Kildonan, Dingwall, whose sons and grandsons included thirteen commissioned officers, a [[Surgeon-General (United Kingdom)|Surgeon-General]], Huntly George Gordon; and a Lord Advocate and MP, [[Edward Gordon, Baron Gordon of Drumearn]].<ref name="times">{{cite news |title= Obituary: Death Of General Sir T. E. Gordon – Notable Indian Services |work=[[The Times]] |date=24 March 1914 |page= 10}}</ref>

He and his twin brother, Sir [[Thomas Edward Gordon]], were the youngest children in a family of four sons and a daughter. John was educated at Dalmeny and at the [[Scottish Naval and Military Academy]], Edinburgh. Thomas Edward and John joined the British Army on the same day; both became [[General (United Kingdom)|general]]s and were knighted.<ref name="varied">{{Cite book|last=Gordon|first=Thomas Edward|author-link=Thomas Edward Gordon|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.06994|title=A varied life: a record of military and civil service, of sport and of travels in India, Central Asia and Persia, 1849-1902|date=1906|publisher=John Murray, London}}</ref>{{rp|1–3}}

==Army career==

With his twin, he entered the [[British Army]], [[Purchase of commissions in the British Army|purchasing a commission]] in the [[74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot]] on 21 August 1849<ref>{{London Gazette
| issue = 21011
| date = 21 August 1849
| page = 2596
}}</ref> and transferred to [[29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot|29th Foot]] in October 1849.<ref name="DNB" />

[[File:The Sikhs-0008.jpg|thumb|Frontispiece from ''The Sikhs''; [[Ranjit Singh]] by Gordon after a 1838 sketch by [[Emily Eden]]]]
He served in the [[Indian Mutiny]] campaign of 1857–8 with the Jaunpur field force, attached to [[97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot|97th Regiment]]. He was at the actions of Nasrutpur, Chanda (31 October), Ameerpur, and Sultanpur, at the [[Siege of Lucknow|siege]] and [[capture of Lucknow]], and storming of the Kaisarbagh. The medal with clasp was awarded him. From September 1858 to April 1859 he acted as field-adjutant to Colonel (Sir) William Turner, commanding the troops on the [[Grand Trunk Road]], near Benares, and the field force during operations in Shahabad. He was engaged in the final attack on Jugdespur, and in the action of Nowadi, and the subsequent pursuit. Mentioned in despatches, he was promoted captain on 2 December 1859, and was made brevet-major on 30 November 1860. Gordon performed regimental duty in India for the next eighteen years; he was promoted major in 1860 and exchanged into the [[46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot|46th Regiment]]. Subsequently, he was given the command of the [[29th Punjabis|29th Punjab Infantry]], becoming lieutenant-colonel on 21 August 1875, and brevet colonel on 23 February 1877. He served with the [[Jowaki Expedition]] in 1877–8, and was [[mentioned in despatches]] three times, receiving the [[Indian Mutiny Medal]] and clasp.<ref name="DNB" />

In the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]] of 1878-9 he played a prominent part, commanding the 29th Punjabis, attached to the [[Kurram Valley]] column. He led a reconnaissance in force at Habib Kila on 28 November 1878, and discovered that the Afghans, so far from abandoning their guns as had been reported, had taken up a strong position on the top of the pass. Gordon's report made [[Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts|Sir Frederick Roberts]] abandon a frontal attack on the [[Peiwar Kotal Pass]]. Gordon's regiment formed the advance guard in the turning movement on the Spingawi Kotal on 2 December. During the night march some Pathans of the 29th Punjab infantry fired signal shots to warn the enemy of the British advance and the regiment was immediately displaced from its leading position. Subsequently, he was engaged in the [[Zaimukht]] expedition, including the assault of Zava, where he commanded the right column of General Tytler's force. For his services in the Afghan war he received the [[Afghanistan Medal (United Kingdom)|Afghanistan Medal]] with clasp and was made [[Order of the Bath|CB]] in 1879. In expeditions to Karmana and against the Malikshahi Waziris in 1880 he was brigadier-general in command of the troops. He also served in the Mahsud Waziria expedition in 1881, when he commanded the second column; he was again mentioned in despatches and was thanked by the government of India. From 1882 to 1887 he commanded a brigade of the [[Bengal Army]], and was made major-general on 20 December 1886.<ref name="DNB" />

In the [[Third Anglo-Burmese War]] he commanded his brigade (1886–87) and conducted the operations which opened up the country between [[Manipur]] and Kendat.<ref name="DNB" /> A road was laid out in 1887 by troops under Gordon to link Manipur with [[Upper Burma]] and the [[Chindwin River]]. He wrote an account "Overland from India to Upper Burma", published in ''The Illustrated Naval and Military Magazine'' in February 1889.<ref>Gordon, J. J. H. (February 1889) "Overland from India to Upper Burma" ''The Illustrated Naval and Military Magazine'' New Series 1(2): pp. 187–200, [https://books.google.com/books?id=AxYAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA199 ]</ref>

Returning to the UK, he was made [[Military Secretary to the India Office|assistant military secretary]] to the [[India Office]] in 1890, and retained the office until 1896, under Major-General [[Oliver Newmarch]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Heathcote|first=T. A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YSK8AAAAIAAJ&q=%22General+Sir+John+Coleridge%22&pg=PA265|title=The Military in British India: The Development of British Land Forces in South Asia, 1600-1947|date=1995|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-3570-8|language=en|page=206}}</ref> He was promoted [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|lieutenant-general]] in 1891 and [[General (United Kingdom)|full general]] on 1 April 1894.<ref name="Gazette">{{London Gazette |issue=26519 |pages=3256–3257 |date=5 June 1894}}</ref> On 1 January 1897 he was nominated a member of the [[Council of India]] and served for ten years.<ref name="DNB" /> He was advanced to [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] (KCB) in [[1898 Birthday Honours|1898]], and to Knight Grand Cross (GCB) in [[1908 Birthday Honours|1908]].<ref name="LGaze">{{London Gazette |issue=28151|supp=y |pages=4641 |date=23 June 1908}}</ref>

==Personal life==

[[File:The Sikhs (Gordon) cover with text.png|thumb|''The Sikhs'' cover]]

[[File:Baron Gordon's monument, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh.JPG|thumb|The Gordon family monument, [[Dean Cemetery]], Edinburgh]]

He married in 1871 Ella (1846 – 1903), daughter of his cousin [[Edward Gordon, Baron Gordon of Drumearn]], lord of appeal in ordinary.<ref name="DNB" /> Both their sons who survived to adulthood, Edward Ian Drumearn Gordon and John Frederick Strathearn Gordon, were army officers; John was killed in the First World War.<ref>{{CWGC|id=485206|name=Captain John Frederick Strathearn Gordon}}</ref>

Gordon wrote and illustrated ''The Sikhs'' (1904).<ref name="Sikhs">{{cite wikisource |title=The Sikhs |wslink=The Sikhs (Gordon) |last=Gordon |first=John James Hood |authorlink=John James Hood Gordon |date=1904 |publisher=William Blackwood and Sons |location=Edinburgh |page= |pages= |scan=Index:The Sikhs (Gordon).djvu}}</ref>

He resided in his last years at 35 [[Onslow Square]], London and Magdala Crescent, Edinburgh. He died at Edinburgh on 2 November 1908; he was buried in [[Dean Cemetery]] there and is commemorated with family members against the original west boundary wall of the cemetery.<ref name="DNB" />

==References==

{{Reflist}}
'''Attribution:'''
*{{DNB12|wstitle=Gordon, John James Hood|volume=2}}

==External links==
*{{Wikisource author-inline}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, John James Hood}}
[[Category:1832 births]]
[[Category:1908 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century British Army personnel]]
[[Category:29th Regiment of Foot officers]]
[[Category:46th Regiment of Foot officers]]
[[Category:Members of the Council of India]]
[[Category:British Indian Army generals]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:People from Aberdeen]]
[[Category:Scottish knights]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Burmese War]]
[[Category:Scottish twins]]
[[Category:Burials at the Dean Cemetery]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
[[Category:Scottish people of Spanish descent]]

John James Hood Gordon - Revision history

Bot at 13:48, 21 December 2022