Thomas Gordon (British Army officer)

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Thomas Gordon
Portrait of Thomas Gordon
Born	c. 1788 Cairness House, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom
Died	20 April 1841 Cairness House, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom
Allegiance	British Empire First Hellenic Republic Kingdom of Greece
Service/branch	British Army Greek Army
Rank	Colonel (Hellenic Army)
Battles/wars	Greek War of Independence Siege of Tripolitsa Battle of Kastella
Awards	Grand Commander of the Order of the Redeemer

Having found that the Greeks besieged in the Acropolis were still able to hold out, Gordon wished to resign and only continued on condition of receiving supplies and being "entirely master of his own operations". He remained in command of the troops at Faliro until the arrival in April of General Richard Church, who took over the supreme command.

On 16 April 1827, Church appointed Gordon

Gordon returned to Greece in 1828. While at Argos from 1828 to 1831 with his secretary James Robertson and the historian George Finlay, he worked on the site of the ruined Heraeum near Argos. Archaeological plans also included a proposal to form a joint stock company for the purchase of Epidaurus. Finlay also suggested that he might be president of the Greek national assembly, but Gordon had no such ambitions.

While at Argos, Gordon collected both written and oral material for a history of the Greek revolution. He also built a magnificent mansion which was modelled on Cairness House although smaller. He returned to Cairness in 1831 and completed his book in 1832. It was acclaimed for its detail and accuracy.

Last military role in Greece

With the arrival of

Due to poor health, Gordon resigned his commission in February 1839 and returned to Cairness, although he made another short visit to Greece in 1840.

Death and controversy

Gordon died at Cairness and was survived by his wife. He had no issue with her and in his will left most of his estate, including a large landholding in Jamaica, to an illegitimate son called James Wilkinson, who later took the surname Gordon. His existence seems to have been a secret from the rest of the family as he had been brought up by a tutor in Elgin. The inheritance caused much scandal and led to a long period of litigation within the family. Thomas Gordon's historical library and manuscripts were sold in March 1850, and his antiquities in the following June, although some items remained at Cairness House until 1938, after the last of the Gordons sold the estate.

Honours

Gordon was awarded various honours, including being made Grand Commander of the Order of the Redeemer by the Greeks on his retirement. He was a member of many learned societies including the

Bibliography

• D. Dakin, British and American philhellenes during the War of Greek Independence, 1821-1833 (1955)
• Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney, eds. (1890). "Gordon, Thomas (1788-1841)" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 22. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
• William St. Clair, That Greece might still be free: The Pilhellenes in the War of Independence, London 1972
• A. E. Kasdagli, 'The papers of Thomas Gordon of Cairness (1788-1841)’, Northern Scotland, 14 (1994), pp109–114
• A. E. Kasdagli, 'Exploring the papers of the Scottish philhellene Thomas Gordon (1788-1841)’, Kambos, Cambridge Papers in Modern Greek, 3 (1995): 45–69.
• J. A. Petropulos, Politics and Statecraft in the kingdom of Greece 1833-1843 (1968)
• Under the Flags of Freedom: British Mercenaries in the War of the Two Brothers, the First Carlist War, and the Greek War of Independence (1821-1840), by Moises Enrique Rodriguez (Lanham, Maryland, 2009).