James Gordon
Royal Navy admiral
Died when: 86 years 94 days (1035 months)Star Sign: Libra
Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Alexander Gordon, GCB (6 October 1782 – 8 January 1869) was a Royal Navy officer.As a volunteer, he fought at the Battle of Groix, at the Battle of the Glorious First of June and at the Battle of Cape St Vincent during the French Revolutionary Wars and then, as a midshipman, served under Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson at the Battle of the Nile.
Gordon became commanding officer of the 28-gun frigate HMS Mercury which took part of a hard-fought action between three British ships and the combined forces of a Spanish convoy, 20 gunboats and land artillery off the town of Rota during the Napoleonic Wars.
He later became captain of the 38-gun frigate HMS Active which was one of the four ships that successfully defeated a much larger French squadron at the first Battle of Lissa and was one of three that subsequently defeated three more powerful French frigates off Palagruža.
Gordon also saw action in the War of 1812 leading the successful raid on Alexandria on the Potomac and taking part in the less successful attack on Fort McHenry and the Battle of Baltimore.
He went on to be Governor of Greenwich Hospital.
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