William Washington Gordon II
General William Washington Gordon II (1834–1912) was a Confederate captain in the American Civil War, later serving as a brigadier general in the United States Army during the Spanish–American War.
Life[]
The eldest son of Senator William Washington Gordon, of Georgia, he graduated B.A. from Yale University in 1854, before returning to Savannah to become a cotton and rice broker, forming the firm of Tison & Gordon in 1856.[1]
Commissioned into the Georgia Hussars as a lieutenant at the outset of the American Civil War in 1861, Gordon fought with distinction being promoted captain and then adjutant, receiving his only wound at Lovejoy's Station after the Battle of Jonesboro (1864).
Gordon then returned to his family's cotton plantation, becoming chairman of the Savannah Cotton Exchange and vice-president of the Merchants' National Bank, as well as a founding director of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company. He was elected to the Georgia Assembly 1884–89 and served as commanding officer of the State Militia, being appointed in 1891 a brigadier general of the US Army.[2]
Family[]
Gordon married Eleanor Lytle Kinzie in 1857, younger daughter of Colonel John Harris Kinzie. They had six children:
- Major William Washington Gordon III (1866–1932);
- Colonel George Arthur Gordon (1872–1947);
- Eleanor Kinzie Gordon (1858–1933), married Congressman Richard Wayne Parker;
- Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon (1860–1927), founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA;
- Sarah Alice Gordon (1863–1880);
- Mabel McLane Gordon (1870–1951), married Hon Rowland Leigh (1859–1943),[3] having two children: author Jane Gordon and screenwriter Rowland Leigh.[4]
References[]
- ^ King Cotton and his Retainers (1800-1925)
- ^ Gordon Family Papers, Georgia Historical Society
- ^ Mosley, Charles (ed.) (2003). Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 107th edn. London: Burke's Peerage & Gentry Ltd. p. 2293 (LEIGH, B). ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help) - ^ Rowley Leigh bio
External links[]
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- 1834 births
- 1912 deaths
- 19th-century American people
- Confederate States Army officers
- People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War
- People from Savannah, Georgia
- Yale University alumni
- United States Army generals
- American people of Scottish descent
- Members of the Georgia House of Representatives
- United States military personnel stubs