New Spalding Club > House of Gordon > Gordons under arms

GORDONS UNDER ARMS — CONTINENT. 417
the regiment again, I thought there could be no objection. Neither were deserturs discharged
in my recruiteing order, which I produced, and offerred to prove the foresaid coustome. Never-
theless, they were thrown on my hand, and I oblidged not only to repay back the \evy money of
forty guilders per man, but to give ten guilders to carry them home ; and there was no less than
four deserturs more recruited by other officiers and brought to the regiment, wh'ch passed for good
men, and my two was rejected tho' I made it appear that they were deserturs as well as mine.
So that yow may plainly see what kind of justice I have gott. I can have no redress but
by demanding a court marshal!, and if I should lose I am oblidged to pay the whole expences
of the same. And tho I have justice on my side I am affraid of demanding it, as I know that
one field officier will take the part of another, and it would throw me into a gooddeall of more
debt to the regiment, in case it was given against me. Now I could wish to have your advice,
what yow think I should do. Generall Graham is for my demanding a Court marshall, as so
is Major Buchannan who, I believe, will be my reall friend, but I would risk to have your
advice likewise.
Son of Alexander, of Carleton, Ayrshire, cadet of Airds ; served heir to his
father, 1743, Aug. 26; ni. Mary, dau. of William McKie, of Balmaghie, and
had four sons, including Alexander, 170) and two daus ; d. 1778, May 23;
will, Kirkcudbright Commissariot, 1779, 5 and 14.
1667- Alexander. 1757, Apr. 24, Pensioned Ens. to be Ens. by replace-
ment, 2nd Batn., Marjoribanks' Reg., Scots Brigade in Holland (Ferguson's
Scots Brigade, 11. 424). 1765, Apr. 18, Lt., 3rd Coy., Marjoribanks' Reg.
(ibid., II. 425). 1773, Jan. 27, as Capt., Marjoribanks' Reg., ist Batn., took
the oath by proxy (ibid., 11. 486).
1668- Alexander. 1760, Lt., Scots Brigade in Holland (Ferguson's
Scots Brigade, in. 79). 1780, Jul. 17, took the oath by proxy as Capt. Com.,
Grenadier Coy., 2nd Batn., Houston's Reg., Scots Brigade in Holland (ibid.,
II. 492) ; and as Major, 1782, May 21 (ibid., 11. 494). 1782, Dec. 13, garrisoned
at Maestricht, he was one of the officers who requested a delay of six weeks
before taking the oath for the conversion of the Scots Brigade into Dutch
troops (ibid., 11. 499). He stayed in Holland and wrote, 1786, Jul. 20, from
Tholen to Lt. TurnbuU : " You cannot think what an odds it makes to me the
change of officers, before all Scotch and now mostly Dutch, tho' I must own
some very good young fellows, but still not my own countrymen " (ibid., 11.
523). 1787, Sep. 27, wrote from Fort Moermond that on the previous day he
had marched the ist Batn. of Houston's Reg. from Tholen at the request of
the magistrates, because the Batn. had long since, having been grossly in-
sulted by some malicious person there, become mutinous ; he therefore distri-
buted his men among the three forts outside Bergen-op-Zoom (ibid., 11. 560).
1794, as "Cap. A. Gordon, Col. Com.," 2nd Coy. ist Batn., Reg. van Nyven-
heim (Houston's successor), he was pensioned (ibid., u. 551). 1796, appears
with a yearly pension of 1200 guilders (ibid., 11. 552).
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