George Henry Gordon
George Henry Gordon was born on July 19, 1823, in Charlestown, Massachusetts, to Robert and Elizabeth Gordon. His father died in the 1820s, and his mother moved the family to Framingham, Massachusetts, soon afterward. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1846, and he served under General Winfield Scott during the Mexican American War. He was “severely wounded” in the Battle of Chapultepec, and he received a brevet promotion to 1st lieutenant for gallantry in the Battle of Cerro Gordo. He resigned from the army in October 1854, and he earned a living as a lawyer in Framingham.  
 
In 1861, he received a commission as colonel of the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry. He was promoted to brigadier general in June 1862, and he took part in the Battle of Antietam. Army officials later transferred him to the Department of the South, where he was stationed on Folly Island, South Carolina. According to an early biographer, he “never was a popular officer with the men during the early days of the great struggle, but out of the warp and woof of raw material he wove the texture of veterans, and the subsequent record of that gallant command showed the great value of that iron-clad discipline which he infused upon the officers and men of his command.” He remained in the army until August 24, 1865.
 
He married Maria E. Scott on June 16, 1864, and they apparently had no children. He returned to Framingham after the war and resumed his work as a lawyer. He also worked as a collector for the Internal Revenue Service. He wrote extensively about his wartime experiences. He died in Framingham on August 30, 1886.
 
Image: George H. Gordon (courtesy Wikicommons)
4907
DATABASE CONTENT
(4907)Gordon, George Henry1823-07-191886-08-30
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Colonel
  • Rank out: Brigadier General
  • Rank highest: Brigadier General
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 1

  • (4965) [writer] ~ George H. Gordon to Alpheus S. Williams, 28 May 1862

Places - Records: 2

  • (2644) [birth] ~ Charlestown, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
  • (623) [death] ~ Framingham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts

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Regiments - Records: 1

  • (45) [officer] ~ 2nd Massachusetts Infantry
SOURCES

1860, 1870, and 1880 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Military Service Record of George H. Gordon, available from Fold3.com; “George Henry Gordon” Wikipedia profile, available from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Henry_Gordon; The Boston Globe, 1 September 1886