William Washington Gordon (January 17, 1796 – March 22, 1842) was an American politician and businessman.
Gordon was born in
Screven County, Georgia
Screven County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,067.US 2020 Census Bureau report, Screven County, Georgia The county seat is Sylvania.
History
The county ...
. He was named after
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
General
William Washington
William Washington (February 28, 1752 – March 6, 1810) was a cavalry officer of the Virginia militia and Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, who also served on General George Washington's staff during the naval war with F ...
under whom Gordon's father, Ambrose Gordon, served as a
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
lieutenant.
Background
Upon the death of Ambrose Gordon in 1804, William Washington Gordon was sent to school in
Rhode Island
Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
and then attended the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
. He graduated from that institution in 1815 and was the first person from Georgia to do so. He remained in the army for half a year, serving as an aide-de-camp to
Edmund P. Gaines
Edmund Pendleton Gaines (March 20, 1777 – June 6, 1849) was an American Army officer who served for nearly fifty years, and attained the rank of major general by brevet. He was one of the Army's senior commanders during its formative years ...
. He then returned to
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...
to study law under
James Moore Wayne
James Moore Wayne (1790 – July 5, 1867) was an American attorney, judge and politician who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1835 to 1867. He previously served as the sixteenth mayor of Savanna ...
.
Gordon married Wayne's niece, Sarah Anderson "Addy" Stites, in 1826 and purchased Wayne's Savannah home, at 10 East Oglethorpe Avenue, in 1830. Washington's granddaughter,
Juliette Gordon Low
Juliette Gordon Low ( Gordon; October 31, 1860 – January 17, 1927) was the American founder of Girl Scouts of the USA. Inspired by the work of Robert Baden-Powell, founder of Scout Movement, she joined the Girl Guide movement in England, fo ...
—founder of the
Girl Scouts of the United States of America
Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad.
It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, a year after she ...
—was born and raised in the house.
Gordon became a member of the state bar in 1820 and served in several local public positions. In 1834, Gordon was elected as the mayor of Savannah and served in that position until 1836. During his mayoral service, he was elected to the
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...
as a member of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
in 1835. In 1838, he was elected to the
Georgia Senate
The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral leg ...
.
He founded and served as the first president of the Central Railroad and Banking Company of Georgia, which would later be reorganized as the
Central of Georgia Railway
The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was constr ...
. Today the Central of Georgia lines are a component of the
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
.
Gordon died in Savannah in 1842 from bilious
pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...
and was originally buried in Colonial Cemetery in that city; however, his grave was later moved to Laurel Grove Cemetery. One year later, in 1843 the railroad he founded desecrated the important Native American site of
Ocmulgee National Monument
Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (formerly Ocmulgee National Monument) in Macon, Georgia, United States preserves traces of over ten millennia of culture from the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands. Its chief remains are m ...
, sacred to the
Creek Indians
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsWilliam Washington Gordon Monument in Savannah's
Wright Square
Wright Square is one of the Squares of Savannah, Georgia, 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the second row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and President Street, and was laid out in 1733 as one of ...
. To do so they destroyed the grave of Indian Chief
Tomochichi
Tomochichi (to-mo-chi-chi') (c. 1644 – October 5, 1741) was the head chief of a Yamacraw town on the site of present-day Savannah, Georgia, in the 18th century. He gave land on Yamacraw Bluff to James Oglethorpe to build the city of Savannah ...
who had given General Oglethorpe the land on which to found the city of Savannah. Gordon's daughter-in-law, Nellie Kinzie Gordon, was outraged at this perceived insult to Tomochichi thus she and other members of the Colonial Dames of the State of Georgia erected a new monument to Tomochichi, made of granite from
Stone Mountain
Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome Inselberg, monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, east of Atlanta, Georgia. Outside the park is the city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state of Ge ...
, and located in the southwest corner of the square.
Gordon, Georgia
Gordon is a city in Wilkinson County, Georgia, United States. As of 2020, its population was 1,783.
History
Gordon was founded in 1843 as a depot on the Central of Georgia Railway. The city was named after William Washington Gordon, a railro ...
and
Gordon County, Georgia
}
Gordon County is a County (United States), county in the Northwest Georgia, Northwest region of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 57,544. The county seat is C ...