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He entered the Navy, May 24, 1810, as a second class volunteer on board H.M.S. Poebe (44 guns). In this vessel--subsequently to the reduction of the Isle of France--he contributed (May 20, 1811), while cruising off Madagascar in company with H.M.S. Astrea, Galatea and Racehorse, to the capture, after a long and trying action with the French, of three 40-gun fregates. The Phoebe had seven men killed and twenty-four wounded. On May 25, five days later, he was present at the surrender of the Nereide and of the settlement of Tamatave, and in the followingr summer he co-operated in the conquest of Java. Becoming a midshipman (Jan., 1813) on H.M.S. Centaur, he cruised in the North Sea and Channel, and was transferred (Jan., 1814) to H.M.S. Tonnant bearing the successive flags on the North American and Cork stations of Sir Alexander Cochrane and Sir Benjamin Hallowell, under the former of whom he took part in many operations against the Americans, and was present at the attack on New Orleans. On July 1816, he was transferred to H.M.S. Queen Charlotte, the flagship of Lord Exmouth, who invested him with the rank of Acting Lieutenant, thus enabling Gordon to share in theat capacity in the bombardment of Algiers, Aug 27, 1816. He subsequently served on H>M>S. Iphigenia (at Jamaica), Ontario and Confiance, Herald and Pearl (on the West Inda Station). This last vessel was put out of commission in Dec., 1834, and by 1849 he had not been employed again. He attained post rank 1857. He was sometime Deputy Master of the Corporation of Trinity House. He died s.p. Feb. 18, 1869, and was succeeded by his nephew.