Lord Douglas Gordon-Hallyburton

Who was Lord Douglas Gordon-Hallyburton?

Lord Douglas Gordon-Hallyburton was a Scottish soldier and Member of Parliament.

He was born as the Honourable Douglas Gordon, only child of Charles Gordon, 4th Earl of Aboyne by his second wife Mary, daughter of James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton and Agatha, heiress of James Halyburton of Pitcur. In 1784, following the death of his first cousin Hamilton Douglas Halyburton, he succeeded to the estate of Pitcur, near Kettins in Forfarshire, and adopted the name and arms of Hallyburton of Pitcur.

On 28 March 1795 he joined the Army as an Ensign in the 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Foot, quickly rising to become a Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion 78th Foot on 25 August and a Captain in the 113th Foot on 31 August the same year. He served in the French Revolutionary War with Archduke Charles and carried home despatches from Charles Craufurd on 4 July 1796. After a period on half-pay he joined the 22nd Regiment of Foot on 14 August 1798 before exchanging into the 1st Foot Guards as a Lieutenant on 25 December. He retained the Army rank of Captain until appointed Assistant Adjutant General with the rank of Major on 11 June 1803.

On 16 July 1807, at Dublin, he married Louisa, daughter of Sir Edward Leslie, 1st Baronet of Tarbert, County Kerry; they had no children.