appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 29 June 1815. Gordon continued to hold seagoing commands after the cessation of hostilities, becoming commanding officer of the frigate on the Home Station in November 1815 and then of the frigate in October 1816. He rejoined his old command, HMS Active, in 1819 and was again her commanding officer until 1821. After this he held no further seagoing command. He was appointed Superintendent of the Naval Hospital at Plymouth in 1828 and moved on to become Superintendent of Chatham Dockyard in July 1832. From 1827 to 1832 he served as a Commissioner of the Victualling Board. Senior command Promoted to rear-admiral on 10 January 1837, Gordon became Lieutenant-Governor of the Greenwich Hospital at Greenwich in July 1840. Promoted to vice-admiral on 8 January 1848, he succeeded Sir Charles Adam as Governor of Greenwich Hospital in October 1853. He was promoted to full admiral on 21 January 1854 and, having been advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 5 July 1855, he was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 30 January 1868. Death Gordon died at Greenwich Hospital on 8 January 1869 and was buried in the hospital grounds. The grave lies within an enclosed area of surviving graves within the generally cleared graveyard, now forming a pocket park immediately west of the entrance to National Maritime Museum. An obituary in Macmillan’s Magazine hailed him as "The Last of Nelson’s Captains" and a biography by Brian Perrett argued that his career was the principal model for that of C. S. Forester's hero Horatio Hornblower. Family In August 1812 Gordon married Lydia Ward; they had seven daughters and one son. See also References Sources 1782 births 1869 deaths Military personnel from Aberdeenshire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy personnel of the War of 1812 Royal Navy admirals of the fleet People from Aberdeenshire