Major-General Sir John William Gordon KCB (4 November 1814 – 8 February 1870) was a British Army officer and Inspector-General of Engineers.

[3] Gordon obtained a commission in the Royal Engineers in 1823 and served in the United Kingdom, North America and Bermuda before the outbreak of the Crimean War.

He was brevetted three times during the war, from captain to colonel, became a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) and received the nickname "Old Fireworks" for coolness under fire.

During this period he was an appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB), promoted to major general and became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

However, in 1870 Gordon committed suicide, attributed to insanity brought on by his wounds from the Crimean War, in Westward Ho!, Devon while visiting family.

A month after the siege commenced, owing to several casualties, Gordon found himself Commanding Royal Engineer of the army, and held the position until the arrival of Sir Harry Jones.

Disease of the brain, caused by increasing irritation of his Crimean wound, set in, and the suffering which finally destroyed his judgment was borne patiently and in silence.

[2] According to Robert Hamilton Vetch, writing in the Dictionary of National Biography, "[Gordon] was a man of great height and strength, and careless of danger; his earnest religious convictions governed his whole conduct, though his warmth of feeling was hidden under a cold exterior.

"[2] Regarding his earlier posting in Bermuda, Vetch also adds, "his name was remembered in the islands long after his departure, not only for his athletic feats, but for a liberality to the poor which continued for many years after he had left the place.