GILLON, Alexander, naval officer, born in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1741; died at Gillon's Retreat, on the Congaree River, South Carolina, 6 October, 1794. He was a member of a wealthy commercial family, and resided in London for some time. In 1766 he came to Charleston, South Carolina, and became a prosperous merchant. In May, 1777, in an armed ship, he captured three British cruisers, boarding them one after the other. He was appointed a commodore in the navy of South Carolina in 1778, and sent to France to procure vessels. He finally succeeded in hiring a frigate, named it the ' South Carolina, ' and in it took many valuable prizes. With a large fleet, partly Spanish, he commanded the expedition which in May, 1782, captured the Bahama islands.He was a representative of congress, 1793-'4, was often in the state legislature, and was a member of the South Carolina constitutional convention. He was the founder and first president of the Charleston chamber of commerce.