"I Received My Orders About the Middle of August 1884...."

 

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 A Trip to Egypt & Back

 Written by Charles J. King 

  "The cry of General Gordon and Khartume (sic) is fresh in the memory of many today, as fresh as I may say as in the year 1884, for the lives of great men remain in our memories long after their departure from this life. And I may justly say (that) Gordon was one of those men who has won for himself (both by his self-denial and large heartedness) a fame that will be handed down in history with loving respect for many generations to come.  But the life of Gordon will not form the subject of my paper tonight, but simply a few personal experiences of one whose good fortune it was to take part in that celebrated Nile expedition, who undertook (under the leadership of Lord Wolsley)(sic) one of the most gigantic expeditions of modern times. Before I start on my journey I want to recall to your mind that a famous English general & patriot is hemmed in at Khartoum, a city in central Africa at least 1,100 (?) miles from 

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Alexandria, the chief port of Egypt on the Mediterranean sea, 'he has a band of faithful' (crossed out) followers with him but some of his (?) 'staff have been' (crossed out)   & to reach and release him is the subject of momentous importance, plans are thought of & proposed & among others are a boat expedition up the river Nile, proposed by Lord Wolsley (sic)  , and entrusted to his lordship & guidance & direction.  To carry out the proposal thousands of men are at once placed under orders (,) boats are contracted for (,)stores are preparing (,) ships are chartered (,) munitions of war are dispatched, and more are to follow & the excitement & bustle is the order of the day better known of course to those used to military & naval routine. I received my orders about the middle of August 1884 to proceed at any moment, so the preparations proceed & ultimately we receive our definate (sic)  orders that we are to proceed on Sept 3rd. Men are granted a few days leave and receive their pay full up to day of sailing and a good sprinkling avail. themselves of the opportunity of spending their last Sunday in England with the friends at home."

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   "The Cry of General Gordon and Khartume" 

Here is a brief and basic timeline of unfolding events that led to the Nile expedition of 1884-1885.......

British General Charles George "Chinese" Gordon 

b. 28 January 1833 d. 26 January 1885

  public domain image

    

  Charles Gordon was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1852 and went on to distinguish himself in the Crimean War (1853-56).  In 1863 he became commander of the 3,500 man peasant force raised to defend the city of Shanghai, China.  He became known for his bravery in battle (he refused to carry a a gun or a sword; he carried his rattan cane with him) as well as his string of victories.  He and his troops helped suppress the Taiping uprising which was the bloodiest civil war of the entire 19th century.  Gordon's service as well as the conflict itself received a great deal of coverage from the British newspapers.  On his return to England he was given the name "Chinese" Gordon by an enthusiastic public. 

  In 1873 Gordon was appointed governor of the province of Equatoria in the Sudan. While there he mapped the upper Nile.  He became governor general and worked to crush rebellions and suppress the slave trade. His reforming zeal made him popular with the ordinary people of the Sudan but he was unable to make any reforms to the corrupt Egyptian bureaucracy.  He was so shattered by his experience he suffered a nervous breakdown. 

  The Sudan was a dependency of Egypt and was invaded and occupied by the British in 1882 to safeguard Britain's  strategic interests. Britain allowed the khedive and his ministers to continue governing the Sudan but years of misrule and corruption  fueled a popular revolt led by the Muslim religious leader Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi.  The Egyptians were defeated at El-Obied in 1882 and Mahdist forces overran Kordofan and Durfur in 1883. Hoping to avoid the cost of British intervention Prime Minister William Gladstone chose not to intervene, but appointed Gordon to evacuate Egyptians from the Sudan. 

From The Victorian Soldier in Africa Manchester University Press 2018

  In February of 1884 Gordon returned to Sudan to oversee the withdrawal. He succeeded in evacuating around 2,000 women, children and wounded soldiers from the capital at Khartoum. In March he tried to stage an offensive to clear the road northward to Egypt which failed, and he retreated to set up defensive works around Khartoum, creating a fortress.  He refused to leave the city despite orders by Parliament to abandon Sudan. His resulting insubordination angered the Prime Minister, who refused to send reinforcements to Gordon. 

  The result was a 10 month long siege of Khartoum by the Mahdists.  Gordon was essentially cut off from food, supplies and troops. Both the civilian and military populations began to suffer from starvation after several months of dwindling food supplies.  Communication was kept up with couriers and Gordon made his dispatches to London public to gain support for his plight.  A battle began in England between the press, Parliament  and Queen Victoria herself.  A rescue expedition was called for and Gladstone reluctantly ordered relief troops to Khartoum led by Sir Garnet Wolseley in July of 1884.  

  The expedition took several months to organize, and did not enter Sudan until January 1885. The city of Khartoum was desperate. The relief expedition was attacked at Abu Klea on January 17th 1885 and then at Abu Kru several days later.  The British were able to repel the Mahdists. The Mahdists went on to take Khartoum in a final assault on January 25-26th, 1885. The garrison, weakened by hunger, was not able to fight off the invasion and were slaughtered.  7,000 British and Egyptian soldiers and 4,000 civilians were killed; women and children were taken into slavery.  Gordon was most likely killed fighting on the stairs of the palace and was then beheaded by the Mahdists. 

  Advance parties of the expedition arrived in Khartoum two days later on January 28th, 1885, sadly not in time to save Gordon.  After the fall, surviving British and Egyptian troops withdrew from the Sudan and Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi was in control.  The Islamic state Ahmad founded fell to the British in 1899 after Lord Kitchener and his Anglo-Egyptian forces defeated the Mahdists at the Battle of  Omdurman.  

  This is just a quick synopsis of events to help put the expedition into historical context.  I chose not go into more detail regarding the psyche/motives of General Gordon, the political issues, the permeating issue of slavery,  the clashing personalities and  decisions that ultimately led to the failure of the expedition, nor the many themes surrounding  occupations of the British Empire during Queen Victoria's reign.  If you are interested, there are numerous resources available to help you understand the quite complex situation that ultimately led to Gordon's death.  These are the internet sources I used to construct this timeline...

Sources:

BBC  History General Charles Gordon 

Britannica Siege of Khartoum 

Wikipedia Charles George Gordon

Wikipedia Muhammad Ahmad

Wikipedia William Ewart Gladstone

Wikipedia Siege of Khartoum

The Victorian Web (victorianweb.org)

The Victorian Soldier in Africa  Manchester University Press July 2018  Chapter: The Gordon Relief Expedition by Edward  M. Spiers