The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1885-02-21
GEN. LORD wOLsELEY.

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GEN. LORD WOLSELEY.
Commander in Chief OF the British
Forces in Soudan.
The interesting military operations now
progressing in the Soudan, and so far
prosperous to British arms, add additional
lustre to the soldiership of General Lord
Wolseley, who planned the campaign being
successfully pursued under his superintend-
dence. On the Goth of August, 1884. Wolse-
ley was given the chief command in
Egypt. He arrived in that country about
September 8, 1884, and Immediately as
sumed command of all operations concern
ing the Soudan expedition, the primary
object of which is to bring away General
Gordon from Khartoum. When that end
has besn accomplished, so far as is yet
known, no further offensive operations of
any kind will be undertaken; and when
road has been opened for General Gordon's
retreat, the march southwark is to be sus-
pended and the campaign brought to
close. The instructions as above we're ap.
proved and forwarded October g. 1884,
when the nearest of Gordon's friends were
two hundred miles distant from Khartoum,
in which city he was seriously threatened.
As the result of operations directed by
General Lord Wolseley, Khartoum is now
in communication with a detachment of
the British forces, by means of steamers
running ON the Nile, and the success of the
expedition, so far as its avowed object is
concerned, assured. Gordon can be res
cued, it appears, Just as soon as he wishes
to be rescued. General Herbert Stewart,
it is true has done the hard fighting nee
essary to what has been done. but his
superior planned the march through the
desert which resulted in two victories to
Britishearms, and virtually the rescue of
Gordon
General Lord Wolseley comes Of an old
family, the Staffordshire Wolseleys of Wolse-
ley Hall. He was born July 4, 1885, and is
the son of Major G. J. Wolseley of county
| Dublin. at the age of 10 he entered the
army as an ensign, and the same year, 1852,
first smelled powder in the Burmese war.
party which first scaled the walls, and was
severely wounded in the left thigh by a
rifle ball. Returning to England he re-
ceived honorable mention i'll the dis
| patches. At the outbreak of the Crimean
war, in 1854, he landed with the Ninetieth
Light Infantry and served in the trenches
as an Assistant Engineer. Conspicuous ser
vices in the attack on the Quarr;es, in the
assault of June IS, and in the third, fourth
and fifth bombardments of Sebastopol won
for him repeated mention in dispatches.
On August 30, 1864, while he was in charge
! of the advanced line of sappers, the Rus
SLAMS made sortie, and in the ensuing
skirmish Wolseley received such injuries to
his head and face from splinters of stone
caused by round shot striking gabion,
that not only swas he compelled to retire on
the sick list, but his eyesight was consid-
cred for some time to be in peril. But this
calamity was averted, and he once more
joined his regiment, and was wrecked in
| 1857 in the Straits of Banca while proceed
| ing in H. M. s. Transit to China. During
/ the Indian mutiny he took part in the re-
lief of Lucknow, in the seige and capture
of the.same place. and in defense of Alum
bagh by Sir James Outram, together with
the several engagements which took place
in connection with that struggle. After
this he was in Dude with Sir Hope Grant,
| to whose force he acted as Quartermaster
General. He continued to serve in India
during 1858 and 1859, and in 1860 served
upon the Quartermaster Generals staff
during the Chinese war, and was present at
the taking Of the Taku forts. When diff
culties were threatened between the Uni
ted States and Great Britain owing to the
affair of the Trent, Wolseley was sent to
Canada by his Government. He afterwards
visited the Confederate army. Later, in
December. 1862, he was engaged in putting
an end to troubles in the Red River Set
| tlement. When general was needed to
COuuuCL tIlG WaI III! liie hSHdutco country,
Wolseley was selected for the honor. The
manner in which he carried on the cam
paign proved highly successful, and upon
his return to England he received the
thanks of both Houses of Parliament, a
grant of e25,O 900 and an offer of baronet-
cy. This was declined. special mission
to Natal in 1875 a brief experience AS od
interim governor of Natal and member
| of the Indian Council, and a residence in
the Island of Cyprus as High Commission
| er and Commander in Chief, after the Earl
! of Beaconsfeld annexed the island in 1879.
are the next incidents in his career. The
Is]andhwana (or Isandula) disaster in the
Zulu war, caused the British ministry to
send Wolseley out to take command. He
/! found the war nearly over on his arrival,
but he used all the powers he possessed to
settle the questions relating to it. From
1874 to 1876 he was Inspector General of the
Auxiliary Forces, during which period he
made himself popular with the volunteer
soldiers of the United Kingdom, an army
of civilian troops numbering about 100000
men. The bonn mbardment of Alexandria
July IL and 1o, 1882, followed by Arab
Bey's retreat into the interior and threat.
! ened serious resistance by the rebels