River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-09-08
GORDON AVENGED.
Decisive Battle Won by the British
In the sOudan-The Capture
of 0mdurman.
London, Sept. 5.-The war office has
received the following:


"Omdurman, Opposite Khartoum. On
theNile. Nubia. Sept. 2 by Camel Post 10
Nasri.-The sirdar, Gen. Sir Herbert KItch-
ener. with the khalifa's black standard,
captured during the battle entered Omdur-
man, the capital of Mahdiam, al four
o'clock this afternoon al the head Of the
Anglo Egyptian column. after completely
routing the Dervishes and dealing a death
blow TO mahdism. Roughly. our losses
were zoo, while thousands of the dervishes
were killed or wounded. Kari Neufeld was
rescued unframed.
Last night the Anglo Egyptian army
encamped at Agatha, eight miles from Om-
durham. The Dervishes were three miles
distant. At dawn to-day our cavalry, pa
trolling toward Omdurman, discovered the
enemy advancing 10 the attack in battle
array, chanting war songs. Their front
consisted ofinfantry and cavalry, stretched
out for three or four miles. Countless ban
ners fiuttered over their masses. ard the
copper and brass drums resounded through
the serried ranks of the savage warriors,
who advanced unwaverlngly. with all their
oldtlme ardor
Our infantry formed up outside the
camp. On the left were the First battalion
Northumberland fusileers, the Second bat
talon Lancashire fusileers and the First
battalion greLadier guards with the Max
i'm battery, manned by the Royal Irish
fusileers. In our center were the First
battalion Warwlckshire regiment, the First
battalion Cameron highlanders and the
First battalion Lincolnshire regiment, with
Maxms worked by a detachment OF the
Royal artillery. under Maj, William. On
our right were the SoEdanese brigades,
commanded by Gen. Maxwell and Gen. Nc
Donald. The Egyptian brigades held the
reserves, and both TANKS were supported
by the Maxim Nordenfeldt batteries.
''At 720 a. m. the enemy crowded the
ridges above the camp and advanced
steadily in enveloping formation. At 740
our artillery opened fire. which was an
swered by the Dervish riflemen. Their at
tack developed on our left and in accord
ance with their traditional tactics they
swept down the hillside with the design
of rushing our flank. But the whitening
fire main tanned for IS minutes by all our
line frustrated the attempt, and the der
wishes baked and swept toward our cen
ter, upon which they concentrated a fierce
attack. A large force OF horsemen, trying
to face a con linuous hail OF bullets from
the Cameron hlghlanders, the Lincolnshire
regiment and the Soudanese, was literally
swept away, leading TO the withdrawal OF
the entire body, whose dead strewed the
field.
Among the chief incidents of the battle
was brilliant charge by the Twenty first
lancers under Lieut., Col. Martin. Gal
Looping down on a detached body of the
enemy, they found the DerVish swords
men massed behind, and were forced to
lancers hacked through the mass, rallied
and kept the Dervish horde a bay. Lieut..
Grenfell, nephew OF Gen. Sir Francis
Grenfell was killed; four other officers were
wounded, q men were killed and 20
wounded.
when the Dervishes withdrew behind
the ridge in front of their camp, the whole
force marched in echelon Of battalions to-
ward Omdurman. AS our troops sur
mounted the crest adjoining the Nile. the
do 4v,4a %
with the enemy. who had reformed under
cover of rocky eminence and had nassed
beneath the black standard of the khalifa,
in order to make q supreme effort TO re-
trieve the fortunes of the day. A mass,
1900 strong, bore down on the Soudanese.
Gen. Kitchener swung round the center
and left of the Soudanese and seized the
rocky eminence and the Egyptians hith-
erto in reserve, Joined the firing line In ten
minutes, and before the Dervishes could
drive their attack home.
THE flower OF the khalifa's army was
caught in a depression, and within a
zone of whitening cross fire from three
brigades with the attendant artillery,
The devoted mahdists strove heroically TO
make Roadway. but every rush was
stopped, while their main body was 1T
orally mown down by a sustained deadly
cross fire Defantly the Dervishes planted
their standards and died beside them.
Their dense masses gradually melted to
companies and the companies TO drtblets
beneath the leaden hail. Finally they
broke and fed, leaving the field white with
jibbah-clad corpses, ike a snow-drift dot
ted meadows. AT 1:15 the sirdar ordered
an advance, and, our whole force In line,
drove the scattered remnant Of the foe into
the desert, our cavalry cutting off their
retreat to Omdurman.
1.-THE heroic bravery of the Dervishes
evoked universal admiration. Time after
time their dispersed and broken forces
reformed and hurled themselves upon the
Anglo Egyptians, their emirs conspicuous
ly leading and spNrning death. Even when
wounded and in death agonieS they raised
themselves to IRE last shot. Among the
wounded is Col. Rhodes, the correspondent
Of the London Times and brother of Cecil
Rhodes"
London, Sept. 5.-The news of Gen.
Kitchener's victory over the Dervishes
at Omdurman was received with the
greatest satisfaction here, where ii is
held that England has at last wiped out
the stigma attaching to her defeat In
the previous expedition to the Soudan.
Early Sunday morning crowds gathered
about the statue in Trafalgar square of
Gen. Charles (Chinese) Gordon, who
was killed at Khartoom, January &C.,
1855, after having been besieged III that
city by the Dervishes for 337 days
London, Sept. 6.-The war office re-
ceived Monday evening the following
dispatch, dated Omdurman Sunday,
from the sirdar, Gen. Sir Herbert
Kitchener; This morning the British
and Egyptian flags were hoisted with
due ceremony upon the walls Of the
Saraya (the palace in Khartoum. All
the British wounded have left for
Acadia in barges towed by steamers.
saw them before leaving. They were
Gil doing well and were comfortable.
The cavalry sent in pursuit of the
khalifa were compelled to abandon
the attempt, owing to the exhaustion
of the horses, but Thave ordered camel
squads to continue the pursuit"