The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-10

nnnier-in-Chief-In the Trans
vanI Before
Great Britain IS always at war some
where in her world empire, and her nil
itary commanders have been tried out
and proved worthy. Sir Redvers Butler.
upon whom the attention of the world Is
now centering. has served over forty
years In the British army and has filled
about every position save that Of com
mander-in-chief. He is a typical British
er-heavy-jawed, cool, firm and resolute
"A type of the men who stood for hours
at Waterloo, immovable under the charge
Of Napoleon's best veterans, and who.
when their turn came to charge swept all
before them. A writer in the Providence
Journal gives the following sketch of his
career as a soI1ter:
Lieut.. Gen. Sir Redvers H. Butler is a
native of Devonshire, and is just sixty
Years of age. He is a son Of the late j.
w Butler, and of Charlotte, daughter Of
the late Lord Howard. He entered the
army in 1858 as Il subaltern in the Second
battalion of the Sixtieth rifles and two
years later. received his baptism of fire
at the taking of the Taku forts in the
China war, a campaign from which he re-
turned home with medal and two clasps
In 1870, then a captain. he took part in
the Red river expedition, and his fine
soldierly qualities attracted.the attention
of Col. Wolseley. its commander The
friendship of these two leading generals
dates from this campaign. The men are
far from alike. Lord WoIsefay, the COM
mander-in-chief of the British army Is
of slight build vivacious and dashing.
He is a polished courtier as well as a
soldier, and although thorough, is fond of
form and appearance and of public APP
prevail. Butler is tall, big-boned and
ponderOus. He IS severe almost suIlen
in aspect. curt of speech and abrupt in
manner, sharp and straightfo! ward, and
a halter of shams and hunibug He is a
man who will plan and carry out a cam
paign according to his. own Judgment,
without swervtng a hairs breadth be-
cause of popular criticism
: In 1913 he was Gen. WolseIey' S deputy
assistant adjutant general in the Ashanti
war, position of great responsibility, in
which he conducted himself SO admirably
that he was promoted to major. and was
Lightly complmented by his commander
In 1913 Maj. Butler went to Sou h Africa
and took part in Several actions with
the 'iaikas and Galekas. He was com
mander Of the column in the affair at
Buffalo Range. In that campaign his
commander commended him in these
terms: He set an example of intrepidity
and calm courage to his men unCers-ve v
trying circumstances"
Tn EZ,,1,, O o-0t1
tailed to organize a frontier cavalry
force and in the action of Inhlobane
mountain he commanded Gen EVELYN
Woods mounted infantry. His heroism
in that fight won him the Victoria. cross.
He had been ordered by his superior to
clear the mountain, and having accom-
plished the somewhat difficult task was
about to return to the main body when
he observed an Overwhelming body of
Zulus marching to cut him off. The
only possible line of escape was straight
down the precipitous sides of the noun
tain Buffers GOODNESS alone saved his
coz mand from complete humiliation. AS
-tt--,Was,-- his force was sadly, -shattefed-
ON the way down he came upon Capt
D Arcy, whose horse had been shot under
him, retiring on foot, and although
himself heavy burden for horse he
took the captain up And carried him to a
place of safety. Later in the day he
rescued Lieut. Everett IN he5same gpan.,
ner, and stilfs~ later took up a troAberI
whose horse had failed him. & 4
Two. years afterwards, in 1881, Col. Bull !,
Ter, as Sir Evelyn Woods chief of: staff,
assisted in the peace negotiations with
the Transvaal, which eliminated in the
convention on Pretoria. Rev. Dr. Jor-
isSens preacher-sta tesman of the
A fria
historians in.describings conference be-
tween Kruger and Joubert on the Boer 4
side and Wood and Butler in behalf of
he imperial government, said that Sir
Evelyn Wood treated the matter lightly,
he and Joubert cracking jokes as if
they were old comrades, but that Bull
Ter although calm correct and courteous
made no attempt to conceal his diSsatis- /
faction with the proceedings or his con-
tempt for the Beers. Had his proper in
clination been followed there would have
been no negotiation until after the dis
grace of Majuba hill and Laing,s Mex
had been wiped out.
As chief of Sir Garnet Wolseley's in
t6lligence department in the Egyptian
war of 1882, Gen. Butler piloted the Brit
ish army; across the desert from Kas-
-sassin to ~Tel-el-Kebir, where the coup
de grace was bestowed upon Arabi Pa
sha "
IN the SudlNlIn campaign OF 1884 Gen.
Butler, who was now Sir Redvers was In
commander the Second brigade and was
second in command under Gen Graham,
and his GOODNESS, courage and tenacity
contributed materially to the victory Of
Ell Teb, while at the subsequent battle of
Tamai it was he who positively saved the
day At the latter fight Gen. Graham
formed his army into brigade squares.
The terrific rush of the dervishes bore
back Davis brigade, but Buffers, COM
posed of the Gordon Highlanders, the
Royal Irish and the Sixtieth rifles, was in
vincibie. 1t moved up to the support of
Davis with machine-like regularity, as if
on parade, and drove the shattered col
umnS of the enemy before it.
. In the Nile expedition of 1885 Gen Bull
Ter was Lord Wolseley's chief of staff, and
when Stewards column had fought its
way to Khartoum, only to find Gordon
dead and the city fallen, and being threat
ened with overwhelming forces of der
v:shes, Butler, with few companies OF
, the Royal Irish, hurried across the desert
to Gubat, took command of the threaten
ed force and In the most mastery manner
led it back in safety to Kortf. Gen Bull
iler's British admirers fond of Ikening
this feat to Xenophon's retreat of the
10000 Like: the; Greek hero he had to
fight his way back against Overwhelming
numbers, and the fact that he saved all Of
his Sick and wounded is a point that
doubtless had much weight in determine
ing his selection for the important COM
nland with which he is now intrusted
Gen. Butler Is reported to have insisted,
before accepting the charge, upon having
a free hand and an adequate force. Those
VINO know. the man say that he will
ri rnlpnf1acc1zr no