Iditarod pioneer., 1914-11-21
Sketch nf His Career

Sketch ot Ills Careef
 Frederick Sleigh Roberts was the son ot General Sir Abraham Roberts and was born at Cawnpore, India on September 50, 1850
 He was taken to England when 7 years ot age and was educated at Clifton, Eton, the Royal Military College at Sandhurst and at the East India Company's cadet college at Addiscombe. In December, 1851, he was appointed second lieutenant in the Ben gal artillery, and in the following April sailed to join his company at Dunn -Dum
 A few months later he became Mde de-camp to his father then in command ot the Peshaxur division and in November, lsof
 was posted to troop of horse artillery on the northwestern frontier. His ability se- cured for him 9 staff appointment as dep uty assistant quartermaster general, and when the Punjab movable column was formed to GuelI the mutIny young Roberts was chosen by Neville Chamberlain IS his staff officer, a position he likewise held un- der Chamherlan's successor, Nicholson f1lS first experence of actual warfare was at the siege of Delhi, where he was wounded
 aud in June 1S57 he was promoted to be lieutenant In September he lett tor l)elM in command of q force bound for CaWn- pore. and in the subsequent operations tor the relief of Lucknow took an active part. At khundaganj he rescued, at the risk ot his life. q conrade hard pressed by the enemy. and then captured a standard guarded by two Senoys, for which servlce he was awarded the Victoria Cross, lie par
 tjcipated in the establishment Of Enghsh authority at Fategharh and at Lucknow, and in 1858 SO he was on leave of absence to England. He returned to India in the lat ter year with rank as captain and breFet major and served again under Sir Neville Chamberlain in the Umbeyla Campngn of 1863 In the AbySslnan campaign Tn lS0S he served as assistant quartermaster gen eral. held command in the Lushal cam paign of lS71-2 and in 1872 was deputy ouartermaster general He was promoted major general in 1878. and on the outbreak of the Afghan war was assigned to com mand the kuram field force. On Novem- her 2l he advanced into Aghanlstan
 though without communication with lnda and wholly dependent upon hostile coun
 try for supplies Nine days later he forced the Afghan position at Peiwar kotul but further operations were suspended by the treaty of Gandamak. The murder of the British ambassador, Sir Lewis CavagnarI
 at Kabul, resulted in renewal of the war in lS79 and in October General Rob- crts again moved against the AfghanS, He utterly defeated the forces of Iakub Khan at kabul forced his abdicatlon, sent him d prisoner to India, and then occupied with the British forces the fortified cantonment of Sherpur. In 1880 intelligence ot the siege of the British garrison at handahar and on August 9 he set out to the rehet of the garrison with an army of 10000 bv Avub Khan reached General Roberts, picked men. For three weeks the army was lost from the view of the world but on August 31 Roberts reached kandahar, gave battle to Ayub Khan, routed his army, and captured his artillery and camp. Alter the withdrawal of troops was effected he Vls- ited England where he was enthusiastically welcomed and showered with honOrs. lie was created baronet presented with the freedom of cities, received the thanks of parliament. and a special medal was struck in honor of his march to kandahar. In 1881 he was ordered to South Africa as gov ernor of Natal and commander in chlet against the Transvaal Boers, but peace was concluded before his arrival. He returned to India in November, 1881, with rank as lieutenant general in command of the Madras army, and in 1885 became com mander in chief of India. In 1890 he re ceived full rank as general, and Tn lo9Z was created baron. He resigned his com mand in 1893 and returned to England, where he was appointed commander Tn chlef of the forces in Ireland in 1895, was sworn as member of the privy council ot Ire land, and later in the same year made held marshal. After the disasters which had continuously beset the British in South Africa in 1899 at Stormberg, Magersfonteln and Colenso, where Roberts only son fell, the public turned their attention once more to the field marshal, and clamored for hls i appointment as commander lie arrived at | Cape Town early in 1900 with Lord htch- ener as his chief of staff and immediately proceeded to the relief of Kimberley. lie | captured General CronJe with large share of his force at Paardeburg, then continued a steady fight until Ladysmith was relieved
 and forced march to Bloemfonteln, fol lowed by the occupation of that post by the British troops, Three months later came l the second critical point in General Rob
 erts' manipulation of the war. He made 8 rapid advance upon Johannesburg and Pre-
 toria by way of Kroonstad and Vereenlng and though handicapped by short rations opposed at almost every step of the way by the enemy, and with railway communlca
 tion cut off, Roberts moved steadily upor the Boer capital seized 1t, relieved Mafeklng annexed the two republics by proclamation
 and nj the latter part of 1900 declared the war ended He then resigned his command and returned home. Parliament voted hin its thanks and gift of 9100,000, he was advanced to the peerage as Earl Roberts o
 Kandahar, Pretoria and Waterford, anc Viscount Saint Pierre, and made com
 mander in chief of the United Kingdom In 1901 he became a member of the prlvy council His only son having been kllleC at Colenso, the peerage will by special gran
 descend to his daughter. Lord Roberts wa
 to the British army the ideal of a soldier and by the rank and file was affectionatel,