Garnet Wolseley , 1st Viscount Wolseley Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley , 1st Viscount Wolseley , ( 4 June 1833 – 25 March 1913 ) was an Anglo - Irish officer in the British Army . He served in Burma , the Crimean War , the Indian Mutiny , China , Canada , and widely throughout Africa — including his Ashanti campaign ( 1873 – 1874 ) and the Nile Expedition against Mahdist Sudan in 1884 - 85 . He served as Commander - in - Chief of the Forces from 1895 to 1900 . His reputation for efficiency led to the late 19th - century English phrase " everything ' s all Sir Garnet " , meaning " all is in order . " Education and the Second Burmese War . Born the eldest son of Major Garnet Joseph Wolseley of " the King ' s Own Scottish Borderers " ( 25th Foot ) and Frances Anne Wolseley ( née Smith ) , Wolseley was educated in Dublin and first worked in a surveyor ’ s office . He obtained a commission as an ensign in the 12th Foot on 12 March 1852 without purchase , in recognition of his father ' s service . He then transferred to the 80th Foot on 13 April 1852 , with which he served in the Second Anglo - Burmese War . He was severely wounded in the thigh on 19 March 1853 in the attack on Donabyu , was mentioned in despatches , and received the war medal . Promoted to lieutenant on 16 May 1853 and invalided home , Wolseley transferred to the 84th Regiment of Foot on 27 January 1854 and then to the 90th Light Infantry , at that time stationed in Dublin , on 24 February 1854 . He was promoted to captain on 29 December 1854 . The Crimea . He accompanied the regiment to the Crimea , and landed at Balaklava in December 1854 . He was selected to be an assistant engineer , and attached to the Royal Engineers during the Siege of Sevastopol . Wolseley served throughout the siege , where he was wounded at " the Quarries " on 7 June 1855 , and again in the trenches on 30 August 1855 , losing an eye . After the fall of Sevastopol , Wolseley was employed on the quartermaster - general ' s staff , assisting in the embarkation of the troops and supplies , and was one of the last British soldiers to leave the Crimea in July 1856 . For his services he was twice mentioned in dispatches , received the war medal with clasp , the 5th class of the French " Légion d ' honneur " and the 5th class of the Turkish " Order of the Medjidie " . Six months after joining the 90th Foot at Aldershot , he went with it in March 1857 to join the troops being despatched for the Second Opium War . Wolseley was embarked in the transport " Transit " which was wrecked in the Strait of Banka - the troops were all saved , but with only their personal arms and minimal ammunition . They were taken to Singapore , and from there were dispatched to Calcutta on account of the Indian Mutiny . The Indian Mutiny 1857 . Wolseley distinguished himself at the relief of Lucknow under Sir Colin Campbell in November 1857 , and in the defence of the Alambagh position under Outram , taking part in the actions of 22 December 1857 , of 12 January 1858 and 16 January 1858 , and also in the repulse of the grand attack of 21 February 1858 . That March , he served at the final siege and capture of Lucknow . He was then appointed deputy - assistant quartermaster - general on the staff of Sir Hope Grant ' s Oudh division , and was engaged in all of the operations of the campaign , including the actions of Bari , Sarsi , Nawabganj , the capture of Faizabad , the passage of the Gumti and the action of Sultanpur . In the autumn and winter of 1858 he took part in the Baiswara , trans - Gogra and trans - Rapti campaigns ending with the complete suppression of the rebellion . For his services he was frequently mentioned in dispatches , and having received the Mutiny medal and clasp , he was promoted to brevet major on 24 March 1858 and to brevet lieutenant - colonel on 26 April 1859 . Wolseley continued to serve on Sir Hope Grant ' s staff in Oudh , and when Grant was nominated to the command of the British troops in the Anglo - French expedition to China of 1860 , accompanied him as the deputy - assistant quartermaster - general . He was present at the action at Sin - ho , the capture of Tang - ku , the storming of the Taku Forts , the Occupation of Tientsin , the Battle of Pa - to - cheau and the entry into Beijing ( during which the destruction of the Chinese Imperial Old Summer Palace was begun ) . He assisted in the re - embarkation of the troops before the winter set in . He was mentioned , yet again , in dispatches , and for his services received the medal and two clasps . On his return home he published the " Narrative of the War with China " in 1860 . He was given the substantive rank of major on 15 February 1861 . Canada . In November 1861 , Wolseley was one of the special service officers sent to Canada in connection with the " Trent " incident . In 1862 , shortly after the battle of Antietam , Wolseley took leave from his military duties and went to investigate the American Civil War . He befriended Southern sympathizers in Maryland , who found him passage into Virginia with a blockade runner across the Potomac River . He met the Generals Robert E . Lee , James Longstreet , and Stonewall Jackson . On 10 April 1892 , the " New Orleans Picayune " published Wolseley ' s ten - page portrayal of Lieutenant - General Nathan Bedford Forrest , which condensed much of what was written about Forrest by biographers of the time . This work appeared in the " Journal of the Southern Historical Society " in the same year , and is commonly cited today . Wolseley addressed Forrest ' s role at the Battle of Fort Pillow near Memphis , Tennessee in April , 1864 in which African - American USCT troops and white officers were alleged by some to have been slaughtered after Fort Pillow had been conquered . Wolseley wrote , " I do not think that the fact that one - half of the small garrison of a place taken by assault was either killed or wounded evinced any very unusual bloodthirstiness on the part of the assailants . " He became a brevet colonel on 5 June 1865 and Assistant Quartermaster - General in Canada with effect from the same date . He was actively employed the following year in connexion with the Fenian raids from the United States , and was appointed Deputy Quartermaster - General in Canada on 1 October 1867 . In 1869 his " Soldiers ' Pocket Book for Field Service " was published , and has since run through many edition s . In 1870 , he successfully commanded the Red River Expedition to establish Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Territories and Manitoba . Manitoba had entered Canadian Confederation as the result of negotiations between Canada and a provisional " Métis " government headed by Louis Riel . The only route to Fort Garry ( now Winnipeg ) , the [ [ Capital capital of Manitoba ( then an outpost in the [ [ Wilderness ] ] ) , which did not pass through the United States was through a network of rivers and lakes extending for six - hundred miles from Lake Superior , infrequently traversed by non - [ [ Aboriginal peoples in Canada | aboriginal ] ] s , and where no supplies were obtainable . The admirable arrangements made and the careful organization of the transport reflected great credit to the commander , who upon his return home was made a [ [ Order of St Michael and St George | KCMG ] ] on 22 December 1870 and a [ [ Order of the Bath | CB ] ] on 13 March 1871 . Appointed assistant [ [ adjutant - general ] ] at the [ [ War Office ] ] in 1871 he furthered the [ [ Cardwell reforms | Cardwell schemes of army reform ] ] . Ashanti . [ [ File : Garnet Joseph Wolseley , 1874 . png | thumb | Wolseley in 1874 , from the " Illustrated London News " ] ] In 1873 , he commanded the expedition to [ [ The Ashanti | Ashanti ] ] , and , having made all his arrangements at the Gold Coast before the arrival of the troops in January 1874 , was able to complete the campaign in two months , and re - embark them for home before the unhealthy season began . This was the campaign which made him a household name in England . He fought the [ [ Battle of Amoaful ] ] on 31 January of that year , and , after five days ' fighting , ending with the [ [ Battle of Ordashu ] ] , entered [ [ Kumasi ] ] , which he burned . He received the thanks of both houses of Parliament and a grant of £25 , 000 was promoted to brevet [ [ major - general ] ] for distinguished service in the field on 1 April 1874 , received the medal and clasp and was made [ [ Order of St Michael and St George | GCMG ] ] on 31 March 1874 and KCB . The freedom of the city of London was conferred upon him with a sword of honour , and he was made honorary DCL of Oxford and LL . D of Cambridge universities . On his return home he was appointed [ [ inspector - general ] ] of [ [ Auxiliaries | auxiliary forces ] ] with effect from 1 April 1874 ; however , in consequence of the indigenous unrest in [ [ KwaZulu - Natal Province | Natal ] ] , he was sent to that colony as governor and general - commanding on 24 February 1875 . He accepted a seat on the [ [ council of India ] ] in November 1876 and was promoted to the substantive rank of [ [ major - general ] ] on 1 October 1877 . Having been promoted to brevet [ [ lieutenant - general ] ] on 25 March 1878 , he went as high - commissioner to the newly acquired possession of Cyprus on 12 July 1878 , and in the following year to South Africa to supersede [ [ Frederic Thesiger , 2nd Baron Chelmsford | Lord Chelmsford ] ] in command of the forces in the [ [ Zulu War ] ] , and as governor of Natal and the [ [ Transvaal Colony | Transvaal ] ] and the High Commissioner of [ [ Southern Africa ] ] . But , upon his arrival at Durban in July , he found that the war in Zululand was practically over , and , after effecting a temporary settlement , he went on to the Transvaal . He was promoted to brevet [ [ general ] ] while serving in South Africa on 4 June 1879 . Having reorganized the administration there and reduced the powerful chief , [ [ Sikukuni ] ] , to submission , he returned home in May 1880 and was appointed [ [ Quartermaster - General to the Forces ] ] on 1 July 1880 . For his services in South Africa he received the [ [ South Africa Medal ( 1877 ) | South Africa Medal ] ] with clasp , and was advanced to [ [ Order of the Bath | GCB ] ] on 19 June 1880 . Egypt and Commander - in - Chief . [ [ File : Garnet wolseley cartoon . png | thumb | left | 1882 [ [ caricature ] ] from Punch ] ] On 1 April 1882 , Wolseley was appointed [ [ Adjutant - General to the Forces ] ] , and , in August of that year , given command of the British forces in [ [ Egypt ] ] under Muhammad Ali and his successors to suppress the [ [ Urabi Revolt ] ] . Having seized the Suez Canal , he then disembarked his troops at [ [ Ismailia ] ] and , after a very short campaign , completely defeated [ [ Ahmed ' Urabi | Urabi Pasha ] ] at the [ [ Battle of Tel el - Kebir ] ] , thereby suppressing yet another rebellion . For his services , he received the thanks of Parliament and the medal with clasp , was raised to the [ [ Peerage of the United Kingdom | peerage ] ] as Baron Wolseley , of Cairo and of [ [ Wolseley ] ] in the County of Stafford , and received from the [ [ Khedive ] ] the 1st class of the [ [ Order of Osminieh ] ] . On 1 September 1884 , Wolseley was again called away from his duties as adjutant - general , to command the [ [ Nile Expedition ] ] for the relief of [ [ Charles George Gordon | General Gordon ] ] and the besieged garrison at Khartoum . The expedition arrived too late ; Khartoum had been taken , and Gordon was dead . In the spring of 1885 , complications with [ [ Imperial Russia ] ] over the [ [ Panjdeh Incident ] ] occurred , and the withdrawal of that particular expedition followed . For his services there , he received two clasps to his Egyptian medal , the thanks of Parliament , and was created Viscount Wolseley , of Wolseley in the County of Stafford , and a [ [ Order of St Patrick | Knight of St Patrick ] ] . He was given the substantive rank of [ [ general ] ] on 21 January 1887 . Wolseley continued at the War Office as [ [ Adjutant - General to the Forces ] ] until 1890 , when he became [ [ Commander - in - Chief , Ireland ] ] . He was promoted to be a [ [ field marshal ] ] on 26 May 1894 , and appointed by the Conservative government to succeed the [ [ Prince George , Duke of Cambridge | Duke of Cambridge ] ] as [ [ Commander - in - Chief of the Forces ] ] on 1 November 1895 . This was the position to which his great experience in the field and his previous signal success at the War Office itself had fully entitled him . Field Marshal Viscount Wolseley ' s powers in that office were , however , limited by a new [ [ Order in Council ] ] , and after holding the appointment for over five years , he handed over the command - in - chief to his fellow field marshal , [ [ Frederick Roberts , 1st Earl Roberts | Earl Roberts ] ] , on 3 January 1901 . He had also suffered from a serious illness in 1897 , from which he never fully recovered . The unexpectedly large force required for [ [ Second Boer War | South Africa ] ] , was mainly furnished by means of the system of reserves which Wolseley had originated ; but the new conditions at the War Office were not to his liking , and , upon being released from responsibilities he brought the whole subject before the House of Lords in a [ [ Speech ( public address ) | speech ] ] . He was [ [ Gold Stick and Silver Stick | Gold Stick in Waiting ] ] to [ [ Queen Victoria ] ] and took part in the funeral procession following the death of [ [ Queen Victoria ] ] in May 1901 . Following her death , he was made Gold Stick in Waiting to [ [ Edward VII of the United Kingdom | King Edward VII ] ] . In early 1901 Lord Wolseley was appointed by [ [ Edward VII | King Edward ] ] to lead a special diplomatic mission to announce the King´s accession to the governments of Austria - Hungary , Romania , Serbia , [ [ Ottoman Empire | Turkey ] ] , and Greece . During his visit to Constantinople , the Sultan presented him with the [ [ Order of Osmanieh ] ] set in brilliants . He was admitted to the [ [ Order of Merit ] ] on 9 August 1902 . , and awarded the [ [ Volunteer Decoration | Volunteer Officers ' Decoration ] ] on ll August 1903 . He was also honorary colonel of the 23rd [ [ Middlesex Regiment ] ] from 12 May 1883 , honorary colonel of the Queen ' s Rifle Volunteer Brigade , the [ [ Royal Scots ] ] ( Lothian Regiment ) from 24 April 1889 , colonel of the [ [ Royal Horse Guards ] ] from 29 March 1895 and colonel - in - chief of the [ [ Royal Irish Regiment ( 1684 – 1922 ) | Royal Irish Regiment ] ] from 20 July 1898 . He died on 26 March 1913 , at [ [ Menton ] ] on the French Riviera and was buried in the crypt of St Paul ' s Cathedral , London . Family . [ [ File : Ex - libris - Garnet Wolseley , 1st Viscount Wolseley . jpg | thumb | left | Ex - libris with his coat of arms ] ] Wolseley was married in 1867 to Louisa ( 1843 - 1920 ) , the daughter of Mr . A . Erskine . His only child , Frances ( 1872 – 1936 ) was an author and founded The College for Lady Gardeners at Glynde . She was [ [ Beneficiary | heiress ] ] to the viscountcy under special remainder . The Channel Tunnel . Wolseley was deeply opposed to [ [ Edward Watkin | Sir Edward Watkin ] ] ' s attempt to build a [ [ Channel Tunnel ] ] . He gave evidence to a parliamentary commission that the construction might be " calamitous for England " , he added that " No matter what fortifications and defences were built , there would always be the peril of some continental army seizing the tunnel exit by surprise . " Various contrivances to satisfy his objections were put forward including looping the line on a viaduct from the [ [ Cliffs of Dover ] ] and back into them , so that the connection could be bombarded at will by the [ [ Royal Navy ] ] . All to no avail , and over 100 years were to pass before a permanent link was made . Publications . A frequent contributor to [ [ periodical ] ] s , he also published " The Decline and Fall of Napoleon " ( 1895 ) , " The Life of John Churchill , Duke of Marlborough to the Accession of Queen Anne " ( 1894 ) , and " The Story of a Soldier ' s Life " ( 1903 ) , giving , in the last - named work , an account of his career down to the close of the Ashanti War . In recognition of his success , an expression arose : " all Sir Garnet " meaning ; that everything is in good order . Legacy . [ [ File : Wolseley statue , Horse Guards Parade . jpg | thumb | right | Equestrian statue of Field Marshal Lord Wolseley by Goscombe John , Horse Guards Parade ( 2008 ) ] ] There is an equestrian statue of Wolseley in [ [ Horse Guards Parade ] ] in London . This was sculpted by [ [ Goscombe John | Sir William Goscombe John R . A . ] ] and erected in 1920 . [ [ Wolseley Barracks ] ] , at London , Ontario , is a Canadian [ [ military base ] ] ( now officially known as [ [ CFB London | ASU London ] ] ) , established in 1886 . It is the site of " Wolseley Hall " , the first building constructed by a [ [ Canadian Government ] ] specifically to house an element of the newly created [ [ Permanent Active Militia | Permanent Force ] ] . " Wolseley Barracks " has been continuously occupied by the [ [ Canadian army ] ] since its creation , and has always housed some element of " [ [ The Royal Canadian Regiment ] ] " . At present , Wolseley Hall is occupied by [ [ Royal Canadian Regiment Museum | " The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum " ] ] and " the Regiment ' s " 4th Battalion , among other [ [ leasehold estate | tenant ] ] s . The white pith helmet still worn as part of the full - dress uniform of The RCR ( pictured in the caricature above from " Punch " ) is known as a Wolseley helmet . Wolseley is also a Senior Boys house at the [ [ Duke of York ' s Royal Military School ] ] . Field Marshal Lord Wolseley is commemorated by a tablet at St Michael and All Angels Church in [ [ Colwich , Staffordshire ] ] , a short distance from [ [ Shugborough Hall ] ] and Wolseley Park at Colwich , near [ [ Rugeley ] ] . The church was the burial place of the [ [ Wolseley baronets ] ] of Wolseley Park , of whom Field Marshal Lord Wolseley was a distant relative . [ [ W . S . Gilbert ] ] of [ [ Gilbert & Sullivan ] ] deliberately modeled the character of Major - General Stanley in the [ [ operetta ] ] " [ [ The Pirates of Penzance ] ] " on Wolseley , as did [ [ George Grossmith ] ] , the actor who first created the role in the opening theatrical run . The residential areas of [ [ Wolseley , Winnipeg | Wolseley ] ] in Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada , located in the west central part of the city and of [ [ Wolseley , Saskatchewan | Wolseley ] ] in Saskatchewan , Canada are named after him A pub in Norwich , Norfolk was named after him in 1874 . Bibliography . [ [ Category : 1833 births ] ] [ [ Category : 1913 deaths ] ] city [ [ Category : Anglo - Irish people ] ] [ [ Category : Governors of the Gold Coast ] ] [ [ Category : Commander - in - Chief , Ireland ] ] [ [ Category : British Field Marshals ] ] [ [ Category : British military personnel of the Second Anglo - Burmese War ] ] [ [ Category : British Army personnel of the Crimean War ] ] [ [ Category : British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 ] ] [ [ Category : People of the Fenian Raids ] ] [ [ Category : People of the Red River Rebellion ] ] [ [ Category : British military personnel of the Third Anglo - Ashanti War ] ] [ [ Category : British Army personnel of the 1882 Anglo - Egyptian War ] ] [ [ Category : British Army personnel of the Anglo - Zulu War ] ] [ [ Category : British Army personnel of the Mahdist War ] ] [ [ Category : Burials at St Paul ' s Cathedral ] ] [ [ Category : Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath ] ] [ [ Category : Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George ] ] [ [ Category : Knights of St Patrick ] ] [ [ Category : Members of the Council of India ] ] [ [ Category : Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom ] ] [ [ Category : Members of the Privy Council of Ireland ] ] [ [ Category : Members of the Order of Merit ] ] [ [ Category : Recipients of the Order of Osmanieh ] ] [ [ Category : Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom ] ] [ [ Category : Royal Horse Guards officers ] ] [ [ Category : Suffolk Regiment officers ] ] [ [ Category : People of the Sekukuni Campaign ] ] [ [ Category : High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Cyprus ] ] [ [ Category : British Army personnel of the Second Opium War ] ] [ [ Category : Recipients of the Order of the Medjidieh ] ]