Charles George Gordon (1833-1885): A Brief Biography Charles George Gordon (1833-1885): A Brief Biography Paul Mersh, 11 Gravesend Road, Strood, Rochester, Kent ME2 3PH [paulmersh@btinternet.com] [ Victorian Web Home —> Victorian Political History —> Victorian Social History —> The British Empire —> Charles George Gordon ] Gordon was born in Woolwich in 1833, the son of a Royal Artillery officer — one of 11 children, 5 girls and 6 boys in a closely-knit and very happy family. Gordon, who derived great comfort from his family over the years, was especially fond of his sister Emily, and her death, at 16 when Gordon was 10, was a great blow to him. Later, Gordon's eldest sister, Augusta, became his closest confidant. She was the first to point in the direction of saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it was to her that he wrote about his new-found faith and zeal for the Lord.

Although in 1848, when Gordon entered the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich as a Gentleman Cadet, he intended to follow his father into the Royal Artillery, a lack of discipline prevented this, and he graduated in 1852 as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers. This corps who considered themselves the professional elite of the British army, were posted all over the world to build bridges, railways, quays for ships, design buildings, and undertake siege work. This part of the army proved the ideal environment for Gordon, who had shown himself to be hot tempered at Woolwich, brave and impetuous. The role of the military engineer made good use of these traits. Gordon was first posted to the Engineers depot at Brompton near Gillingham and then to Pembroke Dock in Wales, which were then being built by the Royal Engineers. It was here in 1853 that Gordon was converted to faith in Christ under the ministry of a fellow Engineer officer who became one of his closest friends.

This did not, however, prove to be a dramatic turning point in his spiritual life, and he remained rather indifferent to the need to spread the gospel at this time, but his letters to Augusta are full of his concerns about his soul and his desire to 'subdue the flesh'. They also show a developing desire to die and be with the Lord. He did not have a death wish; rather it was a realisation that Heaven was to be preferred to Earth. In 1854 Gordon managed to pursuade the War Officer to post him to the Crimea , despite his parents' efforts to keep him in England. Gordon was in his element in the Crimea, where his first task involved building huts as winter quarters for the troops. Once he completed this task, he managed to get a dangerous frontline job mapping the Russian trenches, which required him to look over the parapet and then draw what he could see. Many young engineer officers were killed doing this, and Gordon was surprised and somewhat disappointed that he wasn't. He was also present at the siege of Sevastopol. He was decorated for bravery by the French and mentioned in despatches by the British for his bravery during this action.

Gordon's ability as a surveyor gained him the post of Assistant Boundary Commissioner for the new Russian/Turkish border that was settled by the Treaty of Paris. This job bored Gordon; the excellent hunting was one of the few diversions for him. In 1858, he was ordered to help build a new telegraph line by the War Office; however, the telegram confirming failed to arrive, so Gordon returned to England. He was to have spent 3 years building the line, but if he had done so he would never have gone to China and onto immortality as Chinese Gordon. In 1860, Gordon was posted to China as part of the Allied Expeditionary Force that was fighting the 2nd Opium War . Once peace was made with the Chinese Emperor, Gordon was appointed as the Commander of the 'Ever Victorious Army', a force of mercenaries led by European Officers. The EVA was trying to suppress the Taiping rebellion, a revolt against the Manchus led by a 'messiah' who was trying to set up 'god's kingdom on Earth. Gordon injected discipline and steel into the force. The EVA became a feared force and was instrumental in ending the rebellion.

Gordon led the EVA into battle from the front carrying only a walking stick. When Gordon refused to allow the EVA to loot captured cities as the Manchus had allowed, the EVA mutinied. Gordon suppressed the mutiny by first shooting dead one of the ringleaders and then threatening to shoot one of the mutineers an hour until the mutiny was over. It was over inside the hour. Soochow was captured by the EVA in 1864 after the Taipings surrendered to Gordon when he offered them safe conduct. Gordon was away on business when the Manchus had the Wangs, the leaders of the Taipings, executed. Gordon was furious and promptly resigned his command. He only returned after being implored to by the British and being promoted to the rank of Mandarin in the Chinese army. He refused an offer of 100,000 gold pieces by the emperor. This reinforced Gordon's reputation as being incorruptible. Gordon became known as 'Chinese Gordon' in England. The British rewarded him with a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, and he became a Companion of Honour.

Upon his return to England the question was 'where next for Chinese Gordon?' The Government was unwilling to give him command of combat troops. In fact Gordon never had command of British combat troops — the Army would not trust him. He was posted to Gravesend in October 1865 as the Commandant of Engineers in charge of renovating the Lower Thames forts in Gravesend and Tilbury. Just after he arrived in Gravesend, Gordon received news that his father was dying. He hurried to father's bedside and nursed him until he died. This, coupled with the death of one of his brothers, had a profound effect on Gordon, who resolved to abandon superficial religion. He returned to Gravesend a different person. Gordon's duties occupied him from eight in the morning until two in the afternoon, after which he threw himself into social work, visiting the sick and dying, giving money to the poor, and teaching in the local Ragged school. The street boys, his 'kings', were the special objects of his concern. He bought them clothes, fed them, nursed them when they were ill, and found them jobs.

He went on to found and partly finance the Gravesend and Milton Mendicant Society, which aimed to assist itinerant workers. He also came under the influence of the Freeses, an evangelical couple who spent many hours talking with him about the practical outworking of the gospel. Frederick Freese introduced Gordon to the Ragged school. Gordon, who once said to the Catholic priest that 'the church is like the British Army, one army but many regiments,' never allied himself to any church or became a member of one; he was friends with the Presbyterian chaplain, the Church of England vicars in the area, the Methodist and Baptist pastors and the Catholic priest. He attended all of their churches at one time or another. Gordon became completely absorbed by his social work in Gravesend, to the exclusion of normal social contact. As the commander of the Engineers in Gravesend, he might have enjoyed a busy social life, but he shunned this in favour of what he saw as his God-given duty. These years in Gravesend were his happiest and, for him, his most fulfilling time.

He paid a pension to a number of elderly people, it has been estimated that he gave away 90% of his Colonel's pay of ï¿½3,000 a year, and he maintained this in the years after he left Gravesend. In 1871 Gordon was promoted to full colonel and became the British commissioner on the Danube Commission. This was another boundary settling role. In 1874 Gordon once again reached a crucial turning point when he was appointed lieutenant Governor, then full Governor General, of the Sudan. He, one again, threw himself into his new role. His chief job was to suppress the then burgeoning slave trade , which he did with enthusiasm. An energetic commander of his native troops, he often exhausted his men. An example of this is that he would set off from Khartoum on a camel with his escort. His staff might expect him to take 12 hours to cover the distance to them if he went at the usual stately walk. Instead, Gordon ride his camel at full gallop, leaving his escort behind and arriving 3 hours after he set out, upon which he disciplined anyone not doing his job properly, often by sacking them.

Gordon , who was replaced in 1879, in 1880 received the appointment of the Private Secretary to the Viceroy of India . During the period from 1874 to 1884 he championed the cause of native rule in many countries such as Botswana, South Africa and even Ireland . This was the chief cause of his unpopularity in government circles. In 1884 when the Mahdi, a Muslim fundamentalist leader, led a revolt in the Sudan against Anglo-Egyptian rule, the British Government needed someone to conduct an orderly withdrawl of British and Egyptian troops down the Nile. In Britain, everyone except the Government saw Gordon, a major general by this time, as the natural choice to go to the Sudan as Governor General. Gordon, who had been approached by King Leopold of Belgium to serve as governor of the Congo, wanted to accept and resign his commission. However, the public clamour of 'Gordon for the Sudan' forced the government to appoint him as Governor General, and he duly set out and arrived in Khartoum in February 1884, with orders to conduct an orderly evacuation of the troops.

Gordon did not obey his orders, because, his journals reveal, he believed that a shortage of suitable boats made evacuation too dangerous. When the Mahdi besieged Gordon in Khartoum, the Government were implored by everyone, including the Queen , to send a relief mission. They refused until October 1884, Gladstone , the prime minister, was furious at Gordon for, apparently, disobeying his orders. The relief column reached Khartoum 2 days after it fell to the mahdi on 26th January 1885. Gordon was murdered at some point, but no one is quite sure when. Some think he was killed along with the rest of the garrison; others think he was captured and executed in the camp of the Mahdi. Official records suggest he was captured and a ransom was asked for, and when it was refused, Gordon was killed. It is unlikely that Gordon would have allowed all of his men and the civilians in the city to be butchered. He may well have negotiated a surrender. Whatever actually happened, there was a public outcry, led by the Queen, at what was seen as Gladstone's bungling.

The outpouring of grief was very similar to that when Princess Diana died. Statues were erected and schools named after him; Gravesend even has a Gordon Memorial Gardens. Copies of his journals, personal reminiscences about him, biographies and copies of his only book, a mystical treatment on Palestine, sold in their millions right up until the first world war. If you wish to comment on this essay please e-mail me on pemersh@tagteacher.net. BBC - History - Historic Figures: General Charles Gordon (1833 - 1885) z General Charles Gordon © British general Charles Gordon became a national hero for his exploits in China and his ill-fated defence of Khartoum against Sudanese rebels. Charles Gordon was born on 28 January 1833, the son of a senior army officer. He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1852. He distinguished himself in the Crimean War (1853 - 1856) and in 1860 volunteered for the 'Arrow' war against the Chinese.

In May 1862 Gordon's corps of engineers was assigned to strengthen the European trading centre of Shanghai, which was threatened by the insurgents of the Taiping Rebellion. A year later he became commander of the 3,500-man peasant force raised to defend the city. During the next 18 months Gordon's troops played an important role in suppressing the Taiping uprising. He returned to England in January 1865, where an enthusiastic public had already dubbed him 'Chinese Gordon'. In 1873, he was appointed governor of the province of Equatoria in the Sudan. Between April 1874 and December 1876 he mapped the upper Nile and established a line of stations along the river as far south as present day Uganda. He was then promoted to governor general, where he asserted his authority, crushing rebellions and suppressing the slave trade. However, ill health forced him to resign and return to England in 1880 before travelling once more to places including India, China and South Africa. In February 1884 Gordon returned to the Sudan to evacuate Egyptian forces from Khartoum threatened by Sudanese rebels led by Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi.

Khartoum came under siege the next month and on 26 January 1885 the rebels broke into the city, killing Gordon (apparently against al-Mahdi's instructions) and the other defenders. The British relief force arrived two days later. The British public reacted to his death by acclaiming 'Gordon of Khartoum', who had had a strong Christian faith, a martyred warrior-saint and by blaming the government, particularly William Gladstone, for failing to relieve the siege. However, historians have since suggested that Gordon defied orders and refused to evacuate Khartoum even though it remained possible until late in the siege. Charles Gordon - General Charles Chinese Gordon By Kennedy Hickman Charles Gordon - Early Life & Career: Charles George Gordon was born January 28, 1833, at Woolwich Arsenal in London. The son of Major General Henry Gordon and his wife Elizabeth, Charles initially received his education at the Fullands School before entering the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Graduating, he received a commission as a second lieutenant in 1852 and was assigned to the Royal Engineers.

Dispatched to Chatham to complete his military training, Gordon's first engineering project was overseeing the building of fortifications at Milford Haven, Wales. Charles Gordon - Crimea: Promoted to lieutenant in 1854, he was dispatched to the Crimea the following year for service in the Crimean War. Arriving at Balaklava, he served in the Siege of Sevastopol and the expedition to Kinburn. With the conclusion of hostilities in 1856, Gordon was directed to join an international commission for marking the border between the Russian and Ottoman Empires. Returning to Britain in late 1858, he was assigned to Chatham as an instructor. Promoted to captain in 1859, he volunteered for service in China during the Second Opium War and Taiping Rebellion. Charles Gordon - China: Landing at Tianjin in September, he joined European forces and took part in the occupation of Beijing. With the end of the war, he remained in China as part of General Charles William Dunbar Staveley's command. With the Taiping Rebellion raging, Staveley withdrew his men to Shanghai in early 1862 in order to protect the European settlement in the city.

Arriving, the British joined with a locally-raised force commanded by an American, Frederick Townsend Ward. Collaborating with Ward, Staveley worked to push the rebels back from Shanghai. Serving on Staveley's staff, Gordon provided engineering services during the successful campaign against the rebels. Following Ward's death at the Battle of Cixi in September 1862, the governor of Jiangsu province, Li Hongzhang, requested that Staveley appoint a British officer to lead Ward's "Ever Victorious Army." Assigned to the post in March 1863, Gordon embarked on a series of successful campaigns that saw him relieve Chansu, capture Kunshan, and win the Battle of Changzhou. For his achievements, Emperor Tongzhi elevated him to titu (commander of a provincial military). Charles Gordon - To Africa: Returning home, Gordon was promoted to lieutenant colonel and knighted. His exploits in the Far East also earned him the nickname "Chinese" Gordon. Following work on the Thames defenses, Gordon was tasked in 1872 with serving on a commission to maintain navigation at the mouth of the Danube River. While in the region, he met the Prime Minster of Egypt.

Interested in Gordon's military service, he began negotiations for the British officer to serve under Khedive Ismail Pasha. Two years later, Gordon accepted the offer and was made a colonel in the Egyptian Army. Arriving in Egypt, he was sent south to oversee operations at Gondokoro in southern Sudan. Working to suppress the slave trade, he built a line of way stations and assessed the possibility of opening a route through to Mombasa. Clashing with the Egyptian governor of Sudan, Gordon returned to Cairo and then departed for London. Eager to retain Gordon's services, the Khedive offered the British officer the post of Governor-General of Sudan. Accepting, Gordon returned and traveled up the Nile. Assuming his new position, he attempted to make peace with the Abyssinians and worked to suppress a revolt in Darfur. Charles Gordon - Interlude: Resigning in 1879, Gordon spent several weeks relaxing in Lausanne, Switzerland and assessing new offers of employments. Turning down positions in the Belgian Congo Free State and South Africa, he elected to become the secretary to the new Governor-General of India, the Marquess of Ripon.

This position proved short-lived and he quit after a brief time in India. After traveling to China he was appointed Commanding Royal Engineer on Mauritius in 1881. Arriving on the island, he was soon promoted to major general and ordered to South Africa to aid in settling disputes in Basutoland. Charles Gordon - The Mahdist War: With this task completed, Gordon embarked on a personal exploration of Palestine and remained there into 1883. Approached again by the Belgians, he accepted a post in the Congo Free State. As he prepared for this position, the British government requested that he immediately return to Sudan to deal with a rebellion by Mohammed Ahmed. The self-proclaimed Mahdi (redeemer of Islam), Mohammed Ahmed's troops were overwhelming the thinly-stretched Egyptian forces in the region. With the situation deteriorating, London instructed the Egyptians to withdraw from Sudan in December 1883. Departing in early 1884, Gordon was tasked with reporting on the best means for extracting the Egyptians from the crisis. Reaching Cairo, he was re-appointed Governor-General of Sudan with full executive powers. Moving up the Nile, he arrived at Khartoum on February 18.

Directing his limited forces against the advancing Mahdists, he began evacuating women and children north to Egypt. Though London desired to abandon Sudan, Gordon believed the Mahdists needed to be crushed or they could overrun Egypt. Citing a lack of boats, Gordon ignored his orders and began organizing a defense of the city. On March 18, 1884, the Mahdists laid siege to Khartoum . Though the government was displeased by Gordon's actions, it came under severe public pressure to rescue the besieged men. In August 1884, Prime Minister William Gladstone relented and issued ordered for a relief expedition. Forming under the leadership of General Sir Garnet Wolseley it began moving south in October 1885. Under increasing pressure, Gordon informed Wolseley in mid-November, via messenger, that he could only hold out for another forty days. Meeting stiff resistance, the Nile Expedition pushed on. Aware of the expedition's approach, the Mahdists launched a massive assault on Khartoum on January 26. Overwhelming Gordon's starving men, they slaughtered the entire garrison.

Though the Mahdi had issued orders that Gordon was to be spared, he was killed in the fighting near the governor's palace. In the wake of the city's fall, Gordon's body was beheaded. The lead elements of Wolseley's forces reached the outskirts of Khartoum two days later. Upon finding that the city had fallen, they withdrew north. Khartoum would remain in Mahdist hands until 1898 when Major General Herbert Kitchener defeated them at the Battle of Omdurman . Though a search was made for Gordon's remains after the city was retaken, they were never found. Acclaimed by the public, Gordon's death was blamed on Gladstone who delayed forming a relief expedition. Selected Sources Gordon's last stand after siege of Khartoum: archive, 11 Feb 1885 | UK news | The Guardian Manchester Guardian, 11 February 1885. Gakdul, Sunday Unfortunately, no doubt can now exist that General Gordon was among those massacred when Khartoum fell into the hands of the rebels.

Natives who escaped describe him as having been killed in coming out of his house to rally his faithful troops, who were taken by surprise. They were cut down to a man. For hours the best part of the town was the scene of a merciless massacre. Even the women and children were not spared. All the notables, except the treacherous Pashas and their followers, were put to the sword. All this seemed too probable from the first when Sir Charles Wilson , with his steamers, went up as far as Tuti and saw beyond the trees that the island, the streets of Khartoum, and the plains outside were crowded with dervishes with flaunting banners and no friendly sign was given from the Palace or Egyptian ensign was flying anywhere. Had Gordon been holding the fortified monastery, as some averred, he would certainly have fired some shots as a signal to the steamers. Gordon’s other boats and naggars were seen lying beside the banks on the Omdurman side, which was occupied by rebels. Gordon’s most trusted officer was true to the last, but doubts were entertained of the fidelity of Abdul Ahmed, the second in command, and he justified these by deserting.

General Gordon’s Last Stand, George William Joy (1893). Illustration: Leeds Museum and Galleries Korti, Monday, 11 30 P.M. Sir Charles Wilson and Lieutenant Stuart Wortley arrived here this evening from Gubat, after a journey of three days and a half. They bring news that the whole of the party who had been left on the island in the Nile near the Cataract of Shublaka have been safely rescued. Immediately after the tidings of the difficult and dangerous position in which they were placed by the wreck of the steamer had been brought to Gubat by Lieutenant Stuart Wortley, Lord Charles Beresford embarked in a steamer, with a Gardner gun and picked crew of sailors, with some soldiers, to effect the rescue of the whole party. The island where Sir Charles Wilson and his party were wrecked is but a short distance above a narrow passage of the river where the enemy had mounted some guns. Here as Lord C. Beresford was passing he was heavily fired upon, and just as he had got almost through the pass a round shot struck the boiler and left the engines disabled.

For the whole length of the day the steamer lay in the Nile, unable to move and exposed to the fire of the enemy, while the boiler was being repaired. During this time, however, the crew and the soldiers on board the steamer kept up a fire on the enemy’s battery with their rifles and with the Gardner gun, which was so well directed and so effective that after a time the enemy scarcely ventured to show themselves for a moment above the parapet but contented themselves with firing their guns from behind their shelter without taking aim. Meanwhile Sir Charles Wilson, observing the firing and perceiving that an action was in progress, judged from noting the escape of steam that the steamer was in a disabled condition. He immediately crossed to the bank of the river opposite to that which was occupied by the enemy, taking with him his four guns, with which he marched down to assist Lord Charles Beresford. With the help of his men and guns the enemy’s battery was completely silenced towards the evening. Pinterest British troops embarking for Khartoum during the Sudanese revolt against Anglo-Egyptian rule.

Photograph: General Photographic Agency/Getty Images Sir Charles Wilson then proceeded further down the stream for three miles, as there was not any place nearer where the steamer could draw close enough to shore to take the party and their guns on board. Having selected suitable ground close to the river Sir C. Wilson and party bivouacked for the night. In the morning, the boiler having been repaired, Lord Charles Beresford again got up steam and moved safely back past the position of the enemy, who did not further molest him, but against whom he discharged a few parting volleys as he went by. When abreast of Sir Charles Wilson’s bivouack the steamer stopped, and having taken the whole party on board again started for Gubat, where they arrived safely. In the attempt to reach Khartoum Sir Charles Wilson’s party steamed up to within a few hundred yards of the town, and there was in the minds of all who were on board no room for the slightest doubt that the Mahdi’s forces were in complete possession of the place. Korti, Tuesday, 11 30 P.M.

Sir Charles Wilson and Lieutenant Stuart Wortley have arrived here from Gubat, having made the journey in four days. They bring the intelligence of General Gordon’s death on February 4. A messenger from Colonel Boscawen at Gubat has arrived here, bringing details of the fall of Khartoum. He stated that one of the treacherous Pashas marched the Khartoum garrison to the Omdurman side of the city, telling them that the attack of the Mahdi’s troops was expected there. Meanwhile the other Pasha opened the gates of Khartoum, allowing the rebels to enter. The messenger adds that General Gordon was stabbed while leaving the Government House. Charles George Gordon | British general | Britannica.com Charles George Gordon Evelyn Baring, 1st earl of Cromer Charles George Gordon, byname Chinese Gordon (born Jan. 28, 1833, Woolwich , near London , Eng.—died Jan. 26, 1885, Khartoum, Sudan ), British general who became a national hero for his exploits in China and his ill-fated defense of Khartoum against the Mahdists .

Charles George Gordon, portrait by Lady Julia Abercromby; in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London Gordon, the son of an artillery officer, was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers in 1852. During the Crimean War (1853–56) he distinguished himself by his reckless bravery in the siege trenches outside Sevastopol . He was promoted to captain in 1859 and volunteered the following year to join the British forces that were fighting the Chinese in the “ Arrow ” War. He was present at the occupation of Beijing (October 1860) and personally directed the burning of the Chinese emperor’s summer palace. In May 1862 Gordon’s corps of engineers was assigned to strengthen the bulwarks of the European trading centre of Shanghai, which was threatened by the insurgents of the Taiping Rebellion . A year later he became commander of the 3,500-man peasant force, known as the “ Ever-Victorious Army ,” raised to defend the city. During the next 18 months Gordon’s troops played an important, though not a crucial, role in suppressing the Taiping uprising.

He returned in January 1865 to England , where an enthusiastic public had already dubbed him “Chinese Gordon.” For the next five years he was commander of the Royal Engineers at Gravesend , Kent; he spent his spare time developing his own unorthodox, mystical brand of Christianity and engaging in philanthropic activity among poor youths. Mahdist War and the Siege of Khartoum approx. 50,000 men Siege of Khartoum - Background: In the wake of 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War, British troops remained in Egypt to protect British interests. Though occupying the country, they allowed the Khedive to continue overseeing domestic affairs. This included dealing with the Mahdist Revolt which had commenced in Sudan. Though technically under Egyptian rule, large parts of Sudan had fallen to Mahdist forces led by Muhammad Ahmad. Considering himself the Mahdi (the redeemer of Islam), Ahmad defeated Egyptian forces at El Obeid in November 1883 and overran Kordofan and Darfur. This defeat and the deteriorating situation led to Sudan being discussed in Parliament.

Assessing the problem and wishing to avoid the cost of intervention, Prime Minister William Gladstone and his cabinet were unwilling to commit forces to the conflict. As a result, their representative in Cairo, Sir Evelyn Baring, directed the Khedive to order the garrisons in Sudan to evacuate back into Egypt. To oversee this operation, London requested that Major General Charles "Chinese" Gordon be placed in command. A veteran officer and former governor-general of Sudan, Gordon was familiar with the region and its peoples. Leaving in early 1884, he was also tasked with reporting on the best means for extracting the Egyptians from the conflict. Arriving in Cairo, he was re-appointed Governor-General of Sudan with full executive powers. Sailing up the Nile, he arrived at Khartoum on February 18. Directing his limited forces against the advancing Mahdists, Gordon began evacuating women and children north to Egypt. Siege of Khartoum - Gordon Digs In: Though London desired to abandon Sudan, Gordon firmly believed the Mahdists needed to be defeated or they could overrun Egypt. Citing a lack of boats and transport, he ignored his orders to evacuate and began organizing a defense of Khartoum.

In an effort to win over the city's residents, he improved the justice system and remitted taxes. Recognizing that Khartoum's economy rested on the slave trade, he re-legalized slavery despite the fact the he had originally abolished it during his earlier term as governor-general. While unpopular at home, this move increased Gordon's support in the city. As he moved forward, he began requesting reinforcements to defend the city. An initial request for a regiment of Turkish troops was denied as was a later call for a force of Indian Muslims. Increasingly agitated by Gladstone's lack of support, Gordon began sending a series of angry telegrams to London. These soon became public and led to a vote of no confidence against Gladstone's government. Though he survived, Gladstone steadfastly refused to become committed to a war in Sudan. Left on his own, Gordon began enhancing Khartoum's defenses. Protected to the north and west by the White and Blue Niles, he saw that fortifications and trenches were constructed to the south and east. Facing the desert, these were supported by land mines and wire barriers. To defend the rivers, Gordon retrofitted several steamers into gunboats which were protected by metal plates.

Attempting an offensive near Halfaya on March 16, Gordon's troops faltered and took 200 casualties. In the wake of the setback, he concluded that he should remain on the defensive. Siege of Khartoum - The Siege Begins: Later that month, Mahdist forces began to near Khartoum and skirmishing commenced. With Mahdist forces closing in, Gordon telegraphed London on April 19 that he had provisions for five months. He also requested two to three thousand Turkish troops as his men were increasingly unreliable. Gordon believed that with such a force, he could drive off the enemy. As the month ended, the tribes to the north elected to join with the Mahdi and cut off Gordon's lines of communication to Egypt. While runners were able to make the journey, the Nile and telegraph were severed. As enemy forces surrounded the city, Gordon attempted to convince the Mahdi to make peace but with no success. Siege of Khartoum - Fall of Khartoum: Holding the city, Gordon was able to somewhat replenish his supplies by raiding with his gunboats.

In London, his plight was played up in the press and eventually Queen Victoria directed Gladstone to send aid to the beleaguered garrison. Acquiescing in July 1884, Gladstone ordered General Sir Garnet Wolseley to form an expedition for the relief of Khartoum. Despite this, it took a substantial amount of time to organize the needed men and supplies. As the fall progressed, Gordon's position became increasingly tenuous as supplies dwindled and many of his more capable officers were killed. Shortening his line, he constructed a new wall inside the city and tower from which to observe the enemy. Though communications remained spotty, Gordon did receive word that a relief expedition was en route. Despite this news, Gordon greatly feared for the city. A letter that arrived in Cairo on December 14 informed a friend, "Farewell. You will never hear from me again. I fear that there will be treachery in the garrison, and all will be over by Christmas." Two days later, Gordon was forced to destroy his outpost across the White Nile at Omdurman. Made aware of Gordon's concerns, Wolseley began pressing south.

Defeating the Mahdists at Abu Klea on January 17, 1885, he men met the enemy again two days later. With the relief force approaching, the Mahdi began planning to storm Khartoum. Possessing around 50,000 men, he ordered one column to wade across the White Nile to attack the city's walls while another assaulted the Massalamieh Gate. Moving forward on the night of January 25-26, both columns quickly overwhelmed the exhausted defenders. Swarming through the city, the Mahdists massacred the garrison and around 4,000 of Khartoum's residents. Though the Mahdi had expressly ordered that Gordon be taken alive, he was struck down in the fighting. Accounts of his death vary with some reports stating he was killed at the governor's palace, while others claim he was shot in the street while trying to escape to the Austrian consulate. In either case, Gordon's body was decapitated and taken to the Mahdi on a pike.

Siege of Khartoum - Aftermath: In the fighting at Khartoum, Gordon's entire 7,000-man garrison was killed. Mahdist casualties are not known. Driving south, Wolseley's relief force reached Khartoum two days after the city's fall. With no reason to remain, he ordered his men to return to Egypt, leaving Sudan to the Mahdi. It remained under Mahdist control until 1898 when Major General Herbert Kitchener defeated them at the Battle of Omdurman . Though a search was made for Gordon's remains after Khartoum was retaken, they were never found. Acclaimed by the public, Gordon's death was blamed on Gladstone who delayed forming a relief expedition. The resulting outcry led his government to fall in March 1885 and he was formally rebuked by Queen Victoria.

Selected Sources Lord Kitchener Lord Kitchener Primary Sources Horatio Kitchener, the third child and second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Horatio Kitchener (1805–1894), was born near Ballylongford, County Kerry, Ireland , on 24th June 1850. According to Keith Neilson : "His father was an unpopular, tenant-evicting, improving landowner, a domestic martinet, and an eccentric who used newspapers instead of blankets in bed." Kitchener's mother suffered from tuberculosis and the family moved to Switzerland in 1864. Kitchener attended an English boarding-school at Renaz. Teased about his strange Irish accent, he devoted himself to his books, and became fluent in French and German. In 1867 he moved to Cambridge to complete his secondary education. He wanted to study at the Royal Military Academy . He took the examination in January 1868, passing twenty-eighth out of fifty-six. Kitchener was not a very talented student but on 4th January, 1871, he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers .

He spent the next two years at the School of Military Engineering in Chatham. Kitchener came to the attention of Brigadier-General George Richards Graves of the War Office staff and was appointed as his aide-de-camp in 1873. The following year he was seconded to the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF). Kitchener was a talented linguist and learnt Arabic during this period. He was also respected as a skilled negotiator with local people. In 1878 he was seconded to the Foreign Office and given the task of mapping Cyprus . In June 1879 he was appointed military vice-consul, to Kastamonu Province in Turkey . In March 1880 he returned to Cyprus at the request of the new high commissioner, Robert Biddulph , and for the next two years continued his survey. Egypt Kitchener secured a posting to Egypt early in 1883, at the same time as being promoted captain. In March 1884 General Charles George Gordon was under siege in Khartoum . The British public called for action but it was not until November that the Khartoum Relief Expedition under the leadership of Field Marshal Garnet Wolseley began.

Kitchener was an intelligence officer on the mission and he continually pressed Wolseley to push forward more rapidly. By the time they reached the city Gordon was dead. Keith Neilson has pointed out: "Despite the expedition's failure to save Gordon, Kitchener emerged with credit and some fame. Promoted brevet lieutenant-colonel in June 1885, he resigned his Egyptian commission and returned to England, where his fame had been spread by the press and his father. The press had a crucial role in creating the Kitchener legend. Kitchener used his new status as a social lion to make many connections which later proved useful." Governor-General In 1886 Kitchener was appointed as governor-general of the eastern Sudan . Most of his time was spent dealing with Osman Digna , a major slave trader and a follower of of the Muhammad Ahmad . During a skirmish in January 1888 Kitchener was shot in the jaw. He returned to England on leave, where Lord Salisbury , the prime minister, arranged for him to be adjutant-general of the Egyptian Army, a post he took up in September 1888.

He was given the additional position of inspector-general of police in the autumn of 1889. Kitchener was made commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Army on 13th April 1892. Keith Neilson has argued: "This offended many who believed he owed his appointment more to his assiduous cultivation of the powerful than to his abilities. Such a view was reinforced by his tour of country houses when on leave in England, and by the prominent persons, including the prince of Wales, who stayed with him in Egypt. Kitchener however immediately set about reforming the Egyptian army, gathering around him a cadre of eager young officers... The fact that Kitchener surrounded himself with similar groups throughout his career, and never married, led to speculations that he was a homosexual." In 1897 Major General Kitchener decided to attempt the reconquest of the Sudan . Kitchener applied to London for a group of special service officers to participate in his largely Egyptian force. George Henderson suggested that Douglas Haig should be sent to serve under Kitchener. It was during this period that the two men became friends.

Battle of Omdurman Kitchener's army took Abu Hamed on 7th August, 1897. Later that month they occupied Berber. He had to halt his advance until he received reinforcements. A new campaign began with the capture of Atbara on 8th April, 1898. They reached the Mahdist capital, Omdurman, four months later. The Battle of Omdurman began on 2nd September. Kitchener commanded a force of 8,000 British regulars and a mixed force of 17,000 Sudanese and Egyptian troops. Abdullah al-Taashi , the successor to Muhammad Ahmad , had around 50,000 men at his disposal. The battle began in the early morning. The British artillery opened fire, inflicting severe casualties on the Ansar forces before they even came within range of the Maxim guns. The frontal attack ended quickly, with around 4,000 Ansar casualties. It has been claimed that none of the attackers got closer than 50m to the British trenches. Later that day Kitchener was able to take control of Omdurman.

Winston Churchill wrote: "Thus ended the Battle of Omdurman - the most signal triumph ever gained by the arms of science over barbarians. Within the space of five hours the strongest and best-armed savage army yet arrayed against a modern European Power had been destroyed and dispersed, with hardly any difficulty, comparatively small risk, and insignificant loss to the victors." Paul Halsall has pointed out: "The Dervish Army, approximately 52,000 strong, suffered losses of 20,000 dead, 22,000 wounded, and some 5,000 taken prisoner - an unbelievable 90% casualty rate! By contrast, the Anglo-Egyptian Army, some 23,000 strong, suffered losses of 48 dead, and 382 wounded - an equally unbelievable 2% casualty rate, thus showing the superiority of modern firepower!" Kitchener had returned home to England to a mixed welcome. As Keith Neilson explained: "As he rose Kitchener provoked continued resentment and criticism. Anti-imperialists hated his imperial victories and triumphs.

Some British officers were jealous of his success, and for varied reasons there was among senior officers much suspicion of him... Despite radicals' and others' criticism of Kitchener's behaviour, particularly his desecration of the Mahdi's tomb at Omdurman and his taking of the latter's skull, the British public lionized the sirdar... and he was frequently mobbed when he appeared in public." Boer War Kitchener served as governor-general of Sudan from 19th January to 18th December 1899. However, on the outbreak of the Boer War he was sent to South Africa , where he was chief of staff to the commander-in-chief, Field Marshal Frederick Roberts . Kitchener was in charge of the forces at Paardeberg . Lieutenant General Thomas Kelly-Kenny , commanding the British 6th Division, wanted to lay siege and bombard the force led by Piet Cronjé into surrender. Lieutenant General Herbert Kitchener overruled Kelly-Kenny and ordered the infantry and mounted troops into a series of uncoordinated frontal assaults against the entrenched Boers. Armed with the modern weapons the Sudanese had wholly lacked, the British were shot down in large numbers.

It is thought that not a single British soldier got within 200 yards of the Boer lines. During the attack 24 officers and 279 men were killed and 59 officers and 847 men wounded. After this disaster it was decided to return to the strategy first suggested by Lieutenant General Kelly-Kenny. While Paardeberg was besieged Roberts sent Kitchener to repair the railway system in the Orange Free State . In June 1900, Kitchener was sent to Pretoria to deal with Christian De Wet . For the next two months Kitchener pursued the Boer guerrillas. As Keith Neilson points out: "To deal with the Boers' guerrilla tactics, Kitchener used two complementary methods. The first was to divide the country up into a grid by building a series of blockhouses and barbed-wire fences, and by instituting drives along these grids using columns of mounted troops. It was owing to the rugged terrain and the Boers' familiarity with the countryside that this policy was not initially successful.

Kitchener's second method was resource denial, achieved by destroying Boer farms and - continuing and intensifying the process begun under Roberts - gathering the occupants, mostly women and children, into forty-six 'refugee' or ‘concentration’ camps where they could not aid the commandos." Scorched Earth Policy In October 1900, Emily Hobhouse formed the Relief Fund for South African Women and Children . An organisation set up: "To feed, clothe, harbour and save women and children - Boer, English and other - who were left destitute and ragged as a result of the destruction of property, the eviction of families or other incidents resulting from the military operations". Except for members of the Society of Friends , very few people were willing to contribute to this fund. Hobhouse arrived in South Africa on 27th December, 1900. After meeting Alfred Milner , she gained permission to visit the concentration camps that had been established by the British Army . However, Lord Kitchener objected to this decision and she was now told she could only go to Bloemfontein .

Hobhouse left Cape Town on 22nd January, 1901, and arrived at Bloemfontein two days later. There were at the time eighteen hundred people in the camp. Emily discovered "that there was a scarcity of essential provision and that the accommodation was wholly inadequate." When she complained about the lack of soap she was told, "soap is an article of luxury". She nevertheless succeeded ultimately to have it listed as a necessity, together with straw and kettles in which to boil the drinking water. Over the next few weeks Emily visited several camps to the south of Bloemfontein, including Norvalspont, Aliwal North, Springfontein, Kimberley and Orange River. She was also allowed to visit Mafeking. Everywhere she directed the attention of the authorities to the inadequate sanitary accommodation and inadequate rations. Concentration Camps Hobhouse argued that Kitchener’s "Scorched Earth" policy included the systematic destruction of crops and slaughtering of livestock, the burning down of homesteads and farms, and the poisoning of wells and salting of fields - to prevent the Boers from resupplying from a home base. Civilians were then forcibly moved into the concentration camps.

Although this tactic had been used by Spain ( Ten Years' War ) and the United States ( Philippine-American War ), it was the first time that a whole nation had been systematically targeted. Hobhouse decided that she had to return to England in an effort to persuade the Marquess of Salisbury and his government to bring an end to the British Army's scorched earth and concentration camp policy. David Lloyd George and Charles Trevelyan took up the case in the House of Commons and accused the government of "a policy of extermination" directed against the Boer population. William St John Fremantle Brodrick , the Secretary of State for War argued that the interned Boers were "contented and comfortable" and stated that everything possible was being done to ensure satisfactory conditions in the camps. Lord Kitchener In August, 1901, the British government established a commission headed by Millicent Fawcett to visit South Africa . While the Fawcett Commission was carrying out the investigation, the government published its own report. According to the New York Times : “The War Office has issued a four-hundred-page Blue Book of the official reports from medical and other officers on the conditions in the concentration camps in South Africa.

The general drift of the report attributes the high mortality in these camps to the dirty habits of the Boers, their ignorance and prejudices, their recourse to quackery, and their suspicious avoidance of the British hospitals and doctors.” The Fawcett Commission confirmed almost everything that Emily Hobhouse had reported. After the war a report concluded that 27,927 Boers had died of starvation, disease and exposure in the concentration camps. In all, about one in four of the Boer inmates, mostly children, died. However, the South African historian, Stephen Burridge Spies argues in Methods of Barbarism: Roberts and Kitchener and Civilians in the Boer Republics (1977) that this is an under-estimate of those who died in the camps. After the Boer War was brought to an end by the signing of the Peace Treaty of Vereeniging , Kitchener became commander-in-chief in India (1902-09) and military governor of Egypt (1911-14). J. B. Priestley met Kitchener at this time: "I had a close view, finding him older and greyer than the familiar pictures of him.

The image I retained was of a rather bloated purplish face and glaring but somehow jellied eyes." First World War On the outbreak of the First World War , the Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith , appointed Kitchener as Secretary of War. Kitchener, he first member of the military to hold the post, was given the task of recruiting a large army to fight Germany. A.J.P. Taylor has pointed out: "He startled his colleagues at the first cabinet meeting which he attended by announcing that the war would last three years, not three months, and that Great Britain would have to put an army of millions into the field. Regarding the Territorial Army with undeserved contempt, he proposed to raise a New Army of seventy divisions and, when Asquith ruled out compulsion as politically impossible, agreed to do so by voluntary recruiting." Kitchener asked for an initial one hundred thousand - 175,000 men volunteered in the single week ending 5th September. With the help of a war poster that featured Kitchener and the words: "Join Your Country's Army", 750,000 had enlisted by the end of September.

Thereafter the average ran at 125,000 men a month until June 1915 when numbers joining up began to slow down. According to his biographer, Keith Neilson : "Kitchener brought to his new office both strengths and weaknesses. He had waged two wars in which he had dealt with all aspects of warfare, including both command and logistics. He was used to being in charge of large enterprises, he was not afraid to take responsibility and make decisions, and he enjoyed public confidence. However, he had no experience of modern European war, almost no knowledge of the British army at home, and a limited understanding of the War Office. Perhaps most importantly, he had no experience of working in a cabinet. Nevertheless in the opening stage of the war he, Asquith, and Churchill formed a dominant triumvirate in the cabinet." Arthur Conan Doyle complained: "Kitchener grew very arrogant. He had flashes of genius but was usually stupid. He could not see any use in Munitions. He was against tanks. He was against Welsh and Irish divisions. But he was a great force in recruiting." Kitchener told Asquith that he expected the war to last at least three years with millions of casualties.

He argued that the British Army must concentrate its efforts on the Western Front . However, after coming under considerable pressure from Winston Churchill , he First Lord of the Admiralty, he did agree to support the Gallipoli campaign in February 1915. By the time Kitchener withdrew the troops from the the area in January, 1916, Allied casualties totaled over 250,000 men. The Gallipoli disaster damaged Kitchener's reputation as a military strategist. Kitchener also came under attack for a shortage of military supplies. Lord Kitchener offered to resign but Herbert Asquith decided to keep him as his Secretary of War. Lord Northcliffe attacked Kitchener in the Daily Mail : "Lord Kitchener has starved the army in France of high-explosive shells. The admitted fact is that Lord Kitchener ordered the wrong kind of shell - the same kind of shell which he used largely against the Boers in 1900. He persisted in sending shrapnel - a useless weapon in trench warfare.

He was warned repeatedly that the kind of shell required was a violently explosive bomb which would dynamite its way through the German trenches and entanglements and enable our brave men to advance in safety. This kind of shell our poor soldiers have had has caused the death of thousands of them." Lord Kitchener telling Herbert Asquith and Winston Churchill that things are not as bad as they look. Cartoon from the German magazine, Simplicissimus (May, 1915) The journalist, Charles Repington , had a more positive view of Kitchener but was still critical of his role in the war: "The services which he rendered in the early days of the war cannot be forgotten. They transcend those of all the lesser men who were his colleagues, some few of whom envied his popularity. His old manner of working alone did not consort with the needs of this huge syndicalism, modern war. The thing was too big. He made many mistakes. He was not a good Cabinet man. His methods did not suit a democracy.

But there he was, towering above the others in character as in inches, by far the most popular man in the country to the end, and a firm rock which stood out amidst the raging tempest." In the spring of 1916 Herbert Asquith decided to send Kitchener to Russia in an attempt to rally the country in its fight against Germany. On 5th June 1916, Horatio Kitchener was drowned when the HMS Hampshire on which he was traveling to Russia, was struck a mine off the Orkneys . C. P. Scott , the editor of the Manchester Guardian , remarked: "he could not have done better than to have gone down, as he was a great impediment lately".

Question: During the siege of which African city did General Gordon die?
Answer: Khartoum