Major Gordon

“ Gordon had struck the enemy's right flank behind breastworks, and a part of his brigade was thrown into disorder. In going through the woods, Johnston had obliqued too much and passed to Gordon's left, getting in rear of the enemy. Major Daniel, not hearing from Gordon, had endeavored to get to him, when, finding the condition of things, he attempted to lead one of Pegram's regiments to his assistance, and was shot down while behaving with great gallantry, receiving a wound in the leg which has permanently disabled him. ”

“ In December 1862 Gordon, for his good service in China, was raised to the rank of major.
Very soon afterwards the Chinese Government asked the English Government to give them an English officer to lead the Chinese army that was to fight with, and to conquer, the Tae-Ping rebels.
Already the Chinese soldiers had been commanded by men who spoke English. One of these, an American adventurer, named Burgevine, was ready to dare anything for power and money.
To his leadership flocked scoundrels of every nation, hoping to enrich themselves by plundering the rebels. ”

“ To serve God and to do his duty were the great objects of his life, and he died as he had lived, carrying out the work that lay before him to the best of his ability. The last words of his last letter to his sister, written when he knew that death was very near, sum up his character: “I am quite happy, thank God, and, like Lawrence, I have tried to do my duty. [1]
Authorities.—The Journals of Major-General Gordon at Khartoum (1885) ; Lord Cromer, Modern Egypt (2 vols., 1908) ; F. R. Wingate, Mahdiism and the Egyptian Sudan (1891) ; the British Parliamentary Paper on Egypt (1884–1885) ”

“ On the formation of the Greek kingdom, Gordon was appointed colonel à la suite and colonel on the staff of the Greek army by commission, dated 3 April of that year. He had only asked for a lieutenant-colonelcy. In the summer of 1833 Gordon again went to Greece, and was apparently employed till 1836 in military duties. On 7 July 1835 he was appointed major-general, and on the 23rd he was commanding the troops in Roumelia, and acting as chief of the general staff of the Greek army. ”

“ Force need not be more than 1000 strong, for we could send 3000 for the flanks; but, as it would fight on river banks, there would be no fear for flank attack. All could be done in thirty days as far as fighting is concerned. This of course leaves the question of Kordofan unsettled. The Mahdi might come to terms, and abandon his spiritual power, but I doubt it.
The fighting force C probably will be under Buller. Earle at Berber; Dormer at Abou Hamed; and Fremantle at Dongola; the Sirdar at Wady Halfa; Lord Wolseley partout! Goodenough in command of Royal Artillery ”

“ The man appeared at once.
"Where is Captain Gordon?"
"He is close by, Major."
"Ask him to come to my tent."
"Sit down, Joseph," said the colonel, giving his stool to his friend and his fellow-soldier, it appeared. "You don't gain anything by blowing yourself out."
"But this is no time to sit down," replied the excited minister, though he took the proffered seat.
Captain Gordon appeared immediately.
"A raid of guerillas on the place, Captain! Have the first company ready to march in three minutes!" said the commander in hurried tones. ”

“ Major General Charles George Gordon, C.B., who at all times and everywhere, gave his strength to the weak, his substance to the poor, his sympathy to the suffering, his heart to God.
“Born at Woolwich, 28th Jan., 1838.
“Slain at Khartoum, 26th Jan., 1885.
“He saved an Empire by his warlike genius, he ruled vast provinces with justice, wisdom, power. And lastly, obedient to his Sovereign’s command, he died in the heroic attempt to save men, women and children from imminent and deadly peril. ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’—St. ”

“ The contrast is sufficient to enable the world to believe that if any man were capable of restoring order to the country, that man was Gordon. But when he left England for the Soudan as the Envoy of Her [xxvii] Majesty’s Government, he had no authority to act, for his mission was only to advise. He was to report to Her Majesty’s Government on the military situation in the Soudan, and on the measures which it might be deemed advisable to take for the security of the Egyptian garrisons still holding positions in that country, and for the safety of the European population in Kartoum ”

“ Early in the morning of the 21st, General Gordon’s steamers appeared, and landed their soldiers, who took part in the operations of that day.
Reports now reached Sir Charles Wilson that, exclusive of the Arabs in Metemma, large numbers were advancing from the North and from the South. It therefore became imperatively necessary for him to secure the safety of those who were under his orders before he could proceed upon his mission.
Accordingly, on the morning of the 22nd, he made a reconnaissance towards the North, and, finding no enemy, he turned his attention to the South. ”

“ Accordingly, upon the day of his arrival at Kartoum (the 18th February) , General Gordon, after pointing out to the Government the difficulties that surrounded him, inasmuch as the garrisons and employés were to be removed, when all form of government would disappear, urged in the strongest terms he could employ that power should be placed in the hands of a single man, and that the man to be chosen should be Zubair Pasha. ”

“ Now I sincerely trust and believe that the Journals will be read eagerly by the working classes; they cannot occupy their leisure time better than in reading them, and, indeed, in learning much of them by heart. I would say then, to these people, Do not believe that General Gordon was disobedient to his Government. His Government permitted him to accept the Khedive’s Firman, appointing him Governor-General of the Soudan, with full powers, civil and military, and the Khedive desired him to “evacuate the garrisons of the country, and to restore order;” ”

“ In this volume Gordon declines the imputation that the Expeditionary Force has come for him, and shows how, to save our national honour, it has come to extricate the garrisons of the Soudan. [xlviii] Of the troubles these garrisons were causing him we get a fair notion, but his complaints seem to be only a safety-valve for his humour. He knows the men about him are treacherous and liars, but he almost seeks excuse for them when he says: “Man is essentially a treacherous animal; and although the Psalmist said in his haste ‘all men are liars,’ I think he might have said the same at his leisure.” ”

“ If Earle succeeds the “national honour” thanks him and I hope rewards him, but it is altogether independent of me, who for failing incurs its blame. I am not the rescued lamb, and I will not be.
[94]
Had Gessi dared to have communicated with me like these men have, he would have heard of it; but he never did.
The Towfikia steamer went up and saw no Arabs at Giraffe to-day.
Look at this: I send down a spy, A. Kitchener and Co. send him back with answer. If Kitchener and Co. thought, they would know that A., being seen passing to and fro, must incur suspicion ”

“ Gordon used to tell the story of how, when Said Pasha, Viceroy of Egypt before Ismail, went up to the Soudan, so discouraged and horrified was he at the misery of the people, that at Berber he threw his guns into the river, declaring he would be no party to such oppression. In this spirit Gordon went [xi] there as Governor of the Equator in 1874, and in this spirit he expressed his views on the duties of foreigners in the service of Oriental States. His ardent and unstudied words are worthy of the deepest study. They breathe the kindliest wisdom, the most prudent philanthropy ”

“ For this reason, therefore, Gordon, after three years’ labour, resigned his post as Governor of the Equator. But the step was taken in a wavering spirit; and these are among his last words ere he left: “By retiring I do not aid anything; by staying I keep my province safe from injustice and cruelty in some degree. Why should I fear? Is man stronger than God? Things have come to such a pass in these Mussulman countries that a crisis must come about soon.” ”

“ Sir Gerald Graham’s despatch.—Ed.
[145] “King John issued an edict that if any of his subjects were found smoking they should lose hand and foot. General Gordon in his notes on Abyssinia in 1879, said: ‘I write in haste, but I will sum up my impression of Abyssinia. The king is rapidly growing mad. He cuts off the noses of those who take snuff, and the lips of those who smoke. The king is hated more than Theodore was. Cruel to a degree, he does not, however, take life. He cuts off the feet and hands of people who offend him. He puts out their eyes by pouring hot tallow into their ears. ”

“ Quoi qu’en ait pu penser, après réflexion, le Général Graham, de la possibilité d’envoyer une troupe de cavalerie forte de 500 hommes, en mars dernier, de Souakim à Berber, je suis certain que lui et la plupart des officiers sous ses ordres croyaient alors que c’était une chose sage et guerrière à entreprendre. Nous nous apercevons tous trop tard, que cette simple expédition eût sauvé Berber, Khartoum et Gordon au vrai cœur.
If they do not come before 30th November the game is up, and Rule Britannia. ”

“ On account of friendship we send you this advice; and God is a witness of the truth of our statement. You are strangers in this country, but not strangers to our religion; but Gordon is a stranger to both. Now then, would you leave us and join him? We are told that Gordon Pasha is telling you that the English are coming. What if they come? What can they do to our troops? We are very certain that the English who are at Suakin have all perished by Osman, and those who are at Assouan are besieged there, and have fortified themselves there, and given up the Soudan ”

“ This binds me not to leave them until I can do so under Government which would give them some hope of peace.”—General Gordon’s telegram to Sir E. Baring, received at Cairo end of March, 1884. Egypt, No. 12, No. 287.—Ed.
[100] To strike with a slipper during a dispute is with Moslems the greatest insult one man can offer another.—Ed.
[101] On Feb. 11th, 1884, General Gordon telegraphed from Berber to Sir Evelyn Baring: “I would not, if I were supreme, try again any Egyptian forces at Suakin, but would engage 3000 Turkish troops in British pay. That would settle the affair. ”

“ In this siege, as in many other fights, Gordon had himself to lead his army. If an officer shrank back before the savage enemy, Gordon would take him gently by the arm and lead him into the thickest of the battle. He himself went unarmed, and would lead his troops onwards with the little cane he nearly always carried. Where the fire was hottest, there Gordon was always to be found, caring no more for the bullets that pattered round him than if they were hailstones. The Chinese soldiers came to look on the little cane as a magic wand. ”

“ At all events after he was dead they expressed their intention of doing much he recommended while he [xlii] lived. They have been always very late: too late to save Gordon’s life, and too late to save the lives of many thousands. May they not be yet in time to prevent some of the evil that must live after them? I think Gordon tells them in his Journals they may, and I think he also tells them how. It is impossible to read carefully what he says without feeling that he did not expect to live long, and that he had a distinct presentiment he would die at Kartoum. ”

“ In this first volume then we have an interesting instance of Gordon’s nobility, when he declines to have anything to do with certain doubtful proposals made by the apostate Europeans in the Mahdi’s camp, for he declares “treachery never succeeds; and it is better to fail with clean hands than to be mixed up with dubious acts and dubious men. Maybe it is better to fall with honour than to gain the victory with dishonour, and in this view the Ulemas are agreed, for they will have nought to do with the proposals of treachery.” ”

“ DESBOROUGH, DESBOROW, or DISBROWE, JOHN (1608–1680) , major-general, second son of James Desborough of Eltisley, Cambridgeshire, by his wife Elizabeth Hatley of Over, in the same county (Egerton MS. 2519, f. 1) , was baptised on 13 Nov. 1608. He was bred an attorney, but paid more attention to the cultivation of his farm, worth at that time between 60l. and 70l. a year. On 23 June 1636 he married at Eltisley Jane, sixth daughter of Robert Cromwell of Huntingdon, and sister of the future lord protector. ”

“ When, after a few weeks of doubt, it became certain that no British force was on its way from Suakin to smash up the Mahdi, and when, at the end of May, Berber, the last connecting link between Khartoum and the outside world, fell into the hands of the enemy, Gordon set his teeth, and sat down to wait and to hope, as best he might. With unceasing energy he devoted himself to the strengthening of his defences and the organisation of his resources—to the digging of earthworks, the manufacture of ammunition, the collection and the distribution of food. ”

“ November 8.—It must be obvious that if Zubair was with you, and installed as Governor-General, with a semi-independent position and a subsidy, in the present decaying position of the Mahdi, and your temporary presence, he would rally around him a huge following, who are now disgusted with the Mahdi and his dervishes, but who will be obliged to hold to him, because you evacuate; even those people with us, we per force oblige to join the Mahdi. Zubair’s installation would save you all the bother of the Sennaar evacuation. ”