generals have been more loved by their soldiers or more honoured by their fellow countrymen than gordon of khartoum. his fame has reached all parts of the world, while his bravery, self-denial, and goodness have won for him universal respect.
charles george gordon was the son of an artillery officer, and was born at woolwich1 on the 28th january, 1833. he belonged to a gallant stock, and the name of gordon is frequently recorded with honour in the annals of the british army.
before he was fifteen years of age he became a student of the royal military academy, and began to study for the career of an army officer. at nineteen he received his first commission. two years later he was sent to corfu2. "all the youth of england was on fire" then. the crimean3 war was raging, and great britain"s finest troops had heard the call to arms.
1woolwich: a town on the thames, noted for its soldiers" hospital, arsenal, and navy and army stores.
2corfu: the largest of the ionian islands.
3crimea: a peninsula in southern russia, seat of the war of 1854-56.
genelal gordon
gordon went, and, like thousands of his countrymen, he had to endure all sorts of hardships in the camp and on the battlefield. he learned there lessons that were of great value to him in later life. by his attention to duty, his fearlessness of death, and his brave character, he had already earned the respect of all whom he met. when the war was over he did good service by helping to define the boundaries of asiatic turkey and russia.
for several years he distinguished himself in china. that country was suffering greatly from the taiping rebellion1. gordon, with his "ever victorious army," lent himself to the emperor in the interest of good order. he recovered the great1 taiping rebellion: a chinese rebellion which was stamped out in 1864.
city of nanking from the hands of the rebels, and soon their lawless rising was over. from his gallantry and success in this struggle he earned the title of "chinese gordon."the last scenefrom 1865 to 1871 he was engaged in completing the defence of the thames river at gravesend. but his splendid soldierly qualities were soon needed elsewhere. egypt was not at peace within itself, and there were foes outside waiting to prey upon africa. at the end of 1873, after being "british commissioner to the european commission of the danube" for two years,gordon conducted a successful expedition into africa under the khedive1 of egypt, and four years later he was appointed governor of the soudan2. his noble character, prompt action, and conspicuous justice soon enabled him to settle many troubles and allay life-long feuds. after three years of valuable service he relinquished his post.
but in 1884 the british government again needed him in egypt. he was sent to the soudan to report on its condition and to take all the means that were needful to ensure the safety of the troops in that country. he went direct, to khartoum3 and tried his utmost to secure the objects for which he had been sent abroad. when at khartoum he was cut off from cairo and from all the rest of the british forces. the place was besieged for 319 days. what was suffered by its gallant defenders during that terrible time no one can tell. gordon, in the hope that relief was coming, daily urged the troops to keep up their heroic resistance. but they were weakened by starvation. "all the donkeys, dogs, cats, rats, etc., had been eaten; a small ration of gum was issued daily to the troops, and a sort of bread was made from pounded palm-tree fibre." suddenly khartoum was stormed by the arabs, and gordon and his comrades fell on the 26th january, just two days before the arrival of the expedition under general wilson, which had been pressing forward to save them.
gordon was a deeply devout man. he has been called the soldier-saint of england; and a high christian faith ever burned1khedive: the ruler of egypt.
2soudan: large tract of country in central africa.
3khartoum: chief town of the soudan at the junction of the blue nile and white nile. here general gordon was killed in 1885.
in his heart. he delighted in helping others ; and in the years 1865-1871, when he was superintending the new defence works on the thames, he formed evening classes for neglected boys. these were the beginnings of the now famous gordon clubs.
in a debate in the house of commons on the state of affairsin the soudan, the prime minister thus spoke:- "general gordon has devoted his life and all that makes life valuable to his sovereign and his country. the purpose of general gordon was not limited even to those great and noble objects. his life was devoted to his sovereign, to his country, and to the world.
"general gordon was a hero, and a hero among heroes. there have been men who obtained and deserved the praise of heroism, whose heroism was manifested chiefly on the field of battle or in other contests, and who, when examined in the tenor of their personal life, were not, in all respects, heroic.
"if you take the case of this man, however, pursue him into privacy, and investigate his heart and his mind, you will find that he had not proposed to himself any ideal of wealth or power, or even fame. to do good was the object he proposed to himself in his whole life, and for that object his one desire was to spend and to be spent.
"such is the man we have lost. the loss is great indeed, but he is not all lost, for such examples are fruitful in the future. i trust there will grow from the contemplation of his character and deeds other men who in future times may emulate1 his noble and great example."-compiled by e.w.h.f.
1 emulate: try to equal or surpass.