Major General Charles George Gordon (1833-1885), known as Chinese Gordon and later as Gordon of Khartoum, was an Army Officer and Administrator.  Although he saw action during the Crimean War (1853-1856), it was in China that he made his reputation and garlanded the name, Chinese Gordon.

In 1860, Major General Gordon was posted to China as part of the Allied Expeditionary Force that was fighting the Second Opium War.   With peace, the Emperor of China appointed Gordon as the Commander of the Ever Victorious Army, a military force led by European Officers.  As Commander, he became involved in the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) in Southern China, which expanded into a civil war between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom established by the rebels and the ruling Manchu-led Qing dynasty.  Eventually the Ever Victorious Army under Gordon’s command was victorious and brought about the end to the Rebellion.

Gordon dressed as a Mandarin and Scenes of the Taiping Rebellion showing the Ever Victorious Army

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Upon Gordon’s return to England, the British Government was unsure what appointment to give him.  The administration was unwilling to give him a command of combat troops and in fact he was never given such a command during his career.  It was eventually decided in 1865 to post him to Gravesend as Commandant of Engineers in charge of renovating the Lower Thames Forts.

During his time at Gravesend, his father and one of his brothers died.  This brought about a great change in Gordon’s behaviour and he involved himself in helpful the poor and the infirm.  It is said that he used the majority of his Army salary to fund his social work.

While at Gravesend, Gordon underwent a change in his religious beliefs and attitude:

He was an ardent Christian cosmologist and believed that the Earth was enclosed in a hollow sphere with God’s throne directly above the altar of the Temple in Jerusalem, the Devil inhabiting the opposite point of the globe near Pitcairn Island in the Pacific.  He also believed that the Garden of Eden was on the Island of Praslin in the Seychelles.  

From Charles George Gordon at Goo Wikipedia

Gordon did not align himself with any one branch of Christianity, but went to a number of churches of different denominations.  He was also a believer of Reincarnation.

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In 1872, Gordon was sent to inspect the British Military Cemeteries in the Crimea.  While in Constantinople, he made the acquaintance of the Prime Minister of Egypt, who opened negotiations for Gordon to serve under the Khedive.  Khedive is a term equivalent to Viceroy and was used by  Muhammad Ali Pasha (1769-1849), the Governor of Egypt and Sudan and by his successors.

Portrait of Muhammad Ali by August Couder (1790-1873)

In 1873, with the approval of the British Government, Gordon entered into the service of the Khedive.    Later, he was appointed as the Governor-General of the Sudan, where he did much to suppress revolts and the Slave Trade.  In 1880, greatly fatigued from his efforts in the region, he resigned and returned to England.

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In 1884, a revolt broke out in The Sudan against Anglo-Egyptian rule, which was led by Muhammad Ahmad (1844-1885), the religious leader of the Samaniyya Order.  In June 1881, he proclaimed himself to be The Mahdi, a Muslim Fundamentalist Leader who was believed to be the messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith.  As a result of the revolt, the British Government were urged to send a relief mission with a commander to lead the withdrawl of British and Egyptian troops out of The Sudan and down The Nile.

The Mahdi

Although there was great public support for General Gordon to assume the role of commander, the Government was not in favour.  The Prime Minister, William Gladstone (1809-1898), was angry with Gordon since he had not followed orders on an earlier occasion.  However, in spite of the Government’s position, the public, and Queen Victoria who also supported Gordon, had their way and he was appointed as Governor General of The Sudan.  As a result, he set sail for Egypt and arrived in Khartoum in February 1884 with orders to evacuate the troops in an orderly manner.  He did not comply with his orders since he did not think that there were a sufficient number of boats to accommodate the troops thereby making the trip up The Nile too dangerous.

William Gladstone

After evacuating about 2,500 British civilians, Gordon retained a small group of soldiers and non-military men.  While under siege, The Mahdi and Gordon corresponded and attempted to convert the other to his faith.  Gordon organized a defence that lasted for almost a year.  When news of this reached the UK, it gained him a great deal of admiration and support with the public,  but not the Government who had not wished to become entrenched in the revolt. Only when public pressure to act became too great to ignore did the government reluctantly send a relief force.  It arrived two days after Khartoum had fallen in January 1885 with the garrison having been wiped out and General Gordon murdered either along with the soldiers or else after capture at the camp of The Mahdi.

Boats on The Nile

Regardless of the circumstances of Gordon’s death, the news was greeted in the UK with a public outcry against Gladstone.  A Memorial Service for General Gordon was conducted by the Bishop of Newcastle was held at St. Paul’s Cathedral on 14th March, 1885.

Following his death, statues were erected to his memory in Trafalgar Square, Chatham, Gravesend, Melbourne and Khartoum.  In addition, a number of schools were named after him.

Statue of General Gordon at the School in Surrey named for him; photograph taken by Mr. Jay Heiser

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Tomb  of General Gordon by Frederick William Pomeroy (1857-1924); this photograph appears on The Victorian Web and was taken by George P. Landow

The Tomb does not contain the body of General Gordon since it was never found following his death, but is rather a Monument to him.  

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Originally the statue of General Gordon by Sir William Hamo Thornycroft (1850-1925) was erected in Trafalgar Square between the two fountains in 1888, however it was removed in 1943.  In a speech in 1948, opposition leader, Winston Churchill, spoke out in favour of the statue’s return to its original location.  However, in 1953 it was reinstalled without part of its pedestal in front of the newly built Ministry of Defence in the Ministry of Defence Gardens where it remains today.

Memorial to Major General Charles George Gordon is by Sir William Hamo Thorneycroft (1850-1925)

An identical statue by Thornycroft, but with the pedestal intact, was placed in a small park called Gordon Reserve, which is near Parliament House in Melbourne.  This memorial was funded by public donations and unveiled in 1889.

Memorial to Major General George Gordon by Sir William Hamo Thorneycroft in Melbourne

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Khartoum, 1966

Click here to watch the trailer of the film

In 1966, the film, Khartoum, was released starring Charlton Heston (1923-2008) as General Gordon, Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) as The Mahdi and Ralph Richardson (1902-1983) as William Gladstone.  For the film’s depiction of the death of General Gordon, it used as inspiration, the portrait of the event by George W. Joy (1844-1925).

General Gordon’s Last Stand by George W. Joy

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Click here to watch the BBC documentary, Gordon of Khartoum

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VISCOUNT AIR CHIEF MARSHAL HUGH MONTAGUE TRENCHARD

FATHER OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE