Who was General Charles Gordon?
General Charles Gordon was British military commander
and hero of the Siege of Khartoum in the Sudan. He was christened
Charles George Gordon.
Date and Place of Birth:
28th January 1833, Woolwich, London, England.
Family Background:
Son of an Artillery Officer.
Education:
Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
Chronology/Biography of Charles George Gordon:
1848: Enters Royal
Military Academy, Sandhurst as a Gentleman Cadet.
1852: Commissioned
as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers. Posted to Chatham,
Kent.
1853: Charles Gordon
posted by Army to Pembroke Dock in South Wales.
1854: Posted by
Army to the Crimea where he was decorated by the French for bravery.
1856: Appointed
a member of the Boundary Commission in order to settle the disputed
border between Russia and Turkey.
1860: Charles Gordon
posted by Army to China. Promoted to Major and went on the command
the “Ever Victorious” Army helping to quell the Taiping Rebellion.
1865: Promoted to
Lieutenant Colonel and posted to Gravesend as Commandant of the
Royal Engineers. Helped with the upgrading of the Lower Thames Forts.
1871: Promoted to
full Colonel and appointed as British Commissioner on the Danube
Commission.
1874: Put in command
of troops in the Sudan in Africa.
1877: General Charles
Gordon appointed as Governor of the Sudan.
1880: Resigned as
Governor of the Sudan due to Poor Health. Appointed Private Secretary
to the Viceroy of India.
1882: Appointed
Commandant of forces in the Mauritius Islands.
1884: Appointed
Governor General of the Sudan for the second time. Given Government
orders to evacuate the Country.
1885: General Charles
Gordon's force is besieged in Khartoum by the “Mad” Mahdi for ten
months and eventually he is killed two days before the relied force
arrive. Once news reached Britain he became a national hero for
his ill-fated defence against overwhelming odds.
Marriage:
Never married.
Date and Place of Death:
26th January 1885, Killed at Khartoum, Sudan,
Africa.
Age at Death:
52.
Site of Grave:
Body not recovered from Khartoum. Effigy
in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, England.
St Paul's Cathedral, London
(© Anthony Blagg)
Places of Interest:
LONDON:
Imperial War Museum.
KENT:
Royal Engineer's Museum, Gillingham.
