British General, ALS, 3pp, 5 x 8 in. Jerusalem, 6 March 1883. Addressed to My dear Sir Brodie. Major General Charles George Gordon (1833-1885) was commissioned in the Royal Engineers in 1852, and spent several years constructing fortifications. He then served in the Crimean War, the Second Opium War and Taiping Rebellion in China, which actions earned him the nickname "Chinese" Gordon. He then served with the Egyptian army in Khartoum. From 1877-1879 he served as Governor of Sudan. In 1882 he retired to Jerusalem, the period covered in this note. He writes: I am here for a time & like the country immensely, it is a relief to be free from official travails(?) By the next year he was asked to come out of retirement to lead civilians out of Khartoum, as they were being threatened by the revolt led by self-proclaimed Mahdi, Mohammed Ahmed. Gordon only got a couple thousand civilians out before the Mahdists closed in. Initially Britain sent relief to Gordon and the embattled Sudanese, but in March 1884, the British withdrew, abandoning the Sudan. Gordon refused to leave, and public opinion in Britain increasingly supported him. It wasn't until August that Britain decided to send relief under General Wolseley, and three months more until the expedition could set out. Gordon was killed on the palace steps 26 Jan. 1885; Wolseley arrived on the 28th - two days late. His death triggered a flood of public grief in Britain. Condition: Toning and ink "ghost" from a calling card sized item that was apparently stored in the fold for a time.
British General, ALS, 3pp, 5 x 8 in. Jerusalem, 6 March 1883. Addressed to My dear Sir Brodie. Major General Charles George Gordon (1833-1885) was commissioned in the Royal Engineers in 1852, and spent several years constructing fortifications. He then served in the Crimean War, the Second Opium War and Taiping Rebellion in China, which actions earned him the nickname "Chinese" Gordon. He then served with the Egyptian army in Khartoum. From 1877-1879 he served as Governor of Sudan. In 1882 he retired to Jerusalem, the period covered in this note. He writes: I am here for a time & like the country immensely, it is a relief to be free from official travails(?) By the next year he was asked to come out of retirement to lead civilians out of Khartoum, as they were being threatened by the revolt led by self-proclaimed Mahdi, Mohammed Ahmed. Gordon only got a couple thousand civilians out before the Mahdists closed in. Initially Britain sent relief to Gordon and the embattled Sudanese, but in March 1884, the British withdrew, abandoning the Sudan. Gordon refused to leave, and public opinion in Britain increasingly supported him. It wasn't until August that Britain decided to send relief under General Wolseley, and three months more until the expedition could set out. Gordon was killed on the palace steps 26 Jan. 1885; Wolseley arrived on the 28th - two days late. His death triggered a flood of public grief in Britain. Condition: Toning and ink "ghost" from a calling card sized item that was apparently stored in the fold for a time.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
