NAME Charles George Gordon, popularly known as “Chinese Gordon” and later “Gordon of Khartoum.”
WHAT FAMOUS FOR A British Army officer and administrator remembered for his exploits in the Taiping Rebellion in China (1863–64), his governorship in Sudan, and his dramatic death at Khartoum in 1885 during the Mahdist revolt.
BIRTH Gordon was born on January 28, 1833 in Woolwich, near London, England. Woolwich was the location of the Royal Artillery barracks where his father was stationed.
FAMILY BACKGROUND His father was Major General Henry William Gordon (1786-1865) of the Royal Artillery, who later became a Lieutenant General. His mother was Elizabeth Gordon (née Enderby) (1792-1873), daughter of Samuel Enderby of Croom's Hill, Blackheath.
Gordon was the fourth son in a family of eleven children - five girls and six boys. The Gordon family had served as officers in the British Army for four generations, strongly encouraging Charles to follow this tradition. All his brothers also became military officers.
CHILDHOOD As a boy, Gordon was small in stature but brimming with energy and curiosity. Restless and strong-willed, he quickly earned a reputation for independence and a fiery sense of justice. One contemporary described him as a “resourceful and aggressive youngster” with “a keen eye and a hot temper for injustice.” His father, exasperated by his unruly spirit, once referred to his ten-year-old son as a “powder barrel” when sending him off to Taunton Grammar School—“probably with the grateful thanks of the neighbourhood.” (1)
Gordon’s childhood was marked by frequent moves that reflected his father’s military career. The family lived in Dublin, where his father worked on modernising artillery at Pigeon House Fort; later in Edinburgh during a posting to Leith Fort; and eventually on the island of Corfu. Amid these relocations, Gordon remained especially close to his sister Emily, whose death at the age of sixteen, when Gordon was just ten, was a profound loss. In later years, his eldest sister Augusta became his closest confidante.
EDUCATION Gordon's parents wanted him to have an English education, so he was sent to Fullands School at Taunton in 1843. In 1848, at age 15, he entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich as a Gentleman Cadet.
Although he initially intended to follow his father into the Royal Artillery, his lack of discipline prevented this. At Woolwich, Gordon was completely bored with his studies. He was frequently in trouble with his superiors and had an "utter disregard for organized discipline". One incident involved him charging at a senior corporal who was preventing younger cadets from leaving the mess room, sending the corporal bouncing down stairs through a glass door. He was held back for two years due to disciplinary issues but excelled in sketching military fortifications and geographical details. (1)
Gordon graduated from Woolwich on June 23, 1852 as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers.
CAREER RECORD 1852 Gordon's career began with his commissioning as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers.
1854 After training at Chatham, he was promoted to lieutenant and initially posted to Pembroke Dock.
1854-1856 Fought in the Crimean War where his gallantry in the trenches of Sevastopol was noted by journalist William Russell.
1860–65 Served in China, initially in the Second Opium War, then commanded the "Ever Victorious Army" against the Taiping Rebellion.
1865-1872 Commander of Royal Engineers at Thames Forts, overseeing Thames defences and engaged in philanthropic work with poor youths
1873 -1880 He entered the service of the Khedive of Egypt serving as Governor of Equatoria Province (1874-1876), then Governor-General of entire Sudan (1877-1880).
1880-84 A few short colonial duties
1884-1885 Sent to evacuate Khartoum, instead he chose to defend the city
APPEARANCE Gordon was a small, slightly built man, instantly recognizable by his piercing blue eyes. Contemporary observers often remarked on their intensity, describing them as “blazing blue eyes” that gave him an almost legendary aura in China. Though generally of medium build, he carried himself with a commanding presence that belied his stature. (2)
He was usually depicted with a thin beard or moustache, features that Charlton Heston echoed in the 1966 film Khartoum. Heston bore a striking resemblance to Gordon—apart from being considerably taller.
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| Charles George Gordon (1833-1885); Carbon print on card |
Gordon’s likeness was captured in Sir W. Hamo Thornycroft’s memorial statue on the Victoria Embankment, which portrays him in the practical garb of a patrol officer—jacket, trousers, and long boots. The sculptor’s meticulous detail extended to Gordon’s “beautiful hands,” their veins rendered with a fidelity that conveyed both strength and humanity. (3)
FASHION Charles Gordon’s dress sense reflected both his military professionalism and his distaste for vanity.
In China, he became famous for leading men into battle armed with nothing more than a rattan cane—his so-called “wand of victory”—and a cheroot clenched in his teeth, an image that stuck with him for the rest of his life. When the Taiping Rebellion was crushed, the Emperor Tongzhi awarded Gordon the coveted yellow jacket and peacock feather, the highest military honors in China, which earned him the nickname “Chinese Gordon.” Yet Gordon’s scorn for display remained intact: as he departed China, he reportedly dragged his ceremonial suit behind a gunboat to make it look suitably worn, pairing it with his battered bowler hat.
Even in later years he dressed plainly, often in frayed or threadbare clothes, giving away most of his pay to the poor. Accounts of his last stand at Khartoum describe him changing from his dressing gown into a white uniform before stepping out to face the Mahdist fighters—an austere end for a man who had lived in stubborn simplicity.
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| General Gordon in Egyptian uniform. |
CHARACTER Gordon was a man of striking contradictions. He possessed formidable willpower and a forceful personality, yet his refusal to follow orders he deemed “ill-judged or unjust” often set him at odds with authority—most dramatically in his final stand at Khartoum. Hot-tempered, brave, and impetuous, he thrived as a military engineer but struggled with the routines and compromises of daily life. (4)
A devout evangelical Christian, he lived with an unshakable faith in God that shaped every aspect of his character. To subordinates he was patient, generous, and down-to-earth; to equals and superiors, imperious, brusque, and often intolerant. His piety, however, inspired genuine reverence. One Sudanese newspaper observed, “He is so humble too… when he goes out of doors there are always crowds of Arab men and women at the gate to kiss his feet. It is only his great piety that carries him through.”
SPEAKING VOICE Gordon was an effective communicator who could rally troops and inspire confidence, but could also admonish. His letters reveal an articulate and passionate writer capable of expressing strong opinions and deep religious convictions.
SENSE OF HUMOUR In childhood, Gordon was described as "cheerful, full of humour," always ready for a prank or joke. A famous incident recalls him and his brother moving a houseful of mice into a neighbor's residence just for fun. (5)
At the Royal Military Academy, his "love of fun and practical joking characterised him." One story tells of him butting a corporal down the stairs and through a glass door simply because he couldn't resist the opportunity for mischief—with no meanness intended and showing lots of "high spirits”. (6)
Gordon also took extra blame for group pranks, showing a willingness to absorb punishment on behalf of others, which suggests a kind of camaraderie and humorous generosity.
RELATIONSHIPS Gordon was a bachelor and never married. He was known to have strong, platonic relationships with a number of people, including his sister Augusta, and he had a close bond with his soldiers. His relationships with senior officers and politicians were often strained due to his independent nature.
His closest relationships were with family members, particularly his sister Augusta, and with the poor children he helped during his time at Gravesend.
MONEY AND FAME Gordon showed a remarkable indifference to money, status, and the usual comforts of life. When offered the governorship of Sudan, he was offered £10 000 a year agreeing to the much lower £2,000, contributing to the growing belief that "Chinese Gordon" was "not quite sane". To him, wealth and privilege mattered about as much as obscurity, danger, or even death. (7)
His indifference wasn’t an affectation. Gordon fined his officers a shilling if they dared call him “sir,” gave away nearly 90 percent of his salary to the poor, and upset his colleagues by suggesting everyone take a 50 percent pay cut. At Gravesend, where he served as Commandant of Engineers, he spent his pay clothing, feeding, and educating impoverished children, often living in near-austerity himself.
This extraordinary mix of humility and piety earned him genuine love among the Sudanese during his campaigns there in the 1860s. When the Mahdi stirred rebellion in 1884, Britain—right up to Queen Victoria herself—pleaded for Gordon to return. He agreed, demanding only £3 10s a day, and left London carrying little more than a satchel.
His death in Khartoum later that year transformed him into England’s supreme national hero, the object of a full-blown cult of admiration. It was, in a sense, the ultimate irony: a man who despised wealth and recognition became immortalised precisely because he never seemed to want them.
FOOD AND DRINK Gordon had simple tastes in food and drink, often subsisting on basic rations while on campaign. His meals, when alone, consisted of bread and milk or for variety bread soaked in a slop bowl of strong tea. However he smoked cheerots and drank brandy.
During the siege of Khartoum, Gordon demonstrated his solidarity with his troops by eating only the same rations as his soldiers as supplies ran low. This showed his commitment to shared sacrifice and leadership by example.
MUSIC AND ARTS Gordon was not known for a particular interest in music or the arts, with his passions lying primarily in military matters, travel, and his Christian beliefs.
Gordon showed artistic talent in sketching military fortifications and geographical details, which served him well in his engineering career.
LITERATURE Gordon was an avid reader, particularly of religious texts. He was known to carry a pocket Bible, which is depicted in his memorial statue where "the left hand, clasping a pocket Bible, supports the right elbow". His extensive correspondence reveals a literate and articulate man capable of expressing complex thoughts and deep religious convictions. (3)
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| By Eluveitie - Own work, |
Charles Gordon was the author of Reflections in Palestine (published in 1883), where he proposed a new site for Golgotha—the place of Christ’s crucifixion. During his stay in Jerusalem (1882–83), Gordon identified what is now called the Garden Tomb (sometimes known as “Gordon's Calvary”) as the possible true location, distinct from the traditional site at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. His suggestion remains influential among some Protestants, though it is not widely accepted by scholars.
Additionally, Gordon wrote and personally distributed countless religious tracts, using them as part of his efforts to evangelise and help the poor in the communities where he lived and served.
NATURE He was interested in the natural world and often wrote about the landscapes and environments he encountered on his travels. He found a connection to God through nature.
HOBBIES AND SPORTS Gordon's primary "hobbies" were his work and his faith. He was a keen traveler and enjoyed exploring new places. He did not engage in many traditional sports.
At Woolwich Military Academy, Gordon was "rather known for his love of sport and boisterous high spirits". His training as a military engineer required physical fitness and practical skills. (1)
SCIENCE AND MATHS As a trained Royal Engineer, Gordon possessed strong technical and mathematical skills essential for military engineering, fortification design, and geographical surveying. His work on international boundary commissions required precision in surveying and cartography. He designed his own mines during the defence of Khartoum and used his engineering expertise to fortify the city with ramparts, barbed wire, and a six-mile defensive ditch.
PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Charles Gordon was an evangelical Christian whose whole life, people said, was “attuned to a lively faith in God,” though at times it looked rather more like a wrestling match. He read the Bible with the zeal of a Scottish Covenanter—meaning that if there was a promise, a warning, or an obscure curse in Leviticus, he was determined to apply it personally by teatime.
It was his sister, Augusta, who first nudged him towards faith, and it was to her that he poured out all the anxieties of his soul in letters that combined fierce devotion with, frankly, the sort of spiritual fussiness that can only come from a young man who takes eternity rather seriously. Later on, in Gravesend, he developed his own peculiar, mystical brand of Christianity: a heady blend of early Church Fathers, Gnostics, medieval mystics, Evangelicals and Tractarians. His biographer John Pollock called it “an unintegrated mixture.” Which is a polite way of saying it was theological soup.
Still, Gordon never doubted that God’s hand was in everything, from the rise and fall of empires to the fact that he’d missed his train. His own ambition, he believed, was a deadly sin—quite awkward for a man whose entire country kept urging him into heroic positions. He would declare, with unnerving seriousness, that life itself was worthless and all flesh corrupt. Then he’d promptly go out and spend his day feeding, clothing, and educating impoverished children, or pressing tracts into the hands of startled strangers, or tossing them out of train windows like confetti.
He had no patience for parties or dances, but he lavished time and tenderness on society’s outcasts. People admired him because he seemed both impossibly austere and impossibly kind at the same time.
The sculptor Thornycroft once said his statue of Gordon aimed to show him “resolute, solitary, but not sad.” Which just about sums him up: stern and saintly, but oddly full of grace. If he was eccentric in his faith, he was at least eccentric in the right direction—towards God and towards the poor. (3) (8)
GOVERNOR GENERAL OF THE SUDAN Charles Gordon’s stint as Governor-General of Sudan (1877–1880) was a curious blend of missionary zeal, bureaucratic frustration, and heroic futility, rather like trying to repair a collapsing cathedral with a pocketknife. He had already been governor of the province of Equatoria since 1873, and by the time he took on the whole of Sudan he was a man deeply convinced he could outwork corruption, abolish slavery, and reform a vast and unruly corner of the world almost single-handedly.
The centrepiece of his crusade was his anti-slavery campaign. Gordon hated the trade with a passion bordering on the Biblical, and spent much of his energy chasing powerful traders like Rahama Zobeir and his son Suleiman. He tried decrees, regulations, and military expeditions with the same result: the slave trade continued merrily on, as if Gordon had been firing pea-shooters at an advancing army.
Reform, meanwhile, was a nightmare. Gordon abolished public floggings and outlawed torture, but his own subordinates either ignored him, pocketed bribes, or quietly reinstated the practices once his back was turned. His efforts against corruption resembled an endless game of bureaucratic whack-a-mole.
In addition to all this, Gordon had to manage revolts in Darfur, a war with Abyssinia, and the day-to-day challenge of governing a territory the size of Western Europe with the infrastructure of a small village. He personally confronted rebel chieftains, mapped the upper Nile, and planted administrative stations as far south as modern Uganda.
By 1880, the sheer immensity of it all had broken him. Exhausted, ill, and bitterly disillusioned, he left Sudan describing himself—and others readily agreed—as “a broken man.” His tenure is remembered as noble in spirit, tragic in outcome, and a little mad in its scale. In many ways, it was the overture to the famous last act at Khartoum, where Gordon’s determination and futility reached their apotheosis.
POLITICS Gordon's political views were shaped by his strong moral convictions, particularly his opposition to slavery. He served under the Khedive of Egypt with British government approval and worked tirelessly to suppress the slave trade in Sudan. His evangelical Christian beliefs aligned him with British anti-slavery movements. However, he often acted independently of official government policy, particularly in his final defiance at Khartoum when he refused evacuation orders.
SCANDAL There were no major scandals associated with Gordon, though his eccentric behavior and independent decision-making often caused friction with his superiors and led to political controversy.
MILITARY RECORD Charles Gordon’s military career stretched over thirty-three astonishing, bewildering, and often ill-advised years (1852–1885), during which he rose from Second Lieutenant to Major-General, although in truth he spent most of that time looking as if he’d rather be wandering about in an old coat with a stick than wearing all the medals he was continually being given.
He began in the Crimea, where he was present at the siege of Sevastopol. According to a contemporary journalist, William Russell, Gordon could be seen standing on the parapet, waving a stick, in imminent danger of death, and urging the trench guards to get on with it. This, everyone agreed, was “very gallant,” which is the sort of phrase people use when someone is being incredibly brave and incredibly foolish at the same time.
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| Gordon shortly after Crimea |
In 1860, Gordon turned up in China with the British expeditionary force and personally oversaw the destruction of the Emperor’s Summer Palace—a job for which the British Army required, apparently, the talents of an earnest young engineer with a cane. Soon after, he was handed command of the Ever Victorious Army, which was neither ever victorious nor much of an army. It consisted of about 3,500 men, raised by Shanghai merchants to defend against the Taiping rebels, and until Gordon appeared, it had all the discipline of a pub football team. Within a year, Gordon had transformed it into a serviceable fighting force and defeated the Taiping in no fewer than thirty-three battles, still carrying nothing more lethal than his trusty little cane. The grateful Chinese awarded him the Yellow Jacket and a peacock feather, which were high honours indeed, though Gordon showed his usual disdain for such things. It was around this time that he became known as “Chinese Gordon,” a nickname bestowed by Li Hung Chang, who was very important in China even if, as Gordon’s biographers like to admit, nobody in the West at the time had the faintest idea who he was.
By the 1870s, Gordon had relocated to Africa, where he became governor first of Equatoria and then of all Sudan. He spent much of his time there attempting to suppress the slave trade, introduce reforms, and generally civilise a region the size of Europe with roughly the resources of a Boy Scout troop. Inevitably, he failed, resigned, and went home a “broken man”—though only temporarily.
In 1884 prime minister William Gladstone ordered Gordon back to Sudan to arrange an evacuation of Egyptian forces. Gordon did manage to save about 2,500 women, children, and invalids, which was no small feat, but he then refused to leave himself, despite being told in no uncertain terms that he should. The Mahdi’s forces besieged Khartoum for nearly a year until food ran out and the city fell. Gordon was killed in the final assault. A relief expedition, dispatched after much delay and hesitation, arrived a mere two days too late.
Gordon’s diary had a note in it that read, “Now mark this. If the expeditionary force (and I shall ask for no more than 200 men) does not come in 10 days, the town may fall: and I have done my best for the honour of my country. Goodbye.” It is difficult to imagine a more English sentence than that, written in the face of starvation, siege, and certain death. Queen Victoria was outraged, the public was appalled, and Gladstone was left looking, as usual, as if the whole thing had been someone else’s fault.
HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Gordon maintained the physical fitness required for his demanding military career. His daily regimen included cold baths each morning. During his service in various challenging climates - from the Crimean winter to the heat of Sudan - he demonstrated remarkable physical resilience. However, ill health forced him to resign from his first stint as Governor-General of Sudan in 1880.
HOMES He did not have a permanent home, as his military career required constant travel. He lived in various barracks, official residences, and camps throughout his life.
Gordon's family home in later years was at 5 Rockstone Place, Southampton, where his retired father lived with his wife and daughters from around 1857. Charles stayed there occasionally during periods of leave, including several months in 1865 following his Chinese campaign.
After Gordon's death at Khartoum in 1885, his sister Augusta occupied the house until her death in 1893, when it passed to their younger sister Helen who lived there until her death in 1919. The house still stands today and bears a commemorative plaque.
TRAVEL Gordon’s military career carried him across continents. In Europe he served in Crimea, Bessarabia, Armenia, and England; in Asia he was posted to China—including Hong Kong, Shanghai, and wide swathes of territory during the Taiping campaign; in Africa his work took him to Egypt and Sudan, where he governed Equatoria Province and later Khartoum. He also undertook assignments in India, Mauritius, and the Cape Colony, often balancing military duty with boundary commission work and colonial administration.
On his way to take up the Equatoria post in 1874, Gordon made the 250-mile journey from Suakin to Berber in just three days—his first time riding a camel. The feat broke the existing record for the crossing and was celebrated as extraordinary even by seasoned locals, a testament to his stamina and determination in punishing desert conditions. He became an expert camel rider during his time in Africa and there is a famous statue of Gordon sat on a Camel, which stood in front of the palace in Khartoum prior to Sudanese independence in 1956.
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| By https://wellcomeimages.org/ |
Between 1874 and 1876 he mapped stretches of the Upper Nile and established a chain of stations along the river as far south as present-day Uganda. In 1883, withdrawing for a time from public life, he lived in Palestine, devoting himself to religious study and attempting to identify the true sites of Golgotha, the Garden of Eden, and Christ’s sepulchre.
DEATH In 1885, Prime Minister William Gladstone ordered the Egyptians to abandon the Sudan, assigning General Charles Gordon to oversee the evacuation and establish a provisional government. Gordon managed to evacuate around 2,500 women, children, and the sick and wounded from Khartoum before the Mahdi’s forces encircled the city.
Gladstone hesitated over the best route for a relief expedition, leaving Gordon and his men isolated. They endured nearly a year under siege, weakened by starvation, until January 26, 1885, when the Mahdists stormed Khartoum. Gordon was speared to death in the assault—his severed head paraded on a pike and his body desecrated before being thrown into a well. In the massacre that followed, an estimated 10,000 civilians and soldiers were slaughtered.
Two days later, General Wolseley’s relief force finally reached the city. Among Gordon’s last diary entries they found a grim farewell: “Now mark this. If the expeditionary force (and I shall ask for no more than 200 men) does not come in 10 days, the town may fall: and I have done my best for the honor of my country. Goodbye.”
News of Gordon’s death provoked outrage in Britain. Queen Victoria condemned Gladstone for the “stain left upon England,” and a day of national mourning was declared.
For brave General Gordon, that was killed in Khartoum
He was a Christian hero, and a Soldier of the cross
And to England his death will be a very great loss
He was very cool in temper, gener ous and brave,
The friend of the poor, the sick and the slave;
and many a poor boy did he educate,
And laboured hard to do so, early and late.
And in his conversation he was modest and plain
Denouncing all pleasures he considered sinful and vain
and in battle he carried no weapon but a small cane
Whilst the bullets fell upon him , like a shower of rain.
William McConagall from The Hero Of Khartoum.
After the British reconquest of Sudan in 1898, several expeditions tried in vain to recover Gordon’s remains. Today, his recumbent effigy rests in St Paul’s Cathedral. (9)
APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Gordon has been the subject of numerous media portrayals:
Films: The most famous is Khartoum (1966), starring Charlton Heston as Gordon and Laurence Olivier as the Mahdi. The film earned Robert Ardrey an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay.
Literature: His story has been told in numerous biographies and historical accounts. His own "Journals" from his final months in Khartoum were published and provide insight into his final period.
Art: The famous painting General Gordon's Last Stand by George William Joy depicts his final moments, though historians note it may be more Victorian myth-making than historical accuracy.
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| General Gordon's Last Stand. Joy's portrayal of Gordon's death |
Memorial: Gordon's School was founded in 1885 as the National Memorial to Gordon, initially as "Gordon Boys' Home" for necessitous boys.
ACHIEVEMENTS Commander of the Ever-Victorious Army in China.
He made significant contributions as a military engineer.
Governor-General of Sudan.
Symbol of Christian duty and sacrifice.
Memorialised at St Paul’s Cathedral and the Victoria Embankment.
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