END OF THE REBELLION
The city of Soo-chow was in the possession of seven rebel generals,
each exercising an independent command, but all recognising one of
their number, Moh-Wang, as their head. Though the rebels had upwards of
40,000 men in the city, they were badly provided with food, and
dissensions broke out among them. Most of the generals were for
yielding, but the brave old chieftain, Moh-Wang, opposed such a step.
Some of the generals made overtures to Gordon and General Ching, making
no other condition than that their lives should be spared. But
overtures were of no use so long as Moh-Wang refused to acquiesce. A
council of war was summoned, and hot words passed. One general seized
the brave old warrior, whose spirit was so invincible, stabbed him, and
severed his head from his body. That night, November 29, 1863,
Soo-chow, which had been held by the rebels since 1860, was
surrendered. In order to prevent his men from looting it, Gordon sent
them back to Quinsan, but he asked Governor Li to grant them two
months' extra pay, which was denied, though later on one month's pay
was granted. This meanness on the part of the civil Governor to a body
of men who had done so much for the country very nearly led to a
mutiny.
The culminating point of the young commander's grievances against his
employers was yet to come. On December 6th, when Gordon visited the
captured city, he discovered that the rebel generals who had
surrendered had all been killed, in spite of the stipulation that their
lives were to be spared. It is said that Gordon was so enraged with
this cowardly treachery that he burst into tears, and then went forth,
revolver in hand, to seek the Governor, in order to shoot him. It is to
be regretted that Sir Henry Gordon, in his biography of his brother,
denies this circumstance. Nothing is gained by attempting to screen the
faults of a great man. The commander of the Ever-Victorious Army was
undeniably a great man, but it is also true that he had his share of
human failings, among them a tendency to act on the impulse of the
moment. His honour had been touched, he felt that he had been disgraced
and would appear in the light of one who could trample on a fallen foe,
and there can be no question as to the accuracy of the fact, that in
his impulsiveness he did seek the life of Li Hung Chung; though the
Governor afterwards became a bosom friend of his. Mr. Wilson, another
biographer, who has already been quoted, read his MS. over to Gordon,
so that his account is likely to be accurate. In it he says:--
"His first impulse, when his two steamers came in sight, was to
obtain hold of the Futai (Governor Li) and inflict summary justice
on that high official. General Ching, however, gave timely warning
of Gordon's incensed state, and Li very wisely hurried into the
city, thus avoiding a meeting. For some days after this Gordon's
anxiety to meet with the Futai was only equalled by that of the
Futai to keep out of his way, and this was the only period of his
campaign during which the commander of the Ever-Victorious Army
_burdened himself with carrying arms_."
The last words of this quotation, which I have italicised, clearly
indicate what the nature of the summary punishment would have been had
the two men met. Gordon had an opportunity of striking out those words,
but he was too honest to do so, for he knew they were true. Even though
we may blame him for his actions, we cannot but admire the honesty that
would not allow the fact to be concealed.
Both as a matter of policy and a matter of honour, Gordon saw what a
fearful mistake had been made. He was of opinion that had an honourable
understanding been come to with the rebels at this time, every other
city in their hands would have yielded, and thus the rebellion would
have been terminated. He at once demanded an investigation into the
conduct of Governor Li and General Ching, and refused to co-operate
with them further. While Gordon was taking action in this matter,
Governor Li was sending despatches to Pekin claiming far more credit
than was fairly due for the Imperial troops, though he did not forget
to praise Gordon as well. The Emperor sent the young commander 10,000
taels (about L3500) in token of his approbation, together with money
for the troops and the wounded. The latter was accepted, but the former
was indignantly declined, and that in a very few stiff sentences
written on the back of the paper containing the order:--
"Major Gordon receives the approbation of his Majesty the Emperor
with every gratification, but regrets most sincerely that, owing to
circumstances which occurred since the capture of Soo-chow, he is
unable to receive any mark of his Majesty the Emperor's
recognition, and therefore respectfully begs his Majesty to receive
his thanks for his intended kindness, and to allow him to decline
the same."
Writing home he said, "To tell you the truth, I do not want anything,
either money or honours, from either the Chinese Government or our own.
As for the honours, I do not value them at all, and never did. I should
have refused the 10,000 taels even if everything had gone well, and
there had been no trouble at Soo-chow."
Gordon's army remained at Quinsan till the end of February 1864. They
had received L7000 from the Chinese Government, but this, of course,
did not compensate them for being prevented from taking their share of
loot, and not only were they dissatisfied, but their inaction was
doubtless doing them much harm. Moreover, the rebel forces were
recruiting rapidly, and all the good work that Gordon had accomplished
appeared likely to be undone. Gordon heard all the excuses that
Governor Li had to offer, and came to the conclusion that Asiatics must
not be judged according to the standard by which Englishmen, with a
higher sense of honour, measure themselves. He therefore made up his
mind to emerge from his retreat, and, stipulating that in the event of
future capitulations nothing should be done without his consent, he
once more took the field with the object of terminating the rebellion.
On the 17th February 1864 he had been promoted to the rank of
lieutenant-colonel by the War Office authorities. This, of course, made
no difference to his position as general in the Chinese army. His
resumption of hostilities was marked by similar tactics to those which
he had previously found so successful. Blows rapidly struck at distant
points appear to have been his aim. Having captured Soo-chow, the next
place of importance was Nankin, the second largest city in China, about
100 miles to the north-west. The rebels were in strong force there, and
the place was too distant to make it practicable to capture it, at
once, as there were several cities _en route_ still in the hands of the
rebels. Gordon decided to take these latter in detail, and he commenced
with Yesing, which fell easily on March 1st. He then proceeded to
Liyang, which yielded even more easily. The horrors witnessed on this
march were awful. Gordon said of the inhabitants:--
"Those who still remained alive had been driven to eat human flesh,
and the unburied bodies of the dead were in a condition which
showed that much of this revolting food had been consumed." "The
scenes I have witnessed of misery are something dreadful; and I
must say that your wish for me to return with the work incomplete
would not be expressed if you saw the state of these poor people.
The horrible furtive looks of the wretched inhabitants hovering
about one's boats haunts me.... I hope to get the Shanghai people
to assist, but they do not see these things: and to read that there
are human beings eating human flesh produces less effect than if
they saw the corpses from which the flesh is cut."
Gordon's fate was to be hampered by the blunders of his friends. On
March 20th he marched on Kintang; but just as he was about to commence
operations, an alarming despatch reached him from the Imperial
commander. The Imperialists had actually not been able, with their
immense force, to hold cities that Gordon with his small one had
captured and handed over to their charge. Fushan had fallen, and Chanzu
was in danger. However, Gordon thought that as he was so close to
Kintang, he might as well take it, and so he made an assault. It did
not, however, yield so easily, and Major Kirkham, one of his best
officers, was badly wounded. Gordon himself was also wounded below the
knee. A soldier who saw him struck was about to proclaim the event,
when Gordon stopped him for fear he should discourage the men. He went
on fighting till he fainted from loss of blood, and Dr. Moffitt[2] had
to carry him out of action.
[2] Surgeon Moffitt of the 67th Regiment was a man of ability and
courage. He became a great personal friend of Gordon's, and
afterwards married one of Gordon's sisters. He died in the year
1882. He was the only officer who remained with Gordon from the
beginning of the end of the campaign.
Sir Frederick Bruce, the British representative, wrote to Colonel
Gordon after he was wounded at Kintang:--
"Be cautious of yourself. I beg you not to look upon your position
merely from a military point of view. You have done quite enough
for your reputation as a gallant and skilful leader. We all look to
you as the only person fit to act with these perverse Chinese, and
to be trusted with the great interests at stake at Shanghai. Your
life and ability to keep the field are more important than the
capture of any city in China."
Gordon had to abandon further attempts to take Kintang, and retire on
Liyang. Here he took to his steamer, as he could no longer march owing
to his wound, the first and last that he ever had. With 1000 men he
started on March 24th for Woosieh, to find that the rebels who had been
threatening that place had fallen back. On the following day, lying on
his back in a steamer, and accompanied by a flotilla, Gordon made a
dash with the 1000 men he had right into the midst of the country held
by the rebels, in order to ascertain their disposition of troops. Well
might Colonel Chesney say, "One scarcely knows here whether most to
admire the pluck, or to wonder at the confidence of the wounded
commander!" He quickly took in the whole situation, and made up his
mind that a place called Waisso, which was held by the enemy in some
force, was the point at which to aim. Unfortunately, he was unable to
get about himself, yet he could not take the entire force, which had
been increased by one more battalion, on board. Consequently he had to
divide it, leaving a detachment to go by land. The officers put in
charge seem to have fallen into every mistake it was possible for
soldiers to make. The attacking regiments did not co-operate, their
flanks were left unprotected, and a long gap was permitted to occur
between two regiments. To make a long story short, the assault failed,
the assailants narrowly escaping annihilation. Unquestionably this
signal failure was due to the fact that the commander, being wounded,
could not see to details himself, and was obliged to leave his
principal arm, the infantry, to the direction of others.
Fortunately the Imperialists with 6000 men came to Gordon's assistance.
The Imperial force had been doing remarkably well in their recent
conflict with the enemy, but unfortunately had lost their commander,
General Ching. This man, who at first had been so jealous of Gordon,
had afterwards learnt to know and respect him, and Gordon had acquired
quite an affection for him in spite of his faults. Gordon was deeply
grieved to hear of his death, indeed it is said that he burst into
tears. It is touching to read an account of the death of this heathen
general, who, it will be remembered, had been a leading man among the
rebels before they degenerated. Mr. Hake's account is founded on the
statement of Governor Li, who says that even when he knew his wound was
fatal, he concentrated his mind on the affairs of the country. He
pointed out that though the rebels had been beaten, their strength was
not to be despised, and begged his colleague to order his officers to
be careful in battle. He remarked that brave men were not easily to be
found, and he bitterly regretted his own fate, by which he was
prevented from doing his duty to his country. When gradually sinking,
he ordered his servant to bring the yellow jacket presented to him by
the Emperor, and to assist him on with it. He then bowed his head
towards the Imperial Palace, and thus he yielded up his brave patriotic
spirit.
After the junction of the Imperialists with Gordon's force there was
little difficulty in the capture of Waisso, and with the fall of that
place on April 6th it became evident that the campaign was fast drawing
to a close, the only places of any importance remaining in the hands of
the rebels being Nankin and Chanchufu. The former Gordon left to the
Imperialists, who felt confident of victory, and were very jealous of
the successful young soldier. Indeed, it is evident that they could
easily have taken Chanchufu also, but they apparently were in no hurry
to close the campaign. Many of them were mere mercenaries, who did not
want to remove the _raison-d'etre_ for their existence as an army.
Strong suspicion exists that an incident which occurred soon after
Gordon reached Chanchufu, and when he was making preparations for the
attack, was really an attempt on his life. He and Major Tapp, a clever
artillery officer, were engaged in the construction of a battery, when
suddenly one of the picquets fired a volley at the battery, and the
rebels, not knowing the cause, fired also. Gordon and his party were
thus between two fires, and Major Tapp and several others were killed.
The first assault on Chanchufu was made by the Imperialists, and
defeated. Gordon was then asked to co-operate in another assault, which
he did; but not being supported by the Imperialists, he also failed.
After this a combined assault was made, and again it failed. Seeing
that the place was too strongly defended for an ordinary assault,
Gordon taught the Imperialists how to approach it by means of trenches.
Another assault was made by the Imperialists, who were on the point of
being driven back again, when Gordon came to their rescue, and the
stronghold was taken. When the rebel commander was captured he said
that, except for the aid of Gordon and his men, he could have defied
all the Futai hosts to take the city from him. The garrison was 20,000
strong; the place was skilfully fortified; and the rebels, thinking
that they would receive no quarter, fought with great desperation and
recklessness of life.
With the capture of Chanchufu ends the list of Gordon's fights in
China. His next care was to break up the Ever-Victorious Army. He knew
this to be very important, for he felt that they would be a standing
danger to the country. With men like Burgevine about, who were not
wanting in skill, and were as unprincipled as they were daring, it was
impossible to say what might happen if the command of such an army fell
into bad hands. The Chinese Government behaved very generously, giving
each wounded officer L900, and others on a similar scale. In a letter
written home, Gordon says:--
"The losses I have sustained in this campaign have been no joke:
out of one hundred officers I have had forty-eight killed and
wounded; and out of 3500 men, nearly 1000 killed and wounded; but I
have the satisfaction of knowing that, as far as mortal can see,
six months will see the end of this rebellion, while if I had
continued inactive it might have lingered on for six years. Do not
think that I am ill-tempered, but I do not care one jot about my
promotion or what people may say. I know I shall leave China as
poor as I entered it,[3] but with the knowledge that through my
weak instrumentality upwards of eighty to one hundred thousand
lives have been spared. I want no further satisfaction than this."
[3] It may be well to note here that his predecessor, Ward, who
was killed in action, accumulated the sum of L60,000, although he
was not very long in command, and was not considered at all an
unscrupulous man.
A large sum of money was offered to Gordon and at first declined; but
when pressed to accept it, he decided to do so, and divide it among his
men. His pay had been good, being over L3000 per annum, but, in his
usual generous manner, he had spent it almost entirely on his men,
especially in providing comforts for the sick and wounded.
The last fight had taken place on May 11th, and by June 1st Gordon had
disbanded his army, his promptness exhibiting itself to the very last.
"So parted the Ever-Victorious Army," says Colonel Chesney in his
"Essays on Modern Military Biography," "from its general, and its brief
but useful existence came to an end. During sixteen months' campaigning
under his guidance it had taken four cities and a dozen minor strong
places, fought innumerable combats, put _hors de combat_ numbers of the
enemy, moderately estimated at fifteen times its own, and finding the
rebellion vigorous, aggressive, and almost threatening the unity of the
Chinese Empire, had left it at its last gasp, confined to the ruined
capital of the usurper."
Gordon paid a visit to the Imperialists who were investing Nankin,
where he interested himself in their mode of conducting the siege, and
gave a good deal of useful advice as to the future existence of the
Imperial army. Beyond this he took no active part. Nankin fell; the
"Heavenly King," who was the author of the rebellion, committed
suicide; and Chung Wang, his celebrated general, was beheaded,
permission being given to him at his own request that he might first
write his autobiography. One cannot but feel that it would have been an
act of policy as well as of clemency had the Emperor spared the life of
this noble fellow Chung Wang, more especially as the so-called Heavenly
King had committed suicide. As long as he was alive Chung Wang showed a
loyalty to him that was worthy of a better cause. He might easily have
escaped with his life but that he was anxious to save the life of the
son of the Heavenly King, a worthless individual, with all the faults
of his father and none of his ability. Chung Wang gave up his
fleet-footed horse to the young man, who did not even know how to make
use of the chance thus given him. The loyalty Chung Wang displayed to
the rebel chief might easily have been transferred to the Emperor.
Governor Li we shall hear of again, for when Gordon revisited China in
1880 he found his old friend still alive and active. There can be no
doubt that Gordon's personal influence over this man was considerable,
and when we next hear of him it is as standing almost alone among his
countrymen, pleading for a peaceable policy. The latter part of the
following letter, which he wrote to Gordon when in the Soudan, shows
that he had imbibed a good deal of that public spiritedness which made
Gordon so willing to sacrifice himself for the good of others. The
letter was dated March 22, 1879. Li Hung said:--
"I am right glad to hear from you. It is now fourteen years since
we parted from each other. Although I have not written to you, I
often speak of you, and remember you with very great interest. The
benefit you have conferred on China does not disappear with your
person, but is felt throughout the regions in which you played so
important and active a part. All these people bless you for the
blessings of peace and prosperity which they now enjoy. Your
achievements in Egypt are well known throughout the civilised
world. I see often in the papers of your noble works on the upper
Nile. You are a man of ample resources, with which you suit
yourself to any kind of emergency. My hope is that you may long be
spared to improve the condition of the people among whom your lot
is cast. I am striving hard to advance my people to a higher state
of development, and to unite both this and all other nations within
the four seas under one common brotherhood."
An amusing circumstance was the utter bewilderment of the Regent of
China, Prince Kung, as to how he could reward Gordon. The money offered
he had refused for himself, and as for honours and distinctions they
had no charms for him. He accepted the yellow jacket, the highest
distinction the Chinese Emperor could confer (corresponding to our
Knight of the Garter), but this he did only to please his parents, not
because he valued it himself. Prince Kung called on the English
Minister at Shanghai and said, "You will be surprised to see me again,
but I felt I could not allow you to leave without coming to see you
about Gordon. We do not know what to do. He will not receive money from
us, and we have already given him every honour which it is in the power
of the Emperor to bestow; but as these can be of little value in his
eyes, I have brought you this letter, and ask you to give it to the
Queen of England, that she may bestow on him some reward which would be
more valuable in his eyes."
Gordon had already been awarded a brevet lieutenant-colonelcy in the
Royal Engineers, so he was now made a Commander of the Bath; but he was
as indifferent to English honours as to those of the Chinese. As for
Prince Kung's letter to Queen Victoria, we are informed by Mr. Hake
that he has good reason to believe it never reached the Queen, but was
allowed to remain in a pigeon-hole in the Foreign Office! Well may we
quote the words of Axel Oxenstiern to his son, to which the late Prince
Consort once referred in a letter to the late Emperor of Germany, at
that time Crown Prince of Prussia, "Oh, my son, mark how little wisdom
goes to the government of states." Mr. Hake also informs us that when
General Gordon presented himself at the War Office, the Secretary of
State seemed hardly to have heard his name, and knew nothing of his
work in China. Yet this was the man that at the age of thirty had saved
from ruin the largest empire of the world! We are indeed a marvellous
people. We are always manufacturing sham heroes, and parading them
before the world. Yet when we have a real one in our midst we utterly
ignore him. When one thinks of the many campaigns in which England has
been engaged since the Chinese war was over, the public may well be
astonished at a military system which allowed one of its ablest
soldiers to live in obscurity, and not even be consulted in the affairs
of the nation. Sir William Butler with withering scorn says:--
"Nay, he was almost a stranger in his own land, and, when nearly a
generation had passed away, and the fruit of many blunders had
accumulated in Egypt a load of disaster that seemed too heavy to be
borne, Gordon was at last called from the obscurity in which he had
been so long consigned--he was, his own brother has told us, as a
person who was now heard of for the first time."
A report has been circulated that he was offered the command of the
Ashantee Expedition and declined it. This report has absolutely no
foundation. The truth of the matter is that he never was offered a
command on active service of any kind by the British authorities. Those
who manage the affairs of other nations were able to recognise the
merits of this remarkable man, and to find opportunities for him to
exercise his powers, but our own authorities seem to have been
absolutely blind to his qualities. Yet this was he of whom Colonel
Chesney, a great writer on military matters, said, "If there is a man
in the world who can conduct a war with honour, thoroughness, and
humanity, and bring it to a satisfactory close without needless delay
or expense, England has that man in 'Chinese Gordon.'" It is, of
course, quite possible that every army has some men of military genius,
whose services are never utilised in positions of importance, for the
simple reason that they are unknown to the authorities. There is no
profession in which it is more difficult to pick out the born leaders
than is the case in the army. Plenty of men who promise well when in a
subordinate position prove miserable failures when in command. Men who
can pass examinations with flying colours are not always able to make
use of their knowledge in the field. A foreign power had, however,
provided a field in which one of our officers was able to show what
wonderful military instincts he possessed. It is therefore all the more
difficult to find excuses for those who were responsible for the fact
that, as far as England was concerned, Gordon was allowed to live in
obscurity, and was never even offered a command of any sort in any of
the campaigns in which his countrymen were engaged.