"The greatness of a nation depends upon the men it can breed and
rear.--_Froude_.
The war over and peace duly established, Lieutenant Gordon (for so he was
then) accompanied General Sir Lintorn Simmons to Galatz, where, as
assistant commissioner, he was engaged in fixing the new frontiers of
Russia, Turkey and Roumania. In 1857, when his duties here were
finished, he went with the same officer to Armenia; there, in the same
capacity, he was engaged in laying down the Asiatic frontiers of Russia
and Turkey. When this work was completed he returned home and was
quartered at Chatham, and employed for a time as Field Work Instructor
and Adjutant. In 1860, now holding the rank of Captain, he joined the
Army in China, and was present at the surrender of Pekin; and for his
services he was promoted to the rank of Major.
THE BURNING OF THE SUMMER PALACE.
"On the eleventh of October," Gordon relates, "we were sent down in a
hurry to throw up earth works against the City; as the Chinese refused to
give up the gate we demanded their surrender before we could treat with
them. They were also required to give up the prisoners. You will be
sorry to hear the treatment they have suffered has been very bad. Poor
De Norman, who was with me in Asia, is one of the victims. It appears
they were tied so tight by the wrists that the flesh mortified, and they
died in the greatest torture. Up to the time that elapsed before they
arrived at the Summer Palace, they were well treated, but then the ill-
treatment began. The Emperor is supposed to have been there at the time.
But to go back to the work, the Chinese were given until twelve on the
13th, to give up the gate. We made a lot of batteries, and everything
was ready for assault of the wall, which is a battlement, forty feet
high, but of inferior masonry; at 11.30 p.m., however, the gate was
opened, and we took possession; so our work was of no avail. The Chinese
had then, until the 23rd, to think over our terms of treaty, and to pay
up ten thousand pounds (10,000 pounds) for each Englishman, and five
hundred pounds (500 pounds) for each native soldier who had died during
their captivity. This they did, and the money was paid, and the treaty
signed yesterday. I could not witness it, as all officers commanding
companies were obliged to remain in camp, owing to the ill-treatment the
prisoners experienced at the Summer Palace. The General ordered this to
be destroyed, and stuck up proclamations to say why it was ordered. We
accordingly went out, and after pillaging it, burned the whole
magnificent palace, and destroyed most valuable property, which could not
be replaced for millions of pounds.
"This Palace" (wrote the author of _Our Own Times_), "covered an area of
many miles. The Palace of Adrian, at Tivoli, might have been hidden in
one of its courts. Gardens, temples, small lodges and pagodas, groves,
grottoes, lakes, bridges, terraces, artificial hills, diversified the
vast space. All the artistic treasures, all the curiosities,
archaeological and other, that Chinese wealth and taste, such as it was,
could bring together." Gordon notes, "This palace, with its surrounding
buildings, over two hundred in number, covered an area eight by ten miles
in extent." He says, "it makes one's heart burn to see such beauty
destroyed; it was as if Windsor Palace, South Kensington Museum, and
British Museum, all in one, were in flames: you can scarcely imagine the
beauty and magnificence of the things we were bound to destroy."
"These palaces were so large, and we were so pressed for time, that we
could not plunder them carefully. Quantities of gold ornaments were
burned, considered as brass. It was wretchedly demoralizing for an army:
everybody was wild for plunder . . . The throne and room were lined with
ebony, carved in a wonderful manner. There were huge mirrors of all
shapes and sizes, clocks, watches, musical boxes with puppets on them,
magnificent china of every description, heaps and heaps of silks of all
colours, coral screens, large amounts of treasures, etc. The French have
smashed up everything in a most shameful way. It was a scene of utter
destruction which passes my description." This was not much in Gordon's
line.
In the following year he made a tour on horseback to the outer wall of
China at Kalgan, accompanied by Lieutenant Cardew. A Chinese lad of the
age of fourteen, who knew a little English, acted as their servant and
interpreter, while their personal luggage was conveyed in the Chinese
carts. In the course of this tour we are told they passed through
districts which had never before been visited by any European. At Kalgan
the great wall was seen, with its parapet about twenty-two feet high, and
sixteen feet broad. Both sides were solid brick, each being three times
the size of our English bricks. Gordon writes: "It is wonderful to see
the long line of wall stretching over the hills as far as the eye can
reach." From Kalgan they travelled westwards to Taitong; here they saw
huge caravans of camels laden with tea going towards Russia. Here they
were forced to have the axle trees of their carts widened, for they had
come into a great part of the country where the wheels were set wider
than in the provinces whence they came. Their carts, therefore, no
longer fitted into the deep ruts which had been worn into the terribly
bad roads. The main object of their journey was to find out if there was
in the Inner Wall any pass besides the Tchatiaou which on that side of
the country led from the Russian territory to Pekin. It was not until
they reached Taiyuen that they struck the road that led to Pekin or
Tientsin.
Their first bit of trouble on this somewhat venturesome tour occurred at
Taiyneu; when the bill was brought for their night's entertainment, they
found it was most exorbitant. They saw they were likely to have trouble,
so they sent on the carts with luggage and waited at this strange
hostelry till they believed they had got well out of the way. Then they
offered what they believed was a reasonable amount in payment of their
bill. It was refused. They then tried to mount their horses but the
people at the Inn stopped them. Major Gordon hereupon drew his revolver
more for show than for use, for he allowed them to take it from him. He
then said, "Let us go to the Mandarin's house." To this consent was
given, and the two wide-awake English officers walked alongside their
horses. On the way Gordon said to his companion "are you ready to
mount?" "Yes" he replied. So they mounted quietly, and went on with the
people. When they reached the Mandarin's, they turned their horses and
galloped off after their carts as fast as they could, having paid what
they believed a reasonable amount for expenses. The people yelled and
rushed after them, but it was too late. Some distance from the place
where they had spent the night they came upon the pass over the mountains
which led down into the country, drained by the great Peiho river. "The
descent" says Gordon, "was terrible, and the cold so intense that raw
eggs were frozen as hard as if they had been boiled half an hour." To
add to their troubles, the carts they had sent on in front had been
attacked by robbers. They, however, with many difficulties managed to
reach Tientsin in safety; their leave of absence had been exceeded by
about fourteen days. In 1862 Major Gordon left for Shanghai under the
orders of Sir Charles Staveley who had been appointed to the command of
the English forces in China. At the very time that England and France
were at war with China, a terrible and far reaching rebellion was laying
waste whole provinces. An article in our London _Daily News_ about this
date said, "But for Gordon the whole Continent of China might have been a
scene of utter and hopeless ruin and devastation." At the date he took
charge of the "ever victorious army," China was in a state of widespread
anarchy and confusion.
This rebellion which Gordon was here authorized to suppress was called
"The Tai-ping rebellion." Its rise was brought about by a strange
mixture of incredulity and fanaticism, caused by some European Christian
giving away his literature. A village demagogue named Hung-tsne-Shuen
caught the idea, after reading the papers referred to, that he was
inspired; that he was God, King, Emperor, and that he ought to rule; so,
puffed up with pride and insatiable ambition, he began raising an army;
and aimed at nothing less than the usurpation of the "Dragon Throne."
Some thought him mad; but he gathered about him some 20,000 men whom he
had influenced to believe in him as the "Second Celestial Brother," and
gave out he was a seer of visions, a prophet of vengeance and freedom; a
champion of the poor and oppressed; and many were mad enough to believe
him, and thus he raised an army which grew in strength until it reached
some hundreds of thousands strong; he then proclaimed himself the
Heavenly King, The Emperor of the great place; and then with five wangs
or warrior kings, chosen from amongst his kinsmen, he marched through
China, devastating the country, and increasing his army in his progress.
The most populous, and until now wealthy provinces were soon in his
hands. The silk factories were silent; the Cities were falling into
utter and hopeless desolation: rebellion, war and famine, raged and
reigned supreme. Gordon made them pause! His marvellous power of
organizing and leading men, a power derived from an inflexible,
determined, fearless, and deeply religious temperament, influenced the
Chinese character quickly and powerfully. His very name soon became a
terror to the banded brigands and to all evil doers. An Englishman in
China at the time wrote home and said "The destiny of China is in the
hands of Major Gordon, and if he remains at his post the question will
soon be settled, and peace and quiet will be restored to this
unfortunate, but sorely tried country."
In all the strange and trying experiences of this Chinese Campaign Gordon
bore himself with a bravery and courage seldom equalled, we think never
surpassed.
Dr. Guthrie once said, "It is very remarkable, and highly creditable to
the loyalty and bravery of our British soldiers, that, notwithstanding
all the wars in which they have been engaged, no foreign nation to-day
flaunts a British flag as a trophy of its victory and of our defeat. Nor
in the proud pillar raised by the great Napoleon in commemoration of his
many victories--a pillar made of the cannons taken by him in battles, is
there an ounce of metal that belongs to a British gun." The
characteristics of the bravest of our British soldiers were pre-eminently
displayed in Gordon. For--
"He holds no party with unmanly fears,
Where duty points he confidently steers:
Faces a thousand dangers at her call,
And trusting in his God surmounts them all."
His soldierly qualities were very often put to the test in this strange
land. Hung, the leader of this rebellion, had become so popular and made
such marvellous progress that when Gordon had organized his ever
victorious army, Hung had captured Nanking, one of the principal cities,
and made this his capital; and here, under the very shadow of the Chinese
metropolis, he established himself in royal state. His followers were
held together by the force of his religious tenets; they believed in him
as the Lord from Heaven, who would save the suffering minds and give them
a celestial reward. A missionary who was in Nanking, Rev. J. L. Holmes,
gives his impressions of this warlike devotee. "At night (he says) we
witnessed their worship. It occurred at the beginning of their sabbath,
midnight on Friday. The place of worship was the Chung-Wang's private
audience room. He was himself seated in the midst of his attendants, no
females were present. They first sang, or rather chanted; after which a
written prayer was read, then burned by an officer; then they rose and
sang again, then separated. The Chung-wang sent for me before he left
his seat, and asked me if I understood their mode of worship. I replied
I had just seen it for the first time. He explained that the Tien-wang
had been to the celestial world and had seen the Great God and obtained a
revelation! &c. . . . As the day dawned we started for the Palace of the
Tien-wang. The procession was headed by a number of brilliantly coloured
banners, after which followed a troop of armed soldiers; then came the
Chung-wang in a large sedan, covered with yellow satin and embroidery,
and borne by eight coolies. Music of a peculiar kind added to the scene,
as the curious sightseers lined the streets on either side, who probably
never saw such a sight before. Reaching the "Morning Palace," we were
presented to the Tsau-wang and his son with several others including the
Tien-wang's two brothers, who were seated in a deep recess over the
entrance of which was written "Illustrious Heavenly Door." In another
place was "Holy Heavenly Gate," from which a boy of about fourteen made
his appearance and took his place with the royal group; then they
proceeded with their religious ceremonies again: this time kneeling with
their faces to the Tien-wang's seat. Then they sang in a standing
position. A roast pig and the body of a goat were lying with other
articles on tables in the outer court, and a fire was kept burning on a
stone altar in the front of the Tien-wang's seat. Afterwards, says the
missionary, I was led through a number of rooms and courts to see Chung-
wang privately. I was brought into one of his private sitting-rooms,
where he sat clothed loosely in white silk, with a red kerchief round his
head, and a jewel in front. He was seated in an easy chair, and fanned
by a pretty slipshod girl. He asked me to a seat beside him and
questioned me about a map he had seen with parallel lines running each
way, said to have been made by foreigners, asked me to explain what it
was. He also showed me a musical-box and a spy-glass, asking many
questions. From all I could learn by my visit to this pretender there
was nothing in their religion to elevate, but everything to degrade. With
them to rob and murder were virtuous deeds. "Slay the imps" was their
watchword. Gordon found in this fanatic a foe of no mean order. But he
soon found too that courage and faith in God had done and would still
lead to victory. In a letter home he says--"I am afraid you will be much
vexed at my having taken the command of the Sung-kiang force, and that I
am now a mandarin. I have taken the step on consideration. I think that
any one who contributes to putting down this rebellion fulfils a human
task, and also tends a great deal to open China to civilization. I will
not act rashly, and I trust to be able soon to return to England; at the
same time I will remember your and my father's wishes, and endeavour to
remain as short a time as possible. I can say that if I had not accepted
the command I believe the force would have been broken up and the
rebellion gone on in its misery for years. I trust this will not now be
the case, and that I may soon be able to comfort you on this subject. You
must not fret about me, I think I am doing a good service . . . I keep
your likeness before me, and can assure you and my father that I will not
be rash, and that as soon as I can conveniently, and with due regard to
the object I have in view, I will come home."
Gordon had hardly yet realized the difficulties and dangers which beset
him. His troops were undisciplined and largely composed of all
nationalities. Men bent on plunder, and exceedingly numerous; about
120,000 men. Gordon's appointment as Chief in Command of the "Ever
Victorious Army" proved to be a wise and good one for China.
Colonel Chesney thus writes:--"If General Staveley had made a mistake in
the operations he personally conducted the year before, he more than
redeemed it by the excellence of his choice of Gordon. This strange army
was made up of French, Germans, Americans, Spaniards, some of good and
some of bad character, but in their chief they had one whose courage they
were bound to admire, and whose justice they could not help but admit.
The private plundering of vanquished towns and cities allowed under their
former chief, disappeared under the eye of a leader whose eye was as
keen, as his soul was free from the love of filthy lucre. They, however,
learned to respect and love a general in whose kindness, valour, skill,
and justice they found cause unhesitatingly to confide; who never spared
himself personal exposure when danger was near. In every engagement, and
these numbered more than seventy, he was to the front and led in person.
His somewhat undisciplined army, had in it many brave men; but even such
men were very reluctant at times to face these desperate odds. Whenever
they showed signs of vacillation he would take one of the men by the arm,
and lead him into the very thick of the fight. He always went unarmed
even when foremost in the breach. He never saw danger. A shower of
bullets was no more to him than a shower of hailstones; he carried one
weapon only, and that was a little cane, which won for itself the name of
"Gordon's magic wand." On one occasion when leading a storming party his
men wavered under a most withering fire. Gordon coolly turned round and
waving his cane, bade his men follow him. The soldiers inspired by his
courage, followed with a tremendous rush and shout, and at once grandly
carried the position. After the capture of one of the Cities, Gordon was
firm in not allowing them to pillage, sack and burn such places; and for
this some of his men showed a spirit of insubordination. His artillery
men refused to fall in when ordered; nay more, they threatened to turn
upon him their guns and blow him and his officers to pieces. This news
was conveyed to him by a written declaration. His keen eye saw through
their scheme at a glance, and with that quiet determination which was his
peculiar strength, he summoned them into his presence and with a firmness
born of courage and faith in God, he declared that unless the ringleader
of this movement was given up, one out of every five would be shot! At
the same time he stepped to the front and with his own hand seized one of
the most suspicious looking of the men, dragged him out, and ordered him
to be shot on the spot at once, the order was instantly carried out by an
officer. After this he gave them half an hour to reconsider their
position at the end of which he found them ready to carry out any order
he might give. It transpired afterwards that the man who was shot was
the ringleader in this insubordination."
When Gordon had broken the neck of this far-reaching and disastrous
rebellion, and had restored to the Emperor of China the principal cities
and towns in peace, the London _Times_ wrote of him:--"Never did a
soldier of fortune deport himself with a nicer sense of military honour,
with more gallantry against the resisting, with more mercy towards the
vanquished, with more disinterested neglect of opportunities of personal
advantage, or with more entire devotion to the objects and desires of the
Government he served, than this officer, who, after all his splendid
victories, has just laid down his sword."
Before leaving China he was offered a very large reward in cash, as it
was acknowledged on all hands he had saved the Empire more than 5,000,000
pounds sterling. All money he refused; he, however, asked that some of
it might be given to the troops, who had served him on the whole with
great loyalty, and this was granted. A gold medal was struck in honour
of his marvellous achievements, and this he accepted and brought home;
but it was soon missing. He thought more of the starving poor than of
any medal; so he sold it, and sent the cash it realized to the Lancashire
Cotton Operatives, who were then literally starving. The Imperial Decree
of China conferred upon him the rank of "Ti-tu," the very highest honour
ever conferred upon a Chinese subject. Also the "Peacock's feather,"
"The Order of the Star," and the "Yellow Jacket." By these he was
constituted one of the "Emperor's Body Guard." In a letter home he says,
"I shall leave China as poor as I entered it, but with the knowledge that
through my weak instrumentality from eighty to one hundred thousand lives
have been saved. Than this I covet no greater satisfaction."
Before he left China, as a proof of the estimation in which he was held,
a grand illuminated address was presented to him, signed by more than
sixty of the leading firms of the Empire, and by most of the bankers and
merchants of the cities of Pekin, Shanghai, and of the principal towns
throughout China.
It read thus:--"Honoured Sir,--On the eve of your departure to your
native country, we, the undersigned, mostly fellow-countrymen of your
own, but also representing other nationalities, desire to express to you
our earnest wish for a successful voyage and happy return to your friends
and the land of your birth.
"Your career during your stay amongst us has been, so far as we know,
without a parallel in the history of foreign nations with China; and we
feel that we should be alike wanting towards you and towards ourselves,
were we to pass by this opportunity without expressing our appreciation
and admiration of the line of conduct which you personally have pursued.
In a position of unequalled difficulty, and surrounded by complications
of every conceivable nature, you have succeeded in offering to the eyes
of the Chinese Empire, no less by your loyal and thoroughly disinterested
line of action than by your conspicuous gallantry and talent for
organization and command, the example of a foreign officer, serving the
government of this country, with honourable fidelity and undeviating self-
respect.
{Chinese Gordon: p45.jpg}
"Once more wishing you a prosperous voyage, and a long career of
usefulness and success."
Signed, &c.
There is truth in this as applied to Gordon:--
"He strove not for the wealth of fame,
From heaven the power that moved him came.
And welcome as the mountain air,
The voice that bid him do and dare.
Onward he bore and battled still
With a most firm enduring will,
His only hope to win the prize
Laid up for him beyond the skies."
The Emperor wished the British Minister to bring before the notice of Her
Majesty the Queen of England his appreciation of the splendid services
which Gordon had rendered. He hoped that he would be rewarded in England
as well as in China for his heroic achievements.
A subsequent letter in the _Times_ said that Prince Kung, who was then
the Regent of China, had waited upon Sir Frederick Bruce, and said to
him, "You will be astonished 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 are of little value in his eyes, I have brought you this
letter, and I 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."
Sir Frederick Bruce sent this to London with a letter of his own:--"I
enclose translation of a despatch from Prince Kung, containing the decree
published by the Emperor, acknowledging the services of Gordon and
requesting that Her Majesty's Government be pleased to recognise him.
Gordon well deserves the favours of your Majesty for the skill and
courage he has shown, his disinterestedness has elevated our national
character in the eyes of the Chinese. Not only has he refused any
pecuniary reward, but he has spent more than his pay in contributing to
the comforts of the officers who served under him, and in assuaging the
distress of the starving population whom he relieved from the yoke of
their oppressors."
It does not appear that this letter was ever sent to the Queen, or
noticed by the Government, and so the heroic deeds of a man of whom any
nation might justly be proud, were forgotten.