The Martians have invaded, time to return the favor!

The Martians have invaded, time to return the favor!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

GARNET JOSEPH WOLSELEY


Wolseley (of Wolseley), Garnet Joseph
Wolseley,1st Viscount, Baron Wolseley
of Cairo and of Wolseley.Born June 4, 1833 ,
Golden Bridge, County Dublin,Ireland.
Died March 26, 1913 , Mentone, France.




British field marshal who saw service in
battles throughout the world and was
instrumental in modernizing the British
army. The son of an army major, Wolseley
entered the army as second lieutenant in
1852 and fought with distinction in the Second
Anglo-Burmese War, the Crimean War, and
the Indian Mutiny. Surviving many
wounds, which cost him the sight of one eye, Wolseley
became at 25 the youngest lieutenant colonel in the
British army. As a staff officer under Sir James Hope
Grant, he sailed to China in 1860. His planning and
deeds are described in his Narrative of the War with
China in 1860 (1862). Late in 1861 the U.S. seizure
of two Confederate agents on the British ship Trent
created a temporary crisis. Wolseley was then sent to
Canada to improve that colony's defenses in case of
war with the United States. In 1870 he led the Red
River expedition through 600 miles (950 km) of
wilderness to suppress the rebel Louis Riel, who had
proclaimed a republic in Manitoba. Success in the
field and dedication to improvement of the service,
as revealed in his Soldier's Pocket-book for Field
Service (1869), led to his appointment (May 1871)
as assistant adjutant general at the War Office.
A highly efficient commander with an admiring public,
Wolseley was employed by successive governments
as chief troubleshooter of the British Empire. In 1873
he was sent to West Africa to lead a punitive expedition
against the Ashanti kingdom, resulting in the destruction
of its capital at Kumasi. Two years later he was sent to
Natal in southern Africa to induce the colonists to
surrender some of their political rights to promote
federation in South Africa. When calamity struck the
British forces battling the Zulus in 1879, Wolseley was
given command in South Africa. After restoring order in
Zululand, he moved on to the Transvaal, where he
discouraged rebellion among the Boers.
Returning to the War Office, first as quartermaster
general (1880) and then as adjutant general (1882), he
devoted himself to reform until interrupted by a nationalist
uprising in Egypt under Arabi Pasha. In his most brilliant
campaign, Wolseley swiftly seized the Suez Canal and,
after a night march, surprised and defeated Arabi at Tall
al-Kabir (Sept. 13, 1882). Prime Minister William Gladstone
rewarded him with a barony. Back in Egypt in 1884, he
organized and headed an expedition to the Nile to rescue
his friend General Charles “Chinese” Gordon, besieged at
Khartoum in the Sudan. An advance party arrived on
Jan. 28, 1885, two days after the city had fallen and Gordon
had been killed. For his efforts, Wolseley was elevated to
viscount. (The title devolved on his only daughter upon his
death.) After serving as commander of the troops in Ireland
(1890–94), he became a field marshal and commander in
chief of all Britain's forces (1895–1901). In that office his
greatest contribution was in mobilizing the army with
characteristic thoroughness for the South African War
(1899–1902).

6 comments:

Paul O'G said...

A stirling chap! If onyl he had gotten to Khartoum a little faster...

I shall add him to the White White Sauce Hall for "Gentlemen of Renown"!

La Coloniale said...

I shall add him to the White White Sauce Hall for "Gentlemen of Renown"!

I'm honored!

Don M said...

excellent bio!

Bill said...

Very well done!

Joe said...

Interesting career for sure.

Anonymous said...

Interesting to know.