General C.G. Gordon | Two autograph letters signed, and a selection of documents about the siege of Khartoum, 1879-1884

General Charles George Gordon

A group comprising two autograph letters signed ("C.G.Gordon"), to Carl Giegler, and material relating to the siege of Khartoum: 

i) Autograph letter signed, to Giegler, discussing the capture of 2 caravans of slaves and slave dealers, his journey to Shaka, and his feelings against the slave trade ("... I was much tempted to shoot the slave dealers but I have refrained..."), 1 page, 8vo, Edwa, 1 April 1879

ii) Autograph letter signed, to Giegler, on his success in suppressing the slave trade ("...I have smitten the slave dealers of these parts sorely and they have all fled from me..."), 2 pages, 8vo, Shaka, 19 April 1879,

iii) McCaullough, British Agent at Aswan, Upper Egypt, telegram to General Wolseley, forwarding a message from Gordon to the "seal Keeper of the Khedive", pleading for reinforcements when under siege in Khartoum, chiefly in cipher, labelled "Administration des Télégraphes Égyptiens", "no. 2.", 9 pages, 4to, 16 September 1884; with plain text transcriptions into Arabic and English, 4 pages, slightly toned

The two letters relate to Gordon's campaign against the slave trader Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur (see also lot 251) when Governor General of the Sudan. 

The telegram dates from the final months of Gordon's life when he was under siege in Khartoum, facing the rebellion led by the Mahdi. He had lost many soldiers in battle on 4 September and the steamer Abbas had been captured by Mahdist forces on the 9th of September. He begs for more troops and warns that he has no money. He hopes that the Sudanese people can resist the onslaught while he awaits, as a "hostage and a guardian", British support; he says that it would be impossible to leave Khartoum unless another government is established, so he will "look after the soldiers...although it shall cost me my life". He concludes that "perhaps the British Government will be displeased at the advice which I have given. The people of the Sudan are also displeased". Gordon's plea was here relayed to General Garnet Wolseley, who was leading the Gordon Relief Expedition, which had just set sail for Egypt. The relief force arrived on 28 January 1885 - two days after the city had fallen, and General Gordon had been killed.