was invested by the Mahdi in the early part of 1884,
and, after a gallant defence, was stormed [on] 26 January
- Gordon was cut down and killed. The forerunners
of the relieving force, consisting of the river gunboats
under Lord Charles Beresford, arrived off the city on the
28th, two days too late, and after a brief engagement
with the Mahdist batteries returned down the river.”
Gordon’s death has been romanticized: Allegedly,
he was caught by several Mahdists and beheaded. Other
sources claim that he took his own life, while others say
he was wounded and died a slow death. Whatever the
cause, Gordon’s death came before British forces under
Lord Wolseley could relieve the city, a delay caused by
the negligence and uncertainty of the British govern-
ment, which had waited months before dispatching a
relief mission. Consequently, Gordon’s death played
a part in fall of Prime Minister William Gladstone’s
government.
Gordon’s body was never found, but his death took
him into the realm of myth. Whatever he was like in
real life has been surmounted by his martyrdom, making
him larger than life. Gordon was the author of Reflec-
tions in Palestine (1884).
References: Allen, Bernard Meredith, Gordon (London:
Duckworth, 1935); Gordon, Henry William, Events in the
Life of Charles George Gordon from Its Beginning to Its End
(London: Kegan Paul, Trench, 1886); Mossman, Samuel,
ed., General Gordon’s Private Diary of His Exploits in China
(London: S. Low, Marton, Searle, & Rivington, 1885);
Bruce, George, “Khartoum” in Collins Dictionary of Wars
(Glasgow, Scotland: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995),
126; “Gordon, Maj. Gen Charles George ‘Chinese,’ ” in
The Oxford Companion to Military History, edited by Rich-
ard Holmes (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001),
366; General Gordon’s Mission to the Soudan [sic]. Speech
Delivered by the Right Hon. The Marquis of Hartington,
M.P., in the House of Commons, on Tuesday, the 13th May
1884,... (London: The National Press Agency, Ltd.,
1884); Crabites, Pierre, Gordon, the Sudan and Slavery
(London: G. Routledge and Sons, Ltd., 1933); Buchan,
John, Baron Tweedsmuir, Gordon at Khartoum (London:
P. Davies, Ltd., 1934).
Graham, James See montrose, James graham,
marquis of.
Grant, Ulysses Simpson (Hiram Ulysses Grant)
(1822–1885) American general, 18th president of the
United States
Hiram Ulysses Grant was born at Point Pleasant, Cler-
mont County, Ohio, on 27 April 1822, the son of Jesse
Grant, a tanner, and Hannah Simpson Grant. In 1823,
the year after his son was born, Jesse Grant moved the
family to his farm at Georgetown, located about 40 miles
from Cincinnati. When Ulysses was of age, his father
was able to get him a recommendation from a congress-
man for an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy
at West Point, New York. The congressman, who knew
him as Ulysses, added Grant’s mother’s name, and from
West Point onward, he was known as Ulysses Simpson
Grant. Grant attended the academy from 1839 to 1843,
and although his grades were not great, he did excel in
horsemanship. In 1843, he was commissioned into the
infantry with the rank of second lieutenant, assigned to
the U.S. 4th Regiment, and sent to St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1845, Grant was sent to serve under General
Zachary taylor against Mexican forces in Texas. Al-
though Grant was opposed to the war, he fought with
honor, seeing action at Monterrey (21–23 September
1846) and at Cerro Gordo (17–18 April 1847), where
he took command of a group of fighters. His bravery in
action earned him a brevet of first lieutenant following
the battle of Molino del Rey (8 September 1847), and he
saw additional action at Chapultepec (13–14 September
1847), which resulted in his promotion to captain.
In 1848 following the end of the Mexican War,
Grant married Julia Dent. He continued to serve in the
army, and in 1851 he was sent to Oregon, but, because
of his low pay, he was unable to take his family with him,
and he sent them to live in Ohio. While in Oregon, he
became lonely and unhappy and began to drink, lead-
ing to a severe case of alcoholism. In 1854, this disease
impacted on his service, and he was told to sober up or
resign his command. Choosing the latter, he returned to
his family in Ohio, and for a period of time he worked
as a farmer in Ohio. However, finding the work hard
and unrewarding, he sold the farm in 1859 and went to
St. Louis to find work. There he pursued a series of jobs,
including selling real estate and working in his family’s
leather-goods store in Galena, Illinois, although he failed
to gain any satisfaction from these positions.
Although he was not opposed to slavery, Grant
did object to the secession of states from the Union.gRAnt, ulySSeS SimpSon