General Gordon, Saint and Soldier

A white handkerchief outside Gordon's tent marks his time for prayer in Joseph Wardle's account of the British army officer. Wardle writes as a personal friend, drawing on letters, his own encounters and other accounts to present Charles George Gordon as a Christian example. The opening traces Gordon's family background, training at Woolwich and service in the Crimea. Military observations sit beside letters to his mother, bringing family ties into the record of campaigning.

The portrait also covers charitable work, service in China and appointments at Khartoum. Gordon describes illness, severe heat and his effort against the slave trade, interpreting his public duties through faith. Correspondence with Li Hung Chang adds another personal connection across the places in which he served. This admiring biography offers readers interested in military lives and religious writing a view of how Wardle links courage, practical service and devotion.