"Gordon the Imperialist" by Willard Van de Loo
 

Date of Award

7-1963

Degree Type

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

Leo Wearing

Abstract

Charles George Gordon was born into a military family in 1833. He attended Woolwich Military Academy and when he graduated in 1852, he was commissioned a second lieutenant of the Royal Engineers. Gordon was an enigma to many people. Most of them regarded him as an eccentric. Few people loved him and many were happy to avoid him. His biographers are divided. Some portray him as a great man, others as a fanatic. His strong convictions, to which he clung tenaciously and fiercely defended, were the cause of the divided opinions of his associates. He might be called a religious fanatic. Despite his reckless attitude on the field of battle in China he escaped with only a minor injury. This convinced him more than anything else that God protected him and wanted him, that was why he was still alive. He was a fatalist. The words, God willing, can be found in practically all of his correspondence.

Comments

A research paper submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School Marquette University in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for degree of Master of Arts, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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