Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley

Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, (4 June 183325 March 1913), was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, West Africa and Egypt, followed by a central role in modernizing the British Army in promoting efficiency. He served in Burma, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, China, Canada and widely throughout Africa—including his Ashanti campaign (1873–1874) and the Nile Expedition against Mahdist Sudan in 1884–85. Wolseley served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces from 1895 to 1900. His reputation for efficiency led to the late 19th century English phrase "everything's all Sir Garnet", meaning, "All is in order."

Early life and education

Lord Wolseley was born into a prominent Anglo-Irish family in Dublin, the eldest son of Major Garnet Joseph Wolseley of the King's Own Scottish Borderers (25th Foot) and Frances Anne Wolseley (''née'' Smith). The Wolseleys were an ancient landed family in Wolseley, Staffordshire, whose roots can be traced back a thousand years. Wolseley was born at Golden Bridge House, the seat of his mother's family. His paternal grandfather was Rev. William Wolseley, Rector of Tullycorbet, and the third son of Sir Richard Wolseley, 1st Baronet, who sat in the Irish House of Commons for Carlow. The family seat was Mount Wolseley in County Carlow. He had four younger sisters and two younger brothers, Frederick Wolseley (1837–1899) and Sir George Wolseley (1839–1921).

Wolseley's father died in 1840 at age 62, leaving his widow and seven children to struggle on his Army pension. Unlike other boys in his class, Wolseley was not sent to England to attend Harrow or Eton, but was instead educated at a local school in Dublin. The family circumstance forced Wolseley to leave school at just 14, when he found work in a surveyor's office, which helped him bring in a salary and continue studying maths and geography.

Wolseley first considered a career in the church, but his financial situation meant that he would have needed a wealthy patron to support such an endeavor. Instead he sought a commission in the Army. Unable to afford Sandhurst or buying a commission, Wolseley wrote to his fellow Dubliner, Field Marshal The 1st Duke of Wellington, for assistance. Wellington, then the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, promised to assist him when he turned 16. However, Wellington apparently overlooked him and did not respond to another letter sent when he was 17. Wolseley unsuccessfully appealed to his secretary, Lord Fitzroy Somerset. The British Army was then recovering from significant casualties in the latest war in South Africa, and Wolseley wrote to Somerset, "I shall be prepared to start at the shortest notice, should your Lordship be pleased to appoint me to a regiment now at the seat of war." His mother then wrote to the Duke to appeal his case, and on 12 March 1852, the 18-year-old Wolseley was gazetted as an ensign in the 12th Foot, in recognition of his father's service.

Second Burmese War

Just a month after he joined the 12th Foot, Wolseley transferred to the 80th Foot on 13 April 1852, with whom he served in the Second Anglo-Burmese War. He was severely wounded when he was shot in the left thigh with a jingal bullet on 19 March 1853 in the attack on Donabyu, and was mentioned in despatches. Promoted to lieutenant on 16 May 1853 and invalided home, Wolseley transferred to the 84th Regiment of Foot on 27 January 1854, and then to the 90th Light Infantry, at that time stationed in Dublin, on 24 February 1854. He was promoted to captain on 29 December 1854.

Crimea

Wolseley accompanied the regiment to the Crimea, and landed at Balaklava in December 1854. He was selected to be an assistant engineer, and attached to the Royal Engineers during the Siege of Sevastopol. Wolseley served throughout the siege, where he was wounded at "the Quarries" on 7 June 1855, and again in the trenches on 30 August 1855, losing an eye.

After the fall of Sevastopol, Wolseley was employed on the quartermaster-general's staff, assisting in the embarkation of the troops and supplies, and was one of the last British soldiers to leave the Crimea in July 1856. For his services he was twice mentioned in despatches, received the war medal with clasp, the 5th class of the French ''Légion d'honneur'' and the 5th class of the Turkish Order of the Medjidie.

Six months after joining the 90th Foot at Aldershot, he went with it in March 1857 to join the troops being despatched for the Second Opium War. Wolseley was embarked in the transport ''Transit'', which wrecked in the Strait of Banka. The troops were all saved, but with only their personal arms and minimal ammunition. They were taken to Singapore, and from there dispatched to Calcutta on account of the Indian Mutiny.

Indian Rebellion of 1857

Wolseley distinguished himself at the relief of Lucknow under Sir Colin Campbell in November 1857, and in the defence of the Alambagh position under Outram, taking part in the actions of 22 December 1857, of 12 January 1858 and 16 January 1858, and also in the repulse of the grand attack of 21 February 1858. That March, he served at the final siege and capture of Lucknow. He was then appointed deputy-assistant quartermaster-general on the staff of Sir Hope Grant's Oudh division, and was engaged in all of the operations of the campaign, including the actions of Bari, Sarsi, Nawabganj, the capture of Faizabad, the passage of the Gumti and the action of Sultanpur. In the autumn and winter of 1858–59 he took part in the Baiswara, trans-Gogra and trans- Rapti campaigns ending with the complete suppression of the rebellion. For his services he was frequently mentioned in dispatches, and having received the Mutiny medal and clasp, he was promoted to brevet major on 24 March 1858 and to brevet lieutenant-colonel on 26 April 1859.

During the rebellion, Wolseley displayed strong views towards native peoples, referring to them as "beastly niggers", and remarking that the sepoys had "barrels and barrels of the filth which flows in these niggers' veins".

Wolseley continued to serve on Sir Hope Grant's staff in Oudh, and when Grant was nominated to the command of the British troops in the Anglo-French expedition to China of 1860, accompanied him as the deputy-assistant quartermaster-general. He was present at the action at Sin-ho, the capture of Tang-ku, the storming of the Taku Forts, the Occupation of Tientsin, the Battle of Pa-to-cheau and the entry into Peking (during which the destruction of the Chinese Imperial Old Summer Palace was begun). He assisted in the re-embarkation of the troops before the winter set in. He was Mentioned, yet again, in Dispatches, and for his services received the medal and two clasps. On his return home he published the ''Narrative of the War with China'' in 1860. He was given the substantive rank of major on 15 February 1861.

Canada

In November 1861, Wolseley was one of the special service officers sent to the Province of Canada in connection with the ''Trent'' incident.

In 1862, shortly after the Battle of Antietam, Wolseley took leave from his military duties and went to investigate the American Civil War. He befriended Southern sympathizers in Maryland, who found him passage into Virginia with a blockade runner across the Potomac River. There he met with the Generals Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson. He also provided an analysis on Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. The '' New Orleans Picayune'' (10 April 1892) published Wolseley's ten-page portrayal of Forrest, which condensed much of what was written about him by biographers of the time. This work appeared in the ''Journal of the Southern Historical Society'' in the same year, and is commonly cited today. Wolseley addressed Forrest's role at the Battle of Fort Pillow near Memphis, Tennessee, in April 1864 in which black USCT troops and white officers were alleged by some to have been slaughtered after Fort Pillow had been conquered. Wolseley wrote, "I do not think that the fact that one-half of the small garrison of a place taken by assault was either killed or wounded evinced any very unusual bloodthirstiness on the part of the assailants."

Wolseley returned to Canada where he became a brevet colonel on 5 June 1865 and Assistant Quartermaster-General in Canada with effect from the same date. He was actively employed the following year in the defence of Canada from Fenian raids launched from the United States. He was appointed Deputy Quartermaster-General in Canada on 1 October 1867. In 1869 his ''Soldiers' Pocket Book for Field Service'' was published, and has since run through many editions. In 1870, he successfully commanded the Red River Expedition to establish Canadian sovereignty over the North-West Territories and Manitoba. Manitoba had entered Canadian Confederation when the Hudson's Bay Company transferred its control of Rupert's Land to the government of the Dominion of Canada. British and Canadian authorities ignored the pre-existing Council of Assiniboia and botched negotiations with its replacement, the Métis' rebel provisional government headed by Louis Riel. The campaign to put down the rebellion was made difficult by the poor communications at the time. Fort Garry (now Winnipeg), the capital of Manitoba, was a small centre separated from Ontario by the rocks and forests of the Canadian Shield region. The easiest route to Fort Garry that did not pass through the United States was through a network of rivers and lakes extending for six hundred miles from Lake Superior, infrequently traversed by non- aboriginals, and where no supplies were obtainable. The admirable arrangements made and the careful organization of the transport reflected great credit to the commander (Wolseley), who upon his return home was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George on 22 December 1870, and a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 13 March 1871.

Cardwell reforms

Appointed assistant adjutant-general at the War Office in 1871, he furthered the Cardwell schemes of army reform. The reforms met strong opposition from senior military figures led by the Duke of Cambridge, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. At their heart was the intent to expand greatly the Army's latent strength by building reserves, both through introducing legislation for 'short service', which allowed soldiers to serve the second part of their term on the reserve, and by bringing militia (i.e. non-regular) battalions into the new localised regimental structure. Resistance in the Army continued and, in a series of subsequent military posts, Wolseley fought publicly as well as inside the Army's structure to implement them, long after the legislation had passed and Cardwell had gone.

Ashanti

On 2 October 1873, Wolseley became Governor of Sierra Leone British West African Settlements, and the Governor of the Gold Coast. As Governor of both British Territories in West Africa he had charge over the Colonies of Gambia, Gold Coast and Western, Eastern, and Northern Nigeria, and in this role, commanded an expedition against the Ashanti Empire. Wolseley made all his arrangements at Gold Coast before the arrival of the troops in January 1874. At the Battle of Amoaful

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases