John Donald Hamill Stewart
| John Donald Hamill Stewart | |
|---|---|
 Colonel Stewart | |
| Born | 15 October 1845 |
| Died |
September 1884 (aged 38) El Obeid, Khedivate of Egypt |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom / British Empire.svg.png){kind=small} Khedivate of Egypt |
| Service/branch |
British Army Egyptian Army |
| Years of service | 1865 – 1884 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars | |
John Donald Hamill Stewart (15 October 1845 – September 1884)[1] was a British soldier. He accompanied General Gordon to Khartoum in 1884 as his assistant. He died in September 1884 attempting to run the blockade from the besieged city at the hands of the Manasir tribesmen and followers of Muhammad Ahmad Al-Mahdi.
Military career
Stewart was appointed a Cornet in the British 11th Hussars in 1865. In 1882 Lieutenant Colonel Stewart was instructed to prepare a report on the Sudan where Muhammad Ahmad Al-Mahdi was defying the Egyptian Government with success. After a journey to Khartoum and return to Egypt the "Report on the Soudan" (1883) was finished.
He returned with Gordon as second-in-command on his journey to Khartoum commencing with departure from Victoria station in February 1884. A 1,000 soldiers under one of Stewart's command took part in the Battle of Abu Klea. Although the British won the battle, officers of Gordon's command were killed, seriously weakening its operational capacity.[2]Wounded during the siege, Stewart led an attempt to break the blockade aboard the Steamer Abbas in September 1884, along with the British consul Frank Power (who was also the correspondent from The Times), the French consul François Herbin, and other residents of Khartoum. The attempt failed when the Abbas ran aground somewhere between Abu Hamad and Meroë. All passengers and crew were killed in an ambush.[3]
Legacy
Richard Johnson portrayed Stewart in the film Khartoum.[4]
References
- ↑ "The Late Colonel Stewart". The Aberdeen Journal. Aberdeen, Scotland. 11 October 1884. p. 6. Retrieved 2014-08-12 – via The British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
John Donald H. Stewart was born 15 October 1845. He received his first appointment as ensign in the 11th Hussars on 13 January 1869, and was made lieutenant-colonel 1 July 1881. On 27 April 1879, he was appointed Vice-Consul in Asia Minor...
- ↑ Bermann, Richard A. (2010) [1932]. The Mahdi of Allah: A Drama of the Sudan. New York, NY: Cosimo Classics. p. 236.
- ↑ Churchill, Winston S. (1952), The river war – an account of the Reconquest of the Sudan, Eyre and Spottiswoode, London. Online(1902 Edition) at Project Gutenberg
- ↑ "Actor Richard Johnson dies at 87". theguardian.com. The Guardian. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
Bibliography
- Hill, Richard. (1967). A Biographical Dictionary of the Sudan. London: Frank Cass & Co