Siege of Khartoum 200 British soldiers to strengthen the defenses of Khartoum. All these proposals were rejected by the Gladstone cabinet, since Britain was still intent on evacuation and refused absolutely to be pressured into military intervention in Sudan. Gordon began to resent the government's policy, and his telegrams to Cairo became more acrimonious. On 8 April he wrote: "I leave you with the indelible disgrace of abandoning the garrisons" and added that such a course would be "the climax of meanness". Knowing that the Mahdists were closing in, Gordon finally ordered the strengthening of the fortifications around Khartoum. The city was protected
HMS Archer (1885) party to protect the British Consul-General after a confrontation between him and Japanese troops. She served on the Australia Station from 7 September 1900 until 5 December 1903. She was decommissioned in 1905 and sold in April 1905 for £4,800 to Forrester, Swansea for scrap. HMS Archer (1885) HMS "Archer" was an torpedo cruiser of the British Royal Navy which built by the Glasgow shipbuilder J & G Thomson between 1885 and 1888. She served on overseas stations, including operations off Africa, China and Australia. She was sold for scrap in 1905. "Archer" was laid down at J & G