Charles Chaille-Long – Captain, United States Army

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The Eleventh Regiment of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers, was organized June 16, 1864, to serve one hundred days, as emergency men, to repel the invasion of the State by General Early’s Confederate Army, and participated in the battle of Monocacy, Maryland

July 9, 1864—a battle made necessary against odds, in order to save the Capitol at Washington from capture.

The Eleventh Regiment of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers (one year’s men), was composed of the re-enlisted men of the Eleventh Regiment Infantry, one hundred days’ men, and also of consolidations with seven companies of the re-enlisted men of the First Regiment, Eastern Shore Infantry, Maryland Volunteers.

Captain Charles Chaille Long, of this regiment, afterwards became a colonel in the Egyptian army, and served on the staff of General C. P. Gordon during his campaign in the Soudan. He is widely known for his literary and scientific attainments.

 The Laws of 1904: State of Maryland

Joint Resolution tendering the thanks of the General Assembly to Colonel Charles Chaille Long.  Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the thanks of the State and thethanks of the Assembly are hereby tendered to Colonel Charles Charles Chaille Long, native of Maryland, for his services to science, the prominent part taken in the final solution of the problem of the Nile sources; for his gallant conduct when attacked by savage tribes in Africa, and particularly in the affair “M’rooli,” in which he was wounded; all of which achievements were recognized by promotion, decoration and a general order by the Egyptian Government published to the army. Also for his courage, devotion and abnegation in accepting the unremunerative charge of the United States consulate in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1882, when abandoned by its titular agents in a moment of peril ; for his splendid services rendered in the interest of humanity when Alexandria was bombarded and burned, and when hundreds were saved from massacre, including the Khedive family and court; and when the consulate, archives and City of Alexandria were saved from entire destruction.

JOINT RESOLUTIONS 1271

Be it further resolved, That in testimony of his distinguished services in Africa and at Alexandria, that the Governor is here by authorized and required to have made a gold medal of the size of one silver half-dollar, with appropriate device and motto, also a copy of these resolutions properly inscribed, and cause the same to be presented to Colonel Charles Chaille Long in testimony of the high sense of his services entertained by the General Assembly of the State of Maryland.

LONG, Charles Chaille, soldier, born in Princess Anne, Somerset County, Maryland, 2 July, 1842.

He was educated at Washington academy, Maryland, and in 1862 he enlisted in the 1st Maryland infantry in the National service, and at the close of the civil war had attained the rank of Captain.

He was appointed a Lieutenant Colonel in the Egyptian army in the autumn of 1869, was first assigned to duty as professor of French in the military academy at Abbassick, and later as chief of staff to the general-in-chief of the army.

Early in 1872 he was transferred to General Loring’s corps at Alexandria. On 20 February, 1874, he was assigned to duty as chief of staff to General Charles George Gordon, then lieutenant-colonel in the British army, who had been appointed by the khedive governor-general of the equatorial provinces of Egypt. On 24 April he set out toward the equator on a secret diplomatic and geographical mission inspired by Ismail Pacha, the khedive. He was accompanied only by two soldiers and his servants, and arrived at the capital of Nyanda on 20 June, 1874, being the only white man save Captain Speke that had ever visited that place, and secured a treaty by which King M’Tse acknowledged himself a vassal of Egypt. He then turned north to trace the unknown part of the Nile that still left the question of its source in doubt.

In descending the river at M’roole he was attacked by the king of Unvoro Kaba-Rega with a party of warriors m boats and a numerous force on shore. Chaille-Long, with his two soldiers, armed with breech-loading rifles and explosive shells, sustained the attack for several hours, and finally beat off the savages.

He was promoted to the full rank of Colonel and Bey, and decorated with the cross of the commander of the Medjidich.

In January, 1875, he fitted out and led an expedition southwestward of the Nile into the Niam-Niam country, subjected it to the authority of the Egyptian government, and dispersed the slavetrading bands. On his return in March, 1875, he was ordered to go to Cairo, where, with orders from the khedive, he organized an expedition ostensibly to open an equatorial road from the Indian ocean along Juba river to the central African lakes. The expedition sailed from Sury on 19 September, 1875, took possession of the coast and several fortified towns, and occupied and fortified ***Comf, on Juba river.

On 1 September, 1877, Chaille-Long resigned his commission in the Egyptian army, on account of failing health, returning to New York, where he studied law at Columbia. He was graduated and admitted to practice, and in 1882 returned to Egypt to practise in the international courts.

The insurrection of Arabi culminated in the terrible massacre at Alexandria of 11 June, 1882, the United States Consul General remained away from his post at this juncture, and the United States consular agents fled from Egypt. Challie-Long assisted the refugees, hundreds of whom were placed on board of the American ships, and after the burning of the city, he reestablished the American consulate, and, aided by 160 American sailors and marines, restored order, and arrested the fire.

Colonel Challie-Long removed to Paris in October, 1882, and opened an office for the practice of international law. In March, 1887, he was appointed United States consul-general and secretary of legation in Corea. He has published “Central Africa : Naked Truths of Naked People” (New York, 1877) and “The Three ProphetsoChinese Gordon, the Mahdi, and Arabi Pacha” (1884).

Chaillé-Long, Charles , 1842–1917, American soldier, African explorer, and writer.

Born at Princess Anne, Maryland. After serving in the Civil War, he was commissioned (1869) in the Egyptian army under General C. G. Gordon. Chaillé-Long explored the Victoria Nile and was awarded a medal by the American Geographical Society. In 1875 he crossed the Congo-Nile divide to the Bahr al Ghazal region.

He returned to the United States, graduated from Columbia Law School, and became (1887–89) consul general and secretary to the legation in Korea.

His travel narratives in English include The Three Prophets (1884), My Life in Four Continents (1912), and Central Africa: Naked Truths of Naked People (1876). Among his writings in French are Les Sources du Nil (1891), L’Égypte et ses provinces perdues (1892), and La Corée ou Tschösen (1894).

Charles Chaillé-Long was a fascinating man. A captain in the Maryland Volunteers with no battle experience, he entered the service of the Khedive (Egyptian Army) as a Lieutenant Colonel. For four years, he was moved from post to post, but used his time to learn Arabic. Finally, an ideal situation presented itself: Chaillé-Long was attached to the staff of another of the Khedive’s mercenaries, Charles George “Chinese” Gordon. Both men were alike, ambitious, and jealous of fame, and each soon began to detest the other.

In 1874, the party headed south through the Sudan (where Gordon seized control of the ivory trade, setting in motion the very forces that would one day lead to his death in Khartoum). Unknown to Gordon, Chaillé-Long had been given a secret mission by the Khedive. Striking off on his own, the American headed south into Uganda. During his adventure, he met with M’Tesa, the king of Uganda, who agreed to become a vassal of the Khedive. During the return trip, Chaillé-Long discovered Lake Kioga, one of the lakes through which the White Nile flowed north. He went on two more expeditions, one in modern-day Zaire, the other along the African coast. Chaillé-Long left the Egyptian service in 1877 as a decorated Colonel.

On his return to the United States, he attended Columbia Law School, graduating in 1880, and went into international law.

charles-chaille-long-photo-01

Chaillé-Long was in Alexandria during the British bombardment in 1882, and assumed the duties of consul general. The last consul to quit his post and the first to return, he was credited with saving the lives of hundreds of refugees who were placed on American warships, as well as dispatching a U.S. force that saved Khedive Tewfik from Arabi’s forces.

In 1887 Chaillé-Long was appointed by President Cleveland as consul general to Korea, a position he held for two years. While there, he led a scientific expedition to Cheju Island. Embittered because his African discoveries were mostly ignored in favor of those by British explorers, he spent the rest of his life lecturing and writing numerous magazine articles (such as “England in Egypt and the Soudan,” for The North American Review, May 1899), and books, including My Life in Four Continents.

Chaillé-Long died in 1917.

Charles Chaille-Long, born July 2, 1842 at Princess Anne, Somerset County, was the great-grandson of Pierre Chaille; a French Huguenot who had settled on the Eastern Shore after Louis XIV had revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685. The Edict of Nantes issued in 1598 by Henry IV had granted certain protection to the French Protestants, better known as Huguenots. After the revocation in 1685, more than 50,000 Huguenot families fled from France to such places as Russia, Holland, Belgium, England, and the British colonies of North America. Because these French Protestants for the most part were people of practical skills and intellectual gifts, they strengthened the countries which gave them haven. Charles Chaille-Long was the son of Littleton Long of Chaille, and Anne Mitchell Costen.

The Civil War broke out while Charles was a student at the famous Washington Academy, and he forsook his classroom for the army. Hen enlisted in the 1st Eastern Shore Regiment, Maryland Infantry. However, he soon was transferred and promoted to a captaincy in the 11th Maryland Infantry with which he served throughout the was with distinction. He saw action at Gettysburg and Harper’s Ferry and served in the defense of Washington D.C. He was discharged at the end of the War, June 15, 1865.

His adventurous spirit led him in 1869 to join the Egyptian army as a lieutenant-colonel. At first he was assigned to the military academy at Abbassick as a professor of French, but later was made chief of staff to the general of the Egyptian army. In 1872 he was transferred to the military corp at Alexandria, and two years later became chief of staff to General Charles G. Gordon, probably better known in history as “Chinese” Gordon. Gordon at this time was governor-general of the equatorial provinces of Egypt, assigned to suppress the slave traffic operating in the White Nile region.

At this time Khedive Ismail Pacha sent Chaille-Long on a secret diplomatic and geographical mission to M’tesa, King of Uganda, in the region of the Equator. In June, 1874 he arrived at Nyanda, the second white man on record to visit that area, and he was successful in gaining a treaty whereby King M’tesa acknowledged himself as a vassal of Egypt, which really annexed Uganda to Egypt.

Having completed this portion of his mission, Chaille-Long began tracing the unknown region of the upper Nile River basin, finally solving the problem of the Nile’s source. While at M’roole (or M’ruli), he and his men (two soldiers and servants) were attacked by the King of Unyoro Kaba-Rega and a large party of warriors. But Chaille-Long and his men, armed with breech-loading rifles and exploding shells, were able to beat off the natives after a battle of several hours. For this service he was promoted to the rank of colonel and decorated with the “Gross of the Commander of the Medjidick”. In his book, Central Africa – Naked Truths of Naked People, published in 1876 he gave a very accurate account of his exploration in the Upper Nile River basin. The importance of his geographical explorations was brought out in a letter from Gen. Gordon, published in the New York Herald, Jan. 23, 1880, which read, “Col. Chaille-Long of the Egyptian staff passed down the Victoria Nile from Nyamyongo . . . thus at the risk of his life settling the question before unsolved of the identification of the river above Urondogani with that below Mooli.”

Later campaigns and explorations carried him south to the equator into the Niam-Niam country and led to the opening up of an equatorial road from the Indian Ocean along the Juba River to the central African lakes. Because of disease contracted on these journeys he retired from service and returned to the United States in August, 1877. In New York City he attended law school at Columbia University from which he graduated in 1880.

Two years after he had received his law degree, having specialized in international law, he returned to Alexandria, Egypt, to establish his practice. On June 11, 1882, shortly after his arrival, an insurrection of the Arabs resulted in a terrible massacre. With the assistance of 160 American sailors and marines in the locality Chaille-Long re-established the American consulate and gave protection to May refugees. He was later decorated for his service. Upon being relieved his duties as acting consul-general two months later, he went to Paris, France to engage in the practice of international law.

From 1887-1889 he was again with the foreign service, this time as consul-general and secretary to the American Legation in Korea. During his stay in Korea he took part in a scientific expedition to Quelpart Island at the entrance of the Yellow Sea.

CHAILLE-LONG was the author of numerous articles in American and French magazines, especially on Egyptian and African subjects. Henry E. Shepherd, in The Representative Authors of Maryland, 1911, wrote: “… his range is as diverse in the literacy sphere as in science or the province of the explorer.” His books were written either in French or English. These include such works as “L’ Afrique Centrale”, “Les Sources du Nile”, 1891, “L’Egypte et ses Provinces Perdues”, 1892, “La Coree ou Chosen”, 1894, “Les Combatants Francais de la Guerre Americaine, 1778-83”, 1950, “Three Prophets”, 1884, and “My Life in Two Continents”, 1912.

The honors bestowed upon Chaille-Long were many: Cross of Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur for exceptional services to France; Commandeur Cross Medjidieh and Cross Osmanieh for exceptional services to Egypt; letters of thanks from the State Department in 1882 and 1888 for exceptional services to the United States in Egypt and Korea, and on Feb. 15, 1910, the American Geographical Society conferred upon him the Charles P. Daly Gold Medal which was given only to those individuals who had a marked contribution to the field of geography.

And finally this shoreman of note, who died March 24, 1917, was honored by his native state in 1904. The Maryland General Assembly (1904 Laws of Md., Chap. 3, p. 1270 unanimously passed the following:

Resolved, By the General Assembly of Maryland that the thanks of the Assembly are hereby tendered to Col. Charles Chaille-Long, native of Maryland, for his services to science, – the prominent part taken in the final solution of the problem of the Nile sources; for his galland conduct when attacked by savage tribes in Africa and particularly in the affair “M’ruli, in which he was wounded; all of which achievements were recognized by promotion, decoration, and a general order by the Egyptian Government published to the army. Also for his courage, devotion and abnegation in accepting the unremunerative charge of the United States Consulate in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1882, when abandoned by its titular agents in a moment of peril; for his splendid services rendered in the interest of humanity when Alexandria was bombarded and burned and when hundreds were saved from massacre, including the Khedive’s family and court, and when the consulate archives and city of Alexandria were saved from entire destruction. Be it further,

Resolved, That in testimony of his distinguished services in Africa and at Alexandria, the Governor is hereby authorized and required to have made a gold medal of the size of one silver half-dollar with appropriate device and motto, also a copy of the resolutions properly inscribed, and cause the same to be presented to Col. Charles Chaille-Long in testimony of the high sense of his services entertained by the General Assembly of the State of Maryland.

It is hoped that when Princess Anne has her well earned days of honor this Fall, the good people in charge of the celebration will also pay honor to native son, Colonel Charles Chaille-Long.

CHAILLE-LONG, CHARLES

  • CAPT CO G 11TH MD INF CIVIL WAR
  • DATE OF DEATH: 03/24/1917
  • BURIED AT: SECTION EAST  SITE LOT 3791
  • ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

CHAILLE-LONG, MARY AMELIA W/O CHARLES

  • DATE OF DEATH: 03/29/1919
  • BURIED AT: SECTION E DIV  SITE 3791
  • ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
  • WIFE OF CHARLES CHAILLE-LONG, CAPT G 11TH MD INF

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