Date Published:
January 2005

L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia

Nile Expedition

Nile Expedition. On August 26, 1884, Lord Wolseley telegraphed to the governor-general of Canada suggesting that Lieut.-Colonel F. C. Denison, who had been his orderly officer in the Red River expedition of 1869-70, should organize a detachment of Canadian voyageurs to aid him in the campaign on the Nile, in Egypt and the Soudan, for the relief of General Gordon at Khartoum. Denison organized a corps of nearly 400 voyageurs, skilled in river navigation, and set sail for Egypt on September 15. The Canadian boatmen served with distinction throughout the campaign in the Soudan; and their services were mentioned in despatches, and in the vote of thanks to the troops moved in the House of Commons. This was the first occasion on which a contingent of Canadian troops took part in an imperial war overseas.

Source: W. Stewart WALLACE, ed., The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. V, Toronto, University Associates of Canada, 1948, 401p., p. 8.