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General Sir Arthur James Lyon Fremantle G.C.M.G. C.B.
Life after his return from America
Written and kindly permitted here by Graham Wright
Arthur James Lyon Fremantle was born in November 1835. Following a Sandhurst education, he was first
commissioned into the 70th (or Surrey) Regiment of Foot in late 1852, from which he immediately transferred to the
52nd (or the Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry). First appearing in the 1853 Army List, his date of
commission as Ensign was given as 10th December 1852. Fremantle transferred to the Coldstream Guards in 1853,
thereby continuing a family tradition. Seeing no active service in the Crimean War, he was promoted to Lieutenant in
April 1853 and to Captain in November 1858; the Army Lists of 1856 to 1860 indicate that he also served as the
Adjutant of the 2nd Bn. He then received a junior staff appointment in Gibraltar from November 1860 to October 1862, as Assistant Military Secretary to the Governor and Commander-in-Chief.
While serving in Gibraltar Fremantle met Capt., Raphael Semmes, who so captivated him with tales of the
American South, that on leaving Gibraltar he applied for leave of absence from his Regiment, which he used to travel
to America where the civil war was about to enter its third year. Despite his subsequent achievements in later life,
the American civil war is arguably the event for which Fremantle is probably most remembered, due to him being the
only British Officer present at the battle of Gettysburg as an observer and guest of Confederate General Longstreet.
Leaving England during early March 1863, Fremantle landed on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande on 1st April.
Travelling through the southern states, by June he had met with Army of North Virginia during their advance to the
area of Gettysburg. The battle took place over a three-day period from 1st to 3rd July. Afterwards, concerned
that he may over extend his leave, Fremantle was forced to take a more direct route home. He therefore crossed
into the Union controlled states, arriving in New York on 12 July, departing for England three days later.
A return to UK based regimental life now awaited Fremantle. The 1876 Army List shows him as being the 2nd Bn
(regimental) Major from April 1875, followed by his appointment as Lieut Colonel of the Regiment from 5th
September 1877. Three years later, in November 1880, Fremantle was placed on half-pay, after 28 years service,
having been involved in no active service and not awarded any orders, decorations or campaign medals. However, this was not to last.
The following year, Col Fremantle gained his second staff appointment as ADC to H.R.H. The Duke of Cambridge,
Commander-in-Chief of the Army. With promotion to Major-General dated from 1st April 1882, this marked a return to the active list.
The campaign in Egypt began three months later with the naval bombardment of Alexandria on 11th July 1882,
followed by the land battle and defeat of Arabi Pasha’s Egyptian Army at Tel-el-Kebir on 13th September. Having
taken on the responsibilities of a de-stabilised Egyptian government, economy and military infrastructure, Britain in
turn inherited the developing problem in the Egyptian/Ottoman controlled Sudan, posed by one Muhammad Ahmed, following his self-proclamation that the he was al-Mahdi al-Muntazar (the long awaited last prophet).
Fremantle was appointed to the Army in Egypt in July 1884, serving in Suakin as its Garrison commander throughout
the winter months. Lieut-General Graham returned to Suakin on 12th March 1885 and assumed overall command
from Fremantle, with the instructions to use the assembling force of British troops to bring about ‘the destruction of
the power of Osman Digna’. The campaign was to be divided into two distinct phases, namely:
- The destruction of the power of Osman Digna, along with the clearance of the surrounding country allowing for the construction of the railway.
- The construction of the railway and the suitable locating of troops for its protection, at points where the summer heat could be best endured.
At this point, Fremantle was given command of the Guards Brigade, which had been sent from England; comprising of the 3rd Bn Grenadier Guards, 1st Bn Coldstream Guards and the 2nd Bn Scots Guards.
Detailed references to Fremantle and his exact movements appear to be limited and vague. He is known to have
been present at the advance to and engagement at Hasheen on 19th & 20th March and, possibly with the Guards
Brigade (or elements of), covering convoys to and from McNeill’s zareba at various times in the immediate aftermath
of the battle of Tofrek (22nd March). This battle had come about during the preparations for the advance on
Tamaai, the stronghold of Digna, with the zareba planned to be a defendable and advance base for the storage and
supply of water and other provisions. Following the setbacks of the 22nd, the final advance to Tamaai began from
Suakin on 2nd April, with the Guards Brigade under Fremantle (now including a battalion of the Australian New
South Wales Infantry), acting in support of the Second Infantry Brigade during the attack early the following morning. This engagement brought an end to the first phase of the operation.
Lieut-General Graham now commenced the second phase, which required him to open up the route for the railway.
On the day that McNeill’s zareba was finally evacuated, 6th April, Fremantle was deployed to a point mid-way to
Handoub, commanding a force consisting of the 1st Bn Coldstream Guards, New South Wales Infantry and
Mounted Infantry along with supporting arms. They established a zareba, which was reinforced the following day by
the 2nd Bn Scots Guards. Handoub was then occupied on 8th April, followed by Otao on 16th April. Fremantle
arrived in Otao two days later, in what appears to have been in readiness to lead the advance on Tambouk on 19th
April. For this, the Scots Guards provided the main infantry support under Colonel the Hon. W.R. Trefusis, who
then assumed command of the camp established at Tambouk, when Fremantle departed for Suakin on 30th April.
By this stage, despite continual low-level harassment from hostile forces, the Suakin~Berber railway had, in just over three weeks, been completed as far as Otao.
Lieut-General Graham had appointed Fremantle as Political Officer at the front and on receipt of this information,
Fremantle was issued with guidance and instructions to explain to the Amarar tribes that the British wished them to
be independent of, but friendly to, Suakin. They were to be told that if they were to strike for their own supremacy
and independence from Digna, they would have some initial assistance and cooperation. If they were to make the
best of this opportunity, it would then be beyond the power of Digna to retaliate once the British had left.
The departure of Fremantle from Tambouk on 30 April, is likely to have been in preparation for the impending visit
of Lord Wolseley to Suakin, who arrived on 2nd May. The visit was designed to allow an inspection of the station
and determine what permanent garrison would be required. This signalled to many that the decision to abandon the
expedition (as with the previous year) had already been made. On 17th May, the withdrawal of the Expeditionary
Force from Suakin began with the departure of the Coldstream Guards accompanied by their Brigade commander, Fremantle.
Arriving back in Egypt, Fremantle found himself within the Abbassiyeh Garrison outside of Cairo, before being
appointed as Major-General Chief-of-Staff in Egypt in October 1885. For his services in (Egypt and) the Sudan, he
was appointed as a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (C.B.) and also awarded the Turkish Order of the Medjidie 2nd class.
The following year saw his return to the UK and an appointment at the War Office, from November 1886, as
Deputy Adjutant General for the Auxiliary Forces. Promoted to Lieutenant-General in 1888, Fremantle then handed
over to Lieutenant-General Sir R. Gipps KCB who assumed the role in November 1891. A two-year gap then
exists before a further (albeit temporary) appointment is identified, with Fremantle then taking command of XI Scottish District Command (Home), in March 1893.
On 05 January 1894, Fremantle became the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Malta and its Dependencies,
replacing General Sir Henry Smyth KCMG. The Maltese press hailed his arrival, describing their new ‘Ruler’ as
both a gallant soldier and a finished courtier. On his departure almost five years later, the press concluded that “…a
more popular administrator has never been at the head of our Islands affairs”. During his period in office, Fremantle
was promoted to full General on 18 March 1896, awarded the KCMG in 1894 and then elevated to a GCMG in 1898.
Fremantle was, at some stage, a Justice of the Peace for Middlesex and London, and also a member of the Royal
Yacht Squadron. Following an asthma attack, he died on 25th September 1901, aged 65, in his room at the Royal
Yacht Squadron Castle on the Isle of Wight. He was buried in Woodvale Cemetery, near Brighton, four days later.
In December 1935, the headstone of Fremantle’s grave was laid flat as it was deemed to be unsafe; then at some
stage it disappeared, resulting in the grave being unmarked. On the centenary of his death, (29th September 2001) a
new grave-stone was put in place during a ceremony attended by members of the current Fremantle family, accompanied by representatives from various Civil War re-enactment groups.
A review of the July 1901 Army List reveals the high level to which General Fremantle had risen by the time of his
death. Listed in order of seniority, he lies only 16th, behind eight Field Marshals and seven (full) Generals, which
included other Egypt and Sudan veterans such as Wolseley and Wood. Kitchener (now Lord Kitchener of
Khartoum following his victory at Omdurman), was still a Lieut-General (dated from 23rd December 1899), 11½
years behind Fremantle in seniority. The high rank attained can be viewed as a significant achievement, considering
his lack of operational experience as a regimental officer, but at the same time indicates Fremantle’s ability and skill as both a senior staff officer and a diplomat.
General Fremantle’s Medals.
The accompanying photograph of Fremantle, would have been taken towards the end of his career, sometime
between 1898 and 1901, as he can be seen wearing the full-dress sash of the Order of St Michael and St George
(G.C.M.G.) to which he was not appointed until 1898. Also, the photograph shows the addition of the 1897 Diamond Jubilee bar to the 1887 Golden Jubilee medal.
The group of miniature medals, contains the following:
- Order of the Bath (C.B.)
- Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Medal 1887.
- Egypt Medal (undated) clasp Suakin 1885.
- Turkish Order of the Medjidie.
- Khedive’s Star dated 1884.
It is assessed that this group, containing both a lesser quantity and level of awards, is a reflection of the General’s
entitlement, during the period from 1887 (inclusion of the Golden Jubilee medal) to 1894 (prior to his award of the K
.C.M.G.). It is therefore possible that, a second group of miniatures did, or still does, exist which reflects the General’s full entitlement at the time of his death.
Bibliography
On his return to England, Fremantle published his personal experience of the American civil war in a book entitled ‘Three Months
in the Southern States: April, June, 1863’.
2 History of the Sudan Campaign, part 1; published 1889, by Lt/Col H.E. Colville, Grenadier Guards, Deputy Assistant Adjutant General (Intelligence) Nile Expedition.
3 Letter from Lord Hartington, the Liberal Party Secretary of State for War, to Lieut-General Graham, dated 20th February 1885.
4 Both appointments for Graham and Fremantle are dated 20th February 1885 in subsequent Army Lists.
5 This includes the serialised diary of L/Sgt J. Penny, 2nd Bn Scots Guards (A Story of the Sudan Campaign, 1885), from issue 11 of ‘Zareba’ onwards.
6 Taken from General Graham’s final despatch, paragraph 25; dated 30th May 1885, at Alexandria.
7 Telegram from Lord Hartington to Lord Wolseley, dated 15th April 1885.
8General Graham left the same day; the Grenadier and Scots Guards on 18th May, followed by Lord Wolseley the day after.
9 Date of nomination 25th August 1885.
10 Permission to wear recorded in the First Quarterly Army List of 1887.
11 Substantive rank would appear to date from 1st May 1890; as shown in the Army List of January 1891.
12 Malta Chronicle 16 January 1894.
13 The Malta Times 30 December 1898.
14 No references to the Sudan can be identified from the photographs of the grave that were published.
15 A common enough factor within the Guards Regiments, as no operational Battalion deployments had taken place between the
end of the Crimean War (1856) until Tel-el-Kebir (1882).
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