Augustus Frederick Lindley (呤唎 "Lin-Le") February 3, 1840 – March 29, 1873, was a mid-19th-century British adventurer and writer.

Biography

;China In 1859, Lindley was a young

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

officer stationed in Hong Kong, where he became betrothed to Marie, the daughter of the Portuguese consul at Macau. In 1860 he resigned his commission, taking a job as the executive officer of a trading steamer smuggling specie to the Taiping reform movement in Shanghai. He accepted a commission from Taiping general Li Xiucheng, and helped train their soldiers in British Army techniques, while Marie became a sniper. After her death, he returned to England. In 1866, he wrote and published "Ti Ping Tien Kwoh: or the History of the Taiping Revolution". This work included a dedication: ''To Le-Siu-Cheng, the Chung-Wang, "Faithful Prince," Commander-in-Chief of the Ti-Ping forces, this work is dedicated if he be living; and if not, to his memory''. ;Battle of Jofoolzo—commanding Taiping's warships In June 1863, Li Xiucheng commanded 250,000 troops to withdraw to Nanjing; Taiping warships bore troops across the river while tough fighting transpired between the Taiping and the

Qing Army The Qing dynasty (1636–1912) was established by conquest and maintained by armed force. The founding emperors personally organized and led the armies, and the continued cultural and political legitimacy of the dynasty depended on the ability to ...

(Battle of Jofoolzo 九洑洲決戰). Lindley, as commander of the Taiping fleet, several times defeated the Qing offensive and sank many Qing warships, but he was wounded, and his wife Marie and friend Earl were killed in action. For his service, Lindley was promoted to the rank of colonel by the Taiping. ;General Gordon When

Charles George Gordon Major-General Charles George Gordon CB (28 January 1833 – 26 January 1885), also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British Army officer and administrator. He saw action in the Crimean War as an officer in ...

returned to the UK, Lindley publicly castigated Gordon in the pages of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

''. ;South Africa In 1868, Lindley, with Roger Pocklington, the American brothers Will and Tom Ashwell, and Louis de Glon of Switzerland, landed at

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

to undertake a gold-hunting expedition in the Transvaal. While no gold was found, the group travelled extensively among the Boer and the various black communities, and encountered many adventures. Pocklington married a Potchefstroom girl, and settled there. The Ashwells and de Glon took up farming in Natal; Will was later an associate of

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his B ...

in the consolidation of the Kimberly diamond mines.
N.Y. Times 1907 Ashwell Obituary Lindley returned to England, where he wrote "After Ophir, or, A Search For the South African Gold Fields".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindley, Augustus Frederick 1840 births 1873 deaths Military leaders of the Taiping Rebellion Royal Navy officers English evangelicals Military personnel from London British expatriates in China Royal Navy personnel of the Second Opium War Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery