Suakin Expedition Photographs, Suakin Field Force, Sudan.

Item Details

11 albumen prints from collodion negative, 1885. Each print approximately 6 x 8" or less.  Most prints are titled in pencil on the reverse.

Suakin, a port on the Red Sea in the north east of Sudan, was used as a base by British forces operating against the Mahdist revolutionaries in 1884. Major General Sir Gerald Graham commanded a small Anglo-Indian force at Suakin. As the British attempted to evacuate the Sudan, a number of hard fought battles including El Teb and Tamai were fought by the Suakin Field Force. When a force was despatched from Egypt to relieve General Charles Gordon at Khartoum, Graham commanded a second expedition to Suakin. The Suakin expeditionary forces defeated the Mahdists at Hashin and Tofrek in March 1885 but the political situation resulted in a decision to end the campaign, and the Suakin Field Force was evacuated in May 1885. Suakin's importance as a port was eventually reduced permanently as Port Sudan was developed by the British following the defeat of Mahdist forces in the region.