This work was suggested by Mr. Clements R. Markham's "Memoir on the Indian Surveys," in which the geographical and other kindred operations carried out in India from the date of the British occupation were reviewed in a most picturesque and masterly manner. In 1878 a second edition of Mr. Markham's work was published, in which the narrative was brought up to 1875, and in some cases for a year or so later. For the last fifteen years I have been accumulating notes in moments of leisure, with a view to the publication of a volume which might serve as a continuation to that by Mr. Markham, and the kind support given to the project by the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy has now enabled me to present the work in a more or less complete shape. From unavoidable circumstances the arrangement of matter is not identical with that adopted by Mr. Markham, but I believe I have conformed to it sufficiently to make reference easy, and wherever the source of information is not specially mentioned, it may be assumed that it will be found in the official Annual Report for the particular year.

This book offers a detailed investigation of George S. White’s career in the British Army. It explores late Victorian military conflicts, British power dynamics in Africa and Asia, civil-military relations on the fringes of the empire, and networks of advancement in the army. White served in the Indian Rebellion and, twenty years later, the Second Anglo-Afghan War, where he earned the Victoria Cross. After serving in the Sudan campaign, White returned to India and held commands during the conquest and pacification of Upper Burma and the extension of British control over Balochistan, and, as Commander-in-Chief, sent expeditions to the North-West Frontier and oversaw major military reforms. Just before the start of the South African War, White was given the command of the Natal Field Force. This force was besieged in Ladysmith for 118 days. Relieved in 1900, White was heralded as the “Defender of Ladysmith.” He was made Field-Marshal in 1903.