He was famous for his bravery and might in the Scottish wars, and he witnessed great battles, faced immense dangers. His father was an officer in the English artillery, rising to the rank of Lieutenant General. He witnessed the siege of Sebastopol in 1855 and performed great deeds, for which he was commended by the commander of the division he was in. In 1860, he traveled to China and engaged in battles there that testified to his courage, skill, and mastery in military maneuvers and their direction to achieve the desired objective. He remained in China, enduring hardships and suffering, until 1865, then returned to England, having risen to the rank of Colonel in the English army and was awarded the title of Field Marshal by the Sultan of China.

In 1873, he was appointed Governor of the Equatorial Provinces in Africa, as previously mentioned. In 1876, he resigned after completing the reforms he had undertaken there. In 1879, he was appointed Governor of Sudan, Darfur, and the Equatorial Provinces.

Upon his arrival, he found them devoid of Egyptian troops, as those who were there had been sent as reinforcements for the scientific expedition in its war with the Russians. Consequently, the fires of rebellion ignited in Darfur, and Al-Zubayr Pasha became its instigator with his letters, in which he presented his successors with a call to break obedience and destroy what Gordon was building, until the number of rebels exceeded ten thousand fighters. Gordon had only a small handful of Egyptian soldiers. He stayed in Khartoum for a month, making great reforms to the government's affairs, abolishing the use of the whip, and prohibiting the acceptance of bribes. Then he set out and began to cut through the marshes and canals until he reached Darfur. He entered the rebels' camp alone, leaving his followers and servants with him at a distance from the camp.