The tardy resolution to send a Relief Expedition to Khartoum has already been alluded to. On the 16th of December, 1884, Lord Wolseley joined the camp which had been pitched at Korti by Brigadier-General Sir Herbert Stewart, and received intelligence from Gordon, informing him that four steamers with their guns were waiting for the expedition at Metamneh, and that Khartoum could hold out with ease for forty days after the date of the letter (November 4th). It was not till the 30th of December that Stewart was able to dash into the desert with the Camel Corps to seize the wells of Gakdul. On the 31st a message from Gordon, dated the 29th of October, arrived, showing that Khartoum still held out, but that he was in dire straits, and, on the 1st of January, 1885, the first boats with the Black Watch reached Korti. On the 3rd General Earle left to join his force which was proceeding up the river to Berber. On the 5th the Naval Brigade arrived, and Sir Herbert Stewart returned from Gakdul. On the 8th he began his march across the Bayuda Desert with a motley force of 120 officers and 1,900 men. The Mahdi, on hearing of the occupation of Gakdul on the 2nd of January, resolved to crush Stewart’s force at the end of its Desert march, and Lord Wolseley’s eccentric tactics gave him thirteen clear days in which to concentrate his forces at Abu Klea, where he barred the way to Metamneh.[219] It was not till the 16th of January that Stewart got touch of the enemy at Abu Klea. During the night our men were harassed by the Arab sharp-shooters, and next day Stewart was artfully drawn into a difficult position, and forced to march out in square formation and give his antagonist battle. When our skirmishers were within 200 yards of the enemy’s flags, the square was halted to let its rear close up. Then, to the amazement of everybody, the Arabs sprang forth from the ravine where they had been hiding, as Roderick Dhu’s warriors rose from the heather. Stewart’s skirmishers ran back in hot haste. The Arabs charged furiously, and, when slightly checked at a distance of about 80 yards, they suddenly swept round to the right and broke the rear face and angle of the British square. For a moment there was dreadful confusion, and had the camels not checked the Arab onset Stewart’s force would have been annihilated, like the army of Hicks Pasha at El Obeid. However, the enemy were beaten back with great loss of life, and the day was saved. It was in this affray that Colonel Fred Burnaby lost his life. The square was broken first, because the Gardner gun at the corner jammed, and was useless after the tenth round; secondly, because General Stewart foolishly trusted cavalry men and seamen to hold the exposed angles;[220] thirdly, because the cartridges of some of the rifles jammed, and shook the soldier’s confidence in his weapon.