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Souvenir of the Sudan War.

The 1881-1899 Mahdi uprising became a war of independence with Muslim religious overtones as more and more of the Sudanese people rose up, against British-backed Egyptian, and Turkish Ottoman rule.

386 Canadian boatmen, largely loggers, rivermen and boat pilots, participated in General Wolsey's expedition to Sudan. Known as the "Nile Voyageurs" were contracted to navigate wooden whaling boats through the Nile's rapids and cataracts for the relief force led by General Wolsey. They arrived two days too late. General Gordon who had been ordered to withdraw all troops and allow Sudanese rule, was killed and many civilians. Six months later the Mahdi died but the war continued until a vengeful bloody British conquest in 1899. The Canadian boatmen are considered Canada's first volunteer overseas contingent. The contingent included 56 Mohawks mainly from the Kahnawake band in Quebec and 30 Ojibwa from Manitoba and Northern Ontario.