He was
commissioned into the
Bengal Artillery in 1858, which was later amalgamated into the
Royal Artillery. He quickly caught the attention of
Sir Frederick Roberts who predicted that Chapman would "make his mark". He was duly selected to fight in the
British Expedition to Abyssinia between 1867 and 1868 as the commander of No. 5 Battery, 21st Brigade. He was present at the action of Arogee and at the fall of Magdala, working as
aide-de-camp to Brigadier-General Petrie and being
mentioned in dispatches for his services. Chapman was part of a mission to
Yarkand in
China in 1874. He served in the
Second Anglo-Afghan War from 1878 to 1880, and was Sir Frederick Roberts' Chief of Staff during the march from
Kabul to
Kandahar. He became the second
Director of Military Intelligence at the
War Office in 1891. He was aide-de-camp to
Queen Victoria in 1891. As an active member of the
Royal Geographical Society, he presented several lectures and wrote numerous papers on the effects of physical geography on the tactics and success of military operations. Additionally, he wrote several books about military geography and the history of the
British Indian Army. He was promoted to
major-general in 1889,
lieutenant-general in 1892, and
general in March 1896. Chapman was made
Commander Scottish District in 1896, a post he held until May 1901. He was made a
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1905 and retired in 1906. He was appointed a Colonel-Commandant of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 14 January 1903, and was
Master Gunner, St James's Park, the ceremonial commander of the Royal Artillery, between 1919 and 1926. == Personal life ==