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Spain had entered into alliances with France in 1796, the British fleet had not cruised in the Mediterranean but had been occupied in blocking the See also:

SPANISH

Spanish See also:

SHIPS

ships at See also:

Cadiz. On the 2nd of May 1798 St Vincent detached See also:

Nelson, then the junior See also:

REAR

rear-See also:

ADMIRAL

admiral, with his See also:

FLAG (or " FLAGGE," a common Teutonic word in this sense, but apparently first recorded in English)

flag into the Mediterranean, with three See also:

SAIL

sail of the See also:

LINE

line and frigates to make a See also:

RECONNAISSANCE (from Fr. reconnaitre, to recognize, Lat. recognoscere)

reconnaissance at Toulon. On the 17th of May a small French corvette was captured near Cape Sicie, and from the See also:

crew Nelson learnt that the French were still in the See also:

HARBOUR (from M.E. hereberge, here, an army; cf. Ger. Heer and -beorg, protection or shelter. Other early forms in English were herberwe and haiborow, as seen in various place names, such as Market Harborough.. The French auberge, an inn, derived through

harbour.

He could gain no information as to the aim of the armament. Napoleon enforced strict secrecy by not letting even the most important See also:

OFFICERS

officers of the dockyard know whither he was See also:

BOUND, or BOUNDARY (from O. Fr. bonde, Med. Lat. bodena or butina, a frontier line)

bound. On the 2nd of May the British government had written to St Vincent stating their wish that a See also:

PART

part of his fleet should be sent into the Mediterranean. The first See also:

lord of the See also:

ADMIRALTY, HIGH COURT OF

admiralty, Lord See also:

Spencer, told him that he might either go him-self or send a subordinate. If the latter course was followed Nelson was indicated as the officer to be chosen. Reinforcements were sent to him to enable him to provide both for the cruise in the Mediterranean and for the See also:

blockade of Cadiz. St Vincent had already selected Nelson, and when the reinforcements arrived he despatched See also:

CAPTAIN (derived from Lat. ca put, head, through the Low Lat. capitanus)

Captain See also:

TROUBRIDGE, SIR THOMAS, BART

Troubridge with the inshore See also:

SQUADRON

squadron engaged in watching Cadiz—" the choice See also:

FELLOWS, SIR CHARLES (1799-1860)

fellows," as he described them, of his fleet—to join Nelson at Toulon. The ships were replaced by others similarly painted, so that the Spaniards might see no difference and therefore be unable to send See also:

NEWS

news to their ally. Troubridge left on the 24th of May with as many vessels as would bring Nelson's whole command up, to thirteen 74's and one 50-See also:

gun See also:

SHIP

ship. While these See also:

MEASURES

measures were being taken to intercept him, Napoleon had put to See also:

sea on the r9th of May with fifteen sail of the line, twelve frigates and some two See also:

HUNDRED

hundred transports. He sailed down the eastern See also:

side of Corsica and See also:

SARDINIA (Gr. 'IXs'o"uva, from a fancied resemblance to a footprint in its shape, Ital. Sardegna)

Sardinia to pick up the detachments which were to join him from the first-named See also:

ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

island and from Civita Vecchia. On the evening of the loth a See also:

gale from the N.W. brought some confusion on his See also:

FLOCK

flock of ships, but it also drove Nelson to the S.W.

His See also:

FLAGSHIP

flagship the " Vanguard " (74) was dismasted and compelled to See also:

ANCHOR (from the Greek ayrcvpa, which Vossius considers is from 6yi17 , a crook or hook)

anchor at See also:

San Pietro to refit. His frigates were separated from him by the See also:

WEATHER (O. Eng. weder; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Du. weder, Dan. veir, Icel. ve8r, and Ger. Wetter and Gewitter, storm; the root is wa- to blow, from which is derived " wind ")

weather, and the captains made for See also:

GIBRALTAR

Gibraltar, concluding that the admiral would go there to refit. The departure of his frigates left Nelson without vessels for scouting and had a material See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence on the See also:

CAMPAIGN

campaign. The " Vanguard " was made ready by the 27th of May, and resumed her station off Toulon. On the 7th of See also:

JUNE

June Nelson was joined by Troubridge. Calms hampered his pursuit of the French, whom he now knew to be at sea, but on the 14th he was off Civita Vecchia; on the 17th he was at See also:

Naples, where he heard that the French had been seen going See also:

south, and made arrangements to obtain See also:

WATER

water and stores in the Neapolitan ports. On the loth he was at See also:

MESSINA

Messina, where he first got definite information of the movements of the enemy. The French had appeared off See also:

Malta on the 9th and had occupied the island, which was surrendered to them on the 12th by the treachery of the French and Italian members of the See also:

order. Pushing on in the See also:

hope of finding them on the See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast of the island, Nelson was off Cape Passaro on the 22nd, and there learnt that the French had sailed from the island. His instructions directed him to guard against possible French attacks on See also:

SICILY (Ital. Sicilia)

Sicily, or even an See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to pass the Straits of Gibraltar and sail for Ireland. But Nelson knew that the Neapolitan government had no fears for Sicily and that the See also:

WESTERLY

westerly winds would prevent the French from going to Gibraltar. On a view of all the circumstances, and after consultation with those of his captains in whose See also:

JUDGMENT

judgment he had the most confidence, he came to the just conclusion that they were bound for Egypt.

He therefore sailed for See also:

Alexandria on the most See also:

DIRECT

direct route eastward along the coast of See also:

Africa. The information given him at Cape Passaro was that the French had left Malta on the 16th; the actual date was the r9th. Napoleon, whose frigates had sighted the British squadron, and who knew that he might be pursued, did not take the direct route, but steered to the See also:

north-See also:

east along the south See also:

SHORE

shore of See also:

CRETE (Gr. Kp;rrrr; Turk. Kirid, Ital. Candia)

Crete. Thus it happened that on the See also:

NIGHT

night of the 22nd of June the fleets crossed one another's tracks. Want of look-out vessels prevented Nelson from detecting the neighbourhood of his enemy. The French with their See also:

CONVOY

convoy going more slowly on the longer route to the north, and the active British squadron on the direct route to the south, both headed for Egypt, with barely 6o m. of sea between them, but neither aware of the position of the other. On the 28th of June Nelson reached Alexandria to find the See also:

PORT

port occupied only by a few See also:

TURKISH

Turkish ships. It was from Nelson that the Turkish authorities gained their first knowledge of the impending invasion. Nelson, misled by the false date given him at Cape Passaro, and being unable to reconnoitre the position of the enemy, came to the erroneous conclusion that he was mistaken in supposing that the French were on the way to Egypt, and that they must be bound for some other part of the eastern Mediterranean. On the 29th of June he sailed from Alexandria, See also:

STANDING

standing to the north-east. His topsails were still in sight to the north-east when the French appeared coming from the north-See also:

west. They sighted the coast on the 29th to the west of Alexandria, and on the 1st of See also:

JULY

July they occupied the anchorage and See also:

TOWN

town.

While Nelson was ranging along the coast of See also:

ASIA

Asia Miner, seeking for news of them and finding none, on his way back to Sicily, the French were landing their army. The British squadron reached See also:

Syracuse on the 19th of July. Here Nelson was able to obtain water and stores and clear indications that the French had gone to Egypt. On the 24th he sailed, and on the 1st of August was again off Alexandria. The battle of the Pyramids had been fought on the 21st, and Napoleon was See also:

MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master of Egypt. The fear of the British admiral was that the French fleet had left the coast in the See also:

INTERVAL

interval of his See also:

ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence. Brueys, the French admiral, had had a choice of three courses open to him—to enter the old harbour of Alexandria, to sail for See also:

CORFU (anc. and mod. Gr. KEpKvpa or Kopiupa, Lat. Corcyra)

Corfu then occupied by the French or to take a strong anchorage on the coast and prepare to repel attack. To enter the harbour was difficult for large ships, and to leave it by its one narrow entrance in the presence of even an inferior force would have been impossible. Brueys therefore decided against that course. He did not sail for Corfu, partly because some of the army stores were still in his ships and partly because his squadron, See also:

ill fitted from the first, was See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short of provisions, and no more could as yet be obtained from the shore. He therefore stationed himself with thirteen of his ships of the line in the roadstead of Aboukir, some 15 M. north-east of Alexandria, between the island of Aboukir and the See also:

ROSETTA (Coptic Rashit, Arabic Rashid)

Rosetta mouth of the Nile. Here he was found on the evening of the 1st of August when the British fleet came in sight.

The French line of thirteen ships was anchored to the east of Aboukir, now called Nelson's Island, in a See also:

CURVE (Lat. curvus, bent)

curve stretching to the south-east. It consisted of the " Guerrier " (74), the " Conquerant " (94), the "Spartiate " (74), the "Aquilon "(94), " Souverain Peuple " (74), " See also:

Franklin " (8o), " Orient " (120), Admiral Bruey's flagship " Tonnant " (8o), " Heureux " (74), " See also:

TIMOLEON (c. 411-337 B.C.)

Timoleon " (94), " See also:

Guillaume Tell " (8o), " Mercure " (74) and " Genereux " (74), counting from the west end. The French ships had begun the voyage short-handed and many men were absent on shore filling the water-casks. They fought with a See also:

HALF

half to two-thirds of their complements, which suffered from the See also:

BAD, BCD

bad training and inexperience of the French republican See also:

NAVY

navy. A See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council of flag officers and captains was being. held in the " Orient " when the British squadron appeared. - When the enemy was sighted Nelson at once gave the order to attack. All the possibilities of battle had been fully discussed between him and his captains. Much controversy of a rather idle See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character has taken See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place as to assigning the See also:

CREDIT (Lat. credere, to believe)

credit for the actual course adopthd; it was almost dictated to men so experienced and capable as the British captains and their admiral by the position of the enemy. If the French had been anchored so near the shore that it was not possible to pass between them and it, the British ships, coming from the west with a westerly See also:

wind, would have passed outside of them, endeavouring to anchor one on the See also:

BOW (pronounced " bo ")

bow and the next on the See also:

QUARTER (through Fr. from Lat. quartarius, fourth part)

quarter of each French ship in See also:

SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession. Those in the See also:

van might have been crushed before the ships in the fear and to leeward could come to their assistance. As it was, the French were so placed that there was See also:

ROOM

room for the British ships to pass between them and the See also:

LAND

land. Therefore it was possible for the first corners of the British squadron to pass inside the French ships, to anchor there, and to allow the next corners to anchor outside so as to put the enemy's van between two fires.

This disposition was not without its drawbacks, for it entailed the See also:

RISK

risk that the British ships might See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire into one another while directing their guns on an See also:

OBJECT

object between them. The risk was the greater because the battle began at sundown and was continued in the dark. Yet it had the See also:

ADVANTAGE

advantage that it produced an intense concentration of fire. In the circumstances it had the See also:

PECULIAR

peculiar advantage, of which, however, the British captains may not have been aware, that as the French were very short-handed they were unable to See also:

WORK

work both broadsides to the full. It is to this fact that we must attribute the comparatively small loss suffered by the British ships in an attack which, if made against a well-appointed enemy, must have been extremely costly. Whether by previous arrangement with Nelson, or because he acted on the facts before him, the first British captain to come into See also:

ACTION

action, Captain See also:

Foley of the " See also:

GOLIATH

Goliath " (74), passed inside the French, and anchored abreast of the second of them, the " Conquerant." The " Zealous " (74), under Captain See also:

Hood, anchored on the bow of the first Frenchman, the " Guerrier." The " Audacious " (74), under Captain Davidge See also:

Gould, anchored between the " Zealous " and " Goliath." The " See also:

THESEUS

Theseus " (74), under Captain See also:

Miller, anchored inside of the third French ship, the " Spartiate." The " See also:

Orion " (74), under Captain See also:

SAUMAREZ, JAMES SAUMAREZ

Saumarez, anchored abreast of the fifth French See also:

VESSEL (O. Fr. vaissel, from a rare Lat. vascellum, dim. of vas, vase, urn)

vessel, the "Souverain Peuple." Then Nelson, in his flagship the " Vanguard " (74), the See also:

SIXTH

sixth British ship to come into action, anchored on the outside of the French line abreast of the "Spartiate " already engaged with the " Theseus." The " See also:

MINOTAUR (Gr. Mcvcn -avpos, from Mews, and Taps, bull)

Minotaur " (74), under Captain See also:

Thomas See also:

Louis, and the " See also:

Defence " (74), under Captain Peyton, anchored next to the " Vanguard " and opposite the See also:

FOURTH

fourth French ship, the " Aquilon," and the " Souverain Peuple," already engaged with the " Orion." Thus eight British 74's which had only to fight one See also:

BROADSIDE

broadside at a time were thrown on five undermanned French 74's, which had to fight both and were speedily crushed. One British vessel, the " See also:

CULLODEN

Culloden " (74), under Captain Troubridge, grounded on the shoal at Aboukir, and could not get into action. She served as a See also:

BEACON (from the O. Eng. beacn, a sign, cf. " beckon," another form of the same word)

beacon to the vessels See also:

corning behind her. As the French van was silenced, and the fresh vessels came up from the British rear, the attack was carried down the French line. About 9.30 P.M. the " Orient " was seen to be in flames, and at io P.M. she blew up. The See also:

EXPLOSION

explosion imposed a brief suspension of battle, but the fire was soon renewed. By midnight the battle was over.

In the course of the next See also:

day the " Guillaume Tell," the " Genereux " and two frigates succeeded in escaping, but they were the only survivors of the fleet attacked in the roadstead of Aboukir. The destruction of the French fleet, which isolated Napoleon in Egypt, had profound See also:

POLITICAL

political influence in See also:

EUROPE

Europe. The See also:

TOTAL

total loss of the British squadron was 218 killed and 678 wounded. The loss of the French was never exactly ascertained, but it was certainly very much greater. Admiral Brueys was killed on the quarter-See also:

DECK

deck of his flagship, and Nelson received a See also:

WOUND (O. Eng. wund,connected with a Teutonic verb, meaning to strive, fight, suffer, seen in O. Eng. winnan, whence Eng. " win ")

wound in the See also:

head from a langridge shot which disabled him. See Captain See also:

MAHAN, ALFRED THAYER (1840- )

Mahan's See also:

LIFE

Life of Nelson. (2nd. ed.. s 89o). (D. H.) The military quarters are at See also:

Wellington. See See also:

NILGIRIS, THE, or NEELGHERRIES (Blue Mountains)

Nilgiris See also:

DISTRICT

District Gazetteer (See also:

MADRAS

Madras,1908).

End of Article: NILE, BATTLE OF THE

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