Bonaparte Issues Proclamation in Arabic

From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 1, pp. 235-237.

No. I.

Translation of the Proclamation issued by BONAPARTE, in the Arabic Language, on his landing in Egypt.

IN the name of God, gracious and merciful.—There is no God but God; he has no son or associate in his kingdom.

The present moment, which is destined for the punishment of the Beys, has been long anxiously expected. The Beys, coming from the mountains of Georgia and Bajars, have desolated this beautiful country, long insulted and treated with contempt the French Nation, and oppressed her merchants in various ways. Bonaparte, the General of the French Republic, according to the principles of Liberty, is now arrived; and the Almighty, the Lord of both Worlds, have sealed the destruction of the Beys.



Inhabitants of Egypt! When the Beys tell you the French are come to destroy your religion, believe them not: it is an absolute falsehood. Answer those deceivers, that they are only come to rescue the rights of the poor from the hands of their tyrants, and that the French adore the Supreme Being, and honour the Prophet and his holy Koran.

All men are equal in the eyes of God: understanding, ingenuity, and science, alone make a difference between them: as the Beys, therefore, do not possess any of these qualities, they cannot be worthy to govern the country.

Yet are they the only possessors of extensive tracts of land, beautiful female slaves, excellent horses, magnificent palaces! Have they then received an exclusive privilege from the Almighty? If so, let them produce it. But the Supreme Being, who is just and merciful towards all mankind, wills that in future none of the inhabitants of Egypt shall be prevented from attaining to the first employments and the highest honours.—The Administration, which shall be conducted by persons of intelligence, talents, and foresight, will be productive of the happiness and security. The tyranny and avarice of the Beys have laid waste Egypt, which was formerly so populous and well cultivated.

The French are true Mussulmen. Not long since they marched to Rome, and overthrew the Throne of the Pope, who excited the Christians against the professors of Islamism (The Mahometan religion). Afterwards they directed their course to Malta, and drove out the unbelievers, who imagined they were appointed by God to make war on the Mussulmen. The French have at all times been the true and sincere friends of the Ottoman Emperors, and the enemies of their enemies. May the Empire of the Sultan therefore be eternal; but may the Beys of Egypt, our opposers whose insatiable avarice has continually excited disobedience and insubordination, be trodden in the dust, and annihilated!

Our friendship shall be extended to those of the inhabitants of Egypt who shall join us, as also those who shall remain in their dwellings, and observe a strict neutrality; and when they have seen our conduct with their own eyes, hasten to submit to us; but the dreadful punishment of death awaits those who shall take up arms for the Beys, and against us. For then there shall be no deliverance, nor shall any trace of them remain.

Art. 1. All places which shall be three leagues distant from the route of the French army, shall send one of their principal inhabitants to the French General, to declare that they submit, and will hoist the French flag, which is blue, white, and red.

Art. 2. Every village which shall oppose the French army shall be burned to the ground.

Art. 3. Every village which shall submit to the French, shall hoist the French flag, and that of the Sublime Porte, their Ally, whose duration be eternal.

Art. 4. The Cheiks and principal persons of each town and village shall seal up the houses and effects of the Beys, and take care that not the smallest article shall be lost.

Art. 5. The Cheiks, Cadis, and Imans, shall continue to exercise their respective functions; and put up their prayers, and perform the exercise of religious worship in the mosques and houses of prayer. All the inhabitants of Egypt shall offer up thanks to the Supreme Being, and put up public prayers for the destruction of the Beys.

May the Supreme God make the glory of the Sultan of the Ottomans eternal, pour forth his wrath on the Mameloucs, and render glorious the destiny of the Egyptian Nation.

Admiral Ganteaume Provides Official Abstract of Encounter with the British

From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 1, pp. 230-234

TRANSLATION.

Alexandria, August 5th.

Abstract of the Engagement which took place on the night of the first of August, between the French Fleet, and that of Great Britain, under the command of Rear Admiral NELSON.

AT two in the afternoon, the Heureux threw out a signal of 12 sail in the W.N.W. Our men on the look out, discovered them at the same time, and counted successively as many as 16. We were not long in recognizing these vessels to be an English squadron, composed of 14 sail of the line and two brigs.

The enemy steered for our anchoring ground, with a press of sail: having a brig sounding a head. The wind was N. and rather fresh.

The two brigs, the Alceste and the Raileur, were immediately ordered to make a sail to windward, to prevent the enemy’s light vessel from continuing her soundings.

The signals for stowing the hammocks, and making ready for fight; for announcing the resolution of engaging at anchor; and for recalling the men on board their respective ships, were all made at three.

The long boats employed in watering were also recalled: a boat was hastily dispatched from the Artemise to the shoals of Rosetta, to acquaint the transports there with the appearance of the enemy; and finally, the frigates and corvettes were ordered to send as many of their men as possible on board the ships of the line.

The enemy’s squadron continued to advance with a press of sail; after standing off to a considerable distance, to avoid the breakers on the island(1), it hauled its wind, shortened sail, and clearly manifested a design to attack us.

At three quarters after five, the battery on the little island threw some bombs, which fell into the van of the enemy’s line. At 6, the Admiral threw out the signal for commencing the engagement, and shortly after, the two headmost ships began firing.

Several of the enemy’s vessels having suddenly shortened sail, had turned the head of our line, and letting go their anchors, with a cable astern, had ranged along side, between us and the land; while others had moored themselves within pistol-shot of us, on the other side! By this maneuver, all our vessels, as far down as the Tonnant, found themselves completely enveloped, and placed between two fires.

It appeared to us that in executing this maneuver, two of their vessels had run aground: one of them, however, was immediately got off.

The attack and the defense were extremely brisk. The whole of our van was attacked on both sides, and sometimes raked. In this disorder, and involved as we were in continual clouds of smoke, it was extremely difficult to distinguish the different movements of the line.

At the beginning of the action, the admiral, all the superior officers, the first commissary, and about twenty pilots, and masters of transports, were on the poop of the ship(2), employed in serving the musquetry. All the soldiers, and sailors, were ordered to the guns of the main and lower decks: the twelve pounders were not half-manned.

After the action had lasted about an hour, the Admiral was wounded in the body, and in the hand; he then came down from the poop, and a short time after, was killed on the quarter-deck.

Obliged to defend ourselves on both sides, we gave up the twelve pounders, but the twenty-fours, and thirty-six’s kept up their fire with all possible ardour. The Franklin and the Tonnant appeared to be in as critical a situation as ourselves.

The English having utterly destroyed our van(3), suffered their ships to drift forward, still ranging along our line, and taking their different stations around us: while we [illegible] van cut off, were frequently obliged to [illegible] away our cable, or our hawser, to enable us to present our broadside to the enemy.

One of their ships, however, which lay close to us on the starboard side totally dismasted, ceased her fire, and cut her cable, to get out of the reach of our guns: but obliged to defend ourselves against two others who were furiously thundering upon us, on the larboard quarter, and on the starboard bow, we were again compelled to heave in some of our cable.

The 36 and 24 pounders were still firing briskly, when an explosion took place on the aft of the quarter-deck. We had already had a boat on fire; but we had cut it away, and so avoided the danger. We had also thrown a hammock, and some other things, which were in flames, over board, but this third time, the fire spread so rapidly and instantaneously amongst the fragments of every kind, with which the poop was incumbered, that all was soon in flames. The fire pumps had been dashed to pieces by the enemy’s balls, and the tubs and buckets rendered useless.

An order was given to cease firing, that all hands might be at liberty to bring water; but such was the ardour of the moment, that in the tumult, the guns of the main-deck still continued their fire. Although the officers had called all the people between decks, aloft, the flames had in a very short time, made a most alarming progress, and we had but few means in our power of checking them.

Our main and mizzen masts were both carried away; and we soon saw that there was no saving the ship; the fire having already gained the poop, and even the battery on the quarter-deck.

The captain and second captain had been wounded some time before. General Gnateaume therefore took upon himself the command, and ordered the scuttles to be opened, and every body to quit the ship.

The fire broke out about a quarter before ten, and at half after ten the ship blew up, although we had taken the precaution to open all the water-courses. Some of the crew saved themselves on the wreck; the rest perished.

The action continued all the night with the ships in the rear, and at break of day, we discovered that the Guerrier, the Conquerant, the Spartiate, the Aquillon, the Peuple Souverain, and the Franklin had hauled down their colours, and were in the possession of the enemy. The Timoleon, with all her masts gone, was dropt astern of the fleet, her colours still flying. The Heureux and the Mercure which had run aground were attacked, and obliged to strike in the morning. The artemise was set on fire at 8 o’clock, and the Serieuse sunk.

The Guillaume Tell, the Genereux, the Timoleon, the Diana, and the Justice, with their colours still flying, were engaged with some English vessels during a part of the morning, but this division, with the exception of the Timoleon, set their sails, about 11 o’clock, and stood off to sea.

The Timoleon ran ashore; and we have since heard, that the Captain, after landing all his men, set her on fire the next morning, to prevent her falling into the hands of the enemy.

Such are the results of this horrible affair; and we have detailed them as they presented themselves to our memory; not having been able to preserve a paper or note of any kind.

Read Admiral GANTEAUME.


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[British Translators' Notes]

(1)See the Charts.

(2)The l’Orient.

(3)We take the opportunity of this passage to make a few observations.

It has been said in the French papers, and repeated in our ears usque ad nauseam, that the fate of the day was undecided when the l’Orient took fire; and questions have been gravely put by the opposition writers, and still more gravely debated, as to the probable consequences of the engagement, if that accident had not taken place.

These patriotic gentlemen, however, may now close their well meant discussions: we have it, happily, in our power to decide the question for ever, by such authority, as they neither can nor will, we believe, be inclined to dispute. We have the authentic and irrefragable testimony of the Admiral Ganteaume, that the van of the French fleet was in our hands before that event took place: and we have, secondly, THE EXPRESS AUTHORITY OF THE CAPT. BERRY for saying that Six of their ships had struck before the l’Orient was perceived to be on fire; and that not only HE, BUT EVERY OTHER OFFICER, WHO WAS IN A SITUATION OF JUDGING, IS PERSUADED THAT THE L’ORIENT HERSELF HAD PREVIOUSLY STRUCK TO THE BRITISH FLAG!

Admiral Ganteaume Gives Account of "Most Fatal of Disasters"

From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 1, pp. 219-225

TRANSLATION.

Alexandria, August 23d.

Rear Admiral GANTEAUME(1), to General BRUIX, Minister of the Marine, and of the Colonies.

Citizen Minister,

OBLIGED to give you an account of the most fatal of disasters, it is with piercing and heart-felt sorrow, that I acquit myself of this melancholy part of my duty.

Eleven sail of the line taken, burnt, and lost for France, our best officers killed or wounded, the coasts of our new colony laid open to invasion of the enemy; such are the dreadful results of an engagement which took place on the night of the 1st instant, between our fleet and that of the English under the command of Admiral Nelson.

From the experience which you have had, Citizen Minister, in our ports during the course of this war, it will doubtless be easy for you to judge, whether the crews of a fleet so hastily fitted out as ours, could be reasonably expected to be well composed; and whether we could hope to find amongst men collected at random as it were, almost at the very instant of our departure, able mariners, and skilful and experienced cannoneers. The favourable season, however, the care and attention of the officers, and, perhaps, a certain portion of good luck, seconded the progress of the fleet effectually, that, together with its convoy, it reached the coast of Egypt without any accident whatever.

The Admiral has most assuredly informed you that on our arrival at Alexandria, we learned that an English squadron of 14 sail had been there three days before us. It would have been the most prudent step perhaps, to have quitted the coast the moment the descent had been effected; but the Admiral, who waited for the orders(2) of the Commander in Chief (whose army naturally derived a great degree of confidence from the presence of the squadron) did not think himself justified in quitting the coast, but took, on the contrary, a strong position in the anchoring ground of Bequiers.

This road by its proximity to Rosetta, enabled him to receive on board the necessary supplies for the fleet; and to replace, though with infinite risks and pains, some part of the water that was daily consumed on board. It was therefore, unfortunately determined to moor the fleet in one line, in an open situation, and which could not be protected from the shore.

Fatal intelligence received from time to time by neutral vessels, announced the return of the enemy’s squadron. It had been seen off the Isle of Candia, steering to the westward. The conduct of this fleet, which, though superior to ours, had not waited for us before Alexandria, but made sail to the west, while we were effecting our disembarkation, which it might easily have thwarted or prevented, unhappily confirmed us in the opinion that it had no orders to attack us, and produced a boundless and fatal security.

On the 21st of July, however, two of the enemy’s frigates(3) reconnoitred us, and on the 31st, about two in the afternoon, their whole fleet hove in sight. It was composed of 14 sail of the line, and two brigs. The wind was northerly and rather fresh. They bore down with a press of sail on our fleet, and clearly announced a design to attack us.

The measures which the Admiral took on this occasion, the resolution to engage at anchor, and the results of this horrible affair, are detailed in the abstract(4), which I have subjoined to the present letter; in that, I have delineated every circumstance as it appeared to me on this too grievous, and too dreadful night.

The L’Orient took fire. It was by an accident which I cannot yet comprehend, that I escaped from the midst of the flames, and was taken into a yawl that was lying under the ship’s counter. Not being able to reach the vessel of General Villeneuve, I made for this place, from whence I have now the mortification of transmitting you these melancholy details.

The Franklin, the Spartiate, the Tonnant, the Peuple Souverain, and the Conquerant are taken. They got their top-masts up, and sailed with the enemy’s squadron, which quitted the coast on the 18th of August; leaving here a small division of four ships of the line and two frigates.

The Mercure, the Heureux, and the Guerrier have been burnt by the enemy. The two first ran aground during the action, and were buiged when they took possession of them.

The Timoleon, incapable of making her escape, was run on shore by Captain Trulet, who set her on fire, after putting all the crew either into his own boats, or into those which were sent him from the rest of the fleet.

The two frigates, the Artemise and the Serieuse were destroyed, in spite of the enemy’s endeavours to preserve them; the first was burnt, and the other sunk.

The sole relicks then of this unfortunate armament are comprised in the division of frigates, corvets, and fluets, which are now at Alexandria, and in that of General Villeneuve, who, by a bold maneuver(5), made his escape from the enemy. You will see by my Abstract, that this latter division is composed of two ships of the line and two frigates,--the Guillaume Tell, the Genereux, the Diane, and the Justice.

Placed by my rank at the head of the part of our unfortunate armament which remains here, Admiral Nelson proposed to me to receive the wounded, and other prisoners. In concert with General Kleber, commandant of the town, I have acquiesced in his proposition; and three thousand one hundred prisoners, of whom about 800 are wounded, have been put on shore since the 6th of August.

By means of this correspondence we have collected some information respecting our personal losses. My pen trembles in my hand while, in conformity to my duty, I attempt to particularize our misfortunes.

The Admiral, the Chiefs of Division, Casa-Bianca, Thevenard, Du Petit Thouars, are killed, and six other superior officers, whose names are subjoined(6), dangerously wounded. I have not yet been able to procure an exact list of the privates killed and wounded, on account of Admiral Nelson’s refused to send me the Commissaries of the captured vessels, with their roles d’equipage.

Since the action the enemy’s cruisers are masters of the whole coast, and interrupt all our communications. The other day they captured the Fortune, a corvet which the Admiral had sent to cruize off Damietta. The English squadron, as I had the honour of mentioning to you above, sailed (it is said) for Sicily on the 18th instant. The division which is stationed here, consists of four seventy-fours and two frigates.

On account of the extraordinary care which the English always take to conceal their loss of men, we have been able to procure no information on the subject that can be relied on. We are assured, however, that Admiral Nelson is dangerously wounded in the head, and that two captains are killed. We are also told, that two of their ships, the Majestic and the Bellerophon, had each 150 men killed and wounded.

In the situation in which we are, blocked up by a very superior force, I am still ignorant, Citizen Minister, what measures we shall pursue with the feeble maritime resources that yet remain to us in this port; but if I must needs speak the truth, such as it really appears to me, I then say that, after so dreadful a disaster, I CONCEIVE NOTHING BUT A PEACE CAN CONSOLIDATE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF OUR NEW COLONY. MAY OUR GOVERNORS PROCURE US A SOLID AND HONOURABLE ONE!

I am, with respect,

GANTEAUME.


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[British Translators' Notes]

(1)Our last was from a spectator on shore. We now present our readers (and we do it with great satisfaction) with a narrative of the engagement, from one who was an actor in it; from one who might have said with Aeneas,

--quaeque ipse miserrima vidi, Et quorum pars magna fui!

From Ganteaume, in short, Rear Admiral of the fleet, who was on board the l’Orient durng the action—which he describes with the precision of a seamen, and the feelings of a patriot.

These dispatches are addressed to Bruix. They are confidential, and such as would certainly have never transpired, but for the event which threw them into our hands. If this correspondence reach the minister of marine (which we have no doubt but it will) he may still profit by it. We have given it with fidelity.

We think these two papers give the fullest account of the glorious event of the first of August, that has yet appeared. It should be observed, however, that the letters from our fleet were all on board the Leander; and, as we have already observed, were destroyed by her gallant commander, previous to striking.—We are not, indeed, without a portion of information on the subject; but still it is flattering to see a brave and able officer, (for such Ganteaume is,) bearing testimony in his official documents, to the superior courage and skill of our intrepid countrymen.

(2)If we wanted any additional proofs of the falsehood of Bonaparte, this paper would furnish it. To injure the reputation of Brueys, and to insult his ashes, he asserts, as we have already seen (No. III.), that this unfortunate Admiral detained the fleet on the coast of Egypt contrary to his wishes; and here we have Ganteaume, Commander in Chief of all the French Naval forces in Egypt, expressly declaring, in direct contradiction to the assertion, that Brueys only remained on the coast because Bonaparte would not permit him to depart!

We have given our opinion on this subject (No. III.), and probably said more than enough there to convince the blindest of Bonaparte’s admirers, that he is deficient in one quality at least, of a great man; but we could not resist the temptation of making “assurance doubly sure,” and establishing his character beyond all possibility of future doubt, by the unsuspected evidence of his warmest friend.

(3)Sir John Sinclair, who has taken his ideas of ships in the Mediterranean from flies in a milk-pot, ducks in a pond, or gilt boats and streamers in a garden canal, very properly reprehends Mr. Pitt for not having made the victory more complete, by causing all the ships which were in quest of Lord Nelson, to find him! And true it is, that if these two frigates, and two or three more that were on the look out for the Admiral, had joined him previous to the engagement, they might have rendered him some service. But the worst is yet to come: for we can seriously assure Sir John, that if these vessels had not perversely found the French fleet (for which their captains shall be broke when he is first Lord of the Admiralty) while they were searching for ours, the victory would have been as complete as heart could wish, not a vessel, not a man would have escaped! It was these and other frigates which afterwards appeared that alarmed the enemy, and occasioned all those measures of precaution and security which we find they took; and for which, if Sir John will be pleased to compare the various dates of this and the following dispatch, he will see they had sufficient time.

Notwithstanding all this, however, we are not inclined to be very angry with the ships in question. It is thought by many that their captains possess full as much nautical skill as Sir John Sinclair, and nearly as much promptitude and zeal for the service of their country; this we confess, is also our opinion, and when we see SUCH MEN anxiously and ardently engaged on an element which no human power can controul, and in a service which no human abilities can effect at will, we are ready to conclude that something more than a knowledge of agriculture is required to enable us to judge of their merits, and something better than an itch of finding fault, to justify an attack on the plans of the minister who employs them!

(4)It follows this letter.

(5)Genteaume does Villeneuve too much credit: the merit of the escape (such as it is) is due to another person.

(6)These names do not appear; they were, probably, omitted in the hurry of making up the dispatches.

Accurate Assessment of Results of Battle with the British

From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 1, pp. 206-213.

TRANSLATION.

Rosetta, August 4th.

E POUSSIELGUE(1), Controller of the Expences of the Army of the East, and Administrator General of the Finances.

WE have just been witness, my dear girl, of the most bloody and unfortunate naval action that has been fought for many ages. We do not yet know all the circumstances of it, but those that we do know, are horrible.

The French fleet, composed of thirteen sail of the line, of which one was a three decker of 120 guns, and three of 80, was moored in the incommodious bay of Aboukir; the only station to be found on the coast of Egypt. For the last week several English frigates had frequently reconnoitred the position of our fleet; so that it was in constant expectation of being attacked. From Aboukir to Rosetta, in a straight line, is about ten miles; so that from the heights of this latter place our ships were plainly discernible.

The 1st of this month, at half after five in the evening, we heard the report of several guns: this was the commencement of the action. We immediately got upon the roofs of the highest houses, and on the little eminences, and clearly distinguished ten English vessels; the others were not yet in sight. The firing was exceedingly brisk till a quarter after nine, when we perceived, by favour of the night, a prodigious light, which sufficiently announced to us, that some vessel was in flames—at this moment the fire was brisker than ever. At ten o’clock, the vessel which was burning, blew up with a most tremendous noise, which was heard as plainly at Rosetta, as the explosion of Grenelle at Paris. This accident was succeeded by a pitchy darkness, and a most profound silence, which continued for about ten minutes. The time elapsed between our seeing and hearing the explosion was two minutes. The firing now began again, and continued, without intermission, till three in the morning: it then grew very faint till five, when it commenced with more fury than ever.

I now took my stand on a tower called Aboul-Mandour, about a mile from Rosetta, from whence I had a clear and distinct view of the whole engagement. At eight in the morning, I perceived a vessel on fire; about half an hour after, another, which did not appear to me to have been on fire before, suddenly blew up; its explosion was as dreadful as that of the preceding evening. The vessel which was burning removed further from the shore, the flames insensibly diminished, and it appeared to us, that the crew had succeeded in extinguishing them altogether.

During this time, the contest raged with redoubled fury: a large vessel, with all her masts carried away, got on shore. Several others appeared totally dismasted; but the two fleets were so intermixed, that we could not distinguish whether they were French or English; nor possibly make out which side had the advantage. The firing continued as warm as ever, till two in the afternoon of the 2d; at which period, two sail of the line, and two frigates, cut their cables, and make sail to the eastward with all the canvas they could carry. These vessels we clearly distinguished by their colours to be French. No other vessel stirred, and the firing ceased.

About six in the evening I returned to the tower of Aboul-Mandour, to reconnoiter the position of the two squadrons: it was the same as when I left it. The four vessels under weigh were off the mouth of the Nile. We knew not what to think of it. Twenty-four hours were past, and not a soul arrived to give us any information. To procure any ourselves was impossible; by land, on account of the Arabs, who were assembled between Rosetta and Aboukir; and by sea, on account of the difficulty of passing the bar, and the swell at the mouth of the Nile.

Thou may’st judge of our impatience and perplexity. We drew a very unfavourable augury from this silence: we were compelled, however, to remain in this state of uncertainty, all the night of the 2d. At length, on the morning of the 3d, a boat(2), which had slipped out in the night from Alexandria, brought us some details; but out of a most melancholy nature. They told us that some officers of the French fleet, who had escaped in a shallop to Alexandria, had reported that soon after the commencement of the action, Admiral Brueys had received three dangerous wounds; one on the head, and two in the body; that he still persisted in remaining on the quarter-deck; and that a fourth shot had cut him in two; that his first Captain Casa-Bianca, had been killed at the same instant, by a cannon ball; that the ship was just then perceived to be on fire; that they could not succeed in putting it out; and that she had finally blown up about ten in the evening. They added, that our squadron was defeated and destroyed; that four vessels only had escaped; and that the rest were in the enemy’s hands.

I returned to the tower, and found every thing precisely as it was the evening before. It was the same yesterday, and is still so this morning.

I now present you with an exact view of the whole scene, as it appeared to us: keeping the tower of Aboukir to the left, and directing our eyes along the horizon, to the right.

The 1st vessel dismasted, carries English colours.

The 2d and 3d in a good condition, colours not to be distinguished. The 4th has lost a mast.

The 5th in good condition; has English colours.

The 6th has lost a top-mast; this morning she hoisted a gib and a square sail.

The 7th has lost all her top-gallant masts.

The 8th has all her mast by the board.

The 9th ditto; except her bowsprit, which is standing.

The 10th dismasted; this morning a sail was bent to her bowsprit.

The 11th, 12th, and 13th, form a kind of groupe, we can only see that the three vessels have but seven masts between them.

The 14th has only her mizzen mast.

The 15th has lost her mizzen-top, and top-gallant masts.

The 16th has all her masts by the board.

The 17th has lost her mizzen top-gallant.

The 18th has lost her fore and main-masts.

The 19th, 20th, and 21st, form a groupe, with only four masts standing—all the top-masts gone.

The 22d entirely dismasted, and on shore—has English colours; they are endeavouring to get her off, and rig her out with jury masts.

The 23d in good condition; has English colours.

The 24th ditto. This is all that I could distinguish.

The result is, that though the English are victorious, they have been very roughly handled: this is clear, from their not being able to follow the four vessels that made off on the 2d.

For two days, all these vessels have remained inactive; they lie like logs in the water.

This morning intelligence is arrived from Alexandria, which confirms our losses. Rear Admiral Decres is killed, as well as Ducheyla. The Tonnant was the last ship that struck. Du Petit Thouars who commanded her, had both his legs carried away by a cannon ball. The vessels that escaped are the Guillaume Tell and the ----; the frigates are the Diana and the Justice. They say that it was the Artemise which blew up the morning before yesterday.

There is much still to be learned respecting this engagement. The English Admiral, they tell us, has sent a flag of truce to Alexandria, with a request that they would receive and take care of the wounded, which amount to 1500. He also proposes to send the prisoners on shore. I have not heard what answer was returned.

You will have in France the official relation of this event from both parties. I know not what they may say; but thou mayest rely with the utmost confidence on what I have written, because it is what I saw.

Communicate my letter to the female Citizen Corancez—this will save her son the trouble of writing; besides, I have set him about something else. He has already written six letters, and has not received an answer to any of them. I have heard nothing of Citizen Mony, whom I have appointed Agent at Demanhour. Derances, who has been ill, is quite recovered; he is with me. Martain is well, he has not received a single line from his family. I am the only fortunate person, since I have received three letters from thee since I have been in Egypt; many others have undoubtedly miscarried, as the English have taken several of our couriers.

I have had my portrait painted in profile since I have been here, by Citizen Denou, a skilful artist. They tell me that it is extremely like—but we have so many English about us, that I dare not send it, for fear it should find its way to England, or to the bottom of the sea. How happy should I be to bring it to thee myself! Be assured that the moment I can obtain my discharge, which I solicit night and day, I will quit this country. No fortune in the world shall keep me here. I would consent with pleasure to return to thee, as naked as I was born.

For the rest, my health is extremely good. I set out for Cairo to-morrow morning, in a handsome passageboat, with the military chest, the Paymaster-general, two advice-boats, an escort of 250 men, and more than 40 passengers. I take with me a fine Arabian horse, which a Cheik here made me a present of. We go by the Nile.

Adieu, my dear little girl, love me always well, and remember me to all our friends. I embrace thee tenderly, as well as my children.

POUSSIELGUE.


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[British Translators' Notes]

(1)This man was originally a merchant of Marseilles; but having a talent for intrigue, he was selected by the Directory, who had frequently profited by his ingenuity, to corrupt and revolutionize the knights of Malta. How well he succeeded, the recent surrender of that island declares but too plainly. He had, however, made himself too obnoxious to the Maltese to think of remaining there, and Bonaparte who, as the Cardinal Antici somewhere observes, “knows how to distinguish,” advanced him, in return for his eminent services, to the lucrative post in which we now find him.

He is evidently a very able man; and his letter which we now lay before the reader, is one of the most surprising instances of accuracy of observation, and fidelity of description, that we ever remember to have met with. It has been shewn to many of our officers who were in the engagement; and they unanimously concur in regarding it as a very extraordinary production.

It should be mentioned to the farther credit of Poussielgue that he could at no time have been nearer than seven miles to the scenes which he so correctly and minutely describes.

(2) That which brought General Loyer. See his letter, No. XXVIII.

General Menou Reflects on the Aftermath of Defeat by the British

From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 1, pp. 198-200.

TRANSLATION.

Rosetta, August 4th.

J. MENOU(1), General of Division, to General KLEBER.

WHAT a calamity, my dear General, has befallen our fleet! It is dreadful in the extreme: but we must take heart, and rise superior to our misfortunes!

I shall dispatch your Aid-de-Camp(2) to-morrow morning, together with the Commissary, in an advice boat to Cairo. I have had no details from Aboukir(3),

Not having any cavalry with me, I cannot dispatch a messenger over land; and the surf at the mouth of the river is so violent, that it is with the utmost difficulty and danger we can pass it(4).

I have still some faint hopes that all is not lost. If you have any intelligence of the tartanes, and other vessels, which had on board the artillery, cartridges, and other necessaries of the army, I beg you to communicate it to me; for we are in extreme want of them all here, and at Cairo.

If you could also, without risk, send round the baggage of the army, it would be of the greatest consequence, as it might then be forwarded to head quarters.

Finally, my dear General, let me hear from you—I am [anxious] to know every circumstance relative, as well to you, as to the ruins of our fleet. I am about to send you a courier, which is just arrived from the Commander in Chief; he has dispatches for you. Every thing is tolerably tranquil here; but we are obliged to keep a good look out!

I have again arrested Coraim(5), who had been released on board the L’Orient, and sent on shore. I shall send him to Cairo to-morrow under a strong escort. Is it true that you are thinking of sending me Demui? His troop will be extremely serviceable to me, if you have no occasion for it at Alexandria. Health and friendship, my dear General. Let me hear from you; for God’s sake, let me hear from you.

J. MENOU.


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[British Translators' Notes]

(1)Menou was wounded at the attack on Alexandria, and left in consequence of it, with the command of Rosetta. The French reckon him one of their best officers.

(2)Loyer. See the preceding letter.

(3)They must have arrived soon after this letter was finished: for Loyer’s, which is dated the same day, says, they had then reached him, and that he was to take them with him to Bonaparte.

(4)Menou had a considerable number of horse at Rosetta, and yet he did not think them sufficient to escort a courier to the fort of Aboukir, garrisoned by Frenchmen, and not more than eight or ten miles from town! Can our readers which for a more convincing proof of the state of security in which the French live in Egypt, or of the complete possession which they so truly declare in their official papers, they now have of the country.

(5)The Cheriff mentioned in Loyer’s letter.

Officer Discusses "Conversions" of Local Tribes

From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 1, pp. 192-196.

TRANSLATION.

Head Quarters, Rosetta, Aug. 4.

Aid-de-Camp LOYER, to Citizen KLEBER, General of Division.

My General,

I ARRIVED here yesterday morning at 7 o’clock, without any accident: instead of following the rest of the flotilla, we took a good offing—which answered extremely well. About two in the morning we were in sight of an English frigate(1), who certainly did not perceive us, or, at least, did not condescend to take any notice of us.

General Menou had not yet been informed of our unhappy disasters. He expressed a great deal of uneasiness to me for the fate of a convoy of light artillery, consisting of 11 pieces, with carriages, sponges, &c. and a prodigious quantity of musquet cartridges.

Many days have already elapsed since this convoy was dispatched from Alexandria. Not being able to get over the bar of the Nile, it had come to anchor at Aboukir, where every thing was to be put on board the light vessels of the country. Nothing, however, has yet been disembarked of all this cannon, ammunition, &c. except two eight-pounders. The rest is exposed to the seizure of the enemy, if it is not already in their possession. Citizen Dumanoir can give you some information on the subject: a detachment of troops may not yet be too late, perhaps, to preserve a convoy so necessary to the service.

I cannot conceive what motive could induce Admiral Brueys to set the Cheriff(2) at liberty, the night of the engagement. I took it for granted that he had been some how or other released by that event—but no such thing: he was sent here, I find, and had been walking about the town for several hours, during the absence of General Menou: on his return, however, the General sent him on board an advice boat, where he remains in custody. I am very sorry that you did not furnish me with the whole of your correspondence, that I might have laid before the Commander in Chief, the more than suspicious conduct of this Cheriff. As I am acquainted, however, with the principal reasons which induced you to remove him from Alexandria, I will mention them to General Bonaparte.

Our communications by the Nile are not yet quite safe. General Menou is arming an advice boat to take me to Cairo. I should have set out to day, but for the news from the army which has just reached him. An Adjutant General is this moment arrived from Cairo: he brings an official detail of the march of our army, and of the combats it has sustained; orders to some of the troops here to join without delay, and systems of organization for the country. For the rest, all is tranquil. Your division is at Boulac. The chief of battalion, Goyne of the 25th, tells me that it is far from being pleased with your(3) r----, and that it regrets exceedingly that you are not at its head.

The divisions of Desaix and Bon are the only ones that seem to have been in action. You see from the dispatches that our loss is trifling.

General Menou is about a treaty of pacification, and even of alliance with some of the Chiefs of the tribes. He has hopes of bringing over the tribe from which General Damas suffered so much. One of the subordinate chiefs has already made peace, and had a place of encampment assigned him. He has just been here to know the General’s pleasure—would to Heaven these conversions may increase(4)!

To-morrow morning I shall set out with the Cheriff, and a great number of our people, who are quartered here. It will take us four days to reach Cairo, and perhaps as many to return, on account of the winds. Do not, therefore, look for me, my dear General, in less than ten or twelve days(5). I will use all possible diligence to rejoin you speedily. I hope to be the bearer of good news—news which will remove you from Alexandria and its deserts, to the banks of the Nile—the Elysium of Egypt.

Your devoted Aid-de-Camp,

LOYER.

The official dispatches of the marine on the calamitous event of the 2d, have just been remitted to General Menou. I shall take them with me.


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[British Translators' Notes]

(1)this is incorrect. Lord Nelson had no frigate with him at this time; nor, indeed, till two or three days afterwards.

(2)Of this Cheriff we find the following account in a letter from Alexandria. “Bonaparte endeavoured to gain the confidence and friendship of the Cheriff; he decorated him with the tri-coloured scarf, and in every instance paid him the most distinguished attention. The Cheriff, laying his hand on his breast, took Allah to witness that he would be grateful. But General Kleber soon found that the traitor maintained a secret correspondence with the Mameloucs. He therefore ordered him into confinement on board the L’Orient; from whence he was put on shore a little before the catastrophe.”

The meaning of all this is—that Brueys, who was not in the secret, thought the innocence of this man a sufficient reason for setting him at liberty. We sincerely wish that the rest—(the children of the most respectable families, who were barbarously torn from their parents, as hostages, by the unfeeling Bonaparte—“Bonaparte exigea pour otages, les enfans les plus apparens du pays”—is the expression of the letter)—may have been dismissed at the same time: but we fear they all perished in the explosion of the L’Orient.

For the rest; this letter confirms the account of the horrid massacre mentioned by Boyer (No. XXII.) “Tout ce qui resistoit a mordu la poussiere, et nos soldats brulant de venger la mort de leurs compagnons d’armes, ONT IMPITOYABLEMENT PASSE AU FIL DE L’EPEE, LES RESTES DES TURCS QUI S’ETOIENT REFUGIES DANS UNE MOSQUEE.”

(3)Representative. He means Dugua.—See Damas’s letter to Kleber, p. 78.

(4)Drowning men will catch at straws. We do not, therefore, wonder to see the sensible Loyer flattering himself with the hopes of advantages to be derived from the “conversions” of the Arabs, notwithstanding he must have seen their fallaciousness. Bonaparte had some time before, not only converted, but even associated thousands of them to his army; so, at least, he says, and so all France repeats after him. And what were the important advantages derived from it? Hatred, and immediate desertion.—In short, (for we are unwilling to dwell on a subject so obvious to every man of common information) every hope of maintaining an alliance with such a people, is more absurd than the day-dreams of a madman.

(5)Loyer did not come back quite so soon as he expected. It took him eleven days, only to reach Bonaparte, whom he met returning from an unsuccessful attempt to rob the caravan: for this we can confidently assure our readers, was the true purport of the General’s boasted expedition towards Syria.

He had with him, as he says himself, most of the staff officers with the divisions of Regnier, Lannes, and Dugua.—All these, however, were completely baffled, by the gallantry and skill of Ibrahim Bey, and finally compelled to retreat with great loss towards Cairo, without accomplishing any part of their object! One regiment of grenadiers was nearly cut to pieces.—So much for the conquest of Syria, so triumphantly announced, and so gravely commented upon in the opposition papers!

French Navy Defeated After "Flattering" Themselves with Victory

From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 1, pp. 187-188.

TRANSLATION.

Rosetta, August 4th.

To Citizen BARRAS, Member of the Executive Directory of France, at Paris.

IN my last, dated from Alexandria, I had only, dear Director, to speak to thee of the success of the Republican arms. At present, I have a much more painful task. The Directory is, doubtless, informed ere this of the unfortunate issue of our naval engagement with the English.

During several hours we flattered ourselves with the hopes of being victors, but the blowing up of the L’Orient, threw the whole squadron into confusion. The English themselves allow that all our ships fought well;--many of their vessels are dismasted, but our squadron is almost totally destroyed. Thou art sufficiently acquainted with my disposition to be assured that I shall never become the echo of that calumny which is already anxiously busied in giving welcome to the most absurd rumors. I hear every thing, and say nothing—the affair is yet too recent to pronounce on it.

Consternation has overwhelmed us all. I set out tomorrow for Cairo, to carry the news to Bonaparte. It will shock him so much the more, as he had not the least idea of its happening. He will doubtless find resources in himself—if not to repair a loss of such magnitude, yet at least to prevent the disaster from becoming fatal to the army, which he commands.

With respect to myself, this dreadful event has restored all my courage. I feel that the moment is now come when it is indispensably necessary to unite all our efforts to enable us to triumph over the numerous obstacles which destiny, or malevolence, will not fail to fling in our way.

Pray Heaven this disastrous news produce no bad effect at Paris! I am, I confess, exceedingly uneasy about it—though I have still some confidence in the Genius of the Republic, who has hitherto so constantly befriended us.

Adieu, my dear Barras. I shall write to thee from Cairo, where I expect to be in four days.

TALLIEN.

I have seen thy cousin here—he is not well; the climate does not agree with him. There are not many sick in the army, however; although the heat is excessive, and the men are exposed to privations of every kind.

Letters from Alexandria assure us that two sail of the line, and two frigates, made their escape. The English are still off Abouquir: they appear to have suffered very much. A glimmering of hope still remains: may it not vanish like the rest!