Battle of the Nile, 1 - 2 August 1798

Battle of the Nile 1-2 August 1798

By 1798 the war with France was five years old and the French were tightening their hold over the Mediterranean. The British had withdrawn from Corsica and Elba and left the Mediterranean as a French Lake.

Nelson was sent by John Jervis to evacuate the British garrisons from Corsica and Elba along with as many of their stores as possible so that they should not fall into enemy hands; this he did with great success in 1797.

Due to injuries received whilst attacking the town of Santa Cruz in 1797 Nelson was sent home to England to recover his health and so it was not until July 1798 that he rejoined Sir John Jervis' fleet.

Admiral Jervis had instructions to gain entry into the Mediterranean and restore a British presence. The task Jervis had was to stop the French attacking Egypt and then threaten the British possessions in India.

Nelson was detached to engage and defeat the French. He spent three months looking for them and on one occasion the fleets passed very close to each other but due to poor weather conditions neither noticed the other. It was on the second visit to Egypt that Rear Admiral Nelson found the French Fleet of Admiral Francois-Paul Brueys d’Aigaillier at anchor in Aboukir Bay (Abu Qir) in the late afternoon of the 1st August 1798.

Admiral Brueys had anchored his ships near the shore of the bay and had many of his men and stores onshore. The French Fleet comprised thirteen sail of the line and four frigates.

The British Fleet comprised thirteen sail of the line, one fifty gun ship and the eighteen gun brig Mutine. Battle of the Nile Nelson had to keep his ships from running aground on what is now known as Nelson’s Island at the entrance to the bay and also in the shallow water quite close to the anchored French ships.

It was now evening and drawing into night but even so Nelson attacked, taking the French by surprise and giving them little time recover men from the shore to man their ships.

As the British rounded the Island, Captain Troubridge’s Culloden grounded on the Island (which gave the other British ships a marker and so they avoided the danger) whilst the brig Mutine went to her assistance.

As the British approached the enemy fleet Captain Foley in Goliath noticed the French ships were at single anchor, which meant ships could pass down both sides of the enemy. This tactic gave the British the advantage; they could attack from both sides and bring overwhelming fire power to bear on the French.

L'Orient exploding at the Battle of the Nile The fighting was fast and furious; around 2100 a fire started in the French flag ship Orient and by 2200 it had reached her magazines and she exploded. This explosion brought a lull in the fighting as ships of both nations tried to find safety from falling debris and to save lives of those in the water.

Spasmodic fighting took place during the night, in the early morning two French ships of the line, Gullaume Tell and Généreux, escaped along with two frigates, Diane and Justice, but the battle was a defeat for the French. Their power in the Mediterranean had been broken.

So what did the battle do for the British? It gave us the use of the Mediterranean to conduct our business and trade with the countries in this area and stopped the French threat to our possessions in India, making them rethink their tactics at sea.

Rear Admiral Nelson received the thanks of Monarchs and rulers of several countries and was presented with medals and decorations in honour of his victory. At home it put his name to the fore as a great commander and leader and it remains so today.