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July.

announced the appearance of 76 vessels, of which 1799. number 12 were made out to be turkish men of war. In the course of the day 15 other vessels hove in sight, and followed the first to the bay of Aboukir ; where these two divisions, along with a third not seen from Alexandria, came to an anchor; forming a total of 113 vessels, including thirteen 74s, nine frigates, and 17 gun-boats: the remainder were transports with troops. This numerous fleet was under the command of Hassan-Bey; and the troops, whose reputed number was 18000, under that of Seid-Mustapha-Pacha.

General Marmont, the governor of Alexandria, as soon as he had despatched a messenger to the commander in chief, marched with 1200 men and five pieces of cannon towards Aboukir, to oppose the Turks on their landing. But, meeting an express from captain Godard, who with 300 men commanded at Aboukir, announcing that the Turks had already disembarked, and were now investing the fort, the general returned to Alexandria, to await further reinforcements. For this, general Marmont was afterwards much blamed by Buonaparte. "Avec vos douze cents hommes," says the latter in his usual confident manner, "je serais allé jusqu'à Constantinople." "> *

The fort or castle of Aboukir was situated at the extremity of a narrow neck of land upon a rock of difficult access, and was protected on the land side by a redoubt thrown up at the entrance of the peninsula. Into this redoubt captain Godard retired with 265 men, leaving shut up in the fort the remaining 35, in command of an artillery-officer named Vinache. On the 15th, at daybreak, the Turks, assisted by their gun-boats, commenced a furious attack upon the redoubt; which, at night, they carried by assault, after having killed captain Godard and the greater part of his men: the remainder

* Victoires et Conquêtes, tome xi. p. 25.

July.

1799. of the little garrison was put to the sword. The Turks now bestowed their undivided attention upon the castle; which, after a two days' siege, surrendered by capitulation. Notwithstanding this, the Turks, it appears, would have massacred their 35 prisoners, but for the interference of captain sir Sidney Smith; who, with the Tigre and Theseus, had just returned to the coast.

Having removed the only obstacle to the disembarkation of their troops and artillery, the Turks landed the whole; but, instead of marching on Alexandria, where general Marmont was staying with only 1800 troops of the line, (including a reinforcement of 600 just received,) and 200 sailors of the nautic legion, the mussulmans began intrenching themselves on the peninsula. On the night of the 23d Buonaparte arrived at Alexandria, and on the 25th, having assembled his army, resolved to attack the Turks in their intrenchments: he did so, and after a dreadful carnage possessed himself of all the redoubts, as well as of Aboukir village. In the latter was made prisoner the turkish commander in chief, Seid-Mustapha-Pacha.

The achievement of this victory cost the French 200 officers and men killed, and 750 wounded: among the latter were generals Murat (slightly) and Fugières; and among the former, generals Crétin, Leturcq, and Duvivier. The turkish prisoners, including the wounded, amounted to 2000. If therefore, as alleged in the french accounts, the Turks had 12000 men outside the castle of Aboukir, 10000 men must have been killed and drowned. "La déroute," says a french writer, "est complète; l'ennemi dans le plus grand désordre, est frappé de terreur, trouve par-tout les bajonnettes et la mort. Dix mille hommes se précipitent dans la mer; ils y sont fusilés et mitraillés. Cette glorieuse (!) journée, &c."*

On the same day, the 25th, on which this battle

* Dictionnaire Historique, tome i. p. 10.

BUONAPARTE'S PREPARATIONS FOR LEAVING HIS ARMY. 433

July.

was won, general Lannes, at the head of à division 1799. of troops summoned the 5000 Turks shut up in the castle of Aboukir to surrender. The latter refused; and on the morning of the 27th the French opened their batteries upon the fort. The Turks had retired thither with such precipitation, that they were without either ammunition or provisions, but not, it appears, without their women and horses.* Famine at length effected what the battering cannon of the besiegers could not, and on the 2d of August the "band of Aug. horrid spectres" rushed out of the castle and surrendered. Their sufferings had been so great, that very few, notwithstanding the care that appears to have been taken of them, survived.

On the 5th of August Buonaparte quitted Alexandria for Cairo, to make final preparations for leaving the army. On the 18th, after a stay of 11 days, Buonaparte quitted the capital of Egypt, with generals Berthier, Lannes, Murat, Marmont, and Andréossi, also the literary men (les savans) Monge, Berthollet, and Vivant-Denon, and on the 21st arrived at Alexandria.

With his usual utter disregard of truth where an object was to be attained, Buonaparte addressed to the divan of Egypt the following letter: "Being informed that my squadron is ready, and that a formidable army is embarked; being convinced, as I have often said, that, until I can strike a blow which shall crush at once all my enemies, I shall not enjoy in tranquillity and peace the possession of Egypt, the finest country in the world, I have resolved to put myself at the head of my ships, leaving the command, in my absence, with general Kléber, a man of distinguished merit, and whom I have directed to treat the alemas and scheicks with the same friendship which they have experienced from me. Do all in your power to induce the people of Egypt to repose on him the same confidence that they have had in

* Victoires et Conquêtes, tome xi. p. 34. VOL. II. 2 F

1799. me; and, upon my return, which will be in two or three Aug. months, I shall be pleased with the people of Egypt, and have nothing but praises and recompenses to bestow upon the scheicks." *

On the same day Buonaparte writes confidentially to general Kléber: he expects to be in France in the beginning of October, and hopes that will be in time to save Italy; adding, with good reason, "L'arrivée de notre escadre à Toulon, venant de Brest, et de l'escadre espagnole à Carthagène, ne laisse aucune espèce de doute sur la possibilité de faire passer en Egypte les fusils, sabres, et fers coulés dont vous aurez besoin, et dont j'ai l'état le plus exact, avec une quantité de recrues suffisante pour réparer la perte des deux campagnes." Kléber is then told that, should no news or reinforcement reach him by the month of May, and his army lose, by sickness and skirmishes with the natives, more than 1500 men, he is to endeavour to conclude a treaty of peace with the Porte, of which treaty the principal article is to relate to the evacuation. If possible, however, the execution of the order to evacuate is to be deferred until a general peace takes place. Should the Porte be inclined to listen to the terms which he, Buonaparte, has already offered, general Kléber is to continue the negotiation, requiring the Porte to withdraw from the coalition, to grant the French a free commerce in the Black Sea, to set at liberty all french prisoners, and to allow a six months' suspension of hostilities, in order that, in the interval, the ratifications may be exchanged. Then follows this paragraph: "Supposant que les circonstances soient telles, que vous croyiez devoir conclure le traité avec la Porte, vous feriez sentir que vous ne pouvez pas le mettre à l'exécution qu'il ne soit ratifié, selon l'usage de toutes les nations. L'intervalle entre la signature d'un traité et la ratification doit toujours être une

* For the original, see Appendix, No. 20.

suspension d'hostilités." The fortifications of El- 1799. Arich and Alexandria are to be strengthened; and Aug. general Kléber is assured that there will arrive, in the course of the winter, at Alexandria, Burlos, or Damietta, some french ships of war; by which the general is to send to France a body of 600 mamelukes, in order that the latter may see "la grandeur de la nation," and on their return to Egypt, in a year or two afterwards, give a favourable account of the french manners and language. In case mamelukes cannot be obtained, Arab hostages, or even El-Beled scheicks, will suffice.*

On or about the 9th of August commodore sir Sidney Smith, with the Tigre, Theseus, and the two or three turkish men of war that remained on the egyptian coast, made sail from before the western harbour of Marabou, and on the 16th anchored in Baffa road, island of Cyprus. No time was now to be lost. Buonaparte had appointed to meet general Kléber on the 24th at the town of Rosetta; but, dreading the reappearance of sir Sidney Smith's two ships, he embarked, at 10 P. M. on the 22d, on board the Muiron, bearing the flag of rear-admiral Ganteaume. The french accounts say, that at this moment a british frigate was signalled off the port; but we doubt the fact it might, however, have been a turkish corvette.

On the 23d the two frigates made sail out of the harbour. On board the Muiron, besides general Buonaparte, were generals Berthier and Andréossi; messieurs Monge, Berthollet, and Vivant-Denon; Buonaparte's aide-de-camp M. Lavalette, and his secretary M. Bourienne. On board the Carrère, commanded by commodore Dumanoir-le-Pelley, were generals Lannes, Murat, and Marmont, and the distinguished literary character, M. Parceval-Grandmaison. Three small vessels, the Revanche, Indépendant, and Foudre accompanied the two frigates.

* Victoires et Conquêtes, tome xi. p. 220.

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