EGYPT. 



389 



History. 



1800. 



This temper of mind has made its appearance in vari- 

 ous parts of his conduct. It was peculiar!}' predomi- 

 nant in the arrangements, which preceded the battle of 

 Leipsic ; and for him it was more fatally displayed, 

 when he refused the terms of accommodation so fre- 

 quently offered by the allied powers ; and continued 

 his infatuated projects, till, for the benefit of the world, 

 but to his own disgrace, he was driven from the throne, 

 and consigned to a residence in the Island of Elba. 

 And to sum up the whole, " heaven gave him a degree 

 of military skill, but without the recommendation of 

 personal bravery ; an activity prodigious, but without 

 aim ; a will untameable, but without discernment. All 

 his disasters all the disgraces with which he has been 

 overwhelmed, have sprung from the same causes which 

 produced his triumphs. Nothing was able to soften the 

 character, to correct the false judgment, or to elevate 

 the corrupt soul of this Corsican soldier." * 



The court of Constantinople were amused with pre- 

 tensions on the part of Bonaparte, that he was favourable 

 to the Ottoman power ; and he hinted to Kleber, who 

 succeeded him in the command in Egypt, that he 

 should still offer to negociate with the grand Signior, 

 but retain the commercial influence of the country. 

 But the British interest prevailed at Constantinople, 

 and the overtures of the French were rejected. In the 

 meantime, a Turkish division were landed on the coast 

 of Egypt, and entrenched on the sea-side, between the 

 Nile and lake Menzalah. They were attacked by the 

 French, under the command of Verdier, and but few 

 of them escaped. Intimation being given, that no 

 treaty at Constantinople could be made without the 

 consent of Great Britain, commissioners from all the 

 parties opened a conference on board the Tigre, and an 

 armistice was signed. 



Soon afterwards, upon the 2-tth of January, A. D. 

 1600, a treaty w:is entered into, by which the French 

 were bound to leave Egypt in a ;;iven time ; but their 

 private property was to Ix: preserved, and various ar- 

 rangements made for a safe and honourable return to 

 France. In the meantime, orders had been issued from 

 the court of London, to enter into no convention by 

 which the unconditional surrender of the French army 

 was not acknowledged ; and due attention paid to the 

 interest of the Turks. Yet when the treaty of AlurMi 

 was communicated to the British councils, the whole 

 was ratified, and orders issued to carry it into effect ; 

 but the French commander refused to abide by the 

 terms of agreement. Some deficiencies in the conduct 

 of the Ottoman court, and the first determination of 

 the British, which was to require a surrender of the 

 French army, as prisoners of war, were assigned as 

 reasons by Kleber for not adhering to the terms of the 

 treaty. 



These, without other considerations, might have ope- 

 rated on the general's mind ; but such objections would 

 soon have been removed, if they had not been strength- 

 ened by the recent prosperity of the French affairs. At 

 Grand Cairo and its neighbourhood, a Turkish army, 

 which had marched from Syria, was subdued by Kle- 

 ber ; and, under the new order of tilings, the internal 

 situation of France v. as improved. Notwithstanding 

 every effort, the people of Egypt were not tranquil, 

 anl ^ Kleber, the French commander in chief, was assas- 

 sinated upon the terrace of his own garden at Grand 

 C airo. Menou succeeded to the command ; and he 

 was determined to submit to any hardship, rather than 



relinquish the conquest of Egypt. He wished to re- History. 

 commend himself to the favour of the first consul, and < *"""Y""" / 

 enjoy the honour of retaining Egypt in the possession 

 of France. In full expectation of receiving supplies 

 from Europe, he carried forward the public works 

 which his predecessors had begun. 



But the court of London had planned a secret expedi- British ex- 

 tion : Lord Keith was Admiral of the fleet, and Sir pedition to 

 Ralph Abercromby commander in chief of the army. Egypt 

 It is uncertain for what object the fleet was originally 

 appointed, but intervening circumstances finally direct- 

 ed the expedition to Egypt. It touched at Malta, on 

 its way to the place of destination ; and was to wait 

 for the arrival of Turkish troops at some of the islands 

 in the Levant. The haven of Marmorice was fixed 

 upon for the place of rendezvous ; but after waiting 

 long, the supplies from Constantinople were scanty 

 and ineffectual. Too much time had already been 

 wasted, and the object of their enterprize must be at- 

 tempted. To conduct the army from St John d'Acrc 

 over land to Grand Cairo, would have been the easiest 

 way to penetrate into Egypt ; but the French were in 

 possession of Alexandria, and it would have been ha- 

 zardous to take a station in the centre of Egypt, and 

 permit the direct communication with Europe to be cut 

 off. It was therefore resolved upon, in a general assem- 

 bly of the officers belonging to the expedition, that they 

 should sail directly for Alexandria. 



Early in the morning of February 22d, A.D. 1801, 

 the signal was made for unmooring, and in the evening 

 the whole fleet was under way. During part of the 

 voyage, the weather was stormy, and a Greek vessel 

 foundered. Upon the first of March, in the evening, 

 a signal was made that laud was in sight, and in the 

 morning the fleet anchored in the bay of Aboukir. The 

 weather was too tempestuous to permit a binding, and 

 Major M'Kerris, who had been sent to examine the 

 shore, had been unfortunately killed by the enemy. 

 Abercromby himself reconnoitred the shore in a small 

 vessel, and took every precaution to effect an easy land- 

 ing. When the sea became sufficiently calm, the first 

 division prepared to land at an early hour in the morn- 

 ing. It consisted of 5000 soldiers, under the command, 

 of majors-general Moor, Ludlow, and Coote, together 

 with brigadier-general Oakes. But these preparations 

 could not be made without the observation of the 

 French ; and they were ready to receive them with ar- 

 tillery, a large body of soldiers, and a number of ca- 

 valry. Though the Fury and Tartarus bomb vessels, 

 witli sloops and gun boats, were appointed to protect 

 the landing of the forces ; yet they suffered dreadfully 

 from the fire of the French, who opposed them on the 

 shore. 



But the British troops displayed the most undaunted 

 valour ; and though they were scattered, and could at- 

 tack the enemy only in detached parties, yet the French 

 forces, after making a stout resistance; under the com- 

 mand of General Friant, were forced to retire. Du- 

 ring the course of the day, the most of the troops were 

 landed, and met with no more resistance ; for the pe- 

 ninsula of Aboukir was mostly abandoned to the Bri- 

 tish. Daily skirmishes were happening between the 

 two armies, but no regular engagement took place till 

 the 13th of March. Upon the advance of the British 

 forces, the army of General Menou were discovered in 

 a strong position upon a range of sand hills. Their 

 right extended to the canal of Alexandria, and their 



Fro* the address to the Emperor Alexander, and King of PruwU, by a number of the French, upon their wmal at Paris. 



