CAMPAIGN OF THE FRENCH IN EGYPT. 



813 



Bonaparte never gave such orders.* General Bonaparte saw 

 his communication with France threatened, and himself ex. 

 posed to the greatest of all enemies, want. Exasperated by the 

 transformation of so important a dependency as Egypt into a 

 French province, the Porte declared war against France, Sep., 

 2, 1798, and menaced an attack from the side of Asia. The in. 

 habitants of Cairo rebelled. Many of the French, especially the 

 Kir/mtx, artists and mechanics, were murdered ; but, after a 

 bloody conflict in the city, September 23 and 25, the insurgents, 

 win) had fled to the principal mosque, were compelled to sur- 

 render unconditionally. After the restoration of quiet, Bona- 

 parte, having organized a system of government for Egypt, on 

 French principles, marched, February 27, 1799, with about 

 18,000 men, from Cairo to Syria, took the fort of El-Arish, in 

 the desert, then Jaffa, and, having conquered the inhabitants 

 of Naplous, at Zeta, procured there a supply of provisions, 

 which he greatly needed, in order to be able to under- 

 take the siege of St Jean d'Acre, and was again victorious 

 at Jafet. In the mean while, the British, who had appeared 

 before St Jean d'Acre under Sir Sidney Smith, had succeeded 

 in reinforcing the Turkish garrison of this place with several 

 hundred infantry and artillery, and introducing ammunition. 

 This enabled the Turks to repel several assaults, and, notwith- 

 standing the most violent fire from the French batteries, to 

 sustain the attack so long, that Bonaparte was obliged to raise 

 the siege. During this siege, general Bonaparte marched with 

 25,000 men, towards the plain of Fiuli, where 40,000 of the 

 enemy had assembled. On the Kith and 17th of April, they 

 were beaten in the memorable battle of mount Tabor, near the 

 Jordan. It was on the retreat from St Jean d'Acre, that the 

 Turkish prisoners were said to have been put to death at Jaffa, 

 and the French soldiers, sick of the plague in the hospitals, poi. 

 soned. (For some remarks on this subject, see the article Jaffa.) 

 A third of the army had become the victims of war and the 

 plague. After a fatiguing march of twenty-six days, the troops 

 arrived at Cairo. A Turkish fleet soon after landed 18,000 men 

 at Aboukir, who took the fort there. Bonaparte quickly led his 

 best troops thither, stationed himself near the fountain between 

 Alexandria and Aboukir, and offered battle to the Turks, 

 July 25. Mnstapha Pacha, with all his retinue and artillery, 

 was taken ; 2000 Turks perished in the waves or in battle, and 

 the remainder of the army, which had thrown itself into the 

 fort of Aboukir, was compelled ,t<> surrender unconditionally 

 Aug. 2. By this victory, general Bonaparte's power in Egypt 

 was again confirmed. At this period, the French had experien- 

 ced considerable reverses in Europe. The battle of the Trebia 

 had been lost, the French had evacuated the Genoese territory, 

 Massena. in Switzerland, was in great danger. General Bona- 

 parte saw the danger of his country, and the loss of his con- 

 quests in Italy, and resolved to return, having from the begin- 

 ning permission to do so whenever he chose. But how could 

 he know the state of things in Europe ? It has been often 

 asserted, that he obtained his information from English papers, 

 which the French officers had received from the English, when 

 engaged in the exchange of prisoners. But would the general 

 have undertaken so important a step merely on the authority of 

 English papers, which were known to contain many misrepre- 

 sentations ? The fact is, that his brother Joseph sent a Greek 

 of Cephalpnia, named Bombachi, to induce him to return. The 

 order which gave the command to Kleber was dated August 

 22, 1799, and contained wise directions respecting the army and 

 country. The instructions contain two keys of ciphers, one 

 to be used in communications to the directory, and the other 

 in those made to himself. The conclusion, also, shows, that it 

 did not escape him how necessary it might become, in some 

 future time, to have the army personally attached to him. By 

 the time his departure was known to the army, Bonaparte's 

 frigate had weighed anchor. August 23, he left Aboukir in 

 the Muiron, a Venetian vessel, commanded by rear-admiral 

 Gantheaume. The situation of the troops under Kleber 's com- 

 mand became more critical every day. General Verdier re. 

 pelled a new disembarkation of the Turks, in November, 1799 ; 

 bat, for an army that could not be recruited, the smallest loss 

 was serious. The advices from Europe were not encouraging ; 

 and, at this juncture, Kleber, having been informed that the 

 grand vizier was marching from Syria to Egypt, with a large 

 army, concluded, January 24, 1800, the treaty of El- Arish, with 

 the vizier and Sir Sidney Smith. By this treaty it was pro- 

 vided, that a truce should be granted to the French for three 

 months, till the ratification of the treaty, when they should 

 evacuate Egypt. But the letter of Kleber to the directory, in 

 which he set lorth the miserable state of the army, and urged 

 the ratification of the treaty, fell into the hands of the English 

 admiral Keith, and was sent to Britain. It was now de- 

 manded that the whole French array should be made prisoners 

 of war. Kleber immediately resumed his arms, and defeated 

 the vizier at Heliopolis, March 18, exacted a tax for the pay- 

 ment of his soldiers, formed new regiments of the Copts and 

 Greeks, gave security to the coasts, and founded magazines. 

 In the midst of his untiring activity, he was murdered in Cairo 

 by a Turk, June 14, and the command devolved on Abdallah 

 Menou. Meantime the British government had resolved to 

 wrest Egypt from the French. March 1, the British arrived 

 oefore Alexandria, and, on the lath, the disembarkation was 

 accomplished at Aboukir. The French, about 4000 men 

 strong, gave battle on the next day, but were forced to retire. 

 Aboukir surrendered on the isth, and the British intrenched 

 themselves there. On the 2lst, Menou commenced an attack, 

 with 10,000 men, was beaten, and threw himself into A lex an. 



* Bonaparte wrote tn affectionate letter to the widow of admiral Enters who 

 kad been killrd in the battle of Aboukir, gave her a penjion after he became 

 consul, and educated her loni. 



dria. But the. British general Abercrombie was mortally 

 wounded and died on the 28th ; Hn^'hinson succeeded him in 

 the command. On the 2Sth, reinforcements were brought by 

 a Turkish fleet, and the vizier was now approaching from 

 Syria. On the 19th of April, Rosetta surrendered to the com- 

 bined forces of the British and Turks. A French corps of 

 4000 men was defeated at Ramnnieh, by 8000 British and 6000 

 Turks. 5000 French were obliged to retreat, at Elmenayer, 

 May 16, by the vizier, who was pressing forward to Cairo, with 

 20,000 men ; and the whole French army was now blocked up 

 in Cairo and Alexandria. June 20, the siege of Cairo was for- 

 mally commenced 'I here were but 7000 men to defend the city 

 against 4O,000. It capitulated, June 27, to the British and Turks, 

 on condition that general Belliard and his troops should evacuate 

 the city and country, should be transported to France at the 

 expense of Britain, and that the native Egyptians .should be 

 permitted to accompany him. August 17, they embarked at 

 Kosetta, and arrived at Toulon in September, 1-111, about 

 13,000 in number, cf whom hardly 4000 were armed. General 

 Menou still remained in Alexandria. Admiral Gantheaume 

 had sailed, before Belliard's arrival, with several ships of the 

 line, and from 3 to 4000 troops, from France, and arrived before 

 Alexandria, but was compelled to hasten back to Toulon, with. 

 a loss of 4 corvettes. On the other hand, the British had re- 

 ceived 5000 fresh troops from Britain, and now attacked 

 Alexandria. They were already masters of castle Marabout, 

 when Menou requested a truce ; to which he was impelled by 

 a want of provisions, and a new reinforcement which had 

 joined the British, consisting of 6000 men under general Baird, 

 from the East Indies. Menou capitulated September 2. Alex- 

 andria, with all the artillery and ammunition, 6 French ships 

 of war, and many merchantmen, together with all the Ara- 

 bian manuscripts, all the maps of Egypt, and other collections 

 made for the French republic, were given up. The French 

 army was transported, with its arms and baggage, to a French 

 harbour, which they reached at the end of November. The 

 garrison of Alexandria had comprised above 8000 soldiers, and 

 1307 marines. Three years and six months had elapsed since 

 the first embarkation at Toulon. Four weeks after the loss of 

 Egypt, the preliminaries of peace were signed at London, Oc- 

 tober l, 1801. 



This expedition to the valley of the Nile, as far as Philae, on 

 the frontiers of Nubia the island which served as the extreme 

 frontier post of the Roman empire iu the south (a Ger- 

 man, named Waldeck, however, pretends to have discovered a 

 pillar, erectedby Vespasian's warriors, at the foot of the Moun- 

 tains of the Moon) was attended with important conse- 

 quences for the higher interests of humanity ; because science 

 and art, in this expedition, went hand in hand with war. Those 

 who say that Napoleon was not a friend to the arts and sciences 

 will find it difficult to name any expedition, iu which such 

 ample provision was made for their advancement. These cam- 

 paigns revealed to scientific Europe treasures which had been 

 too long concealed by tyranny and barbarism. The ancient 

 Denderah, Thebes, Latopolis and Edfu were disclosed, with 

 their temples, palaces, ruins, obelisks and catacombs, to 

 the view of the learned men who accompanied the expedition 

 to Egypt. Secrets which neither Herodotus, Strabo, nor Dio- 

 dorus had been able entirely to penetrate, and which had re. 

 mained closely hidden from the view of all modern travellers, 

 were now unfolded. The so long misunderstood Egyptian ar- 

 chitecture was now displayed in all its grandeur ; and the veil 

 was raised, which had formerly covered a great portion of the 

 history, the manners, the science and geography of this coun- 

 try. In one and the same spirit, this people inscribed on the 

 walls of its palaces, temples, and sepulchres, the images of its 

 gods and kings, the forms of its celestial observations, of its 

 sacred usages and domestic life. These monuments of stone 

 are the oldest traces of the human mind, showing to us the 

 customs of nations in the ages reputed fabulous. The study of 

 antiquities and legislation, as well as the history of Egypt, 

 teaches anew the great truth, that all progress in the 

 arts and sciences has an intimate connexion with the spirit 

 of the political constitution and government of a coun- 

 try, and the necessity of a careful observance of justice and 

 right. We now know, that, of all civilized nations, t lie Egyp- 

 tians were the first to observe the course of the stars ; since 

 Europe has become acquainted, by means of the French, with 

 the sculpture and architecture in which the Egyptians imbodied 

 in stone their astronomical knowledge. Thus the zodiac ot 

 Denderah (see Denderah), now in Paris, and other Monuments 

 show the progress which this people had made in astronomy. 

 Previously, no on* suspected the existence of the store of 

 apyrus manuscripts, which were found iu the catacombs of 

 hebes. The rich decorations .of these catacombs, including 

 aintings almost uninjured by time, give us a glimpse of the 

 abits and domestic life of the generation by whom they were 

 built ; and the discovery of the famous stone of Rosetta has 

 done much towards affording the long-desired clue to the hiero- 

 glyphics. (See Spoftn.) The monuments of Egypt witnessed 

 the rise and fall of Tyre, Carthage, Athens, and Rome, and yet 

 exist. When Plato lived, they were venerable for their anti- 

 quity, and will command the admiration of future generations, 

 when, perhaps, every trace of our cities shall have vanished. 

 In the Egyptian nation, everything that concerned religion 

 and government partook of the character of eternity, in a cli- 

 mate where all animal and vegetable life rises speedily to per- 

 fection, and as speedily decays. The permanence of the in.-ti- 

 tutions of the country was certainly influenced by the sight of 

 the public monuments, on which time had tried its corroding 

 power in vain. While beholding these stupendous works, we 

 reflect with awe on the generations that have passed away since , 

 they arose, and the ages that must elapse before the pyramids 



