790 ENG L 
and a great quantity of ftores for Ireland. He loft no 
time in commencing an engagement, and was fo fuccefsful 
as to capture, October 12, the principal (hip, and Tix 
frigates. Wolfe Tone, one of the founders of the fedi- 
tioos fociety, being taken with the French, was con¬ 
demned by a court-martial to the death of a traitor ; but 
lie avoided the fentence by filicide. 
The terror of the Britifh arms, in the campaign of 1798, 
did not operate with important effeft on the affairs of the 
continent. The weak remains of influence, enjoyed in 
Holland by the ftadtholder, could not prevent the French 
from drawing their Batavian allies into a ftate of more 
implicit fubmiflion than that which had been adjufted at 
the firft offer of democratic fraternity. Nor could the 
menaces of the Britifh cabinet fecure the cantons of Swif- 
ferland from that yoke to which, aftera fruitlefs refiftance 
to an invafion from France, they were unjuftly fubjedted. 
The fame third of dominion prompted the French to vio¬ 
late their engagements with the pope, and eredt the terri¬ 
tories of the church into a commonwealth dependent on 
their power. With their ufual oftentation, they boafted 
of their glorious efforts for the ruin of a tyrannical theo¬ 
cracy, and the revival of the Roman republic. The de- 
pofed pontiff, exiled from his country, died a prifoner 
in France. Among the numerous changes which had oc¬ 
curred from the time of the French revolution, thefc 
events were not undiftinguifhed ; they were, indeed, mo¬ 
mentous and memorable ; but their details belong to 
other departments of this work. See the articles France, 
Sv/ISSERLAND, ROME, &C. 
An expedition was undertaken in the fpring of 1798, 
againft the Netherlands. Major-general Coote landed 
with a fmall force near Offend, and prepared to deftroy 
the fluices of the Bruges canal. This fervice was exe¬ 
cuted ; but, as the wind and furf prevented the re-em¬ 
barkation of the troops, it became neceffary to form a 
defenfive poff on the fand hills. An attack was made 
upon the invaders by a body which far out-numbered 
them ; and, though they fought with diftinguifhed cou¬ 
rage, their front was broken, and their flanks were com¬ 
pletely turned. In this perilous ftate, their commander, 
who was wounded, called major general Burrard to a con- 
fultation ; and it was refolved that a general furrender 
fhould fake place. About fifty men were killed, and 
above eleven hundred fubmitted themfelves prifoners 
of war. 
This trivial difgrace was foon compenfated by a fignal 
vidtory obtained in the fummer of 179*8, over the French 
fleet, on a coaft rarely vilited by Britifh fhips of war. 
Defirous of feizing Egypt, and fubjecting that rich pro¬ 
vince to the dominion of France, the directory fent out 
a fleet of thirteen fhips of the line for that purpofe, with 
many frigates and Hoops, and tranfports containing a nu¬ 
merous army, under the command of Bonaparte. The 
advantageous fituation of M dta prompted the general 
fir ft to aim at the redudlion of that ifland ; and, being 
favoured by the treachery of a garrifon which might have 
refiffcd the befiegers for many months, he procured from 
the Multefe knights a furrender of their whole territory. 
Proceeding to the Egyptian coaft, he hoped there to efta- 
blifh fuch a balls of military, naval, and commercial, 
ftrength, as might eventually lead to the ruin of the Bri- 
tifti power in India. But the Britifh fquadron, commanded 
by rear-admiral fir Horatio Nelfbn, after a long fearch for 
the fleet of the republic, difcovered it in the bay of Abou- 
kir, Auguft 1, 1798. An equal number of fhips of the 
fine appeared on both fides ; but the weight of metal and 
number of men were decidedly in favour of the French, 
who had alfo the advantage of fituation, and the protec¬ 
tion of gun-boats and a battery. Captain Foley, in the 
Goiiah, commenced the adlion near the clofe of day, by 
attacking Le Guerrier, which, by broadfides from that 
and other fhips, was foon difabled. Le Conquerant was 
reduced to a fimilar ftate, chiefly by the fire of the Go- 
, AND. 
liah. Nelfon’s flag-fhip, the Vanguard, then took an 
adtive part in the engagement ; and, when he had been 
wounded in the head, his captain (afterwards fir Edward 
Berry)-ably fuperintended the operations. Two veffels 
encountered l’Orient, which bore the flag of admiral 
Brueys; and this large fhip, which mounted 120 guns, 
at length took fire, and blew up. The tremendous explo- 
fion produced a momentary ceffation of firing: but the 
conflidt was again renewed ; and it terminated in the cap¬ 
ture of nine French fhips of the line. To which we may 
add the burning of the Timoleon, and of a frigate, and 
the finking of another fhip of war. See all the particu¬ 
lars of this expedition and the glorious fuccefs of the 
Britifh arms in Africa, under the article Egypt, p. 329. 
—343, of this volume. 
The grand fignor, who holds a nominal fupremacy over 
Egypt, was provoked by this invafion to declare war 
againft France. But more important benefits were ex¬ 
pedited from the arms of the P-uflian emperor Paul, who, 
now leagued with the Porte, took an adtive part in the 
war. His magnanimity was panegyrifed by the king of 
Great Britain, in a fpeech to^the parliament, and the 
fuccefs of his arms for a time excited the admiration of 
Europe. 
In the meanwhile an Englifh armament failed toward 
tlie ifland of Minorca ; and a defcent was made near the 
creek of Addaya. A body of Spaniards threatened to 
furround the firft divifion of the invading army ; but 
they were foon repelled ; and the'Britifh troops gained a 
pofition from which they might have attacked the enemy 
with advantage, if the latter had not retired. The army 
feized the poft of Mercadal, and a detachment took the 
town of Mahon and fort Charles. The chief defence 
was expedted at Ciudella, where new works were added to 
the old fortifications. The approach of the Englifh drove 
the Spaniards within the walls of that town ; and general 
Stuart fummoned the governor to furrender without de¬ 
lay. To enforce compliance, two batteries were eredted ; 
but, as the invaders had few of the requifites of a fiege, 
their adverfaries might, with a (mail fhare of fpirit, have 
made a confiderable refiftance. Intimidated, however, by 
the movements of the troops and the appearance of the 
fquadron, the garrifon capitulated, November 15, and the 
whole ifland was reduced without the lofs of a Angle man. 
In St. Domingo, however, the Englifh were unable to 
extend their acquifitions; and the fury of difeafe made 
alarming havock among them. At length, they refolved 
to furrender Port au Prince and St. Marc to Touffaint, a 
negro commander, w ho had nearly annihilated the domi¬ 
nion of the French in the ifland; and, in the courfe of 
the year, they evacuated every other poft. Such were 
the chequered fcenes of the campaign of 1798 ; but the 
balance of victory, of difinterefted policy, and of fuccefs 
in arms, (the affairs of Egypt taken into the feale,) pre¬ 
ponderated greatly in favour of England. 
When the emperor of Germany agreed to a pacification 
with the French, he (lill cheriftied the high pretenfions 
which had urged him to take arms againft the revolu- 
tionifts ; and, in confenting to a treaty, he rather fought 
a refpite than a durable peace. Tlie French, by their 
unbounded encroachments on the rights of other nations, 
gave him aplaufible pretence for re arming ; and the per- 
fuafions of Great Britain, and the preparations of R uffia, 
confirmed him in refolutions of hoftility. While tlie 
Ruffians were on their march, the directory in lifted on the 
exertions of the emperor to enforce the retreat of tlmfe 
troops ; but as all remonftrances'on this head were difre- 
gardea, one French army recommenced hoftilities in Ger¬ 
many, while another entered the Grifon territories, and 
engaged the Auftri'ans near Coire. The former hoft fuf- 
tained a defeat near Stockach, and foon iepaffed the 
Rhine. The latter fubdued the Grifons, but afterwards 
received fevere checks. A detachment from the army of 
the archduke Charles drove the French from Schaff'- 
1 haufen ; 
