The Battle of the Nile started late on the 1st August 1798 and took place throughout the night in Abū Qīr (Aboukir) Bay, Egypt.

The Royal Navy, under the command of Sir Horatio Nelson with 14 ships of the line defeated an anchored French fleet of 13 ships of the line under the command of Francois-Paul Brueys D’Aigalliers

Summary:

As many of the French sailors were ashore the anchored French fleet was unable to weigh on the sudden appearance of the British. Brueys may also have expected them to wait for morning to enter the shallow bay. Cptn. Thomas Foley leading the line in HMS Goliath realised there was sufficient depth to pass round the end of the French line and engage from the landward side. He did so followed by other ships of the fleet.

Vanguard lead the rest of the fleet down the seaward side leaving part of the French fleet engaged on both sides whilst some were not enaged. As the battle raged Orient was seen to be on fire. The nearest British ships seeing the danger stopped firing, closed their gunports and began edging away from the blazing flagship. Three French ships also cut their anchor cables and drifted away. At about 22:00 the fire reached the magazines and the ship was torn apart by a massive explosion, which was so stunning that all firing ceased for a while. Next morning the surviving French ships Guillaume Tell, Généreux, Justice and Diane, formed up and stood out to sea.   

British casualties were 218 killed and approximately 677 wounded. French casualties are estimated from 2,000 to 5,000, with a suggested a median point of 3,500 which includes over a thousand captured wounded and nearly 2,000 killed, half of which died on Orient.

	Flag Officers
	Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson
	Vice-Admiral Francois-Paul Brueys D’Aigalliers	Killed in Action
	Rear-Admiral Armand Blanquet du Chayla	Captured
	Rear-Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve

	Ships	Guns	Captain	Ships fate
	Vanguard (flag-ship)	74	Edward Berry
	Alexander	74	Alexander Ball
	Audacious	74	Davidge Gould
	Bellerophon	74	Henry D'Esterre Darby	Dismasted. Drifted away
	Culloden	74	Thomas Troubridge	Grounded. Did not engage
	Defence	74	John Peyton
	Goliath	74	Thomas Foley
	Majestic	74	George Blagdon Westcott	Cptn. Killed in Action
	Minotaur	74	Thomas Louis
	Orion	74	Sir James Saumarez (Second in Command)
	Swiftsure	74	Benjamin Hallowell
	Theseus	74	Ralph Willet Miller
	Zealous	74	Samuel Hood
	Leander	50	Thomas Boulden Thompson
	Orient (flag-ship)	118	Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca (Killed in Action)	Exploded
	Franklin	80	M. Gilet	Captured
	Tonnant	80	Cmmdre Aristide Aubert Du Petit Thouars (KIA)	Captured
	Guillaume Tell	80	?	Escaped
	Aquilon	74	Henri-Alexandre Thévenard (Killed in Action)	Captured
	Conquérant	74	Etienne Dalbarade (Mortally Wounded)	Captured
	Généreux	74	?	Escaped
	Guerrier	74	Jean-François-Timothée Trullet	Captured. Scuttled (burnt) 18 Aug.
	Heureux	74	Étienne	Captured. Scuttled (burnt) 16 Aug.
	Mercure	74	Cambon	Captured. Scuttled (burnt) 18 Aug.
	Peuple Souverain	74	Pierre-Paul Raccord	Captured
	Spartiate	74	Maurice-Julien Emeriau	Captured
	Timoléon	74	?	Run aground and scuttled (blown up) 3 Aug.
Also Present
	Mutine	16	Lt. Thomas Hardy
	Justice	44	?	Escaped
	Diane	38	?	Escaped
	Artémise	36	Pierre-Jean Standelet	Surrendered but run aground and scuttled (blown up) 3 Aug.
	Sérieuse	36	Claude-Jean Martin	Sunk by Orion 1 August, later burnt
	Salamine	18	?	Escaped
	Railleur	14	?	Escaped
	Alerte	12	?
	Hercule	7	?	Scuttled