Battle of the Nile

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.

Novels based around this battle.

	Ships	Guns	Captain	Ships fate
British Fleet
	Goliath	74	Thomas Foley
	Zealous	74	Samuel Hood
	Orion	74	Cptn. Sir James Saumarez (Second in Command)
	Audacious	74	Davidge Gould
	Theseus	74	Ralph Willet Miller
	Vanguard	74	Flag - Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson Cptn. - Edward Berry
	Minotaur	74	Thomas Louis
	Defence	74	John Peyton
	Bellerophon	74	Henry D'Esterre Darby	Dismasted. Drifted away
	Majestic	74	George Blagdon Westcott (Killed in Action)
	Leander	50	Thomas Boulden Thompson
	Alexander	74	Alexander Ball
	Swiftsure	74	Benjamin Hallowell
	Culloden	74	Thomas Troubridge	Grounded. Did not engage
French Fleet
	Guerrier	74	Jean-François-Timothée Trullet	Captured. Scuttled (burnt) 18 Aug.
	Conquérant	74	Etienne Dalbarade (Mortally Wounded)	Captured
	Spartiate	74	Maurice-Julien Emeriau	Captured
	Aquilon	74	Henri-Alexandre Thévenard (Killed in Action)	Captured
	Peuple Souverain	74	Pierre-Paul Raccord	Captured
	Franklin	80	Flag - Rear-Admiral Armand Blanquet du Chayla Cptn. - Maurice Gillet	Captured
	Orient	118	Flag - Vice-Admiral Francois-Paul Brueys D’Aigalliers Contre-Admiral Honoré Ganteaume Cptn. - Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca (Killed in Action)	Exploded
	Tonnant	80	Commodore Aristide Aubert Du Petit Thouars (Killed in Action)	Captured
	Heureux	74	Jean-Pierre Étienne	Captured. Scuttled (burnt) 16 Aug.
	Mercure	74	Lt. Cambon	Captured. Scuttled (burnt) 18 Aug.
	Guillaume Tell	80	Flag - Rear-Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve Cptn. - Saulnier	Escaped
	Généreux	74	Captain Louis-Jean-Nicolas Le Joille	Escaped
	Timoléon	74	Captain Louis-Léonce Trullet	Run aground and scuttled (blown up) 3 Aug.
British Fleet - Also Present
	Mutine	16	Lt. Thomas Hardy
French Fleet - Also Present
	Justice	44	Cptn. Villeneuve	Escaped
	Diane	38	Flag - Contre-Admiral Denis Decrès Cptn. - Éléonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil	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