Appendix L
london gazette extraordinary.
“Vanguard, off the Mouth of the Nile,
3rd August 1798.
“My Lord,
“Almighty God has blessed his Majesty’s arms in the late battle by a great victory over the fleet of the enemy, whom I attacked at sunset on the 1st of August, off the mouth of the Nile. The enemy were moored in a strong line of battle for defending the entrance of the bay of shoals, flanked by numerous gun-boats, four frigates, and a battery of guns and mortars on an island in their van; but nothing could withstand the squadron your lordship did me the honour to place under my command. Their high state of discipline is well known to you; and with the judgment of the captains, together with their valour, and that of the officers and men of every description, it was absolutely irresistible. Could anything from my pen add to the characters of the captains, I would write it with pleasure, but that is impossible.
“I have to regret the loss of Captain Westcott of the Majestic, who was killed early in the action, but the ship continued to be so well fought by her first lieutenant, Mr. Cuthbert, that I have given him an order to command her till your Lordship’s pleasure is known.
“The ships of the enemy, all but their two rear ships, are nearly dismasted, and those two, with two frigates, I am sorry to say, made their escape; nor was it, I assure you, in my power to prevent them. Captain Hood most handsomely endeavoured to do it, but I had no ship in a condition to support the Zealous, and I was obliged to call her in.
“The support and assistance I received from Captain Berry cannot be sufficiently expressed. I was wounded in the head, and obliged to be carried off deck, but the service suffered no loss by that event. Captain Berry was fully equal to the service then going on, and to him I must beg to refer you for every information relative to this victory.
“He will present you with the flag of the second in command. That of the commander-in-chief being in the L’Orient.
“Herewith I transmit you lists of the killed and wounded, and the lines of battle of ourselves and the French.
“I have the honour to be, &c.
“Horatio Nelson.”
“To Admiral the Earl of St. Vincent, Commander-in-chief,
&c. &c. &c. off Cadiz.”
The Rear-admiral was created Baron Nelson of the Nile, and of Burnham Thorpe, in the county of Norfolk. The thanks of both Houses of Parliament were voted to him, the officers and crews, in the usual manner. Gold medals were presented to each of the Captains. A pension of 2000l. a year for life was settled on Nelson. The Irish Parliament voted him 1000l.; the East India Company 10,000l.; the city of London a sword, value two hundred guineas, and a sword to each of the Captains; that to Sir E. Berry was accompanied by the freedom of the city in a gold box. But Sir James Saumarez received no distinguished honour, as has been usual, for being second in command, although no one ever more highly deserved such a mark of approbation.
LIST OF THE HOSTILE FLEETS OFF THE MOUTH OF THE NILE
on the 1st of August, 1798.
British Commanded by Sir Horatio Nelson, K.B. Rear-admiral of the Blue.
Abbrevations used in the table below:
O = Officers
S = Seamen
M = Marines
| Killed | Wounded | ||||||||||||||
| No. | Ships’ Names. | Captains | First Lieuts. | Remarks | Guns | Men | O | S | M | O | S | M | Total | ||
| 1 | Culloden | T. Troubridge | Chas. Bullen | not in action | 74 | 584 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2 | Theseus. | R.W. Miller. | R. Hawkins. | – – | 74 | 584 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 5 | 35 | ||
| 3 | Alexander | A.J. Ball | John Yule | – – | 74 | 584 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 48 | 5 | 72 | ||
| 4 | Vanguard | { | R.A. Sir H. Nelson. E. Berry | } | Edw. Galwey | starboard squadron | 74 | 589 | 3 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 60 | 8 | 105 |
| 5 | Minotaur | Thos. Louis | C. M. Schomberg | – – | 74 | 643 | 2 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 54 | 6 | 87 | ||
| 6 | Swiftsure | B. Hallowell | J.L. Waters | – – | 74 | 584 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 2 | 29 | ||
| 7 | Audacious | Davidge Gould | Thos. White | – – | 74 | 584 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 2 | 36 | ||
| 8 | Leander | T.B. Thompson | W. Richardson | where most efficient | 50 | 338 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 9 | Defence | John Peyton | Richard Jones | – – | 74 | 584 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 15 | ||
| 10 | Zealous | Samuel Hood | W.H. Webley | – – | 74 | 584 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 11 | Orion | Sir J. Saumarez | J. Barker | – – | 74 | 584 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 6 | 42 | ||
| 12 | Goliath | Thomas Foley | G. Jardine | – – | 74 | 584 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 28 | 9 | 62 | ||
| 13 | Majestic | G.B. Wescott | R. Cuthbert | – – | 74 | 584 | 3 | 38 | 14 | 3 | 124 | 16 | 193 | ||
| 14 | Bellerophon | H.D.E. Darby | R. Cathcart | – – | 74 | 584 | 4 | 32 | 13 | 5 | 126 | 17 | 197 | ||
| Mutine brig. | T.M. Hardy | – – | assisting the Culloden | 14 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 1066 | 8064 | 16 | 161 | 46 | 37 | 562 | 78 | 895 | ||||||
| Emerald. Terpsichore. Alcmene. | T.M. Waller. W.H. Gage W. Brown | } | not in the action. | ||||||||||||
French, commanded by Admiral Gantheaume.
| No. | Ships’ Names. | Captains. | Guns. | Men. | Remarks. | ||||
| 1 | Le Guerrier. | J.F.T. Trullet (sen.) | 74 | 700 | Taken and burnt by the British. | ||||
| 2 | Le Conquérant. | E. Dalbarde. | 74 | 700 | Taken. | ||||
| 3 | Le Spartiate. | M.J. Emerine. | 74 | 700 | Ditto. | ||||
| 4 | L’Aquilon. | H. Alex. Thevenard. | 74 | 700 | Taken and called the Aboukir; Captain killed. | ||||
| 5 | Le Peuple Souverain. | P.P. Racoora. | 74 | 700 | Taken and called Le Guerrier. | ||||
| 6 | Le Franklin. | Blanquet (Rear-admiral) | 90 | 800 | Taken and called the Canopus. | ||||
| 7 | { | L’Orient (formerly) Le Sans Culottes. | { | Brueys (Admiral) Gantheaume (R.A.) Casa Bianca, Captain. | } | 120 | 1010 | { | Blown up: the Admiral and the whole crew, excepting seventy men, perished. |
| 8 | Le Tonnant. | Du Petit Thouars. | 80 | 800 | Taken; her Captain killed. | ||||
| 9 | L’Heureux. | J.P. Etienne. | 74 | 700 | Taken and burnt by the British. | ||||
| 10 | Le Timoléon. | Trulet (jun.) | 74 | 700 | Driven on shore, and burnt by her own people. | ||||
| 11 | Le Mercure. | Cambon (acting). | 74 | 700 | Taken and burnt by the British. | ||||
| 12 | Le Guillaume Tell. | { | Villeneuve, (R.A.) Captain Sinclair. | } | 80 | 800 | { | Escaped; taken in 1800 by Foudroyant, Lion, and Penelope. | |
| 13 | Généreux. | Le Joille. | 74 | 700 | { | Escaped; taken in 1800 by the squadron under Lord Nelson, off Malta. | |||
| La Sérieuse. | Clavele Jean Martin. | 36 | 250 | Sunk by a broadside from the Orion; crew saved. | |||||
| L’Artémise. | Pierre Jean Standelet. | 36 | 250 | { | Struck her colours, and burnt by her crew, who escaped in their boats. | ||||
| La Diane. | R.A. Decrès, Capt. Soleil | 48 | 300 | Escaped, but taken in 1801 off Malta. | |||||
| La Justice. | — Villeneuve. | 44 | 300 | Escaped, but taken in 1801 at Alexandria. | |||||
| Besides bombs, brigs, gun-boats, and batteries. | |||||||||
| —— | —— | ||||||||
| Total. | { | French British | 1200 10810 | 1066 8064 | |||||
| —— | —— | ||||||||
| 134 | 2764 |
Thus it appears that the French were superior by more than a fourth to the British, and certainly still more in weight of metal; and when the size of the shot is taken comparatively into consideration, and that a French eighty is equal to a British ninety-eight, the superiority in the broadsides would be even greater.