by G. A. Henty
On the right the French as well as the British had exhausted their ammunition, and the singular spectacle was presented of two hostile forces pelting each other with stones, by which many heavy blows were given on both sides, and some killed, among them a sergeant of the 28th. The grenadiers and a company of the 40th presently moved out against the assailants, and the French then fell back. General Menou, finding that all his attacks had failed, now called off his troops. Fortunately for them the artillery ammunition was now exhausted, but they lost a good many men by the fire of some British cutters, which had during the whole action maintained their position a short distance in advance of the British right, and greatly aided the defenders of the redoubt by their fire.
By ten o’clock the action was over. Until the firing ceased altogether Sir Ralph Abercrombie remained in the battery paying no attention to his wounds, and, indeed, the officers who came and went with orders were ignorant that he had been hit. Now, however, faint with loss of blood, he could maintain his position no longer, and was placed in a hammock and carried down to the shore, and rowed off to the flagship. As soon as the French had withdrawn, attention was paid to the wounded. The total loss was 6 officers and 230 men killed, 60 officers and 1190 men wounded. The French loss was heavier. 1700 French, killed and wounded, were found on the battlefield, and 1040 of these were buried on the field. Taking the general proportion of wounded and killed, the French loss, including the prisoners, amounted to 4000 men; one French standard and two guns were captured.
The total British force was under 10,000 men, of whom but half were seriously engaged. The French were about 11,000 strong, of whom all, save the 800 who made the feint on the British left, took part in the fighting. On the 25th the Capitan Pasha, with 6000 men, arrived in the bay, and landed and encamped. Three days later the army was saddened by the news of the death of Sir Ralph Abercrombie. He was succeeded in his command by General Hutchinson. For some time Edgar had an idle time of it. The French had failed in their attack, but they had not been defeated, and their position was too strong to be attacked. The Capitan Pasha had with him an excellent interpreter, and therefore his services were not required in that capacity.
The night before the battle he stopped up all night talking with Sidi, relating all that had happened since he had left him, and hearing from him what had taken place on land. This was little enough. A great number of the Arabs had gathered in readiness to sweep down upon the French when they attacked the Turkish army at Aboukir, but when the latter had, with terrible slaughter, been driven into the castle, they had scattered to their homes. The next day the young Arab witnessed with delight the repulse of the French attack, and at the conclusion of the fight rode away to tell his father of Edgar’s return, and of the events that he had witnessed. The sheik had come back with him on the following day, accompanied by some of his followers, and their tents were pitched on a sand-hill a short distance in the rear of the British lines.
Until April 13th nothing was done. The army was too small to undertake any operations, and was forced to remain in its position, as it might at any moment be again attacked.
In the pocket of General Roiz, who had been killed in the battle, was found a letter from General Menou, expressing fear that the English would cut the Canal of Alexandria and let the waters of it and Lake Aboukir into the old bed of Lake Mareotis. It was evident that an immense advantage would be gained by this. Our own left would be secure against attack. The French would be nearly cut off from the interior, and the British army be enabled to undertake fresh operations. General Hutchinson, however, hesitated for a long time before taking the step. A tract of rich country would be overwhelmed, and none of the Arabs could say how far the inundations would reach. However, the step was evidently so much to the advantage of the army that at last he gave the order, and on the 13th of April the work began, and that evening the water rushed out from Lake Aboukir through two cuts. Others were opened the next day. The rush of water quickly widened these, and soon the inundation spread over a large tract of country behind Alexandria.
A considerable force was at once detached to support Colonel Spencer, who was menacing Rosetta, and marched to El Hamed. Sir Sidney Smith ascended the Nile with an armed flotilla as far as El Aft, and on the 19th aided the Turks in capturing Fort St. Julian, a strong place between Rosetta and the mouth of the Nile. After the fall of St. Julian, Rosetta was taken possession of with but little difficulty. Soon after this, to the deep regret of the navy, Sir Sidney Smith was recalled to his ship. The Grand Vizier had a serious grudge against him. This arose from a capitulation that had, shortly after the retreat of the French from Acre, been agreed upon between the Turkish authorities and the French, by which the latter were to be permitted to evacuate Egypt.
Sir Sidney Smith had not been consulted, but considering, and justly, that the advantages were great, had signed it. Lord Keith, as commander-in-chief, had refused to ratify the treaty, and the English government, who were in high spirits at the blow struck at the French at Acre, agreed with his action. Sir Sidney Smith, as soon as he received Lord Keith’s despatch, sent a mounted messenger to Cairo to inform General Kleber that the terms of the convention were rejected. The despatch reached the French just as they were preparing to evacuate Cairo. Unfortunately, the Grand Vizier, who, with his army, was but a short distance away from the town, did not receive a similar intimation, and approaching the city with his troops, but without guns, was attacked by the French, and suffered a disastrous defeat.
The Turks had not forgiven Sir Sidney Smith for this misfortune, but the latter had not supposed for a moment that the Turks themselves would have neglected to apprise the Grand Vizier of the news, and only thought of warning the French. The Grand Vizier now demanded that Sir Sidney Smith should not take part in any operations in which he and the Turkish army were concerned, or retain the command of the naval flotilla that he had created, and with which he had performed such excellent service in opening the Nile for the ascent of the gun-boats and the native craft laden with stores for the supply of the troops that were to advance against Cairo. General Hutchinson, very weakly and unworthily, and to the indignation and regret both of the army and fleet, at once gave way, and Admiral Keith, instead of supporting his subordinate, who had gained such renown and credit, and had shown such brilliant talent, acquiesced, and appointed Captain Stevenson of the Europa to succeed Sir Sidney in command of the flotilla that was to ascend the Nile to Cairo.
This surrender of one of our most distinguished officers to the prejudices of a Turkish commander was, in all respects, a disgraceful one, but from Sir Sidney Smith’s first appointment Admiral Keith had exhibited a great jealousy of his obtaining a command that rendered him to some extent independent, and had lost no opportunity of showing his feeling. Indeed, there can be little doubt that the discourteous manner in which he repudiated, without any authority from the English government, the convention that would have saved all the effusion of blood and cost of the British expedition was the result of his jealousy of the fame acquired by Sir Sidney Smith. The latter, greatly hurt at the unjust and humiliating manner in which he had been treated, at once returned to the Tigre, where the delight of the crew at being again under his command was at least some alleviation to the pain he felt.
Edgar, who had obtained leave of absence for a week, and who had ridden with the sheik for a stay of a few days at his camp, had not heard of the slight inflicted upon his kind friend until his return. He at once went on board the Tigre and sent in his name to his commander.
“I have come, Sir Sidney,” he said when he was shown into the latter’s cabin, “to say that I desire to be recalled from service on shore. After the manner in which you have been deprived of your command, I feel that I could not remain for a day upon the staff of General Hutchinson.”
Sir Sidney smiled.
“You are too impetuous, Blagrove. I have received too many assurances from the officers of the fleet to doubt what their feelings are at the
course that has been taken, but that can make no difference in their duty. It is to do their best in the various positions they occupy, without allowing the question whether they consider that an individual has been unjustly treated to influence them in any way. The service comes before everything. It is distinctly for the benefit of the service that General Hutchinson should have the advantage of your knowledge of the country and of its languages, and, moreover, you really received your promotion in no small degree owing to the fact that you were going to act as a sort of interpreter and guide to the general commanding the expedition, and although unhappily Sir Ralph Abercrombie’s death has caused a change in that command, that in no way alters the arrangements.
“In the next place I think that you would be foolish to resign, because there can be no doubt that there will very shortly be an advance against Cairo. The inundations and the strong defences that the troops have been throwing up will enable a comparatively small number to hold the garrison here in check. The Capitan Pasha’s men have fought bravely at Rosetta, and the Grand Vizier’s army is making its way down to join him. From what they say these are a mere rabble, but with five thousand or six thousand of our troops and Capitan Pasha’s force, we ought to be able to make a good fight, even without the Vizier’s people. At any rate, you would like afterwards to have gone to Cairo with our troops, and there is no doubt that your knowledge of the country will be very valuable. It would be a pity not to see the thing through when you have been in it from the very beginning.
“Lastly, Mr. Blagrove, I should be sorry, indeed, that any naval officer should evince any feeling whatever with regard to a matter purely personal to myself. I should therefore take it as a particular favour to me that you should continue to hold the appointment to which you have been posted.”
“Thank you, Sir Sidney,” Edgar said; “of course I will in that case retain the appointment. Now that I think of it, indeed, I feel that it was an impertinence to manifest in any way my feeling at General Hutchinson’s conduct; my excuse must be that I only returned from my trip with the sheik half an hour since, and on hearing the news was so stirred that I ran down to the landing-place and came off on the impulse of the moment. You have shown me such extreme kindness, sir, that at the time it seemed to me a matter almost personal to myself.”
“Do not apologize,” Sir Sidney Smith said kindly; “the feeling did you credit as a man, though as an officer personal feelings cannot be permitted to sway the actions. Now go ashore again and report yourself as returned from leave.”
The advance up the Nile did not take place for some little time, as great preparations were necessary. Fortunately large numbers of native craft had been captured from the French, and stores were landed and placed on board these for the use of the troops. Colonel Stewart was in command of the British advanced force which accompanied the Capitan Pasha’s division. A large force of gun-boats and rowing-boats were furnished by the fleet, and following the river banks the expedition proceeded up the river. The French resistance was very feeble. Detached parties were taken or driven off, but there was no fighting of a serious character. For a time Edgar remained with General Hutchinson before Alexandria, then he accompanied him to Rosetta, and, joining the main British division, came up with the Turkish army, that had now been joined by that of the Vizier, and the whole advanced towards Cairo.
They met with no real resistance on the march. There can be little doubt that the French generals were hampered by the intense longing among the troops to return to France. Their disasters in Syria had to some extent been retrieved by the defeat of the Turks at Aboukir, but the appearance of the great fleet of men-of-war and transports on the coast, followed by the failure of Menou to drive, as was confidently expected, his assailants back to their ships, produced a profound effect. The report that Alexandria had been almost cut off from the rest of Egypt by the inundation of Lake Mareotis, and that to regain the city an army would have to force its way along the narrow neck of land between the lakes Mareotis and Aboukir, seemed to diminish still further their hope of ever getting away.
The news, therefore, that a great force of British and Turks, supported by gun-boats, and accompanied by an immense flotilla carrying stores, was ascending the Nile, reduced them almost to despair, and so unwilling were they to fight, that when, on the approach of the Vizier’s army to Cairo, it was met by four thousand French, these suffered themselves to be repulsed by the rabble and fell back to Cairo.
They were well aware that if they surrendered they would be guaranteed a passage back to France. Better terms than this they could not hope to obtain after the most vigorous resistance, involving a great and useless loss of life. Therefore as soon as the whole allied force approached Cairo, negotiations were begun, and on the 28th of June (1801) these were concluded, and one of the gates of the town occupied by the Capitan Pasha’s body-guards, and a fort by the 30th Regiment, and on the 10th the French evacuated the city, and the next day the Turkish troops took possession of it.
In the meantime fighting had been going on almost incessantly in front of Alexandria. General Coote, who was in command of the besieging force, gradually gained ground. The French lines were forced backward, and on September 2nd, finding the contest altogether hopeless, and most of the British troops from Cairo having returned, reinforced by a British native Indian army, the garrison capitulated. The number of troops, including the sick, who surrendered in Alexandria, were 10,528, while the force that surrendered at Cairo, which, like the other, was embarked in British ships and taken to France, was 13,672; included among them were 1900 sailors who had for the most part been landed after the battle of Aboukir, while some had been drawn from the French war-ships that had succeeded in running the blockade.
The Indian force arrived in time to witness the surrender of Alexandria, but the fact that the work was practically accomplished by the 12,000 men who landed under General Abercrombie, aided after their work was half done by a Turkish force of no great value, renders the operation one of the most brilliant in our military history, and redounds equal credit upon the gallant soldier who died in the hour of victory, on his successor whose operations were most skilfully conducted, and on the British officers and soldiers who endured no ordinary amount of privation and labour under a burning sun.
Upon the advance to Cairo Edgar had been accompanied by the sheik and his son with a score of their followers. The information that they were enabled to give the general was of the greatest importance and value. The sheik was intimately acquainted with every foot of the ground, and on the force halting in the afternoon he was able to inform the quartermaster-general of the most likely spot for the next camping-ground, and of the distance and nature of the country to be traversed. At daybreak he would start ahead with his party, ascertain from the inhabitants of the villages whether any bodies of the enemy were in the neighbourhood, and arrange with them to forward such supplies of food and vegetables as remained at their disposal for sale, to the spot selected for the camping-ground that afternoon.
The supplies were but small, for the French had well-nigh made the whole country below Cairo a desert. Nevertheless, such as could be produced were gladly purchased by the commissariat for the use of the troops, and owing to the custom prevalent throughout the East of storing grain in covered pits, the supply obtained as forage for the horses largely exceeded expectations, for the peasants regarded the British as deliverers from their oppressors, and upon being assured by the sheik that they paid well for everything that they required, the pits that had escaped the French searchers were thrown open at once. General Hutchinson, on his return to carry out the siege of Alexandria to a conclusion, reported to Admiral Keith his very warm appreciation of the services that Lieutenant Blagrove had rendered him. Long before that time the admiral had received from England a confirmation of the acting rank he had given Edgar. As soon as the capitulation was signed, although it had been stipulated that the British troops were not to go into the town until the French took the
ir departure, many officers did so, as General Menou freely gave permission to enter to anyone who applied for it. Edgar was one of the first of these, and, riding in, alighted at his father’s house.
CHAPTER XIX
QUIET AND REST
Mr. Muller came forward to meet his visitor as he entered, thinking it probable that this naval officer had come in reference to some arrangements to be made with regard to the transports that would carry the French army away. It was three years since he had last seen Edgar, and the latter had grown from a boy into a young man, and the uniform had altered him beyond recognition, for no news had been received from England since he had left, and Mr. Muller had supposed that he was all this time there with his father. Edgar smiled as he saw the absence of recognition in his face.
“Don’t you know me, Mr. Muller?” he asked. “I have no doubt changed a good deal since you saw me last in the dress of an Arab.”
“Mr. Edgar Blagrove!” the latter exclaimed in astonishment. “Your disguises are endless, sir, and I think that this is the best of them, though why you should have adopted it I do not know.”
“It happens that it is not a disguise at all this time. I am what I seem to be, a naval lieutenant. I have been serving in the navy ever since I joined it, ten days after I sailed from here, and was through the siege of Acre with Sir Sidney Smith. As you see, I have had the good fortune to be promoted. I have been serving ashore since we first landed here, and have been up to Cairo with the force that marched there as a sort of guide and interpreter.”