Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was an important naval battle (fought by ships) between the British and the French. It happened from 1 to 3 August 1798, during the Napoleonic Wars. The British Royal Navy, led by Horatio Nelson, defeated the French, who were led by Napoleon Bonaparte. The name comes because the battle was fought in an estuary of the River Nile, off the coast of Egypt.
Great Britain took control of the eastern Mediterranean. Napoleon had won the earlier Battle of the Pyramids, but his army was now cut off from France. France eventually surrendered at the Capitulation of Alexandria.
Battle Of The Nile Media
Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, Lemuel Francis Abbott, 1800, National Maritime Museum. Visible on his cocked hat is the aigrette presented by the Ottoman Sultan as a reward for the victory at the Nile
François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliersartist unknown, Palace of Versailles
Battle of the Nile, Augt 1st 1798, Thomas Whitcombe, 1816, National Maritime Museum. The British fleet bears down on the French line.
The Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798, Nicholas Pocock, 1808, National Maritime Museum
Map of ship positions and movements during the Battle of Aboukir Bay, 1–2 August 1798. British ships are in red; French ships are in blue. Intermediate ship positions are shown in pale red/blue. The map has been simplified, and differs from the text in several minor particulars.
Battle of the Nile – Rif'at
Tonnant under fire from HMS Majestic at the Battle of the Nile.
The Battle of the Nile, Thomas Luny, 1830, National Maritime Museum
Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798, Daniel Orme, 1805, National Maritime Museum. Nelson returns on deck after his wound is dressed.
A 1799 depiction of the Battle of the Nile by Thomas Whitcombe. Orient is on fire, and visible under her stern, and drifting clear of the burning ship, is the dismasted Bellerophon.
