Footnotes

The victory at the Nile was the highly positive outcome of the unsuccessful attempt to stop Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt which Nelson spent most of the summer of 1798 trying to prevent. Cruising the eastern Mediterranean in an attempt to locate Admiral Bruey’s Toulon fleet, Nelson eventually arrived off Alexandria and, in the early afternoon of 1st August, sighted the French fleet at anchor in Aboukir Bay, about 15 miles to the west. Bruey had chosen a strong position in a well-protected bay; additionally, the French ships had larger and heavier guns even though the number of vessels was roughly equal on both sides. Conversely, Nelson had the advantage of surprise and when he realised that the enemy’s ships were not cleared for action on their landward sides, he gave orders to attack. It was already six o’clock in the evening by the time Nelson’s fleet had crossed the bay and, with only two hours of daylight remaining, the enemy was as amazed as Nelson’s own captains by his daring. Outgunned and unprepared for an action they believed would not come until the next morning, the French were decisively defeated and their fleet in the Mediterranean virtually annihilated. It was the greatest naval victory to date in an age of notable successes at sea and it brought Nelson the adulation of his country and the undying admiration of his fellow officers.

Although Richard B. Spencer is probably better known for his many individual ship portraits, he nevertheless executed various retrospective views of the great sea battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. In this work, he has chosen a night scene and the moment immediately prior to the explosion of the huge French 120-gun flagship “L’Orient” at about 10.00pm. Engaged by several British ships, she had been on fire for some time before the blaze reached her powder magazines and when she blew up “with a crashing sound that deafened all around her”, the brilliant flash of flame was visible in Alexandria and the noise heard even further away. It is the most enduring image of the battle and one which has been captured repeatedly by many different artists.