Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798

PU5565

Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798 Long Caption: After a long and anxious search through the Mediterranean, Nelson's fleet discovered the French warships covering Napoleon's invasion of Egypt at anchor in Aboukir Bay, near Alexandria at the mouth of the River Nile. With a perfect application of the initiative that comes from exactly knowing their admiral's wishes and intentions, the British captains attacked without hesitation, some ships taking the French on the unprotected landward side, where the French thought no ship could pass. Only two major French ships escaped capture or destruction in the night-long battle. Nelson had set a new standard by which to judge a victory. Credit line: © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London Object: PAD5565 Artist: Thomas Whitcombe; Thomas Sutherland Date: 1816 Medium: coloured aquatint Size: 215 mm x 300 mm Click here to buy a bespoke print of this image.