Of course the vital point to be seized was Ismailia, a task which the presence of the Egyptian force at the railway junction at Nefiché, just outside the town, rendered especially perilous.
The force landed by Captain Fitz-Roy, of the Orion, consisted of 565 officers and men belonging to that vessel, the Northumberland, Carysfort, and Coquette, with two Gatlings and a 7-pounder gun. The men disembarked in absolute silence at 3 a.m. on the 20th. The silence was so perfect that the Egyptian guard at the Lock Gates was surrounded before the attacking force was discovered. The guard, however, fired their rifles, and so did the sailors. The guard at the Governor's house laid down their arms, and no further resistance was experienced in the town. The railway and telegraph stations, the Canal lock bridge, and the Governor's house (with the Governor) were all taken possession of and held.
There was some slight skirmishing in making the further advance, and in the Arab town some of the enemy were killed. The ships in Lake Timsah at 3.40 a.m. fired five rounds of shell each on the guardhouses in the Arab town. By 4 a.m. the whole place was occupied. By intercepted telegrams it was ascertained that the enemy were arranging to send a large force to Nefiché to attack Ismailia and the ships, and Captain Fitz-Roy determined, if possible, to dislodge the enemy from Nefiché, and to destroy their camp and any of the trains running. The Orion and Carysfort therefore commenced a slow bombardment at 11 a.m., at a distance of 4,200 yards. By noon the enemy's camp was destroyed, and the troops were retreating towards Cairo. The bombardment was then stopped for a time, but at 4 p.m., as another train was arriving laden with troops, firing was resumed, one shot wrecking the train, overturning the trucks and scattering the soldiers right and left. The fortunate shot was fired from the Orion at an unseen enemy, from bearings taken from the masthead of the Carysfort.
This concluded the fighting until 10 p.m., after which shells were fired at Nefiché at intervals of half an hour until daylight, to prevent the railway being cleared, and check troops coming from the west by train. At 10.30 General Graham arrived with the advance guard of the army, reinforced the different positions, and took over the military command.
Throughout the operations there was only one European injured. The brother-in-law of the Dutch Consul happened to be walking in the neighbourhood of the lock, and not stopping when challenged, was unfortunately shot in the arm, and subsequently died.[45]
The account given by M. Victor de Lesseps, the Canal Company's local agent, in his official report of the operations at Ismailia, differs somewhat from the foregoing. It is nevertheless not devoid of interest, and for this reason a translation of some of the more important passages is given below.
"During the night of the 19th to 20th all the European population, the personnel of the Company, and the principal Egyptian functionaries, were assembled at the house of M. Poilpré, Chief Agent of the Domain, at one of the gayest of balls, enlivened by the presence of the officers of the Spanish and Austrian ships of war. At two in the morning, every one went home, and commenced to sleep, when, towards 3 o'clock, in the middle of a very dark night, the streets resounded with warlike cries, mingled with the sound of musketry and of the rolling of gun-carriages dragged at a walking pace.
"It is the English sailors who disembark without having warned the inhabitants that they might be exposed to be killed in the streets. On what are they firing?—on whom?—no enemy is before them. The camp of the Egyptians is at Nefiché, three kilometres from Ismailia. There are in the town only some soldiers of police, very peaceable people, inhabiting Ismailia for a long time, and who have never dreamed of anything but maintaining order.
"Shortly after the embarkation, the cannon thunders. It is the Orion—it is the Carysfort—which are sending their shells on to Nefiché, or in the desert.
"The musketry fire continues in the streets of Ismailia. At daybreak it ceases in the town, after having happily made only one victim.
"It is a European, a Dutchman, M. Bröens, who, not answering clearly to the challenge of a seaman, received a rifle bullet, which, traversing his body, broke his left arm. M. Bröens lies between life and death. The doctors regard his condition as hopeless.
"The English sailors direct their steps towards our Arab village, inhabited by our native workmen with their families, and where they find no enemies to reply. Nevertheless, they fire on the women and children,[46] who flee into the desert; heartrending cries from the terrified population reach even us. Some Police Agents are made prisoners without any of them having tried to defend themselves.
"One of them is killed from behind, whilst trying to escape with his family.
"Towards eight in the morning the musketry fire ceased. The cannon thunders still, and will thunder until the morning of the 21st.
"On landing, the English have cut our telegraph wires to Suez and Port Saïd. Captain Fitz-Roy occupies the Port Office, and our boats are seized. Ismailia is blocked, and we know nothing of what is passing on the rest of the line.
"In the afternoon we think of putting the families of our personnel in safety. For 300 seamen only occupy the town, and during the night the Egyptians of Nefiché may attack. It is prudent to make the women and children sleep on the lake. As to the personnel and M. Ferdinand de Lesseps, they have decided not to quit the town.
"The families betake themselves to the landing-place. Captain Fitz-Roy opposes their departure.[47] I then write him a letter. M. Fitz-Roy answers me verbally at seven in the evening, when the night commences, that the families are free, but that M. de Lesseps and all his personnel shall pass the night in the town, for he expects to be attacked. There will be a battle in Ismailia, and he wishes that M. de Lesseps and all his personnel should be there. 'I am the master, now,' says he.
"These odious words were quite gratuitous, since M. de Lesseps and all the personnel, chiefs and employés, had declared that they would not go out of the town, and there had never been a question except as regards their families.
"A part of the families preferred to return to town; the other part was enabled to embark in the boats sent by the ironclad Spanish frigate Carmen, and by the Austrian gunboat Albatross.
"The night, happily, passed without any incident; the silence was broken only by the shells thrown by the Carysfort and Orion on Nefiché. At daylight Ismailia woke up in the midst of several thousands of English soldiers of the army. The Lake is full of transports and ships of war.
"We learn then that in the night of the 19th to the 20th the English have disembarked at Port Saïd, but peaceably, and that Admiral Hoskins has taken possession of our offices, from whence M. Desavary, Principal Transit Agent at Port Saïd, had been expelled. Ships of war and transports entered the Canal without pilots, and without paying their dues.[48]
"During the 20th and 21st the movement without pilots of the English vessels of war gave rise to complete confusion. The greater part got ashore, and several were obliged to disembark their troops on the bank before arriving at Ismailia, being incapable of extricating themselves by their own resources. Admiral Seymour has been forced to recognize this, and the hurry that he was in on the 21st to hand back the working to us is the proof of it.[49]
"It is desirable to add that the British naval authorities tried to obtain the services of several of our pilots behind the backs of their superiors, and that all the pilots, without exception, refused to move without the order of the Company.
"During all this crisis no défaillance has been produced in all the personnel from Port Saïd to Suez. The Company may well be proud of it."
The substance of M. Victor de Lesseps' account of the occupation of Ismailia being telegraphed to the Standard newspaper, the Lords of the Admiralty thought the matter of sufficient importance to be noticed, and on the 1st September communicated to the Foreign Office as follows:—
"From these reports[50] we are able to give the following account of the occurrences of that day: Ismailia was garrisoned by rebel troops; guards were placed at the lock, the Governor's house, and the Arab town. The lock was surrounded by a party under Commander Kane, R.N. The guard fired and wounded that officer slightly. Their fire was returned, and it is believed that it was here that a brother of one of the employés of the Canal was unfortunately wounded, who died on the 29th ultimo in the British hospital. The guard at the Governor's house laid down their arms. The Arab town was occupied by Captain Stephenson; the guard retreated and were fired upon, and two men killed. A few rounds of shell were also fired from the ships at the guardhouses in the Arab town.
"Sir Beauchamp Seymour also reports that he saw on the 21st ultimo many women on board the Spanish ship Carmen; that he was told by the Captains that they took refuge on board of her and the Austrian ship Albatross on the 20th. It appears that Captain Fitz-Roy permitted two large Canal boats to be used for their embarkation, although he did not consider it consistent with his duty to allow Canal officers to leave Ismailia."