Narrative of a Private Soldier in His Majesty's 92d Regiment of Foot

by George Billany

At nine o'clock the signal was made for the boats to advance; and the whole line advanced at the same instant, giving three loud cheers. "The French, to the number of two thousand, were posted on the top of sand-hills, forming the concave arc of a circle on the front of about a mile, in the centre of which elevated itself, a nearly perpendicular height of sixty yards, apparently inaccessible."[^[7]] The left of this rising ground was a continuation of sand-hills close to the shore, gradually diminishing in their height until they ended in a long flat tongue forming the entrance of Lake Maadie. The ground to the right of the centre height on the shore was flat, but there were clusters of thick bushes, (such as form the date or palm tree), which were favourable for concealing the enemy; and on the extremity of the right stood the castle of Aboukir, in which were several 10 inch mortars, and a large Martello tower, having two brass 32 pounders on its top, and which, from its position and height, commanded nearly the whole shore. As soon as the boats set off for the beach, the two bomb ketches, and the three sloops of war, began to throw their shot and shells upon the shore; and the light vessels, stationed to protect the flanks of the boats, moved along with them and began to fire. The bulk of the enemy's field artillery was in the flat ground, to the right of the height before mentioned, the rest was among the smaller sand-hills on the left of it. As soon as the boats were within the reach of their shot, they opened their fire on them; and it appeared to be their design, to make their shot cross the boats in the centre. The heavy guns on the top of the tower in Aboukir castle, and the mortars, commenced, at the same time, their fire on the right flank of the boats. The scene now became dreadful; the war vessels pouring whole broadsides; the bomb ketches throwing shells, which, exploding in the air, formed numerous little clouds; and the gun-boats and cutters on the flanks of the boats, exerting themselves to the utmost. As none of these, however, could approach the shore, so near as to be within the reach of grape-shot, or even to have a certain aim, their exertions were of little benefit to the boats; which pursued their progress towards the shore, whilst the enemy's artillery, (12 pieces, exclusive of the large guns in Aboukir castle), continued to play upon them with unremitting activity. All eyes were directed towards the boats; every flash of the enemy's artillery was noticed; and every eye on the stretch, to discern where the shot might strike the water, to observe if it lighted among the boats, and if any of them were damaged or sunk; and we too often had occasion to picture to our minds, when we saw the shot strike in the middle of them, and produce disorder, how many it might have killed, or wounded, or drowned; for my own part, although I felt thankful that I was not myself in the boats, yet my feelings for those that were, were nearly, if not altogether, as painful, as if I had been in them; and I believe that this was the case with the most of the spectators. But while we were thus feeling for them, we became increasingly astonished to behold how the boats pressed forwards towards the shore, although the wind, of which there was a smart breeze, was against them; how well they preserved their order under the terrible fire of the enemy's artillery; and how quickly any disorder produced by the shot that fell amongst them was remedied. The painful feelings of anxious apprehension and suspense experienced by those in the boats, must have been greatly heightened by the circumstance, that most of the shells and shot fired by our war vessels were necessarily fired over their heads, they being between the vessels and the enemy: so that an ill-directed shot from their own ships, was as dangerous to them as one from the shore; and when buzzing through the air over them, must have been apprehended as one from the enemy, about to strike destruction amongst them.

As the boats approached the shore, the enemy moved their artillery that was on their right, and drew it nearer to their centre. It appeared to be a part of their object, to keep the extreme right of the boats betwixt their artillery and the war vessels, and thus prevent the war vessels from having a clear opening to direct their fire: and indeed all our fire, from all descriptions of vessels, did not seem to interrupt for a moment that of the enemy, or to silence a single gun all the time the troops were rowing to the beach. When they approached near to it, the enemy having drawn their artillery from the right, planted it on the top of the centre height, which now appeared to look directly down upon the boats: and now came the most trying moment. From this elevated position they poured down such a continued fire of shot, shell, and grape, as made us, who were looking on, apprehend that few would reach the shore. Some disorder too appearing among the boats increased our fears; but at this instant we heard them begin to cheer, and saw them press forward with redoubled vigour. We soon observed the right flank of the boats reach the shore under the centre height,[^[8]] and the men form immediately on the beach; while the enemy from the top of the height poured down grape shot, as well as the fire of musketry from a line of infantry which was ranged along it. In a few seconds the 40th flank companies, and the 23d regiment, were in line; and, without firing a shot, ascended the height in the face of the enemy. This movement was clearly seen by the whole fleet, and attracted all eyes.—The spectators began to tremble, lest the enemy should drive them down again; but we were astonished to see with what rapidity and order they mounted the steep face of the height. They were soon close to the enemy, and charged them with loud cheers, when the enemy fled, and in an instant both parties were out of sight. The 42d regiment, which had landed and formed, was now seen ascending the left of the height, and charging the enemy opposed to them, who also fled and disappeared. We now turned our attention more to the left, where part of the troops were forming on the beach; but the left of the boats had not yet reached the shore. The enemy, who had been posted among the smaller sand-hills, as soon as the boats came near the shore, rushed down into the water, fired into them, and endeavoured to prevent their landing. A party of cavalry also charged those who were in the act of landing, which produced a temporary confusion; but they were soon wholly repulsed. All the troops were landed, and the beach, and the heights that lined it, cleared of the enemy, I believe, in less than a quarter of an hour, and nothing to be seen by the spectators, but the empty boats, hoisting their sails, and proceeding with all possible speed to receive the second division. Some of them soon reached the ship I was in, and with all haste we got into them and rowed for the shore. On the way I saw some boats swamped, which had been struck with large shot; but the men who were in them had been picked up by the small boats, which followed those that had troops in them, for this express purpose. The number of boats, that were seriously damaged, was small, compared with what might have been expected; but they were in general less or more perforated with grape shot and musketry. The boat in which I was had an oar broken, and was otherwise damaged; but none of the men were killed or seriously wounded in her.

We soon reached the shore, at a place where it was deeper than common: and with a leap I landed dry shod. The first thing I saw, as I passed along the beach, was some Frenchmen lying dead within the edge of the water. The beach was strewed with dead and wounded men, with horses, and artillery taken from the enemy: but the action was over. We formed in a hollow on the left of the centre height, where the 42d had repulsed a charge of cavalry; some of the 42d, and also of the cavalry, with their horses, were stretched dead upon the sand:—we were soon ready, and advanced through the first range of sand-hills, and found the first division formed with their artillery, which had landed along with them, and was drawn by seamen. This circumstance had materially contributed to the success of the landing; for the enemy were astonished to find that our artillery was landed as soon as the troops, and began to fire upon them as soon as the musketry of the infantry. Eight pieces of cannon were taken from the enemy; but the army lost in this affair, one hundred and two killed, five hundred and fifteen wounded, and thirty-five missing; the loss of the navy was twenty-two killed, seventy-two wounded, and three missing, making a total of seven hundred and forty-nine, the greater part of which were killed or wounded in the boats, previous to landing.

During the course of the day the troops were all landed; we did not however advance far that day, but took up a position at no great distance from the shore. Our first concern was to learn whether water could be got in this sandy desert; and we were glad to find that it could be obtained in the hollows, by digging a little way in the sand. When night came on we stationed our guards, and lay upon the sand, covering ourselves with our blankets. This night I was surprised to find that I could see nothing, and I continued to be in this state every night, until the night of the 20d: in the day time I saw as well as ever I did, and had no pain in my eyes.

On the morning of the 9th our regiment, along with a party of Corsican riflemen, advanced along the peninsula about three miles from where we landed, to a place where it was contracted into less than half a mile in breadth. Here was a redoubt and a flag-staff, for communicating signals betwixt Aboukir castle and Alexandria: but the enemy had left it, and thrown a large gun, intended to be mounted on it, into the ditch. In the course of the day, the 42d regiment and others, came and occupied this position, and we returned to our former one, where we remained until the morning of the 12th, waiting for the landing of some horses, ammunition, and provisions, from the fleet. We made booths of the branches of the date (or palm tree), to shelter ourselves from the dew, which fell very copiously, and we had sometimes heavy showers of rain and hail, which made it pretty cold. The thermometer was frequently below 50.

On the morning of the 12th, having filled our canteens with water, and furnished ourselves with three days provisions, the whole army advanced. Having proceeded a little beyond the narrow neck of the peninsula, the enemy's cavalry began to skirmish; our march was slow and often interrupted; the surface of the ground being very uneven, the sand very deep, and the day very warm, parties were frequently sent to assist the seamen with the guns, and even those guns which had horses to draw them, were unable to get forward, for the horses had never been used to the draught, and were often unmanageable.—Before evening we came within sight of the enemy's army posted on a height. Their strength was about 6000 men, of which 600 were cavalry, with 20 to 30 pieces of cannon. As it was too late to engage them that night, we halted, and began to dig for water; for we had made use of all that we had, and were now very thirsty. The place where we began to dig, was a deep soil of black earth, and below it a clayish mixture. About four or five feet from the surface, water began to appear in small quantities; each company dug a well; but before the one to which I belonged had found water, the regiment was ordered upon picquet. There was no help for it. We were posted along the front of the army, only those who were blind were not put on sentry, but left in groupes, a little in the rear. There were nearly twenty of a company in this condition. We felt very unhappy; for we had to remain in the spot where we were, until, when it was necessary to shift our position, some one who had sight came to conduct us to another place: we then took hold of one another, and were led in a string; and, had a party of the enemy made a dash at the place where we were, we were unable either to have resisted or fled.

On the morning of the 13th we were ordered to advance in front of the army, to form, along with the 90th regiment, the advanced guard. We had no time to procure water, but got a little rum, and began our march, leaving our knapsacks with a guard. We had not advanced far, before our light company, which was in front, came upon the enemy's picquets, and a skirmishing began, which increased as we advanced. The light company was reinforced several times, the enemy's picquets getting stronger as they retreated, being joined by those who were in their rear. The ground through which we marched was interspersed with thick bushes; but we approached a rising ground, on which the main body of the enemy's army was drawn up in order of battle. The ascent to this height was entirely bare, and also the ground to the left of it, which projected to Lake Maadie.—Our regiment kept to the side of the lake; the 90th was on our right; and the army followed us in two lines. Our parties in front pressed eagerly upon the enemy's picquets, which caused the regiment to march pretty quickly, in order to be near them for their support; and this led us to get a considerable way in advance of the army, which could not follow with the same speed.—There was one nine pounder field-piece, and one four and a half inch howitzer, along with us; but very little ammunition with them. Armed launches too had kept pace with the left of the army upon the lake; but it was now so shallow that they could not follow us farther.—As soon as the 90th regiment had cleared the broken ground, and began to ascend the height on which the enemy's army was posted, a heavy column of cavalry was observed coming forward to charge them. The front section of the 90th halted, and the regiment formed line with all expedition. The front section of the enemy's cavalry wheeled, as soon as it came opposite the right of the 90th, and began to form line. The two parties formed opposite and very near each other, but the cavalry line was formed first. The rear sections of the 90th had not time to reach the extent of the line, and closed upon the rear of the left, making it six or eight deep, but they had a clear view of the horsemen who were on higher ground. The cavalry advanced upon them with their swords raised; the 90th stood firm, until the cavalry were so near the right of their line, that they were going to strike at them with their swords; they then began to fire, and it ran from right to left like a rattling peal of thunder. It was one of the most terrible discharges of musketry I ever saw; and, from the nearness of the enemy, it was dreadfully destructive. The cavalry instantly retreated, and many horses ran away with empty saddles. During the time of this transaction, which was over in a few seconds, our regiment made a momentary pause. On the retreat of the cavalry we again advanced. The enemy then began to open their artillery upon us from the heights. We still pressed on; but as they saw all our movements, and perceived that we were considerably advanced before the army, they formed the resolution to attack us with all their force; and accordingly marched to their right down the height, and, when on the plain, formed line, and came forward. When we perceived their movement, we halted, formed five companies in line; posted the other five in the rear of scattered bushes on the left towards the lake, and awaited their approach. We cannonaded them with our two pieces, but our ammunition being soon expended, the guns were drawn into the rear.

During the time that we were advancing, I had frequently and earnestly prayed to God, to spare and protect me. Our present situation was one of imminent danger; part of the enemy's artillery were playing upon us from the rising ground towards the right; and in front, the enemy, with the rest of his artillery, was advancing in great force, in a line formed like the blade of a scythe, the curved point to our left on the shore of the lake, and that part of it appeared to be composed of cavalry.[^[9]] It seemed to be the enemy's intention to come round our left, and get into our rear with that part of their line, while the rest of it attacked us in front, and out-flanked us on the right, by which they would have completely surrounded us, and either destroyed or carried us prisoners, before the main body of the army could arrive to assist us. This was their only object. They were too weak to attack the army on level ground with any hope of success; but they were more than competent to take or destroy our party, which did not amount to 500 men. I was near the left of the line, and beheld the advance of the enemy with an anxious mind; but as we were standing in a fixed position, I had some leisure for reflection; and as death was once more staring me in the face, I began to inquire "what hope have I for eternity, if I am cut off at this time?" I confessed my sins in the words of the 51st Psalm; and besought God to pardon them, and give me a new heart; I then thought, "If we are mostly cut down at this time, and have to appear before God, will he make no difference between me and those around me, many of whom, in place of calling upon him, profane his name?" I then endeavoured to lay hold on the mercies promised to the penitent and contrite in heart. I thought I was sorry for my sins, and confessed them without guile, and on this account I endeavoured to hope for mercy, thus resting partly on the difference that I conceived to be between my own character and that of others, and partly on my contrition and repentance before God. But my mind was still dissatisfied; I still feared the worst; I knew not the merits of a Saviour's righteousness; my hope was not built upon him but on myself, and could not be satisfactory. I therefore cried to God to spare me once more, and promised that my future life should be devoted to his service. The Lord was pleased to hear my cry, and to protect me during the awful scene that was just about to commence. The enemy's line had advanced within about 300 yards, and brought two-field pieces in front of the company I was in, and fired them at us. One of the balls came skimming along the surface of the ground. I caught a view of it at some distance, and thought it was coming directly to me. It grazed a small hillock of rubbish a few yards in our front, and laid down the second file on my right. It struck the left leg of the front rank man in the centre, passing through it, and leaving a part of the skin on each side. It grazed the calf of the rear rank man's left leg, tearing it, and carrying part of it away. The small stones which it drove from the rubbish-hillock hurt our faces, and a quantity of them entered into the lacerated limbs of the wounded like hail. The one whose leg was broken died some time after he had undergone amputation; the other also died some months after in Rosetta. I thought that the hillock of rubbish had perhaps altered the direction of the ball, else it might have struck me; and while I felt for my comrades, I thanked God that I had escaped.

We were now anxious for orders to commence firing, as the enemy were still marching forwards; the ground in front was somewhat undulated, rising a little, for about 200 yards in our front, and then gently falling. Our commanding officer allowed them to advance, as far as to the highest part in our front; and whenever we saw their feet distinctly, gave orders to fire. This was eagerly done; and the moment we began firing, the enemy's line, in place of rushing forward, and destroying us in an instant, made a halt from right to left, and opened their fire upon us. As we were most afraid of the two pieces of artillery in front playing upon us with grape-shot, those around me directed their fire chiefly at them, which I believe caused them to be removed to one of the flanks. We then levelled at those directly in our front; but the smoke soon covered them so much, that a particular object was not visible. We then took aim at where we judged their line was; but we were not so much afraid of those directly in our front, as of a body which appeared to be cavalry, and which threatened to come round our left into our rear.—In order to keep them back; those near me directed nearly the one half of their fire against them; for we feared that those who were posted in the rear of the bushes to our left, would not be able to prevent them from advancing, the bushes being widely scattered, so that they might have been easily passed. These men, however, did their duty most admirably. The enemy opened a fire of grape-shot, from several pieces of artillery, to dislodge them; but they bravely maintained their post. Our ranks were now getting thinner; our commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Erskine, was severely wounded with grape shot in several parts of the body.[^[10]] The officer commanding the company I was in, was also wounded, and many more.—After we had fired about 12 rounds, whilst I was in the act of loading, I was struck by a musket ball in the left side, near the pit of the stomach, close to the ribs, and was whirled round on my heels by the force of the stroke. I was stunned and felt great pain; and, concluding that I was wounded, I stept into the rear and grasped the place with my hand. I found the skin was entire; and on shaking myself, the ball dropped at my feet. I then resumed my place in the ranks, and continued to fire until I had expended 22 rounds; when to our great joy, a party of marines, doing duty on shore, arrived on our right, and Dillon's regiment on our left. At the first fire of these troops, the enemy retreated with great precipitation. We pursued them to some distance; and Dillon's regiment coming up with a party of them, charged, and took two pieces of cannon.—The enemy was so closely pressed that he divided his forces, and part of them retreated to the left, through a shallow place of the Lake Maadie, the other part retired direct upon Alexandria. Had we had a proper proportion of cavalry, we might have captured all the enemy's artillery, and even have taken Alexandria itself; for we could have reached it before that part of the enemy's force which retreated to the left, as we were nearer it than they.

The army formed in line on the heights which the enemy had occupied in the morning: they cannonaded us, and kept up a fire of sharp-shooters, by which we lost a number of men. A division of the army was detached to the left, to a height near to that of Alexandria; the reserve advanced on the right, and another division in the centre. Our regiment was part of the division sent to the left. The day was warm, and we suffered much from want of water. I have seen a Spanish dollar offered for a draught, and in many instances refused. The gunpowder which unavoidably got into our mouths by biting the ends of our cartridges while loading, tended greatly to augment our thirst.