"I have the honour to acquaint you, that I attacked the French fleet off the Mouth of the Nile, on the 1st inst. the result of which you will see by the inclosed paper; and that, on the 14th, the French took possession of the Turkish admiral's ship at Alexandria, hauled down her colours, and hoisted French colours, and seized on all the Turkish property on shore. The French are in possession of Alexandria, Aboukir, Rosetta, and Damietta, on the coast, and of Grand Cairo: but all communication is cut off between their army and their transports at Alexandria, by sea, by an English squadron of three ships of the line and four frigates, which I have left cruising there; and, by land, by the Bedouins. So that, if the Grand Signior will but send a few ships of the line, and some bombs, he may destroy all their transports in Alexandria; and an army of ten thousand men may retake Alexandria immediately, as the French have only four thousand men in it, and the whole French army are very sickly.
"I have been informed, that the French have put to death two hundred Turks at Alexandria, for rejoicing at our victory; and that General Bonaparte only wants a communication opened by sea, to march into Syria, that the transports with stores, &c. for the army may go along shore with him.
"I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient servant,
"Horatio Nelson."
The inclosed papers, mentioned in this and the preceding letter, were lists of the forces of the English and French fleets at the battle off the Nile shewing which were taken, burnt, &c. and copies of this last letter were sent to the Earl of St. Vincent and Earl Spencer.
On the 8th of September, at sea, he addressed a letter to the Marquis De Niza, commander of the Portuguese squadron; regretting that they had not joined him prior to the 1st of August, when not a single French ship could have escaped: but, as he observes, that being without remedy, it is necessary to look forward to the next important service for the common cause; which, in his opinion, is that of preventing the French from getting any supplies of stores, by water, from Alexandria. He concludes with observing, that the Grand Signior will, he hopes, not only send an army into Syria; but also send ships of war, with bomb-vessels, gallies, &c. in order to destroy all the vessels in Alexandria: and concludes with inviting his excellency to be a partaker in these joyful events.
In a very few days, however, he learned that the Marquis De Niza had returned from Alexandria; and he now, with equal address, sent him to Malta.
On the 14th, by La Mutine, he dispatched letters to the Earl of St. Vincent, in which he expresses his fear that it will be thought wrong, not to have returned any of the "numerous frigates, brigs, cutters, &c. which had been sent to Egypt "It was," says he, "only on the 13th of August, that the Alcmene, Emerald, and Bonne Citoyenne, joined me. On the 17th, the Seahorse joined; and, till September 7, I neither saw nor heard of any. The Earl of St. Vincent cutter then joined me, forty leagues from Messina; where I was informed that the Portuguese squadron, with the Lion and Terpsichore, had passed the Pharos, the 28th of August, on their way to Egypt. I therefore sent the cutter with a letter to the Marquis De Niza, and to Captain Hood." He then proceeds to state, that the Thalia had just brought him accounts from Captain Hood, which he sends; and considers the exertions of the officers as great, and highly to be approved. He thinks that the two men who saved the dispatches ought to have a pecuniary reward. "You will see," he adds, "by my second letter to the Marquis De Niza, that I have requested him to go off Malta, which may be the means of driving the French out of that island." After expressing his confidence that, with a little exertion, the French army in Egypt will fall a prey to plague, pestilence, famine, and Mamelukes, he concludes with praying that the earl will give him credit for his earnest endeavours to do what is right.
This day, the hero of the Nile received a letter from General Sir John Acton, transmitting the congratulations of the King and Queen of Naples; to which he returned the following most elegant epistolary acknowledgment, by the Culloden.
"Vanguard, at Sea, 15th September 1798.