"I have the honor to be, &c. &c.
"(Signed) HUTCHINSON, Major General.
"Lieut.-Col. Smith, Royal Marines."
Owing to some omission, the medals which were bestowed by the Grand Signior upon every Officer of the Army, as commemorative of his gratitude, and of their services during the Egyptian campaign, were for a time withheld from those of the corps of Royal Marines, but in consequence of Lord Keith's representation of it to the Earl of Elgin, our Ambassador at the Ottoman Porte, his Sublime Highness most readily compensated for this error, and these honorable marks were conveyed to Sir Richard Bickerton, commanding the British Naval Forces at Malta, who transmitted them along with a letter couched in the following elegant terms:
"Kent, at Malta, March 18th, 1803.
"Sir,
"I have the honor of forwarding to you some Turkish medals, to be distributed among the Officers of Marines who served on shore, and in the squadron employed in the blockade of Alexandria, during the Egyptian campaign.
"The accompanying letter and list,[7] will explain every thing; it therefore only remains for me to add, that I feel a pleasure in having been made a medium in conveying what may be acceptable to a small part of your corps; and I should be much more gratified if it was in my power to congratulate you on the acquisition of more substantial advantages for the whole, being every day more fully convinced of its services and utility.
"I have the honor to be, Sir, &c. &c.
"R. BICKERTON.