CHAPTER XVII.
ABERCROMBIE'S EXPEDITION.
On arriving at Rhodes Sir Sidney Smith left the _Tigre_, and in the_Tigress_ sailed across to the Bay of Marmorice, preferring to exploreit, in the first place, in a craft drawing but little water. He wasdelighted with the harbour, and after a day spent in sounding in variousparts of it, found that there was ample depth of water for the largerships, and that there were spots where these could lie alongside, runthe upper-deck guns directly ashore, and careen the ships over to apoint that would enable them to be freed of a considerable proportion oftheir weeds and barnacles. Returning to Rhodes, he then started in the_Tigre_ for Syria. He took Edgar with him as interpreter, replacing himtemporarily by another midshipman, and leaving Wilkinson with a reportfrom himself to Lord Keith strongly recommending Marmorice as beingsuitable in all respects for a rendezvous for the fleet and transports.
On the 28th of December the first division of the fleet arrived, and wasat once ordered to proceed to Marmorice, the _Tigress_ sailing ahead toshow the way. The second division arrived four days later. Tents were atonce erected ashore. The sick were landed and encamped; whole regimentswere also put under canvas, while the ships which carried them werecareened and cleaned. Sir Sidney Smith had already returned with thenews that there was practically nothing that could be called an army inSyria, and his report was so discouraging that General Abercrombie andLord Keith resolved that it would be far better to land the army inEgypt than to disembark at Jaffa and take the long and fatiguing marchacross the desert, merely in order to gain the aid of a few thousanduseless Turkish troops.
Great disappointment was occasioned by the remounts for the cavalry thathad been purchased at Constantinople, for when these arrived they weresuch wretched animals that they were for the most part found to beabsolutely useless, and the greater portion were either shot or sold fora dollar each. On the 8th of February one of the most terriblehail-storms that ever was experienced, took place, and lasted forforty-eight hours. The thunder rolled without intermission; thehailstones were as big as large walnuts, and lay two feet deep in thecamp. The scene of confusion there was terrible; horses broke loose andrushed wildly about seeking shelter from the hail. The men dared notventure out, so terrible was the force with which the lumps of ice camedown. Ships drove at their anchors, and many lost their upper spars, andthe _Swiftsure_ was struck by lightning.
The weather continued violent for some time, and it was not until the23rd of February that the ships weighed anchor, and, numbering a hundredand seventy-five, set sail, and made their way out of the harbour. Theexpedition on which the troops were about to embark was a mostadventurous one. They had by this time learned that the French hadreceived very considerable reinforcements, and that the force was a muchlarger one than had been reported. The Turkish army with which they wereto operate was non-existent, and the only gleam of satisfaction was thatBonaparte himself had managed to get through the blockading force in asmall craft, and had arrived in France, and that, therefore, the Frencharmy would not have the benefit of his leading, or be animated by hispresence among them.
Edgar found himself brought unexpectedly into notice. The fleet wasentirely unprovided with reliable maps of Egypt, and none of theofficers had any previous knowledge of it beyond the port of Alexandria.Sir Sidney Smith was able to give every information regarding the coast,but had never set foot on shore.
"It is most unfortunate," General Abercrombie said, when he, Lord Keith,and Sir Sidney Smith were discussing the matter. "Here we are about toland in a country of which we know absolutely nothing. If we had, asoriginally intended, landed at Jaffa and marched through El A'rich withthe Turks, we should have had the benefit of their knowledge and that ofthe Arabs of the country. As it is, we are totally ignorant of itsfeatures, while the enemy are thoroughly acquainted with them. It islike a blind man fighting in the dark against one who can seeperfectly."
"By the way," Sir Sidney exclaimed suddenly, "I have a young officer whoknows the country well. He has been a resident at Alexandria for years,and, riding about, knows every foot of the country within many miles ofit. He has been up to Cairo, was with the Arabs who harassed the Frenchmarch, was present at the battle of the Pyramids, and at the fighting inCairo, and knows the position of all the French forts round that city.He was on his way to England when I overhauled the craft he was in, onmy way out, and as he speaks Arabic perfectly, to say nothing of Frenchand Italian, I offered him a berth as midshipman and to act as myinterpreter. In the latter capacity he was invaluable both inConstantinople and at the siege of Jaffa. He is, moreover, a mostgallant young officer, and was second in command of the _Tigress_ whenshe did such good service in eradicating piracy among the islands,capturing and destroying over a hundred piratical craft."
"That is good news indeed!" the general said. "Will you send for himnow? His knowledge would be invaluable to me."
A boat was sent off at once to the _Tigre_ with an order for Edgar tocome on board the flagship immediately. Much surprised, but supposingthat he was wanted to act as interpreter between Sir Sidney and someTurkish official who had come on board, he at once took his place in thegig and was rowed to the flagship. As soon as he reached the deck anofficer told him that he was wanted in the admiral's cabin. There he wasagain surprised at seeing not only the admiral, but General Abercrombieand Sir Sidney Smith.
"This is Mr. Blagrove, Lord Keith," Sir Sidney said. "I can speak mosthighly of him, as a most gallant and able young officer, and as a masterof four or five languages. In the capacity of interpreter he hasrendered signal services."
"Take a seat, sir," the admiral said. "How long has he served, SirSidney?"
"About two years and two months, sir, and therefore I have been unableto recognize the services that he has rendered me in his doublecapacity, beyond mentioning them in my reports."
"I hear, Mr. Blagrove," Lord Keith went on, "that you are intimatelyacquainted with the country round Alexandria, have visited Cairo, andknow the city and its defences. How did you go to Cairo?"
"I rode, sir, in company with a party of Arabs with whom I was livingafter the sudden and unexpected departure of my father when the Frenchfleet first appeared in sight. I may say I went up and down twice, forwe went back to fetch the women of the tribe."
"Sir Ralph Abercrombie will be glad to learn from you all theinformation that you can give him respecting the country roundAlexandria, and also what you can tell him of the route between thatplace and Cairo. As we were in the Mediterranean when we received ordersto undertake the invasion of Egypt, we have no maps of the country, andpractically know nothing whatever about it. However, of course, in thefirst place the most important part of the affair is to learn thepositions round Alexandria."
"I shall be very glad to answer any questions, sir."
The general then began to examine him. "Can you draw, sir?"
"I have no knowledge of military drawing," Edgar replied, "but I couldpoint out the position of the villages."
The general pushed a large sheet of paper towards him.
"The position of the villages will, of course, be useful," he said, "asthese are points that would be naturally defended; but what is of mostimportance is the position of the sand-hills and other eminences, thepoints at which artillery would command the surrounding country, preparethe way for a force advancing to attack the French, or to check columnsadvancing against us, the line which the enemy would be most likely tooccupy, those by which we might best attack him in front or turn hisposition."
Edgar looked at the paper in doubt.
"I am afraid, sir, that is beyond me altogether; but if you will tell mewhere the landing would probably be effected, I could go on from thatspot and indicate the various risings and falls of the ground."
"Of course you know the Castle of Aboukir?"
"Certainly, sir. I was on the sand-hills for two days, within half amile of it, watching the approach of Lord Nelson's fleet and the battleof Aboukir."
"Good!" the general said; "we shall probably land near there."
"The sand-hills rise sharply from the water's edge, and a short distancebehind there are several points on which the French would probably placebatteries to oppose the landing."
He sketched the line of coast, drew a few lines indicating the trend ofthe sand-hills, and marked the special eminences. Then step by step heshowed the line where the French would probably post themselves, were asuccessful landing effected, between the heights of Ramleh and the sea,described the country, and, as far as he could, the lay of the land.
"How about water?" the general asked after he had questioned Edgar formore than half an hour.
"There are wells at several points," he said, "but for the most partthey are too near the French position for them to be useful to you untilyou have driven them into the town. There is, however, a well here," andhe marked a spot about a mile from the landing-place. "I cannot tell youits exact position. There is a peasant's hut there. He was speaking tous while we were watching the battle, and he told us that he so hatedthe French that he had filled up his well so that they should not fetchwater from it for the garrison of the castle. I have no doubt that Icould find the hut, and the man will, I am sure, show you where the wellhas been, and it will probably take but little trouble to clear it out.The Arabs, however, told me that wherever you find clumps of trees youwill be sure to find water at no great depth."
"That is very valuable information," the general said. "It is bad enoughto have to depend upon the fleet for provisions; but the difficulties oftransporting water sufficient for some 12,000 men, with the cavalry andartillery horses, would be enormous.
"Thank you, Mr. Blagrove. I must have some more conversation with you."
Edgar bowed and retired.
"You must let me have that young fellow," the general said to Sir SidneySmith. "He is evidently thoroughly acquainted with the country. As heknows nothing of military drawing, one cannot get the full advantage ofhis information here; but if I had him on shore with me his knowledgewould be invaluable, for he could then point out to me the nature of thecountry beyond the points we can see."
"I should be very happy to lend him to you, Sir Ralph, and I am sure hewill be glad to go, for really a midshipman's pay is absurd as aconsideration for the services that he has rendered as interpreter.Fortunately his father was a merchant at Alexandria, and money is of nogreat importance to him, and he really entered the navy only for thepleasure of seeing service, and to pass the time until the departure ofthe French would enable his father to return to his business. Of courseif he had served his time and passed I should most strongly recommendhim for promotion to lieutenant at once. As it is, I am powerless."
"There are exceptions to every rule," Lord Keith said, "and ascommander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, I think that I might overstepthe line. Could he pass?"
"I have no doubt whatever that he could do so," Sir Sidney said."Certainly he could in practical knowledge of seamanship, after beingsecond in command of a ten-gun brig for six months among the islands,the commander being a midshipman only a few months older than himself.Owing to the loss of so many officers at Acre, I was unable to spare oneof higher rank, and the complaints of piracy were so urgent andfrequent, that I felt it absolutely necessary to send a ship up to tryand put a stop to it. I had some misgivings at the time, but my choicewas more than justified, as was shown by the number of craft captured;and when I say that the plunder taken sold for over one hundred andthirty thousand pounds, it speaks well for both their skill andactivity, for navigation among those islands is a very ticklishbusiness."
"I will call a board to-morrow to examine him," the admiral said, "andwill at once, if he passes, appoint him as acting lieutenant, and sendhome a report, if you will get one drawn up, Sir Sidney, as to hisexceptional services, and saying that I was partly influenced in takingso exceptional a step by the consideration that Sir Ralph Abercrombiehad asked that he should be appointed to his staff, both from hisknowledge of the country and of the Arab and Turkish languages."
The next morning the flagship signalled to the _Tigre_. The flagmidshipman, after spelling out the message and reporting to Sir Sidney,ran forward to Edgar.
"You are to go on board the admiral's ship at once; the signal has beenmade for you."
On reaching the ship he was conducted down to the wardroom, where, tohis surprise, three naval captains were seated at a table.
"Please to sit down, Mr. Blagrove," the one in the centre said, "we wantto ask you a few questions."
Supposing that he was about to be asked more about Egypt, or perhaps thedepth of water in the port of Alexandria, Edgar prepared to answer, andthe first questions justified his anticipations, for he was questionedminutely as to the point for which a ship would head to round thedangerous reef extending from the outer point of the western port. Thenhe was asked as to the depth of water between this and the shore, theguns that could be brought to bear upon it, and the depths at variouspoints in the harbour itself. All these he was able to answer at once.Then he was asked various questions as to harbours in the Turkish andGreek islands, and as he had constantly consulted the charts during hiscruise in the _Tigress_, he was able to reply readily on all thesepoints. The next question surprised him.
"Now, Mr. Blagrove, if caught by a sudden and heavy squall, when underfull sail, among these islands, and having but three or four minutes tostrip the ship, what orders would you give?"
As he had in his mind every order that Wilkinson had given on theapproach of the squall, he was able to repeat them with accuracy.
"You are cutting them rather short, Mr. Blagrove."
"Yes, sir; but the time is very short. When cruising there we werestruck by a squall less than three minutes after we had notice of itscoming, and everything had to be done at once and with the greatestpossible speed. As it was, the men were not out of the rigging when thesquall struck us."
"Supposing you had had ten minutes' notice, how would you haveproceeded?"
Edgar gave the orders as laid down in the text-book, for after thenarrow escape they had had, he and Wilkinson had especially learnt theseby heart.
"Very good indeed, Mr. Blagrove."
Two or three questions in navigation were then asked, and these werealso answered well, as they had found it absolutely necessary to be ableto find their exact position when cruising in such dangerous waters.
"Thank you, sir," the officer said when the last question had beenanswered; "we shall have much pleasure in certifying that you havepassed your examination in a most creditable manner."
Edgar looked a little bewildered.
"Sir Sidney Smith perhaps did not inform you, Mr. Blagrove, that, byLord Keith's orders, you were to be examined to-day, and that we havesat as a board for that purpose?"
"No, indeed, sir, I had no thought of such a thing. I shall not haveserved my time for nearly three years."
"I suppose Lord Keith had some special reason for having you examinednow. It was a good opportunity, you see. You will please remain on deckfor a few minutes while we draw out the certificate."
He was soon called in again and presented with a certificate, sayingthat he had passed the examination most satisfactorily.
"You will now go to the admiral's cabin," the president said; "hedesires to speak to you."
Still greatly puzzled why he should be examined so long before his time,Edgar sent in his name to the admiral, and was at once shown in. SirSidney Smith was with him.
"I am very glad to hear from the examining board that you have passedyour examination with great credit, Mr. Blagrove," the admiral said."Sir Sidney Smith has spoken to me in very high terms of the servicesyou have rendered him, and the general commanding the troops hasrequested that you should be told off to his staff, where your knowledgeof the country will be of great service to him. Under these veryexceptional circumstances I have taken the exceptional step of havingyou examined at once, and as you have passed with flying colours I nowhand you
your appointment as acting lieutenant. The appointment is, ofcourse, a temporary one, but when I explain to the Admiralty my reasonsfor making it, and inclose the report of your services that Sir SidneySmith has handed to me, I have no doubt that the step will be confirmed.I may say that one reason for my doing this at the present moment isthat as you will be on Sir Ralph Abercrombie's staff, I think that, asthe navy is to be represented, it should be represented by an officerwith at least the rank of lieutenant, so as to give him a proper status.I congratulate you, Lieutenant Blagrove, on the promotion that you have,in my opinion and in that of your immediate superior, most worthilywon."
Thereupon he shook Edgar warmly by the hand. Sir Sidney Smith did thesame, and with a smile stopped Edgar's disjointed words of thanks andpointed to the door. Some of the middies of the flagship nudged eachother and smiled at his pale face as he walked to the gangway.
"He has been getting a wigging and no mistake," one said to another. "Helooked all right when he went in, for I noticed him as he came on deck;but he has evidently got into some awful scrape, and will becourt-martialled and sent home, I should say, or his captain would havekept the affair in his own hands instead of bringing him up before theadmiral."
"Anything the matter, Mr. Blagrove?" Mr. Knight, who was still secondlieutenant on the _Tigre_, asked him, as he came on board. "'Tis notoften that a midshipman is signalled for by an admiral's flagship, andyou are looking rather shaky."
"No, sir, there is nothing wrong, but I do feel a little queer. When Igot there I was taken down to the wardroom, where three captains weresitting. They asked me a number of questions about the port ofAlexandria, the depth of water, the batteries, and so on. Of course Iknew about that from going so often on board ship in the harbour andfrom sailing in and out. Then, to my surprise, they asked me what Ishould do if the ship I was in command of was caught in a sudden squall.As we had been caught in a white squall in the islands, of course I wasable to answer. They asked me some other questions as to navigation,and I could not for the life of me make out what they were doing, andwas thunderstruck when they told me that they were a board, and that Ihad passed my examination with great credit. When they gave me thecertificate I was taken to the admiral's cabin;" and he then repeatedthe substance of what the admiral had said.
"I congratulate you, Blagrove. You are a lucky young dog; but I don'tthink that luck is the proper word, for you owe it entirely, first toyour knowledge of languages, then to your own behaviour and pluck. It israre indeed, I can tell you, that a midshipman of two years' standing ispassed and promoted. I have no doubt that, as the admiral said, yourgoing on Abercrombie's staff had a good deal to do with it, because, forthe credit of the navy, one would not like to be represented by amidshipman on such service. Well, you must borrow an epaulette;" for atthat time a naval officer did not mount two epaulettes until he hadobtained the rank of commander.
At first Edgar's story was altogether disbelieved in the cockpit, wherehis arrival was anxiously expected, as all were curious to learn what hehad been signalled for. When at last they understood that he was inearnest, he was very warmly congratulated. Three of them were senior tohim; but he was so generally liked, and his acquirements in the way oflanguages so fully acknowledged, that there was no feeling of jealousy,especially as they felt sure that, when the campaign was over, SirSidney Smith would get him appointed to another ship. Two of them thatevening got a boat and rowed to several other men-of-war, and at lastsucceeded in buying an epaulette from an officer who had bought the kitof another who had died some time before, and this they formallypresented to Edgar that evening.
While at Marmorice Bay the latter had almost daily interviews with thegeneral. At these the quarter-master and adjutant-generals and severalother superior officers were often present, and he was asked innumerablequestions as to the country between Alexandria and Cairo, theprobabilities of obtaining animals for the baggage-waggons andartillery, the amount of provisions that could be obtained from thecountry, the length of the marches and the nature of the ground, andwhether the Arabs were likely to render any efficient assistance. Allthese questions he answered to the best of his power, saying, however,that it would be absolutely necessary to depend to a large extent on theboats for provisions as the French had done, for that comparatively fewhorses could be obtained, as the French had purchased all that theycould lay their hands on.
Then to an engineer officer he described the position of the old andnewly-erected works at Cairo, saying that the latter were intendedsolely to overawe the town, and that some of them were open works in therear, although no doubt they would be much strengthened, and some of theguns turned outward, as soon as news was received of the landing of theBritish army. He pointed out that many of the guns must, however, beretained in their present position, in case the population should riseas soon as the army approached, and that the guns were in most casessmall, as the French had brought no battering-train with them.
"There is no doubt," the general said, "that Damietta and Rosetta mustbe taken before we advance, and that a strong force of our gun-boats andarmed ships' boats must convoy the native craft laden with provisionsand stores, for from what you describe of the country, and thedifficulty of obtaining animals, it is clear that we shall have todepend upon the river for food."
On the 24th the great fleet sailed, and on the 1st of March anchored inAboukir Bay. The weather was boisterous and a landing was impossible.The next morning, to their mortification, a French frigate was seen toenter Alexandria. She had passed near several of the blockadingsquadron, but was in some way furnished with a British navalsignal-book, and answered all the signals made to her without attractingthe slightest suspicion. During that night a French brig also ran in.Not until the 8th did the sea moderate sufficiently for a disembarkationto be attempted. This delay of seven days was most unfortunate, as itenabled the French general to make every preparation for opposing thelanding.
On the morning of the 8th the brigade of Guards, and part of the 1stbrigade, amounting in all to 5500 men, under the command ofMajor-general Coote, embarked in boats, and at three started for thespot where they were to gather for the landing. But the ships werewidely scattered, and it was not until nine o'clock that the boats wereall marshalled in order.
In the meantime the remainder of the 1st and the 2nd brigades were takento the ships close inshore, so that no time might be lost after theboats had landed the other division.
Edgar had the night before been rowed to the ship on which were thegeneral and his staff, and accompanied them to the vessel near the shoreon which he took his post. On either flank of the transport's boats wereposted three gun-vessels and two of the fleet's launches. Twobomb-vessels were placed close to them, and three sloops-of-war weremoored with their broadsides to the shore.
Sir Sidney Smith had charge of the launches which contained thefield-artillery. As the signal-gun fired, the oars all dipped in thewater together, and the men burst into a tremendous cheer.
For a moment the French remained passive; 2000 men were posted on thetop of the sand-hills, which here formed a crescent. In the centre rosetwo hills, to a height of 180 feet, apparently inaccessible. Twelve gunswere posted on the sand-hills, and the Castle of Aboukir was able toassist with the fire of its guns. So strong was the position that theFrench had hardly deemed it possible that the British would decide toattack them here; but as the boats dashed forward, every man rowing asif his life depended upon his efforts, they could no longer doubt theintentions of the British, and a tremendous fire of grape and musketry,shot and shell, was opened.
Some of the boats were sunk, but most of those on board were saved bythe others, and the greater part of the line, without a check, pressedon until they reached the beach. The 23rd and 40th, whose boats were thefirst to land, rushed up the height without stopping to fire a shot,and, charging the two French battalions with the bayonet, carried it andtwo hills in the rear, taking three pieces of cannon posted there. The42nd Regiment formed up as if on parade
, and mounted the sand-hillsunder the fire of two pieces of artillery and a battalion of infantry.The moment they reached the crest 200 French cavalry advanced to charge,but fell back under the heavy fire opened upon them.
They rallied behind the hills, and charged down upon the Guards as thelatter were beginning to land. The 58th, however, poured a volley intothem, and gained time for the Guards to form up, when the cavalry againrode off. The 54th and the Royals, being in heavy transport boats,arrived a little later, but were in time to check a French columnadvancing through a hollow against the left flank of the Guards. TheBritish were now in full possession of the heights, and the Frencheverywhere fell back, keeping up, however, a fire from another range ofsand-hills for an hour and a half, when, as the troops got into motionagainst them, they retreated, having lost 300 men and eight pieces ofcannon.
The advance of the boats had been anxiously watched by Sir RalphAbercrombie's staff from the deck of the _Mondovi_. It seemed to Edgarwell-nigh impossible that any of these could reach the shore, so torn upwas the water by shot, shell, and bullets. A hearty cheer broke from allon board as the men in the boats that first arrived were seen to jumpout on to the shore. These were repeated again and again as the 23rd,40th, and 42nd won their way up the hill, and the French could be seenhastily retiring. But it was not until the Guards and the three otherregiments were seen formed up in order ashore--for the French might, foraught it was known, be preparing to take the offensive and recover theground that they had lost--that it was felt that full success hadattended the operation. The moment they had landed their freight theboats returned to their ships, and by evening the navy succeeded, withthe greatest exertions, in conveying the whole of the remainder of theforce to the shore.
As soon as the fight was over, the troops were set to dig for waterwherever there were clumps of trees, and succeeded in finding it inseveral places. Edgar was requested by the general to ride with a troopof cavalry to find out the hut where the peasant who had spoken to himlived. He took them almost straight to the spot. The peasant was there,but had difficulty in recognizing in the young officer, the apparentArab with whom he had spoken on the day of the battle of Aboukir.However, on being told that the French had been defeated, and that theBritish intended to drive them out of the country altogether, he at oncepointed out where the well stood.
Some of the troopers had been provided with shovels. All dismounted andworked by turns, and late in the evening the officer in command of theparty rode into camp with the welcome news that a large supply of watercould be drawn from the well. The army advanced some little distance thenext day, and established itself on the narrow strip of land between thesea and the Lake of Aboukir; while the stores were brought ashore and ahospital established on the beach. On the 12th the force moved fourmiles farther, and on the following day marched to attack the French,who were encamped on a ridge. They had received reinforcements fromCairo, bringing up their strength to 6000 men. They had some thirtyguns, and the ground, which sloped regularly and smoothly down, affordeda natural glacis, which would be swept by their fire.
The army marched in two columns against the French right, their advancebeing supported by the guns of some of the ships' launches, which hadentered the Lake of Aboukir. The French guns played rapidly, and the92nd, which was the leading regiment, pushed forward, while the Frenchcavalry, which charged the 90th, were received with a heavy fire anddriven back. The columns now formed into line, and, pressing steadilyforward, the French were compelled to abandon their position, and toretreat to the works on the heights before the town itself.Unfortunately, the British general, from the ease with which he hadturned the enemy from their first position, thought that he might carrythe second by a sudden attack. But, although the troops foughtgallantly, they were unable to win the position, which was strong andwell armed, and after some hours' fighting they were called off. Theirloss during the day had been about 1100 killed and wounded, while thatof the French was not more than half this number.
The ground on which the army now took up its position was a strong one.The right was on high ground, and extended to the ruins of a Romanpalace within fifty yards of the sea. The left was on the canal thatsupplied Alexandria with water; here two batteries were ordered to beconstructed, the lake protected its rear from attack. The distance fromthe sea to the lake was about a mile, and the position occupied was highand commanding. In front of this line was a plain on which cavalry couldact, and beyond this was the French position, a high and steep ridge,extending from the sea to the canal. The army laboured unceasingly atthe work of constructing batteries, and bringing up guns and provisions.Water was fortunately found in abundance, and the nights being cold,tents were landed and set up. The castle of Aboukir had been leftunattacked as the army moved forward, but was now besieged andsurrendered on the eighteenth.