Ganteaume's expeditions of 1801 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ganteaume's expeditions of 1801 was a major French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

operation of the spring of 1801 during the French Revolutionary Wars

French Revolutionary Wars

The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...

. A French naval squadron from Brest

Brest, France

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

under Contre-Admiral Honoré Ganteaume, seeking to reinforce the besieged French garrison in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, made three separate but futile efforts to reach the Eastern Mediterranean. The French army in Egypt had been trapped there shortly after the start of the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt in 1798, when the French Mediterranean Fleet was destroyed at the Battle of the Nile

Battle of the Nile

The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...

. Since that defeat, the French Navy had maintained only a minimal presence in the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

, while the more numerous British and their allies had succeeded in blockading

Blockade

A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...

and defeating several French bases almost unopposed.

The despatch of Ganteaume's squadron was a direct effort to restore balance to the situation in the Mediterranean by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and on the first cruise it reached Toulon

Toulon

Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....

on 19 February, providing vital reinforcements to the remnants of the fleet there. The second expedition, launched from Toulon a month later, was forced back to the port by a combination of bad weather and the British blockade. The third expedition actually reached the Eastern Mediterranean and a fruitless attempt was made to land troops at Benghazi

Benghazi

Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...

, before British ships from the blockade of Egypt successfully drove Ganteaume's forces away. The French squadron returned to Toulon by 22 July, at which point the expedition was called off. Despite his failure to land troops in North Africa, Ganteaume did win a series of minor victories over lone British warships, including the frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

HMS Success and the ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

HMS Swiftsure

HMS Swiftsure (1787)

HMS Swiftsure was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She spent most of her career serving with the British, except for a brief period when she was captured by the French during the Napoleonic Wars...

, and several of his ships detached during the third expedition were subsequently involved in the Battle of Algeciras Bay

Battle of Algeciras Bay

The Battle of Algeciras Bay refers to two separate battles in July 1801 between an allied French-Spanish fleet and the British near Gibraltar. In the first battle, the French drove off an attack by the larger British fleet and captured one ship of the line...

during July. Ultimately the inability of the French to break through the British blockade of Egypt resulted in the defeat and surrender of the garrison there later in the year.

Background

In May 1798, a large French fleet of warships and transports crossed the

Mediterranean campaign of 1798

The Mediterranean campaign of 1798 was a series of major naval operations surrounding a French expeditionary force sent to Egypt under Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars. The French Republic sought to capture Egypt as the first stage in an effort to threaten British India, and...

Mediterranean Sea

with an army of more than 35,000 men under General Napoleon Bonaparte, intent on an invasion of Egypt

Egypt

, then nominally held by the neutral Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. Pausing for the capture Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

the French force then pressed on eastwards, aware that a fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson had entered the Mediterranean and was in pursuit. Successfully avoiding Nelson's forces, the fleet reached Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

on 29 June and immediately invaded, rapidly advancing inland and defeating the Mamluk

Mamluk

A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...

rulers of Egypt at the Battle of the Pyramids

Battle of the Pyramids

The Battle of the Pyramids, also known as the Battle of Embabeh, was fought on July 21, 1798 between the French army in Egypt under Napoleon Bonaparte, and local Mamluk forces. It occurred during France's Egyptian Campaign and was the battle where Napoleon put into use one of his significant...

on 21 July. While the army had pushed inland, the fleet, under Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers

François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers

Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, Comte de Brueys was the French commander in the Battle of the Nile, in which the French Revolutionary Navy was defeated by Royal Navy forces under Admiral Horatio Nelson. The British victory helped to ensure their naval supremacy throughout the...

, had anchored in Aboukir Bay near Alexandria, and was found there in the afternoon of 1 August by Nelson's fleet. Despite the growing darkness, Nelson attacked at once and in three day Battle of the Nile

Battle of the Nile

The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...

destroyed or captured eleven ships of the line and two frigates. Just two ships of the line and two frigates escaped and among the more than 3,000 casualties was Admiral Brueys, killed on his flagship Orient

French ship Orient (1791)

The Dauphin-Royal was an Océan class 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.During the French Revolution, she was renamed Sans-Culotte in September 1792, and eventually Orient in May 1795....

.

With his route back to France suddenly closed, Bonaparte consolidated his position in Egypt and then attacked north into Ottoman Syria

Ottoman Syria

Ottoman Syria is a European reference to the area that during European Renaissance from the late 15th to early 18th century was called the Levant within the early period of the Ottoman Empire, the Orient until the early 19th century, and Greater Syria until 1918...

. The operation achieved some initial success, but British dominance at sea heavily influenced the campaign: the siege train was captured on its coastal barges, all supplies had to be brought overland and any French operations near the shoreline came under heavy fire from Royal Navy warships, particularly at the culminating Siege of Acre

Siege of Acre (1799)

The Siege of Acre of 1799 was an unsuccessful French siege of the Ottoman-defended, walled city of Acre and was the turning point of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and Syria.-Background:...

. Defeated at Acre

Acre

The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

and driven back to Egypt, Bonaparte decided to return to France in November 1799 in order to take charge of the deteriorating situation in the War of the Second Coalition

War of the Second Coalition

The "Second Coalition" was the second attempt by European monarchs, led by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Russian Empire, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary France. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests...

. He could only evacuate a small number of advisors with him on the frigates Muiron

French frigate Muiron

The Muiron was a frigate of the French Navy, famous for ferrying Bonaparte on the 22 August 1799 under the flagship of Admiral Ganteaume from Egypt to France after the Battle of the Nile....

and Carrère

HMS Carrere (1801)

Carrère was a French frigate that served briefly in the French navy before the British captured her in 1801, naming her HMS Carrere...

, but promised the army remaining in Egypt under General Jean Baptiste Kléber

Jean Baptiste Kléber

Jean Baptiste Kléber was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. His military career started in Habsburg service, but his plebeian ancestry hindered his opportunities...

that he would send support and reinforcements from Europe. Bonaparte successfully reached France without interception by British forces and on 9 November 1799 seized power in the coup of 18 Brumaire

18 Brumaire

The coup of 18 Brumaire was the coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate...

and proclaimed himself First Consul.

While Bonaparte was preoccupied in the Middle East and then with French politics, the Royal Navy had returned to the Mediterranean in force. British forces had withdrawn from the region in 1796 after France and Spain became allies in the Treaty of San Ildefonso

Second Treaty of San Ildefonso

The Second Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed on August 19, 1796 between the Spanish Empire and the First French Republic. Based on the terms of the agreement, France and Spain would become allies and combine their forces against the British Empire.-See also:...

, but Nelson's victory at the Nile had eliminated the French threat, allowing a large scale redeployment in the second half of the year. Malta was besieged, the Ionian Islands

Ionian Islands

The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e...

were captured by a joint Turkish and Russian force and successive efforts to reach the trapped garrison of Egypt were defeated at sea. Negotiations to return the French troops to Europe collapsed and although Kléber defeated an Ottoman attack at the Battle of Heliopolis

Battle of Heliopolis (1800)

The Battle of Heliopolis was a French victory by the armée d'Orient under General Kléber over the Ottoman army at Heliopolis on 20 March 1800....

in March 1800, he was assassinated in June. As morale fell, the situation in Egypt became increasingly desperate for the French garrison and the British planned an invasion for March 1801. News of British intentions reached France where Bonaparte, who had successfully reorganised the French Army and driven back allied advances in Italy thus bringing the continental War of the Second Coalition

War of the Second Coalition

to an end, ordered a squadron from the French Atlantic Fleet, based at Brest

Brest, France

, to reinforce the garrison in Egypt.

First expedition

The squadron selected for the reinforcement of Egypt was placed under the command of Contre-Admiral Honoré Ganteaume, a survivor of the Battle of the Nile and therefore an officer with experience of service in the Eastern Mediterranean. Under Ganteaume's command were three 80-gun and four 74-gun ships of the line, two frigates and a lugger

Lugger

A lugger is a class of boats, widely used as traditional fishing boats, particularly off the coasts of France, Scotland and England. It is a small sailing vessel with lugsails set on two or more masts and perhaps lug topsails.-Defining the rig:...

which between them carried 5,000 troops as reinforcements for the Army in Egypt under General Jean Sahuguet. Rumours were spread that the expedition was destined for the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

to participate in the Haitian Revolution

Haitian Revolution

The Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...

, and demonstrations were arranged at every French Atlantic and Channel port, intended to confuse the British blockade

Blockade

squadrons as to which ships were actually sailing and which were only giving the impression of doing so. Ganteaume's squadron was ordered to sail from Brest on 7 January 1801, but the diversion plan was not successful, as the British squadron that was permanently maintained off Brest under Rear-Admiral Henry Harvey

Henry Harvey

Admiral Sir Henry Harvey, KB was a long-serving officer of the British Royal Navy during the second half of the eighteenth century. Harvey participated in numerous naval operations and actions and especially distinguished himself at the Glorious First of June in command of...

immediately gave chase to Ganteauame's ships as they emerged from the Passage du Raz. Within hours, Ganteaume had been forced to take shelter under the batteries at the mouth of the River Vilaine, pretending that his voyage had only been a feint like the other operations along the coast. A few days later he managed to slip back into Brest harbour.

On 23 January a heavy storm struck the Brittany

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

coast, fierce northerly winds driving the British out to sea and leaving the entrance to Brest clear for Ganteaume's escape. Driving out through the Iroise

Iroise Sea

The Iroise Sea or Mer d'Iroise is the part of the Atlantic Ocean which stretches from the Ile de Sein to Ushant off the coast of Brittany in north-western France. It borders on the English Channel to the north, the Celtic Sea to the west and the Bay of Biscay to the south. The origin of the name is...

, the French ships were scattered by the storm and several suffered damage to their masts. The squadron broke into two bodies: a main force of six ships of the line, one frigate and the lugger under Commodore Moncousu and a smaller force under Ganteaume, with one ship of the line and one frigate. Unobserved by the absent British, these forces passed southwest over the following five days, hoping to rendezvous at Cape Spartel

Cape Spartel

Cape Spartel is a promontory in Morocco about above sea level at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, 12 km West of Tangier. It is frequently but incorrectly referred as the northernmost point of Africa, which is instead Ras ben Sakka, Tunisia....

. Both had encounters with scattered British warships: the larger body encountered the British frigate HMS Concorde under Captain Robert Barton at 09:00 on 27 January approximately 75 nautical miles (138.9 km) northeast of Finisterre. Concorde was towing a seized Swedish merchant vessel, but abandoned the ship as soon as a ship of the line and the frigate Bravoure

French frigate Bravoure (1795)

The Bravoure was a 40-gun Cocarde class frigate of the French Navy.She was launched in November 1795 in Saint Servan. She took part in the Expédition d'Irlande, and later served in Ganteaume's squadron. On 28 January 1801, she fought an indecisive battle against HMS Concorde...

closed to investigate.

Concorde initially retreated before the advancing ships, but at 6 nautical miles (11.1 km) distant from the squadron turned to meet Bravoure, which was now advancing alone. As he approached, Captain Louis-Auguste Dordelin demanded that Barton surrender but was met with musket

Musket

A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....

fire and both ships commenced a close range engagement with their main broadside

Broadside

A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...

s. For half an hour the battle continued until wreckage was seen falling from Bravoure and Barton ordered his ship to ceasefire on the assumption that the French ship had surrendered. In fact, Dordelin was hastily turning his ship back towards the squadron for support and although Concorde gave chase, Barton's rigging was too severely damaged to continue the operation, Concorde turning back towards Europe at 03:00 on 28 January. Although Bravoure could still be seen in the distance the following morning, the continued presence of Moncousu's ships rendered any further efforts to attack Bravoure too dangerous. The British ship had lost four killed and 19 wounded from a total of 244 crew members, the French ten killed and 24 wounded, including Captain Doredelin, who had lost a hand.

Entering the Mediterranean

On 30 January, shortly before the separated squadron was reunited off Cape Spartel, Ganteaume's ships also encountered a British vessel, chasing down the small fireship HMS Incendiary under Commander Richard Dalling Dunn. Incendiary was unable to resist the larger warships and after the crew were removed Incendiary was set on fire and scuttled by its French captors. After passing southwards together, the united squadron reached the Straits of Gibraltar on 9 February and passed through them without resistance. As most of the British fleet was operating in the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

and no news of Ganteaume's operation had yet reached the authorities at Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, the only Royal Navy ship on hand to observe the French squadron was the 32-gun frigate HMS Success under Captain Shuldham Peard

Shuldham Peard

Shuldham Peard was a British sailor who rose to the rank of Vice Admiral. He was the father of John Whitehead Peard, who was known as 'Garibaldi's Englishman'.-References:* Oxford Dictionary of National Biography...

that lay at anchor off the British base. Peard correctly assumed that the French squadron was sailing for Egypt and decided to follow them, shadowing the French during 10 February on which they seized and scuttled the 10-gun cutter HMS Sprightly. In the evening, Ganteaume called his ships to a halt off Cape de Gata

Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park

Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park is a natural park in Andalusia, Spain, near the city of Almería. It is the largest terrestrial-maritime reserve in the European Western Mediterranean Sea, covering 460 km² including the town of Carboneras, the mountain range of Sierra de Cabo de Gata, and...

in the Alboran Sea

Alboran Sea

|300px|thumb|]]The Alboran Sea is the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between Spain on the north and Morocco and Algeria on the south...

and Peard unwittingly passed them in the night, so that by the morning of 11 February the French were in a position to pursue his frigate.

For three days Peard sailed north and east, on several occasions believing that he had lost the French only for Ganteaume's ships to reappear over the horizon once more as light winds hampered his escape. At dawn on 13 February, Peard realised that he would eventually be caught and defeated, and swung Success back towards the west, hoping that by doing so he would lead the French straight into any British forces that might now be searching for Ganteaume. The plan failed when the wind disappeared completely at noon, and by 15:00 two French ships of the line had approached within gunshot. Hopelessly outnumbered, the frigate surrendered without further resistance and was attached to the French squadron as Succés, the crew provided by detachments from other vessels. Peard and his men joined the prisoners taken from Incendiary and Sprightly on Ganteaume's flagship Indivisible and were closely questioned as to British movements in the Mediterranean. When interrogated, Peard informed Ganteaume that the invasion of Egypt was already underway, that the Eastern Mediterranean was controlled by a powerful fleet under Lord Keith

George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith

George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith was a British admiral active throughout the Napoleonic Wars.-Career:Fifth son of the 10th Lord Elphinstone, he was born in Elphinstone Tower, near Stirling, Scotland...

and that a squadron under Sir John Borlase Warren was actively hunting the French and could appear at any moment.

The information that Ganteaume gleaned from his captive was largely false. A large expeditionary force and fleet under Lord Keith was in the Mediterranean but would not arrive in Egypt for more than two weeks, British landings eventually going ahead on 8 March. At the time Ganteaume questioned Peard, the force was anchored at Karamania

Mersin Province

The Mersin Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital is the city of Mersin and the other major town is Tarsus, birthplace of St Paul...

on the southern coast of Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

, struggling with reluctant Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

allies and bad weather. In addition, there was little active pursuit of his squadron during February: when Concorde reached Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

on 3 February, urgent messages were sent to Earl St Vincent

John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent

Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...

at the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

who ordered the despatch of a fast squadron of six ships of the line, two frigates and a brig in search of Ganteaume's ships. However, attached to command this force was Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Calder, who travelled in a slow second rate ship of the line that significantly delayed the passage of his squadron. In any case, a miscalculation of Ganteaume's intentions at the Admiralty resulted in orders for Calder's squadron to sail to the West Indies, and they played no further part in the campaign. Warren, whose squadron was based off Cadiz

Cádiz

Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....

, had learned of Ganteaume's passage on 8 February and sailed to Gibraltar in pursuit before continuing to Minorca

Minorca

Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....

on 13 February, arriving on 20 February without seeing any sign of the French and subsequently sailing for Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

in March after hearing news of the impending Treaty of Florence

Treaty of Florence

The Treaty of Florence was signed on March 28, 1801 between France and the Kingdom of Naples. Naples ceded some central Italian possessions, the island of Elba, and the Athena of Velletri to France. French garrisons were imposed in several Italian towns, and Neapolitan harbours were closed to...

between France and the Kingdom of Naples

Kingdom of Naples

The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...

. Despite the lack of genuine pursuit, Ganteaume was unnerved by the information gleaned from Peard, and ordered the squadron to sail for Toulon

Toulon

, arriving there on 19 February without any further contact with the Royal Navy.

Second expedition

When Bonaparte learned that Ganteaume was anchored in Toulon rather than off the Egyptian coast, he was furious and ordered the squadron to return to sea and complete its mission as ordered. His anger was amplified by the news that the frigate Africaine, despatched from Rochefort

Rochefort, Charente-Maritime

Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...

with the same orders to resupply Egypt, had been captured at the Action of 19 February 1801

Action of 19 February 1801

The Action of 19 February 1801 was a minor naval battle fought off Ceuta in Spanish North Africa in February 1801 between a French Navy frigate and British Royal Navy frigate during the French Revolutionary Wars...

by the British frigate HMS Phoebe

HMS Phoebe (1795)

HMS Phoebe was a 36-gun fifth rate of the British Royal Navy. She had a career of almost twenty years and fought in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812...

in the Western Mediterranean. To emphasise his instructions, Bonaparte sent General Jean-Gérard Lacuée

Jean-Gérard Lacuée, count of Cessac

Jean-Girard Lacuée, count of Cessac was a French general and politician, peer of France and Minister for War under Napoleon I of France...

to deliver them in person. Ganteaume was ordered to sail to Alexandria immediately, and if the Egyptian port was under attack by British forces, the troops were to be landed anywhere practical between Cape Rasat and Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

and make their way to Alexandria overland. Ganteaume sailed on 19 March, as soon as Lacuée had delivered the orders, with seven ships of the line, three frigates and three merchant ships carrying supplies.

Within hours of departing from Toulon, the squadron was struck by a heavy gale. One of the ships of the line lost its mainmast and turned back for Toulon, and the remainder of the force was scattered. The British blockade force sighted the disparate squadron on the following morning and although the French escaped pursuit, HMS Minerve

French frigate Minerve (1794)

The Minerve was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy. She was captured twice by the British and recaptured once by the French. She therefore served under four names:*Minerve, 1794–1795*HMS Minerve, 1795–1803*Canonnière, 1803–1810...

succeeded in capturing one of the isolated merchant vessels. By 25 March, all but three of Ganteaume's ships had been recovered and the force was limping southwards through the Tyrrhenian Sea

Tyrrhenian Sea

The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....

when it ran directly into Warren's squadron as it returned from Sicily. Ganteaume turned southeastwards to escape and Warren gave chase, the faster vessels in his squadron gaining on the French but the slower ships, particularly HMS Gibraltar and HMS Athenienne, falling far behind. Concerned that this placed his squadron in danger of becoming separated during the night, Warren ordered his faster ships to slow down and gradually lost sight of the French during the evening. Ganteaume took advantage of the respite to turn northwards in the darkness, and once again returned to Toulon.

Third expedition

When Bonaparte learned that Ganteaume had returned to Toulon for a second time, he once again issued orders for the admiral to go to sea and fulfil his original orders to resupply the Egyptian garrison. On 27 April, the French force sailed for the third time, with seven ships of the line, two frigates a corvette and two storeships. Before sailing to Egypt, Ganteaume first cruised off Elba

Elba

Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...

in the Ligurian Sea

Ligurian Sea

The Ligurian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian Riviera and the island of Corsica. The sea is probably named after the ancient Ligures people.-Geography:...

, achieving regional superiority long enough that a force was able to cross to the island from Piombino

Piombino

Piombino is an Italian town and comune of circa 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno . It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma.-Overview:...

, rapidly subduing all but the fortress of Porto Ferrajo, which was besieged

Siege of Porto Ferrajo

The Siege of Porto Ferrajo was a French attempt to force the surrender of the Tuscan fortress town of Porto Ferrajo on the island of Elba following the French occupation of mainland Tuscany in 1801 during the French Revolutionary Wars...

. The diversion to Elba revealed that the ships of the line Fordmidable

French ship Formidable (1795)

Formidable was an 80-gun Tonnant class ship of the line of the French navy, laid down as Figuires and renamed in 1795. She was launched at Toulon in 1795. She participated in the Battle of Algeciras, the Battle of Cape Finisterre and several other actions before the British captured her at the...

, Indomptable

French ship Indomptable (1789)

Indomptable was an 80-gun ship of the line in the French Navy.She took part in the Glorious First of June on 29 May 1794, engaging the English Barfleur and Orion simultaneously, after which the Indomptable, having lost her masts, was towed to Brest by the Brutus .In 1795, she served in the...

and Desaix

French ship Tyrannicide (1793)

Tyrannicide was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.In 1794, under Alain Joseph Dordelin, she took part in the Glorious First of June...

and the frigate Créole were all too undermanned to perform efficiently, and they were sent back to Toulon. Ganteaume turned south with the remainder and passed through the Straits of Messina on 25 May. On 5 June off Brindisi

Brindisi

Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...

, the squadron sighted and chased the British frigate HMS Pique under Captain James Young

James Young (1762–1833)

James Young was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, rising to the rank of vice-admiral of the white.Young was born in 1762, the son of a naval officer...

, which was able to effect an escape to Alexandria and warn Keith of Ganteaume's approach. A planned rendezvous off Brindisi

Brindisi

with three Neapolitan frigates did not occur, and by 7 June the squadron was close enough to Egypt for Ganteaume to send his corvette Héliopolis to investigate the situation at Alexandria.

On 9 June, Héliopolis reached the Egyptian coast and immediately came under pursuit from the British ships of the line HMS Kent

HMS Kent (1798)

HMS Kent was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 17 January 1798 at Blackwall Yard.She became a sheer hulk in 1856, and was broken up in 1881....

and HMS Hector

HMS Hector (1774)

HMS Hector was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 27 May 1774 at Deptford.She was converted for use as a prison ship in 1808, and was broken up in 1816....

and a brig

Brig

A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...

that had been detached from Lord Keith's fleet the previous day. Under pressure, the captain of Héliopolis sought safety in Alexandria harbour, which was still in French hands, and became trapped there. Keith meanwhile, acting on the report of Captain Young who had arrived on 7 June, had turned the remainder of his ships to the west in search of Ganteaume. When the corvette did not return to his squadron, Ganteaume assumed that it had been captured and that a powerful enemy presence lay off the harbour. Believing that a landing in Egypt itself would be impossible, he searched for an alternative site, and determined that the soldiers aboard should be landed at Benghazi

Benghazi

, then a small town situated between Tripoli and Alexandria. However, the inhabitants formed a militia to resist the French and their control of the available beaches rendered a landing impractical. Even as the French squadron dropped anchor off Benghazi, the first ships of Keith's fleet appeared to the east. Ganteaume panicked and instructed his captains to cut their anchor cables and flee to the west. The two storeships, much slower than the rest of the squadron, were abandoned by the warships and were subsequently seized by the fast frigate HMS Vestal

HMS Vestal (1779)

HMS Vestal was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The Vestal was first commissioned in November 1779 under the command of Captain George Keppel.- References :...

under Captain Valentine Collard

Valentine Collard

Rear-Admiral Valentine Collard was a Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century who is best known for his service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...

.

Ganteaume's surviving squadron gradually outran Keith's pursuit and on 24 June was sailing off Cape Derna when a sail was sighted to the northeast. Ganteaume ordered his ships to pursue, and the strange ship was discovered to be the British ship of the line HMS Swiftsure

HMS Swiftsure (1787)

under Captain Benjamin Hallowell, which had been despatched by Keith to warn Warren's squadron that Ganteaume was in the Eastern Mediterranean. Although he attempted a series of increasingly desperate manoeuveres in his efforts to escape, Hallowell's ship was in poor repair and under-crewed and after a short exchange of fire

Action of 24 June 1801

The Action of 24 June 1801 was a minor naval engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars. A British ship of the line, HMS Swiftsure under Captain Benjamin Hallowell was passing westwards through the Southern Mediterranean near Cape Derna when it encountered a much larger French squadron under...

, was forced to surrender. Without any warning, Warren was not able to intercept Ganteaume's return, and the French squadron was able to reach Toulon unmolested on 22 July.

Aftermath

Heliopolis was the only one of Ganteaume's ships to reach the Egyptian garrison, joining the frigate Régénérée

French frigate Régénérée (1794)

Régénérée was a 40-gun Cocarde class frigate of the French Navy. The British captured her in 1801 at the fall of Alexandria but never commissioned her...

and the corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

Lodi that had each made the passage independently and had arrived on the 1 March. It was the last reinforcement for the Army of Egypt: without Ganteaume's supplies and with the Royal Navy dominant in the Eastern Mediterranean, the French forces in Egypt were outnumbered by the British expeditionary force and defeated in a campaign during the summer of 1801, surrendering at the Capitulation of Alexandria

Capitulation of Alexandria (1801)

The Capitulation of Alexandria in August 1801 brought to an end the French expedition to Egypt.French troops, defeated by British and Ottoman forces, had retreated to Alexandria where they were besieged...

in August. Although he totally failed to achieve his primary objective, Ganteaume's naval forces had significantly reinforced the battered French Mediterranean fleet: the ships that were detached at Elba in May were subsequently engaged at the Battle of Algeciras Bay

Battle of Algeciras Bay

in July, in which another British ship of the line was captured but the Franco-Spanish force suffered severe losses.

Although he was the subject of severe criticism by Bonaparte, historian William Laird Clowes

William Laird Clowes

Sir William Laird Clowes was a British journalist and historian whose principal work was The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, a text that is still in print. He also wrote numerous technical pieces on naval technology and strategy and was also noted for his articles concerning...

, writing in 1900, considered that Ganteaume had done well to prevent his squadron being overwhelmed by the British, particularly during the attempt to land at Benghazi when he almost suffered a repeat of the situation at the Nile in 1798, with his ships anchored close inshore as a British fleet bore down on them. This precarious position, described by Clowes as a "mad idea", was not one of Ganteaume's choosing: it had been dictated by Bonaparte before he departed Toulon for the second time. Clowes considered that Ganteaume's "caution was, after all, less dangerous to his country than the rash and infatuated naval strategy of his master". Ganteaume did not hold another sea command, but was made commander of the Mediterranean and governor of Toulon following the Peace of Amiens in March 1802.

Order of battle

Admiral Ganteaume's squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Indivisible French ship Indivisible (1799) Indivisible was a Tonnant class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Originally named the Indivisible in 1793, she was commissioned in Toulon on 23 September 1800. On 5 February 1803, she was renamed Alexandre, and recommissioned in Brest under captain Leveyer.In December, under captain...	80	Contre-Admiral Honoré Ganteaume Captain Antoine-Louis Gourdon	Engaged in the battle with Swiftsure
Indomptable French ship Indomptable (1789) Indomptable was an 80-gun ship of the line in the French Navy.She took part in the Glorious First of June on 29 May 1794, engaging the English Barfleur and Orion simultaneously, after which the Indomptable, having lost her masts, was towed to Brest by the Brutus .In 1795, she served in the...	80	Commodore Pierre Augustin Moncousu	Detached in April 1801
Formidable French ship Formidable (1795) Formidable was an 80-gun Tonnant class ship of the line of the French navy, laid down as Figuires and renamed in 1795. She was launched at Toulon in 1795. She participated in the Battle of Algeciras, the Battle of Cape Finisterre and several other actions before the British captured her at the...	80	Captain Joseph Allary	Detached in April 1801
Desaix French ship Tyrannicide (1793) Tyrannicide was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.In 1794, under Alain Joseph Dordelin, she took part in the Glorious First of June...	74	Commodore Jean-Anne Christy-Pallière	Detached in April 1801
Consititution	74	Captain Gilbert-Amable Faure
Jean-Bart	74	Captain Francois-Jacques Meynne
Dix-Aôut French ship Cassard (1795) Cassard was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was renamed Dix-août in 1798 and subsequently Brave in 1803.On the 27 March 1801, as she sailed with the fleet of Toulon, she collided with the Formidable and had to return to harbour.She was captured by the HMS Donegal on 6 February...	74	Captain Jacques Bergeret	Engaged in the battle with Swiftsure
Créole	40	Captain Pierre-Paul Gourrege	Detached in April 1801
Bravoure	36	Captain Louis-Auguste Dordelin
Héliopolis	20		Not attached until after arrival in Toulon. Reached Alexandria in June 1801
Source: James, p. 87

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