Tranflation of General Menou's Orders, 20th March, General Orders 21ft of March, 1801 Narrative by authority and documents refpecting the capture of the Invincibles' Standard Captain Money's Letter, 3d April, 1800 and of Lord Keith to the Honorable Captain Memorandums for Lieut. Colonel Carruthers Extracts of Official Communication from the Gazettes Thanks of Parliament to the Army, 18th May, 1801 Extract of a letter from Sir J. H. Hutchinson, to the Answer and Capitulation Articles of Capitulation of Alexandria 259 260 266 269 270 274 Extract of Dispatch from General Hutchinson to 284 and 286 287 299 Copy of a Letter from the Right Honourable Lord Cairo ployed in the Egyptian Expedition Epitaph infcribed on the Tomb of Sir Ralph Abercromby 302 Şir Robert Wilfon's Answer to the Obfervations con tained in the Note delivered by the French Ambaffador to Lord Hawkesbury HISTORY OF THE EXPEDITION TO EGYPT. NOTHING important had occurred before Alexandria previous to the 20th of June, independent of the burning of the Iphigenie frigate, which was fet on fire by accident in the road of Aboukir, and the refufal of Lord Keith to allow the members of the Institute with their fuites to leave Alexandria, which refufal was grounded on the juft reafoning that the reduction of fubfiftence for fifty people was an object of serious prejudice to the service in the circumstances Alexandria was placed in, and particularly as from this motive General Menou had refufed the admittance of a company of comedians, fent exprefsly by the French government for the amufement of his garrifon. Some English cruizers having taken them on their paffage, Lord Keith wished to forward them to their destination; but VOL. II. General Menou perversely rejected the reinforcement, fo confiderately and patriotically furnished by the Confuls of France, to make a divertissement éclatant.* On the 20th of June the French, with the view of covering the eastern front of their pofition, had made a cut on the canal of Alexandria, in front of the Green Hill, that the waters of the inundation might flow into the plain. General Coote fearing the confequent inlet of water would extend over the flat nearly to the fea, and thus contract the front for operation against Alexandria, determined to counteract the object if poffible, and therefore in the night of the 23d commenced, in the deepest hollow of the plain, the construction of a dam, parallel with the canal of Alexandria, and the extremities of which rested on the high ground. The French did not attack, although they * These comedians were embarked on board of one of the five tranfports taken, when Admiral Gantheaume appeared off the African coaft. On board the remainder were embarked gardeners, feedfmen, and all kinds of inferior artifts. The foldiers were only in the fhips of war. heard |