At about 9:45 p.m., Orient blew up with a detonation that was heard 10 miles away at Rosetta. The noise temporarily stopped the battle, and for some minutes silenced reigned as if neither fleet dared open fire again. On Goliath, there were several women and boys whose task it was to pass gunpowder up from the magazine to the gunners. Reportedly, they thought their own ship had blown up, and at about that time a tough Scotswoman gave birth to a son.

Subscribe Today

• Did you enjoy our article?
• Read more in Military History magazine
• Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!!!
 

Nelson ordered Vanguard's only undamaged boat to pick up what survivors from Orient it could, and about 70 French sailors were saved.

As the guns opened fire again, the moon rose, casting an eerie pall over the destruction of the French fleet. Pierre Charles Jean Baptiste Sylvestre de Villeneuve, who commanded the rear of the French line of battle, was a spectator of that horrific event, and his ships were never able to do anything about it. Long before dawn the firing had stopped, and with the coming of daylight the full extent of the carnage was revealed. 'Victory is not a name strong enough for such a scene,' said Nelson.

Three of Villeneuve's ships cut their cables and ran for the open sea, but one of them, Timoleon, ran aground and was set on fire by her own crew. On the night of August 2, Nelson dined with six French captains in his own cabin, but Brueys had been killed on Orient. More than 3,000 prisoners had been taken, and more than 2,000 men killed. Eleven ships had been captured or burned. It was probably the most complete naval victory to date.

Nelson then sailed for Naples, where he was received with rapture by Lady Emma Hamilton. When the news of the British victory reached England, Nelson was made a viscount, a step lower in the peerage than the earldom given to Sir John Jervis after the victory at Cape St. Vincent, for which Nelson had been largely responsible.

Meanwhile, after an unsuccessful foray into the Levant, Napoleon boarded a ship for France. His dreams of an Eastern empire were over, but he did get himself a Western empire by becoming first consul and then emperor.

Undoubtedly, Nelson had saved England. He had made himself a viscount. And, by forcing the French general to return to France, he had helped make Napoleon an emperor. Not bad for an evening's work.

For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Military History magazine today!

Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to