Part 11

After his return from Holland he was appointed to the command of an expedition sent into the Mediterranean. He captured Malta, and appeared before Cadiz; but an epidemic disease raging in the city at the time, the attempt on this fortress was desisted in for fear of infection. He subsequently directed his course towards Egypt, with the view of driving the French army from that country; and while the fleet anchored in the bay of Marmorice, in Asiatic Turkey, he arranged a plan of co-operation with the Turks. In February, 1801, he again put to sea, and on the 8th of March he effected a landing in the bay of Aboukir, and defeated a body of French troops. On the 13th he drove the French from their position beyond Mandora Tower, on which occasion he had a horse shot under him; and on the 19th Fort Aboukir capitulated. On the 21st of the same month he repulsed a furious attack of the enemy on the position which he occupied near Alexandria, and during the action he received a mortal wound which deprived his king and country of his most valuable services. He appears to have been wounded in the early part of the day, but continued in the field giving his orders with that coolness and perspicuity which had ever marked his character, till after the action was over, when he fainted through weakness and loss of blood, and died on the 28th of March, 1801.

Thus fell one of the most honourable military men whose lives have been commemorated in history. His character was held up to the admiration of the army in general orders, in which it was observed,--"The illustrious example of their commander cannot fail to have made an indelible impression on the gallant troops, at whose head, crowned with victory and glory, he terminated his honourable career; and His Majesty trusts that a due contemplation of the talents and virtues, which he uniformly displayed in the course of his valuable life, will for ever endear the memory of SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY to the British army. His steady observance of discipline,--his ever-watchful attention to the health and wants of his troops,--the persevering and unconquerable spirit which marked his military career,--the splendour of his actions in the field,--and the heroism of his death,--are worthy the imitation of all who desire, like him, a life of honour and a death of glory."

PRINCE WILLIAM FREDERICK OF GLOUCESTER,

_Appointed 4th November, 1795_.

PRINCE WILLIAM FREDERICK, only son of William Henry Duke of Gloucester, third son of Frederick Prince of Wales, was born at Rome in 1776. His first commission was that of captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards, and was dated the 11th of March, 1789. He held also the rank of colonel in the army. In March, 1794, he proceeded to Flanders to join his company in the first battalion first foot guards, and having a letter of service as colonel on the staff, and to do duty with the army as a general officer, he was appointed to the command of a brigade of infantry of the line, under his Royal Highness the Duke of York. In the general attack of the French positions preparatory to the siege of Landrecies, he was employed in the column under Sir William Erskine, and attacked and carried the village of Premont and the wood on its left, for which he was thanked on the field. In the following month he was appointed colonel of the hundred and fifteenth regiment, then first raised; but he continued to serve with the army commanded by the Duke of York during the remainder of that campaign.

In February, 1795, his Highness was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in November following he obtained the colonelcy of the SIXTH regiment of foot. When the attempt was made in 1799 to rescue Holland from the power of France, Prince William Frederick was appointed to the command of a brigade in the Anglo-Russian army commanded by his Royal Highness the Duke of York. In the action of the 19th of September he supported the Russians. Having re-captured the village of Schorel and the wood skirting the village, he pursued the enemy up the sand-hills, and drove them back upon Bergen; and when the army fell back he made good his retreat, bringing off his guns, ammunition, and wounded men in the face of the enemy. On the 24th of September he relieved the reserve, occupying the advanced posts on the left; and on the 4th of October he made a rapid advance to Schermerhorn, and obtained possession of three of the enemy's guns. On the 6th he fell back to his former position, and sustained for some time the attack of a body of the enemy of very superior numbers. When ordered to withdraw, he effected his retreat without loss. His Highness's brigade was also engaged on the 10th of October, and remained in front of the enemy until the army withdrew from Holland. His gallant conduct was rewarded with the rank of lieut.-general on the 13th of November, 1799. He was employed as lieut.-general upon the staff of Great Britain, and had the command of the north-west district from July, 1803, to May, 1807.

On the decease of his father in 1805 he succeeded to the title of DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. In May, 1806, he was removed to the colonelcy of the third foot guards, and was promoted to the rank of general on the 25th of April, 1808. His Royal Highness was further advanced to the rank of field-marshal on the 24th of May, 1816. He was governor of Portsmouth, Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of the Bath, and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. He was a munificent patron of many public charities; and his universal benevolence was the subject of great praise. He died in December, 1834.

SIR GEORGE NUGENT, BARONET, G.C.B.

_Appointed 26th May, 1806_.

London: Printed by W. CLOWES and SONS, Stamford Street.

FOOTNOTES:

[40] Copied from the monumental tablets in the cloister and great church at the Hague, by the Rev. William Stevens, 1838.

[41] This officer's name is frequently spelt BELASYSE.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example, foot-guards, foot guards; States-General, States General; scituate; unoffending; negociations.

Pg 42, Sidenote '707' replaced by '1707'. Pg 46, 'tête du pont' replaced by 'tête de pont'. Pg 92, 'on the 22d' replaced by 'on the 22nd'. Footnote 27, 'Mackartney's, ditto' replaced by 'Macartney's, ditto'.

End of Project Gutenberg's Historical record of the Sixth, by Richard Cannon