Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte — Complete
exhausted; that the army was far inland, and that if it did not make
a move to the left there would be no hope for us. Several vessels had
already been boarded and taken by the Turks, who massacred the crews
before our eyes, and with barbarous ferocity showed us the heads of the
slaughtered men.
Perree, at considerable risk, despatched several persons to inform
the General-in-Chief of the desperate situation of the flotilla. The
cannonade which Bonaparte had heard since the morning, and the explosion
of a Turkish gunboat, which was blown up by the artillery of the xebec,
led him to fear that our situation was really perilous. He therefore
made a movement to the left, in the direction of the Nile and
Chebreisse, beat the Mamelukes, and forced them to retire on Cairo. At
sight of the French troops the commander of the Turkish flotilla
weighed anchor and sailed up the Nile. The two banks of the river were
evacuated, and the flotilla escaped the destruction which a short time
before had appeared inevitable. Some writers have alleged that the
Turkish flotilla was destroyed in this engagement. The truth is, the
Turks did us considerable injury, while on their part they suffered but
little. We had twenty men killed and several wounded. Upwards of 1500
cannon-shots were fired during the action.
General Berthier, in his narrative of the Egyptian expedition,
enumerates the individuals who, though not in the military service,
assisted Perree in this unequal and dangerous engagement. He mentions
Monge, Berthollet, Andreossy, the paymaster, Junot, and Bourrienne,
secretary to the General-in-Chief. It has also been stated that Sucy,
the commissary-general, was seriously wounded while bravely defending a
gunboat laden with provisions; but this is incorrect.
We had no communication with the army until the 23d of July. On the 22d
we came in sight of the Pyramids, and were informed that we were only
about, ten leagues from Gizeh, where they are situated. The cannonade
which we heard, and which augmented in proportion as the north wind
diminished, announced a serious engagement; and that same day we saw
the banks of the Nile strewed with heaps of bodies, which the waves were
every moment washing into the sea. This horrible spectacle, the silence
of the surrounding villages, which had hitherto been armed against us,
and the cessation of the firing from the banks of the river, led us to
infer, with tolerable certainty, that a battle fatal to the Mamelukes
had been fought. The misery we suffered on our passage from Rahmahanie'h
to Gizeh is indescribable. We lived for eleven days on melons and water,
besides being momentarily exposed to the musketry of the Arabs and
the fellahs. We luckily escaped with but a few killed and wounded. The
rising of the Nile was only beginning. The shallowness of the river near
Cairo obliged us to leave the xebec and get on board a djerm. We reached
Gizeh at three in the afternoon of the 23d of July.
When I saluted the General, whom I had not seen for twelve days, he thus
addressed me: "So you are here, are you? Do you know that you have all
of you been the cause of my not following up the battle of Chebreisse?
It was to save you, Monge, Berthollet, and the others on board the
flotilla that I hurried the movement of my left upon the Nile before my
right had turned Chebreisse. But for that, not a single Mameluke would
have escaped."
"I thank you for my own part," replied I; "but in conscience could you
have abandoned us, after taking away our horses, and making us go on
board the xebec, whether we would or not?" He laughed, and then told
me how sorry he was for the wound of Sucy, and the death of many useful
men, whose places could not possibly be filled up.
He made me write a letter to his brother Louis, informing him that he
had gained a complete victory over the Mamelukes at Embabeh, opposite
Boulac, and that the enemy's loss was 2000 men killed and wounded, 40
guns, and a great number of horses.
The occupation of Cairo was the immediate consequence of the victory
of Embabeh. Bonaparte established his head-quarters in the home of Elfy
Bey, in the great square of Ezbekye'h.
The march of the French army to Cairo was attended by an uninterrupted
succession of combats and victories. We had won the battles of
Rahmahanie'h, Chebreisse, and the Pyramids. The Mamelukes were defeated,
and their chief, Mourad Bey, was obliged to fly into Upper Egypt.
Bonaparte found no obstacle to oppose his entrance into the capital of
Egypt, after a campaign of only twenty days.
No conqueror, perhaps, ever enjoyed a victory so much as Bonaparte, and
yet no one was ever less inclined to abuse his triumphs.
We entered Cairo on the 24th of July, and the General-in-Chief
immediately directed his attention to the civil and military
organization of the country. Only those who saw him in the vigour of his
youth can form an idea of his extraordinary intelligence and activity.
Nothing escaped his observation. Egypt had long been the object of his
study; and in a few weeks he was as well acquainted with the country
as if he had lived in it ten years. He issued orders for observing the
strictest discipline, and these orders were punctually obeyed.
The mosques, the civil and religious institutions, the harems, the
women, the customs of the country--all were scrupulously respected. A
few days after they entered Cairo the French were freely admitted
into the shops, and were seen sociably smoking their pipes with the
inhabitants, assisting them in their occupations, and playing with their
children.
The day after his arrival in Cairo Bonaparte addressed to his brother
Joseph the following letter, which was intercepted and printed. Its
authenticity has been doubted, but I saw Napoleon write it, and he read
it to me before he sent it off.
CAIRO,
7th. Thermidor (25th July 1798)
You will see in the public papers the bulletins of the battles and
conquest of Egypt, which were sufficiently contested to add another
wreath to the laurels of this army. Egypt is richer than any
country in the world in coin, rice, vegetables, and cattle. But the
people are in a state of utter barbarism. We cannot procure money,
even to pay the troops. I maybe in France in two months.
Engage a country-house, to be ready for me on my arrival, either
near Paris or in Burgundy, where I mean to pass the winter.
--[Bonaparte's autograph note, after enumerating the troops and
warlike stores he wished to be sent, concluded with the following
list:
1st, a company of actors; 2d, a company of dancers; 3d, some dealers
in marionettes, at least three or four; 9th, a hundred French women;
5th, the wives of all the men employed in the corps; 6th, twenty
surgeons, thirty apothecaries, and ten Physicians; 7th, some
founders; 8th, some distillers and dealers in liquor; 9th fifty
gardeners with their families, and the seeds of every kind of
vegetable; 10th, each party to bring with them: 200,000 pints of
brandy; 11th, 30,000 ells of blue and scarlet cloth; 12th, a supply
of soap and oil.--Bourrienne.]--
(Signed) BONAPARTE
This announcement of his departure to his brother is corroborated by a
note which he despatched some days after, enumerating the supplies and
individuals which he wished to have sent to Egypt. His note proves,
more convincingly than any arguments, that Bonaparte earnestly wished to
preserve his conquest, and to make it a French colony. It must be borne
in mind that the note here alluded to, as well as the letter above
quoted, was written long before the destruction of the fleet.
CHAPTER XV.
1798.
Establishment of a divan in each Egyptian province--Desaix in Upper
Egypt--Ibrahim Bey beaten by Bonaparte at Salehye'h--Sulkowsky
wounded--Disaster at Aboukir--Dissatisfaction and murmurs of the
army--Dejection of the General-in-Chief--His plan respecting Egypt
--Meditated descent upon England--Bonaparte's censure of the
Directory--Intercepted correspondence.
From the details I have already given respecting Bonaparte's plans for
colonising Egypt, it will be seen that his energy of mind urged him to
adopt anticipatory measures for the accomplishment of objects which were
never realised. During the short interval in which he sheathed his sword
he planned provisional governments for the towns and provinces occupied
by the French troops, and he adroitly contrived to serve the interests
of his army without appearing to violate those of the country. After he
had been four days at Cairo, during which time he employed himself in
examining everything, and consulting every individual from whom he could
obtain useful information, he published the following order:
HEADQUARTERS, CAIRO,
9th Thermidor, year VI.
BONAPARTE, MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE,
AND GENERAL-IN-CHIEF, ORDERS:
Art. 1. There shall be in each province of Egypt a divan, composed
of seven individuals, whose duty will be to superintend the
interests of the province; to communicate to me any complaints that
may be made; to prevent warfare among the different villages; to
apprehend and punish criminals (for which purpose they may demand
assistance from the French commandant); and to take every
opportunity of enlightening the people.
Art. 2. There shall be in each province an aga of the Janizaries,
maintaining constant communication with the French commandant. He
shall have with him a company of sixty armed natives, whom he may
take wherever he pleases, for the maintenance of good order,
subordination, and tranquillity.
Art. 3. There shall be in each province an intendant, whose
business will be to levy the miri, the feddam, and the other
contributions which formerly belonged to the Mamelukes, but which
now belong to the French Republic. The intendants shall have as
many agents as may be necessary.
Art. 4. The said intendant shall have a French agent to correspond
with the Finance Department, and to execute all the orders he may
receive.
(Signed) BONAPARTE.
While Bonaparte was thus actively taking measures for the organization
of the country,
--[Far more thoroughly and actively than those taken by the English
Government in 1882-3-4]--
General Desaix had marched into Upper Egypt in pursuit of Mourad Bey. We
learned that Ibrahim, who, next to Mourad, was the most influential
of the beys, had proceeded towards Syria, by the way of Belbeis and
Salehye'h. The General-in-Chief immediately determined to march in
person against that formidable enemy, and he left Cairo about fifteen
days after he had entered it. It is unnecessary to describe the
well-known engagement in which Bonaparte drove Ibrahim back upon
El-Arish; besides, I do not enter minutely into the details of battles,
my chief object being to record events which I personally witnessed.
At the battle of Salehye'h Bonaparte thought he had lost one of his
'aides de camp', Sulkowsky, to whom he was much attached, and who had
been with us during the whole of the campaign of Italy. On the field of
battle one object of regret cannot long engross the mind; yet, on his
return to Cairo, Bonaparte frequently spoke to me of Sulkowsky in terms
of unfeigned sorrow.
"I cannot," said he one day, "sufficiently admire the noble spirit and
determined courage of poor Sulkowsky." He often said that Sulkowsky
would have been a valuable aid to whoever might undertake the
resuscitation of Poland. Fortunately that brave officer was not killed
on that occasion, though seriously wounded. He was, however, killed
shortly after.