With Abercrombie and
Moore in Egypt

The Enemy Retire

ON the 5th of May the army marched by the side of the Nile: the bank was covered with reeds and thick bushes. As there was no regular road we marched in companies or half-companies in a straight line through fine cornfields, treading down the ripe grain. Passed some large town and villages. On our approach men, women, and children got on the top of their flat-roofed houses and shouted forjoy. The Turkish Bashaw's vessel was received with marks of great joy, beating of kettledrums, clashing of cymbals, and playing pipe organs, while a multitude followed on the river bank crying at the top of their voice 'O ! Allah Humbo, O ! Allah Humbo.'

We saw some of the enemy's picquets who retired quietly on our advance. We encamped this day in two lines with the armed flotilla in the rear of our left. Our tents were brought from the baggage boats and pitched at night and put on board before we marched in the morning. 6th, this day the Turks took up a position in our rear next to the river; they have a great number of camels, horses and asses all in disorder. 7th, to Deirout, where some of the French had been in huts; they retreated after having set fire to the huts, which were composed of the materials of a village they had wrecked. Here we got provisions served out, and some buffaloes were killed for the use of the regiment. The flesh of this animal is coarse and soon gets black if exposed to the sun, but it eats well with a piece of salt pork, and makes excellent soup.

On the 9th we resumed our march to Rhamanieh and heard some popping of musketry on the right of our front, by the French outposts and our advanced guard. The artillery and cavalry moved to the front with Colonel Spencer's brigade and drove in the enemy's outposts to the bank of the great canal which runs through the country from the river to Alexandria, the same canal that we cut in front of our lines in order to fill the lake Mareotis. This was a fine place of defence for the enemy, as they could move their columns and artillery from right to left unobserved by us as there was no rising ground in the neighbourhood.

We closed to quarter distance, threw off our knapsacks and left them with a guard, formed line among some large fields of wheat while firing was going on briskly to our right. Captain King had a leg carried off by a cannon shot, and Sergeant Clark of our light company was wounded in the jaw. The Turks formed in three lines on the left of our regiment and brought up some clumsy pieces of artillery. On them in particular the French directed their fire from Fort Rhamanieh, throwing shot and shell, which set the fields of ripe wheat on fire, this being very dry burnt with fury; the fire ran like lightning among us so we were obliged to shift our position. Our dragoons dismounted and cut lanes with their swords between the burning and the standing corn ; when the flame reached these openings it generally went out.

We halted until most of the fires were extinguished and then advanced: the enemy retired behind the canal bank, raising their heads above the level and giving us a few shots as they were closing in their force to the right. Meanwhile the Turks were advancing briskly on our left, their officers or standardbearers running to the front with the flags and holding them up, their front line formed upon them and discharged their muskets, then the flags started to the front again, and so on.

This did very well till some of them got within a few yards of the canal bank, when a tremendous fire opened upon them from the fort and the French artillery and the infantry rising from behind the canal bank poured a volley among the Turks, and with a shout rushed upon them at the charge. The Turks ran like a drove of sheep, and I could see that those who carried- the standards were amongst their best runners. They fell back on their znd and 3rd lines when they all got into confusion.

The French ran after them hallooing and firing until they were checked by the fire of the gunboats on the river, and General Doyle formed an oblique line with the 30th and our regiment which fired on them as we got into the alignment facing the river. On this they ran as fast from us as they had done after the Turks. Our good and faithful allies began to entrench themselves by the river side and came back and picked up some of their wounded men; they made a great lamentation over some great personage whom they carried on board one of their vessels.

At night we lay down in our positions in the ranks, and a chain of sentinels was posted a few yards to the front. When placing them I was challenged and fired upon by some of the French vedettes. I returned no answer but drew back nearer the regiment. After it was dark the troops on the other side of the river contested a rising ground which commanded the turn of the river above the fort. After taking this all was still till about one o'clock in the morning when a gun was fired from the fort and there was a running fire from the sentinels opposite us. We jumped up in the ranks, thinking we were to be attacked, and stood to our arms but heard nothing more. When daylight appeared we saw the white flag flying on the fort and an officer with a drummer beating a parley came to our lines. They were conducted to General Hutchinson. The officer offered to surrender the fort, which contained 300 men, most of them wounded; he said their army in the field had marched off on the road for Cairo.

On the ofticer mentioning that the French army had escaped and that there were only 300 men in the fort, General Hutchinson got into a violent passion and it is said was only prevented by General Craddock from knocking the officer down. We halted on the 10th and the French were put on board some country germs and escorted to Aboukir by some of our armed boats. The Turks got possession of the fort and some of their numerous standards were placed on the walls. They kept firing off their muskets all day as was their practice on entering towns or villages.

The result of this day's work I never heard; but I saw two ofthe Turkish gunboats sunk in the river, and many Turks were killed and wounded by the river side. Our own wounded were put into boats and taken down to the General Hospital formed at Rosetta. The Grand Bashaw came on shore and pitched his tent, which for grandeur surpassed anything of the kind I ever saw. The marque was covered with red velvet lined with blue, gold tassels and fringes.

The Bashaw sat in state on velvet cushions distributing rewards in money to every Turk who brought a Frenchman's head, and they were scattered through the fields in search of heads and were not very nice as to how or where they obtained them; it was said that some of our soldiers' heads were among them. I went to view the horrid spectacle of a pile of heads, and beheld with detestation the exulting manner in which they brought them in and the way they kicked them about -- heads of the very men who were a terror to them yesterday. He also gave money to some British women who were washing at the river.

Fort Rhamaniah is well calculated to defend the river and the entrance to the canal to Alexandria. There has been a fenced city here ; the walls are built of brick with a ditch and drawbridge. There are some large brick buildings called by us granaries. Some of our people would have it that they were built by the Israelites and they look very old indeed. The French had collected a great number of boats in a creek of the river; when they retreated of course the boats fell to be divided among us. Our regiment got five of these germs to carry the tents and the men's knapsacks; this enabled us to march lighter and make longer stages. Reached a town called Nickle.

Being a namesake of my own I paid more attention to it than I did to most of the towns. Indeed I seldom went into them for they are nearly all alike, dirty and full of vermin, with brick and mud walls; and many a farmer at home would not keep pigs in the styes in which I have seen families huddled together in the villages on the fertile banks of the Nile. Some of them no doubt contained better houses than others, with more mosques and minarets and palm trees anything beyond these had no enticement for us.

The Arabs were continually going amongst us selling bread, as much as a man could eat for two paras, three boiled eggs sold for the same money ; water, butter or oil, and honey were carried about in skins for sale ; onions, cucumbers, etc., all very cheap. Yet notwithstanding this and that our men had plenty of money some of the baser sort could not refrain from taking the goods for nothing and even beating and abusing the Arabs. When so used they made a great outcry beating their breasts and tearing their beards, and throwing dust on their heads calling out 'O ! Allah Allah, Sultan Sultan a how.' I have often had pity on the poor creatures when I could not assist them.

11th Shibnaghie, twelve miles from Rhamaniah. 14th Benoufar. We halted a day here to get our knapsacks ashore and wash our linen; this was quickly done as one shirt was dry before the other was washed, the heat of the sun was so great. This day I swam across the river to the Delta and bought two melons. I was much fatigued in coming back and was carried far down the stream, yet kept a firm hold of my goods. Melons became very cheap a few days after, selling for five or six paras: when ripe they are delightful and refreshing to a thirsty person.

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