Sidney Smith (admiral)

Sir William Sidney Smith KCB (21 June, 1764 – 26 May, 1840) was the British admiral of whom Napoleon Bonaparte said, "That man made me miss my destiny".

Service in the Mediterranean

Following Nelson's overwhelming victory at Battle of the Nile, Smith was sent to the Mediterranean as captain of Tigre, a captured 80 gun French ship of the line which had been brought into the Royal Navy. It was not a purely naval appointment, although he was ordered to place himself under the command of Lord St Vincent, the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean. St Vincent gave him orders as Commodore with permission to take British ships under his command as required in the Levant. He also carried a military and diplomatic mission to Istanbul where his brother was now a Minister Plenipotentiary to the Sublime Porte. The mission's task was to strengthen Turkish opposition to Napoleon and to assist the Turks in destroying the French army stranded in Egypt. This dual appointment caused Nelson, who was the senior officer under St Vincent in the Mediterranean, to resent Smith's apparent superseding of his authority in the Levant. Nelson's antipathy further adversely affected Smith's reputation in naval circles.

Related Topics:
Nelson's - Battle of the Nile - ''Tigre'' - Ship of the line - Lord St Vincent - Commander-in-chief - Commodore - Levant - Sublime Porte - Egypt

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Napoleon with 13,000 troops, having defeated the Ottoman forces in Egypt, marched north along the Mediterranean coast through what was then the Ottoman province of Syria (which included modern day Israel and Palestine as well as Syria and Lebanon). He captured Gaza and Jaffa with much brutality towards the civilian population and the massacre of captured Turkish soldiers. Napoleon's army then marched to Acre.

Related Topics:
Israel - Palestine - Syria - Lebanon - Gaza - Jaffa - Acre

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Smith sailed to Acre and helped the Turkish commander Jezzar Pasha reinforce the defences and old walls and supplied him with additional cannon manned by sailors and Marines from his ships. He also used his command to the sea to capture the French siege artillery being sent by ship from Egypt and to deny the French army the use of the coastal road from Jaffa by bombarding the troops from the sea.

Related Topics:
Jezzar Pasha - Marines

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Once the siege began in late March 1799, Smith anchored HMS Tigre and Theseus so their broadsides could assist the defence. Repeated French assaults were driven back, several attempts to mine the walls were prevented. By early May, replacement French siege artillery had arrived overland and a breach was forced in the defences. However, the assault was again repelled and Turkish reinforcements from Rhodes were able to land. On May 9 after another fierce bombardment, the final French assault was made. This, too, was repelled and Napoleon began making plans for the withdrawal of his army to Egypt. This was Napoleon's first major land defeat of his career and it had been brought about by a naval officer's leadership. Shortly after this, Napoleon abandoned his army in Egypt and sailed back to France evading the British ships patrolling the Mediterranean.

Related Topics:
''Theseus'' - Broadside - Rhodes - May 9

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Smith attempted to negotiate the surrender and repatriation of the remaining French forces under General Kléber and signed the Convention of El-Arish. However, because of the influence of Nelson's view that the French forces in Egypt should be annihilated rather than allowed to return to France, the treaty was abrogated by Lord Keith who had who had succeeded St Vincent as commander-in-chief.

Related Topics:
Kléber - Lord Keith

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The British decided instead to land an army under Sir Ralph Abercromby at Abukir Bay. Smith and Tigre were involved in the training and transport of the landing forces and as liaison with the Turks but his unpopularity resulted in him losing his diplomatic credentials and his naval position as Commodore in the eastern Mediterranean. The invasion was successful and the French defeated although Abercromby was wounded and died soon after the battle. The French troops were eventually repatriated on similar terms as those previously obtained by Smith in the Convention of El-Arish.

Related Topics:
Ralph Abercromby - Abukir - Commodore

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