This minor engagement gave Britain its first confirmed intelligence that France intended to invade Egypt, though the information failed to reach Nelson before the Battle of the Nile.
Key Facts
- Date of engagement
- 27 June 1798
- Location
- Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea
- Duration of pursuit
- 12 hours
- Notable prisoner
- General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
- Notable treasure captured
- 17th-century cannon once owned by Louis XIV
- Fate of Sensible
- Downgraded to transport upon arrival in Britain, 1799
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The French frigate Sensible was detached from the main convoy sailing from Toulon to Alexandria after the capture of Malta, tasked with returning wounded soldiers and looted treasure to France. HMS Seahorse, sent to reinforce Nelson's fleet hunting the French convoy, spotted Sensible on 26 June 1798 and Captain Edward Foote gave immediate chase as the French frigate fled southward.
After a 12-hour pursuit through the Strait of Sicily, Seahorse caught the heavier-laden Sensible and defeated her, inflicting heavy casualties. Among those captured was General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers, wounded during the storming of Malta, along with a seventeenth-century cannon formerly belonging to Louis XIV. The weakened and overladen French frigate was taken as a prize.
The captured Sensible was initially fitted out as a warship but was downgraded to a transport upon reaching Britain in 1799. More significantly, the action provided British forces with the first conclusive proof of France's intention to invade Egypt. However, despite an extensive search, Foote was unable to locate Nelson's fleet and relay this intelligence before the Battle of the Nile on 1 August 1798.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Captain Edward Foote.
Side B
1 belligerent
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers (passenger).