Star.
London, England, 1801-10-01 00:00:00

FRANCE.

ARMY OF EGYPT.

lILLIALD, GINSIAL OF DIVISION, TO TN' CHM
CONSUL lONAPALTS.

Cairo, June 30,
GENERAL—After the departure of the Com,
mander in Chief Malloy and his divifion of the
army for Aboukir, on the sift Ventofe, I contd.
nucd in the centre of Egypt with a body of troops
confifting of 2553 men, or the defence of the city
of Cairo and its neighbourhood, againft thearmi
of the Grand Vizier, who was advancing through
the Defart of Syria ; and at the fame time rgainft
the Englifh forces, who had landed from -India
at Coheir and Suez. For we were apprized that
a number of Englifh veffels were in the Red Sea
and in the latitude of Gedda. A party of troops
under my command formed the garrifon of the
citadel, the forts furrounding Cairo, the places of
Gifa, Old Cairo, and Boulak. I had only a dif-
potable force left, amounting to 485 men, with
which it was neceffary for me to do all the duty of
the place, to collet grain and other,articles of rub-
fillence, and to efcort military convoys, provifions
and ammunition for the army ; to check the pro.,
grefs of the army of the Vizier, and to immanent
before it when it made its appearance, to give
time to the Commander in Chief to approach with
all his forces, after having defeated the Englilli
army.
On the z sth I wrote to General Dow z ILOT, who
bad been left at Siout, commanding him to eva-
cuate Upper Egypt, and to proceed by rapid
marches to Cairo with his troops. I wrote alto to
Mou ao Ber, who had ever fhewn himfelf faith-
ful to his engagements'to defcend Into the Lower
Country, to calm poffeffion of Siont and Minech,
to preferve tranquillity in that diftria of country,
' and to fend us a fupply of grain. At the fame
time I fent inftruaions to the commanders of Mi.
nech and Bentof to coiled their (mall craft, and
to forward to Cairo all the provifions they could
polLbly collea,our Magazines being almoft empty.
I received on the 25th of March the intelli-
gence of the unfostuisate relit 01 the battle
of the sift of March : front that MOMellt, the hOpe
of compelling the Englifh army imm:diately
to reimbark, was abandoned. What remained,
was to keep them on the fhore of Aboukir,
to arreft the invafion of the Vizier, 2nd to pre-
vent the junction of the two armies. The Com-
mander in Chief retired with his army to Alexas.
dria, laboured in completing the conftruaion of a
fortified camp, and in putting the place in spro.
per pollute of defence. According to the orders
of the General, I drew from the forts of Salahich
and Belbeys, all the men who were not required
for their defence, and as theft places contained
confiderable magazines, I gave orders for remov-
ing a part of them to Cairo.
On the 4th of April according to orders I had re,
eeived from the Commander inChief,lgaveinftruc-
tions by letter to the Commandants of Belbeys
and Salabich, as loon as they fhould be apprifed
that s confiderable body of troops were on their
march from Syria to Egypt, to evacuate there
places; to bring with them as great a Rock of
provifions as poffible; to put the forts in a Situa-
tion which would render them wholly ufelefs to
the enemy. Before this time report (poke loudly
of the march of the Turkifh army.
Oa the 6th of April I received a reinforcement
of 570 men, whom General Dom zzLor brought
from Upper Egypt. The plague at this time rag-
ed among the garrifon at Cairo, as well as its in-
habitants.
On the r ith I was informed of the furrender of
Rofetta, and of the arrival of the Turk& army
at Salahich, the garrifons of that place, of Belbeys,
and &Acta Adge, retiring to Cairo, where they
arrived on the lath', when -I gave ordeis for the
warrifon of Suez to return by k Villas de Pegargssegre.
I learned alto that Damietta had beer. evacuated,
and that only too men were left to keep pollef-
fion of Elbe, and the forts on the coaft. The
Charkie being invaded, one of the branches of the
Nile being open, and the other on the point of be-
ing In, the fidelity of the Mamelucks 4.0 g at
the fame time shaken by the death of Mouaao
Bay, whore character fecured it, as well as by our
loffes, I took the only refolution which was left
me, and that was to fortify the neighbourhood of
Cairo, and to take up a pofition filch as to infpire
the enemy with a dread of advancing before they
had longer time to concentrate and augment their
forces. In the mean time the Vizier had halted
at Salahich, for the purpofe of organizing his ar.
my, forming magazines, and obtaining recruits
from among the Mamclucks, the Arabs, and the
inhabitants of the country. I h.td intelligence that
Lactation General of Divifinn, with a corps of
3900 men, affembled on the i6th of April, co-
vered Rahmanie, and from this circumftance my
efforts and hopes increafed. It might perhaps
have been advantageous to attack the Vizier as
f-on as he had crofred the Defart, and before he
',bad time to organize his troops, to gain any afcen-
dancy in the country, and to attach the people to
his interefls. General LAGRANGE, however, had
orders to cover Rahmanie ; and it was not till'
compelled by the united force of the Englifh ar-
Ins, and the troops of the Capitan 13.11 ha, after a
very fevere allion, which continued during the
whole of the zzd of May, that he aban-
doned it. On the 23d he at ivcd at Cairo with
troops. I then had news that the Dyke
\ of the Lake Madie had been broken down, and
that the waters which Rowed in the lake Marco-
tis already rendered the communication betwixt
Rahrnanie and Alexandria extremely difficult.
l'he intelligence of the arrival of the Englifh at
ors alfo reached me. After the juntlion of the
troops of General LAC/RANO., judged it Cffittli•
at.-tb.efoTe the Bosh& army had time to
to t.airn, to march to Belbeys, m infpearrccilt
• lion of the enemy, to give him battle, to endea-
vour to penetrate his deligns, and to try whether
it was or was not poffible so drive bias back to
Salabich.
On the (4th of May, the (mall body of
hole duty it was to defend Cairo, was
under the command of General

ortrocar TA