François - Paul Brueys d ' Aigalliers Vice - Admiral François - Paul Brueys d ' Aigalliers , Comte de Brueys ( February 12 , 1753 , Uzès , Gard – August 1 , 1798 ) was the French commander in the Battle of the Nile , in which the French Revolutionary Navy was defeated by Royal Navy forces under Admiral Horatio Nelson . The British victory helped to ensure their naval supremacy throughout the Napoleonic Wars . He was also a Freemason in the " La Bonne Foi " lodge at Montauban . Life . Pre - Revolution . Brueys was born to an aristocratic family in Rue Boucairie , Uzès , Gard , southern France in a house which now bears a plaque with his name . Joining the navy at 13 , he was a volunteer on the ship - of - the - line " Protecteur " in 1766 , he served in several campaigns in the Levant . Becoming a Garde de la marine in 1768 , he fought in the Tunis expedition on the frigate " Atalante " and the Saint Domingue campaign on the ship - of - the - line " Actionnaire " , though he was forced to leave the latter due to sickness and return to France , where he served at shore establishments , mostly on France ' s Mediterranean coast . He rose to enseigne de vaisseau in 1777 and lieutenant de vaisseau in April 1780 , before serving on the ship - of - the - line " Terrible " then the " Zélé " in Guichen ' s squadron . He fought in three battles against Admiral Rodney in April and May 1780 , then in the battle against Hood ' s fleet before Fort - de - France in April 1781 . He was present at all the battles involving Grasse ' s squadron , including the Chesapeake ( September 1781 ) and the capture of Saint Kitts in February 1782 . He then moved to the frigate " Vestale " , by chance he was not present at the battle of Les Saintes . He was made a chevalier de Saint - Louis at the end of the war . On the peace he was put in command of the aviso " Chien de Chasse " , with which he spent four years in the Antilles and off the American coast . In 1787 he moved to command another aviso , the " Coureur " , which cruised along the coasts of Latin America . He then returned to France to command the fluyt " Barbeau " before taking one year ' s leave ( 1788 – 89 ) . In 1790 he commanded the corvette " Poulette " . He sailed her from Toulon to Algiers with M . Vallière , France ' s consul general in Algeria . She also carried dispatches for the naval station and French consuls in the Levant . 1792 - 1798 . He saw aristocratic family and friends killed during the Reign of Terror but managed to avoid such a fate himself . He did not emigrate and even found himself promoted to capitaine de vaisseau on 1 January 1792 , before being put in command of the ship - of - the - line " Le Lys " at Toulon ( renamed " le Tricolore " on the fall of the monarchy ) . He fought in the campaigns undertaken by Admiral Truguet ' s fleet - the bombardment of Oneglia , the Naples operation led by Latouche - Tréville , and finally the attack on Cagliari on Sardinia . In the Toulon affair the town authorities arrested him . A decree of the National Convention in September 1793 stripped him of his rank as a noble . Truguet ' s ministry in 1795 restored his rank and he received promotion to contre - amiral the following year . He commanded French naval forces in the Adriatic from 1796 to 1798 , flying his flag in the ship - of - the - line " Guillaume Tell " . He transported troops to the Ionian Islands and supported Bonaparte ' s campaign in Italy by blockading the coasts but keeping supply lines open to Bonaparte ' s troops . Egypt . Bonaparte noted Brueys ' s conduct in Italy and made him commander - in - chief of the fleet that would transport his army for the Egyptian campaign , with the rank of vice - admiral and flying his flag on the " Orient " . He succeeded in evading British attempts to prevent the French fleet reaching Egypt , reaching Malta and then ( on 1 July 1798 ) Alexandria without incident . As soon as the land troops were disembarked , he had to enter the port of Alexandria or return quickly to France , Malta or Corfu . He did neither and anchored in the Aboukir Bay to await the British . Knowing the poor quality of his ships and crews , he preferred to guard a defensive position than take the offensive and refused to weigh anchor when Horatio Nelson attacked his fleet . In the ensuing Battle of the Nile , the " Orient " fought , causing her major damage but receiving little support , especially from the rearguard under Denis Decrès and Villeneuve . Already wounded twice during the day , and almost cut in half by a cannon shot , Brueys died at his command post around 9 PM . His ship exploded one hour later after being on fire for some time . Brueys was criticised in France for remaining at anchor right up until the moment of the attack , but Bonaparte replied to such criticism by saying " If , in this disastrous event , he made mistakes , he expiated them by his glorious end " . His name appears on the Arc de triomphe in Paris .