Lot 83: Captain Ralph Willett Miller (American, 1762-1799)

'Theseus' engaging the'Guerrier' at the Battle of the Nile, 1st. August 1798
bears inscription on reverse
watercolour
36.2 x 53.3cm. (14 1/4 x 21in.)

Provenance :- Captain Miller's wife, and thence by descent. The victory at the Nile was the highly positive outcome of the unsuccessful attempt to stop Napoleon's invasion of Egypt which Nelson spent most of the summer of 1798 trying to prevent. Cruising the eastern Mediterranean in an attempt to locate Admiral Bruey's Toulon fleet, Nelson eventually arrived off Alexandria and, in the early afternoon of 1st August, sighted the French fleet at anchor in Aboukir Bay, about 15 miles to the west. Bruey had chosen a strong position in a well-protected bay; additionally, the French ships had larger and heavier guns even though the number of vessels was roughly equal on both sides. Conversely, Nelson had the advantage of surprise and when he realised that the enemy's ships were not cleared for action on their landward sides, he gave orders to attack. It was already six o'clock in the evening and, with only two hours of daylight remaining, the enemy was as amazed as Nelson's own captains by his daring. Outgunned and unprepared for an action they believed would not come until the next morning, the French were decisively defeated and their fleet in the Mediterranean virtually annihilated. It was the greatest naval victory to date in an age of notable successes at sea and it brought Nelson the adulation of his country and the undying admiration of his fellow officers. This highly personal view of the start of the battle shows "Theseus" pouring a murderous broadside into the French 74-gun "Guerrier" which lay at the head of the anchored enemy line, bringing down her masts and setting the scene for the devastation to come.