Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca (; 7 February 1762 - 1 August 1798) was an officer of the French Navy in the 18th century. Casabianca distinguished himself in the Royal French Navy, was a deputy for Corsica at the National Convention, then became member of the Council of Five Hundred. He was the commander of flagship "Orient", which transported Napoleon across the Mediterranean during his expedition to Egypt. During the Battle of the Nile of 1 August 1798, where Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson destroyed the French fleet in Aboukir Bay, Casabianca fought heroically until his death. During the course of battle, he
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson absent, Napoleon's fleet arrived on 1 July and landed their forces unopposed. Brueys then anchored his fleet in Aboukir Bay, ready to support Napoleon if required. Nelson meanwhile had crossed the Mediterranean again in a fruitless attempt to locate the French and had returned to Naples to re-provision. He sailed again, intending to search the seas off Cyprus, but decided to pass Alexandria again for a final check. In doing so his force captured a French merchant ship, which provided the first news of the French fleet: they had passed south-east of Crete a month before, heading to Alexandria. Nelson