Mediterranean campaign of 1793–1796 Jervis awaited an opportunity to return to the Sea, while his blockading squadrons under Nelson harassed the Spanish, including a failed assault on Cádiz in June, and the disastrous Battle of Santa Cruz in July at which Nelson lost an arm. It was not until the spring of 1798 and the attempt by a French army under Bonaparte to invade Egypt that a British fleet was able once more to enter the Mediterranean. In the Mediterranean campaign of 1798 a recovered Nelson tracked the French fleet and destroyed it at the Battle of the Nile, reasserting British naval supremacy in
Action of 18 August 1798 the battle, Captain Thomas Thompson of "Leander" abandoned the stranded "Culloden" and joined the second wave of attack against the French centre, focusing fire on the bow of the 120-gun French first rate "Orient". Within an hour, "Orient" caught fire under the combined attack of three ships and later exploded, effectively concluding the engagement in Nelson's favour. During the next two days, the lightly damaged "Leander" was employed in forcing the surrender of several grounded French vessels, and by the afternoon of 3 August Nelson was in complete control of Aboukir Bay. Only four French ships, two ships of the