George Johnstone Hope "Romulus", in which he saw action against French ships off Genoa in 1795. Following his appointment to HMS "Alcmene", Hope joined Nelson at Aboukir bay, 11 days after the battle of the Nile. On 19 August Nelson left for Naples but left Hood with three 3rd rates and three frigates, including "Alcmene", with which to blockade Alexandria, where the remaining French ships; two of the line, eight frigates and four corvettes, were sheltering. Hope obtained Nelson's good graces by capturing the French gunbrig "Légère" off Egypt, and seizing dispatches intended for Napoleon. The papers had been thrown overboard by the
Battle of the Malta Convoy (1800) against increasing odds before surrendering on 4 September 1800. In May 1798, during the French Revolutionary Wars, a French expeditionary force sailed from Toulon under General Napoleon Bonaparte. Crossing the Mediterranean, the force captured Malta in early June and continued southeastwards, making landfall in Egypt on 31 June. Landing near Alexandria, Bonaparte captured the city and advanced inland, completing the first stage of a projected campaign in Asia. The French fleet, under the command of Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers was directed to anchor in Aboukir Bay, northeast of Alexandria and support the army ashore. On 1 August 1798, the anchored