Action of 15 July 1798 joining with a squadron of four Portuguese ships of the line under the command of Tomás Xavier Teles de Castro da Gama, Marquess de Niza. In September, Niza's squadron was ordered to join Nelson in his search for the French and sailed eastwards, but while passing to the north of Malta they encountered a large convoy of battered vessels under Captain Sir James Saumarez. These ships were seven British ships of the line and six captured French ships, all survivors of the Battle of the Nile, Nelson's successful conclusion of the campaign fought at Aboukir Bay off Egypt on 1
Order of battle at the Battle of the Nile subsequently surrendered. Villeneuve eventually escaped to open water with just two ships of the line and two frigates. On 3 August the last two remaining French ships stranded in the bay were defeated, one surrendering and the other deliberately set on fire by its crew. The almost total destruction of the French fleet reversed the strategic situation in the Mediterranean, giving the Royal Navy control of the sea which it retained until the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. Nelson and his captains were highly praised and generously rewarded, although Nelson privately complained that his peerage was not senior