HMS Emerald (1795) dispatched a squadron of five ships, including "Emerald" and commanded by Nelson in the 74-gun , to locate a large invasion fleet that had left Toulon. After receiving intelligence on 22 May, Nelson correctly predicted the French fleet's destination and set course for Alexandria where the British captured or destroyed all but two of the French ships at the Battle of the Nile, which occurred between 1–3 August 1798. "Emerald" missed the battle; having previously become separated from the rest of the squadron in a storm on 21 May, she arrived at Aboukir Bay on 12 August. When Nelson left
Action of 18 August 1798 in the Mediterranean, but was eventually captured off Malta in 1800 by a British squadron under Lord Nelson. On 1 August 1798 a British fleet of 13 ships of the line and one fourth rate ship under Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson discovered a French fleet of 13 ships of the line and four frigates at anchor in Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. Nelson had been in pursuit of the French for three months, crossing the Mediterranean three times in his efforts to locate the fleet and a convoy under its protection which carried the French army commanded