French ship Orient (1791) the Armée d'Égypte, notably General Bonaparte. The fleet avoided the British blockade and captured Malta before landing troops in Egypt. Afterwards, the squadron anchored in a bay east of Alexandria, in a purportedly strong defensive position. The British 's squadron under the command of Nelson discovered the fleet on 1 August, and Nelson attacked the next day, starting the Battle of the Nile. Nelson had his units sail between the shore and the French ships at anchor, picking them one by one in a cross-fire. "Orient" eventually came under fire from five ships, caught fire and exploded spectacularly at 22:30.
Battle of the Nile resulted in the mass gradually acquiring the nickname "Lord Nelson Mass". The title became indelible when, in 1800, Nelson himself visited the Palais Esterházy, accompanied by his mistress, Lady Hamilton, and may have heard the mass performed. The Royal Navy commemorated the battle with the ship names HMS "Aboukir" and HMS "Nile""," and in 1998 commemorated the 200th anniversary of the battle with a visit to Aboukir Bay by the modern frigate HMS "Somerset", whose crew laid wreaths in memory of those who lost their lives in the battle. Although Nelson biographer Ernle Bradford assumed in 1977 that the remains