HMS Vanguard (1787) to Sicily via Asia Minor. Convinced that the French were going to Egypt he set sail once more for Alexandria. On the evening of 1 August 1798, half an hour before sunset, the Battle of the Nile began when Nelson attacked the French fleet which was moored in a strong line of battle in Aboukir Bay with gunboats, four frigates, and batteries on Aboukir Island to protect their flanks. was the leading ship and, followed by four others, she broke through the French line to anchor and fight from the shoreward side. "Vanguard" remained on the seaward side and soon
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