With the political events which preceded the massacres at Alexandria on June 11, 1882, this article has nothing to do. That day it was decided that the rebellion in Egypt, and its leader, Arabi Pasha, must be crushed. The English government determined to undertake the work of restoring order in Egypt single-handed, and thus maintain European influence in the East. The Channel Squadron, under Vice-Admiral Dowell, C. B., was ordered to Alexandria, and the Reserve Squadron, under Rear-Admiral H. R. H. the Duke of Edinburgh, to Gibraltar; but the latter was recalled, Rear-Admiral
Hoskins, C. B., in the Penelope, being alone ordered to Alexandria, and temporarily attached to the Mediterranean Fleet under Sir Beauchamp Seymour, G. C. B. At the same time Rear-Admiral Sir
William Hewett, K. C. B., V. C, was ordered to Suez with the Ruby, Dragon, Eclipse, Mosquito, and Seagull. In addition to these ships. Sir Beauchamp Seymour had under his orders the Alexandra, Inflexible, Temeraire, Monarch, Inconstant, Sultan, Superb, Orion, Invincible, Minotaur, Northumberland, Agincourt, Achilles, Penelope, Carysfort, Tourmaline, Hecla, Thalia, Cygnet, Coquette, Condor, Decoy, Don, Beacon, Dee, Bittern, Ready, Cockatrice, Tamar, Supply, Chester, Iris, Helicon, and Salamis. These ships were variously distributed at Alexandria, Port Said, Ismailia, Suez, Cyprus and Malta. The Monarch, Invincible, Penelope, Alexandra, Sultan, Superb, Inflexible, Temeraire, Condor, Cygnet, Bittern, Beacon, Decoy and Helicon were at Alexandria: this fleet being further augmented by the subsequent arrival of the Hecla, torpedo vessel. Some were anchored in the inner harbor, others outside. Arabi Pasha commenced constructing and arming the Alexandrian forts, mounting heavy guns in sight of the English fleet. Every day the muzzles of new guns were seen from the ships, and preparations were even made by Arabi to block the mouth of the harbor. Admiral
Sir Beauchamp Seymour was directed to demand the immediate disarmament and destruction of the menacing works, and on July 6th sent in an ultimatum, which was followed by another on July 9th, the
purport of which was that unless certain forts were dismantled within twenty-four hours the English fleet would open fire upon them. The Egyptian authorities attempted to gain time to complete their works. On the evening of the 10th July the English ironclads steamed out of the inner harbor and took up positions opposite the different works.
A line of coast batteries extends from the lighthouse past the Rasel-Tin fort and palace, to near Fort Ada. These were the Ras-el-Tin batteries, the armament of which was intended to be seventeen guns, four of large calibre. At the end of this line was an 8-inch Armstrong gun, mounted upon a Moncrieff carriage.
East of the lighthouse, upon a reef connected with the land by a narrow causeway, stands Fort Ada. Farther on at the extremity of the peninsula is Fort Pharos, commanding the entrance to the new port.
The forts if well manned may be said to have been of a character extremely formidable for unarmored ships. The rifled guns were of the same type as those used by the English, having been purchased from Sir W. Armstrong & Co.
The projectiles fired were chilled shot of the latest description.
The 18-ton guns might penetrate fourteen inches of iron at the muzzle under favorable circumstances. By the table it will be seen that this means the possibility of penetrating, at close range, some part of the armor of all the vessels of the English fleet, excepting that of the Inflexible; but these guns were few in number, and the ships were not likely to engage closer than 1000 yards. Again, it was improbable that the shots would strike direct, and hence the chances were that even the 10-inch projectiles would not penetrate most of the armor. The 9-inch guns were hardly likely to penetrate any except the Sultan, Invincible, and Penelope, and the damage done to ironclads by lighter rifled guns and smoothbores would not be material. However, these latter do not seem to have been used in the engagement with even all the effect possible.
The guns of the shore batteries could be dismounted by good firing, they having no great advantage in command, nor was their power sufficient to contend with the ships. The two most important elements against the full use of these guns were, the lack of experienced gunners, and their elevation above the water not being sufficient to enable the English decks to be struck. Such was the state of the defenses of the city on the eve of the bombardment; the garrison charged with its defense has been estimated at from 7000 to 8000 men.
The attack against these four miles of fortifications was made from several points. The Admiral's idea appears to have been to commence with all those which commanded the sea front and the entrances to the harbors. The following plan of attack was issued by Admiral Seymour to his commanding officers: "The Admiral's instructions are, that there will be two attacks. The Invincible, Monarch, and Penelope will attack from the inside of the harbor, and the other ships will operate from the outside. The action will commence by signal. The ship nearest Fort Ada to the northeast will fire a
shell into the earthwork. Upon the fort making any reply, the outside squadron must destroy the Ras-el-Tin batteries, afterwards moving eastwards and destroying Forts Pharos and Silside. The Inflexible
will engage the Mex forts; the Superb, Sultan, and Alexandra will flank the works on Ras-el-Tin. The gun-vessels and gunboats will remain outside and keep out of fire until a favorable opportunity offers itself for making an attack."
Until the night of Monday, July 10th, the Monarch and Inflexible lay in the inner harbor, and none of the ships indicated the stations from which they would open fire. During the night each vessel
quietly took the station at which action commenced in the morning at 7 o'clock. The Invincible, with the Admiral on board, the Penelope and Monarch had then moved into position to bombard Fort
Mex—1000 to 1500 yards W. by N. of Mex—inside the Boghaz Pass. The Alexandra, Superb, and Sultan formed outside on a northeast line, from 1500 to 1900 yards W.N. of Eunostos lighthouse. They were within easy range of the Ras-el-Tin forts on the southwest portion of the peninsula. The Inflexible lay in Corvette Pass, 3700 yards N. by W. from Fort Mex, and the Temeraire in Boghaz Pass,
3500 yards NNW. from Fort Mex. These two vessels occupied the central position, as it were, of an echelon of squadrons, and could, therefore, assist in any part of the attack, though sometimes at very
long range. The position of the Inflexible was admirably selected for utilizing her great power to the best advantage, for while able to shell the Mex forts at a moderate range with one turret, she could
simultaneously direct a terribly effective flanking fire on the Ras-el-Tin batteries with the other. The small vessels kept under way, so as to be ready to avail themselves instantly of any favorable opening.
Beginning from the northeast and going to the southwest, the ships then lay as follows: Alexandra, Sultan, and Superb forming the first group. Inflexible and Temeraire the centre group, Penelope, Invincible, and Monarch the third group, the gunboats being outside of all.
At 5.15 A. M. July 11th, the despatch-vessel Helicon was seen steaming rapidly towards the British fleet. As she approached the Invincible she signaled that she had Turkish officers on board. When she came alongside it was learned that the Turkish officials had been trying all night to find the flagship and that they carried a letter for the Admiral from the Ministry. In this communication the latter deprecated hostilities and offered to dismount their guns to give satisfaction to the British demands. The Admiral replied that the time for negotiations had passed; his demand had been that the outside
forts should have been dismantled by five o'clock of the evening before, and the present proposal to dismount their guns could not be entertained for an instant.
At 6.20 the ships of the squadron signaled "all ready." The Temeraire had ventured so far into Boghaz Pass as to take ground at 6 A. M. The Condor at 6.20 was sent to her assistance. The firing upon the fortifications was opened at 7 o'clock, the first shot being fired by the Alexandra at the recently armed earthworks known as the Hospital battery. Four minutes afterwards a general signal was hoisted by the Invincible to attack the enemy's batteries. The signal was no sooner made than the Invincible and Penelope, then at anchor, and the Monarch, under way, immediately opened fire on the Mex batteries. These vessels took the brunt of the battle against the earthworks at Fort Mex and toward Mars-el- Kanat, supported at longer ranges by the Temeraire, still aground in the Boghaz Pass, directing her fire on the Windmill battery, and by two guns of the Inflexible, which, as has been said, divided her fire between Fort Mex and Ras-el-Tin. The Superb, Sultan, and Alexandra engaged Forts Pharos and Ada at first under steam, moving NE. by E.—then SW. by W. at a range of 1000 to 1500 yards. The Egyptians were evidently waiting in readiness, for they replied at once, and at 7.10 all the armor-clad ships and forts were engaged, the Invincible, Penelope, and Monarch employing their Catlings as well as their heavy guns. At 7.30 the gunboat Cygnet opened fire on Fort Ras-el-Tin.
Until about 8 o'clock the attack continued without any marked change in the disposition of the forces. The sun was rather in the eyes of the English gunners, especially of those of the Invincible, Monarch, and Penelope, whose fire was to the eastward, while the wind enveloped the ships in smoke, so that the guns had continually to wait for it to clear away, or were fired by directions from the tops. The gunners at Fort Mex did excellent firing, the Invincible being repeatedly struck, sometimes close to the water-line, but by shot incapable of penetrating it.
The Egyptian batteries replied steadily and rapidly. The fire of the ships was at first wild, but afterwards it improved and became very good. Throughout the action it was very deliberate. The
rush of the heavy projectiles through the air resembled the rumble of distant thunder. At 8 o'clock the electric broadsides from the four ships attacking Pharos and Ras-el-Tin were beginning to tell with great effect. The accurate practice of the Inflexible with her four 80-ton guns was apparent on the Ras-el-Tin and Mex forts. The lighthouse was struck twice.
At 8 o'clock the Temeraire was afloat, and Lord Charles Beresford with the Condor left her for Marabout, and in ten minutes was attacking, single handed, one of the strongest forts of Alexandria, whose two 10-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns had been annoying the Penelope, Invincible and Monarch. The shell of these guns fell in excellent line from ten to thirty yards short. This fort the Condor had all to herself for an hour, when the Bittern and Beacon were signaled by the flagship to go to her aid. The Cygnet and Decoy shortly afterwards joined them. The Condor at first took up her position on the side of the fort nearest the harbor, and thus escaped the fire of twelve guns on the north front. She moved continually, firing her three guns and presenting as small a target as possible. A Nordenfeldt gun in her foretop was fired with excellent effect, a perfect hail of shot being poured into the embrasures of the fort, and driving the Egyptians from their guns. These two facts account for her not being hit once. So well-directed was the fire of the Condor, so great was its effect, that the Admiral publicly expressed his appreciation by signaling from his flagship "Well done, Condor!"
The gunboats virtually silenced Fort Marabout, for, at 11 A.M. on the Admiral's' signal to cease fire, it was left by them, with only one gun that could be worked. This attack of the gunboats upon the
Marabout forts was, to an observer, the most interesting feature of the engagement. At 8.30 a magazine in Mars-el-Kanat was blown up by the fire of the Monarch. At 10.30 the Alexandra, Superb, and Sultan anchored in a line off Lighthouse fort at about 800 yards from Fort Ada, and poured in a steady fire all along the line of works extending from Pharos to Ras-el-Tin. From 9 to 10 the Temeraire
played on Fort Mex; all the guns in that fort having been silenced except four, which were well worked and well under cover. By 10.30 one of these guns was dismounted ; the remaining three maintained their fire. These guns were concentrated on the Invincible, their shot striking her several times, often quite near the water-line. Before they were silenced six men of the Invincible were wounded. By 11 the fort was in ruins and its guns all silenced, when the Monarch was signaled to go close in shore and dismantle the fort at close quarters. In the Fort Mex magazine, which contained 350 tons of powder, an unexploded shell fired by the Monarch was found after the engagement.
At 10.30 the Khedive's palace, situated behind Ras-el-Tin, was on fire, and soon after a rifle-tower close to it was discovered to be in flames. The majority of the guns along the lines were silenced, and the powder magazine in Fort Mex was blown up by a shell from the Monarch. At 2 o'clock volunteers were called for by the Admiral to land at Fort Mex and destroy the guns. A party of five officers and twelve men pulled in and destroyed the guns, spiking six and destroying two by bursting them with gun-cotton. They met with no opposition, and returned safely to the flagship.
The Temeraire fired her guns with good effect from her position at the entrance of Boghaz channel, her range being 4000 yards. Her barbette guns were handled very deliberately and their fire was very accurate, probably the best in the fleet. The guns disappeared before their shot struck the object. At 10.20 she was signaled to cease firing, and remained silent till 2.30, at which time she had joined the Invincible, which had steamed around and taken up a position northeast of the Alexandra squadron. This squadron had been firing steadily at Fort Pharos all the morning, but had not succeeded in silencing it. When the flagship signaled "Can destroy Pharos," both the Invincible and Temeraire threw the weight of their fire upon it and Ada, the shells of the former telling with great effect on the masonry. The magazine in Fort Ada was blown up by a shell from the Superb, and the guns silenced. The Egyptians continued their fire at intervals till 4 o'clock, by which time most of their
guns were silenced, even those of Pharos and the Moncrieff battery, the latter of which had held on stubbornly.
The ships continued shelling the fortifications, occasionally using shrapnel. The inner squadron directed its attack especially to the eastern harbor works. By 5.30 all the forts were silenced, the signal to cease firing was made, and the action ended, having lasted ten hours and a half from the time the first gun was fired.
In the evening all the vessels drew off the shore and assembled in squadron order for the night. All the sea batteries were destroyed by this day's work. In Fort Mex the smoothbores were uninjured, but all the rifles were dismounted. The latter were struck on the left side, the effect being very curious. The 8-inch rifle was hit direct about two feet forward of the trunnions, and the tubes displaced one-quarter of an inch ; the weld in the last turn of the B tube was imperfect, about eighteen inches of the coil projecting straight out from the piece. The force of the blow had overturned the slide, the carriage and gun were disconnected from the slide and from each other and lying on the ground. Two other rifles were struck obliquely forward of the trunnions. In both cases the carriages were torn to pieces and the guns fell through the slides, each bracket on its own side. Large quantities of ammunition and hundreds of torpedoes were found in the fort uninjured.
The effect of the fire upon Fort Pharos was tremendous; the masonry was completely riddled. Many of the guns in the casemates were dismounted, but the rifled guns on the parapets escaped uninjured; though one was temporarily disabled by earth thrown under the slide by a shell.
Many of the Egyptian guns were disabled by their own recoil. The pivot bolts were drawn out, the guns thereby thrown off their tracks, and hence training was rendered impossible. Many of the explosions of shells from the ships were premature. Large numbers of percussion shells had "tumbled" and were found unexploded. By far the greater number of these shells were armorpiercing.
The coral and sandstone cement of the fortifications did not present sufficient resistance to explode them. Against embankments the 16-inch shells of the 80-ton gun were no more effective than those of less calibre.
The Egyptians had fought their guns to the last, but the fire of the fleet was crushing and the weight of its metal so superior that their resistance, though very creditable, was yet ineffective. Had they used shell instead of round shot, the casualties in the fleet might have been much greater.
During the night of the 11th the Harem palace continued to burn and the flames rose high from the great conflagrations raging in the town.
The anticipations of the officers of the fleet were that the events of the next day would be quite as momentous as those of Tuesday. Fort Marabout and the battery, with the Moncrieff battery at Ras-el-Tin, were still capable of giving trouble, and when these were silenced there was the serious work of dealing with the inner forts.
After daybreak on the 12th the wind rose, producing a long heavy swell which caused the ironclads to roll considerably at their anchorages. It was seen that a flag of truce had been hoisted by the Egyptians.
At 8 A. M. the captains of the fleet were summoned to a consultation on board the Invincible, and the result of their deliberations was that the sea was too heavy for serious operations ; that the rolling of the ironclads would unsettle the aiming of the guns, and the town behind the forts might suffer severely from shot and shell flying too high. The intended attack upon Fort Marabout was therefore postponed, but the Temeraire and Invincible were directed to watch the Ras-el-Tin and Ada batteries.
At 10.30, the Temeraire signaled "Parties of soldiers at work at the Moncrieff battery near Fort Ada." The Temeraire asked "Shall we fire upon them to prevent repairs?" The Admiral signaled his consent, and the two ironclads opened fire. Six rounds of shot and shrapnel were fired. All took effect, notwithstanding the roll of the vessels. The troops engaged upon the work at once abandoned it and the firing ceased.
The white flag was now hoisted at the lighthouse, and the Bittern was sent inside with the flag-lieutenant on board to inquire the intentions of the government. After she had steamed off", the Temeraire signaled, " The party of men whom we saw working at the hospital battery dispersed after our last shrapnel shell was fired, and took refuge in the casemates close by. We saw about 160 men
armed with rifles running towards Lighthouse fort. They carried bags. We saw also an Egyptian general, apparently Arabi himself, surrounded by his staff"."
At 3 P. M., the Bittern was steaming out of the harbor. As she came out she signaled " The negotiations have failed; I have accordingly informed the authorities on shore that you will engage the
batteries at half-past three."
When the flag-lieutenant arrived on board the flag-ship he reported that the evident object of the hoisting of the flag of truce was to gain time; that when the Bittern went in, large bodies of troops were evacuating the barracks behind the forts, going out in full marching order; that the ministers had no proposals of any kind to make, that he informed them he had not come to offer conditions, but to receive proposals ; that Fort Mex must be occupied by the British troops and Fort Marabout destroyed. They replied that Fort Marabout was already evacuated, but could give no definite answer as to Fort Mex. The military governor who had been in command of the city during the action conducted the negotiations. He was informed by the flag-lieutenant that the Admiral would allow the forts to be evacuated by the troops with their rifles and all honors of war; but unless these terms were complied with no negotiation whatever could be entered upon. Finding that no agreement could be arrived at the Bittern left, and the Egyptians hauled down their flag of truce. At this time the Monarch, Invincible, and Penelope were still anchored off Fort Mex. The other vessels of the fleet lay at some distance off, in readiness to come in and complete the destruction of Pharos and the other sea batteries when the signal was given. The fleet was strengthened by the arrival of the Achilles.
Orders were given to the Temeraire and Superb to fire two rounds each at Fort Pharos.
At 5 P. M. the Invincible fired a nine-inch shell at Fort Mex. The shell struck the point aimed at, and in a short time flames broke out from a building. The ship was rolling heavily, though the
atmosphere was clear. There was no reply, nor any sign of life in the fort. A few minutes after this shot was fired a white flag was again hoisted.
The Helicon was sent in to inform the authorities that the Admiral accepted the flag of truce, but that it would be the last one to which he would agree, and that henceforth he would regard the hoisting of a white flag as signifying unconditional surrender and would act accordingly.
After an absence of some length she returned with the information that no communication had been opened with the enemy, that the arsenal was deserted, and so far as could be seen the whole town had been evacuated.
The Admiral made an effort to ascertain the real state of things by sending the steam pinnace, with an armed crew, to go up the harbor to reconnoiter. Mr. Ross, one of the purveyors to the fleet, volunteered to land and make his way alone into the town, being perfectly acquainted with the locality. On reaching the wharf all was quiet, and Mr. Ross sprang ashore and proceeded alone on his dangerous mission. The pinnace pushed off a few yards and remained stationary. Mr. Ross traversed the streets, saw no living being, and realized that that quarter of the town was wholly deserted. In a quarter of an hour Mr. Ross returned, and when the news of the evacuation was known on board the Invincible, it was realized that Arabi, by the two exhibitions of the white flag, had succeeded in withdrawing his troops from the city.
The conflagration alluded to had begun at 6 P. M. At that time the mob began to pillage and destroy. Dense smoke was seen rising from Alexandria over two quarters, and another fire had just broken out. No military were visible from the ships, and only a few people could be seen on shore, hurrying to a village close by the ruins of Fort Mex. At 9 P. M. the Sultan, Superb, Temeraire, Inflexible, and Achilles were lying off the New Port in readiness for action the next day.
The Turkish yacht was lying near the Khedive's palace at Ramleh, close in shore, to save the Khedive and his family in case of need. The Chiltern was endeavoring to obtain replies to the Queen's message about the wounded by signaling with the electric light to the various vessels of the fleet. The weather was moderating, the wind was abating, and the sea going down. The conflagration in the town was still extending. Flames were rising from many quarters. Arabi, before leaving with his troops, had opened the prisons, and the convicts, joined by the lower class of the town and by some of the Bedouins, who had been hovering around for some days, proceeded to sack the city and kill every Christian they could find. A hundred Europeans, many of them wounded, who had, when the
riots broke out, gathered in the Anglo-Egyptian Bank, resisted desperately the attacks made upon it. Scores of wretched fugitives were cut down or beaten to death. Towards daylight the assailants of the
bank drew off, and the party made their way to the shore, where they were received by the men-of-war boats. The European quarter was in flames, the great square had become a mass of smoking ruins, and all the public buildings were destroyed. Nothing European escaped the rage of the fanatics.
Before daylight the next morning a boat sent on shore found that Fort Mex and the batteries near were all evacuated, and at daylight the Admiral made signal to the fleet to abstain from firing, as the town was evacuated. Orders were sent to the Chiltern (telegraph ship) to shift her berth and come close in shore. Further reconnoissances discovered that all of the forts were deserted.
The Admiral, anxious as to the state of affairs prevailing along the canal, despatched the Decoy to Port Said on the evening of the 12th.
On the morning of the 13th Admiral Seymour, in the Invincible, the Penelope and Monarch following, steamed into the inner harbor, and a party was landed to take possession of Ras-el-Tin. Another party spiked and destroyed nineteen guns which were in position. The Monarch opened fire upon another battery, which was soon destroyed. Sailors and marines went on shore to spike all the guns they could find. At 4.45 in the afternoon the Khedive arrived and proceeded to his palace, where a guard of 700 marines was placed for his protection and to occupy the peninsula.
Four hundred men were landed from the Monarch for the further protection of the city. In the evening a party of sailors landed with a Gatling gun and cleared some of the streets of Arabs who were setting fire to and pillaging the town.
On the 14th the gates of the town were guarded by seamen and marines. The fires were not spreading and nearly all looting was stopped. A force from the United States vessels-of-war was landed to protect the consulate, and another from the German ships to guard their hospital. The fleet was strengthened by the arrival of the Minotaur. In the organization of the force on shore the following naval officers were put in charge of the different departments: Captain Hotham, of the Alexandra, chief of staff; Captain Kelley, of the Achilles, head of the transport service; Captain Fisher, of the Inflexible, chief of the naval brigade; Commander Lord Charles Beresford, commandant of police; and Mr. Staunton, paymaster of the Invincible, head of the commissariat.
During the 14th the sailors and marines were at work clearing the streets. The remaining defenses of Alexandria were destroyed and the ruined batteries thoroughly inspected by a strong force. One of the 12-ton guns in the Ras-el-Tin fort had fallen back on the gun's crew. This was probably the last gun that was fired from that battery. Some of the dead had been hastily buried by the Egyptians, but numbers of bodies were lying about in the batteries. No one was to be seen on shore, except the sailors and marines, and occasionally one or two looters towards the Minet-el-Bassal quarter, who were observed now and then running across a street with a load of plunder. Armed parties were sent into the town to patrol the streets and protect property. As far as open acts were concerned, good order was restored that evening. During the operations, nine or ten men were taken red-handed in the work of incendiarism and shot in the streets. This produced the necessary effect.
On the morning of the 15th a strong force of sailors with four Catling guns marched round and through the city and reinforced the posts at all the gates. This demonstration produced a strong effect upon the native population. At Fort Gabarie an officer reported that during the night Bedouins laden with booty approached the fort, shots were exchanged and they fled, leaving behind two dead and all their plunder. At the Rosetta Gate, the guard observed, about midnight, a party of Egyptian soldiers plundering. When challenged they fired a volley; the marines replied and killed four of the plunderers,
the rest fled. At the other posts some thirty men had been arrested for plundering. These were afterwards flogged, in compliance with an order to the effect that all plunderers should be punished in this way, and all incendiaries shot. With these exceptions the city was reported as quiet. During the day numbers of Bedouins who had been in the town plundering, left the city, leaving their booty behind them.
Lord Charles Beresford continued the organization of a police force. Under his command were a strong force of marines and three hundred disarmed Egyptian soldiers. Large numbers of Arabs were made to engage in clearing away the ruins. Steam fire-engines were used in extinguishing the fires, dynamite being used to blow up houses and thus arrest the progress of the flames. The fires were by no means confined to the European quarter, though there the destruction was greatest; they were scattered throughout the city and were caused by plunderers. It was only in the Grand Square and its vicinity that the ruin was complete and thorough. All British sources testify to the excellent service rendered by the American force in checking the fire, and, indeed, in arresting it altogether at several points. Messrs. Ross & Co.'s stores again opened, and were soon surrounded by hundreds of Jewish refugees whom the Admiral arranged to feed there. This firm kept the fleet well supplied with provisions in spite of every difficulty. In fact, on the 14th they recommenced coaling the ships.
During the day it was learned that Arabi was entrenching at Kafr-el-Dowar.
On news being brought to Lord Beresford that some of the Egyptian stokers were getting up steam and preparing to remove some railway rolling stock, a party was despatched by him to the spot, arriving just in time to stop half a dozen engines on the point of starting with trains laden with coal and grain. A portion of the rails were removed and a culvert blown up to prevent any repetition of the attempt. In the evening, in consequence of the reports of an intended attack by Arabi, mines were sunk in front of the gates, the work being done in an ostentatious way, in order to ensure the fact coming to Arabi's knowledge.
Late in the night all the posts on the fortifications and especially at the gates were strongly reinforced, two fugitive Europeans having come in with a report authenticating the native rumor of Arabi's intention to make an attack. They stated that Arabi was but a short distance away with the army and a large number of irregulars. Every arrangement was made to ensure the defenders of the walls falling back simultaneously on the palace, which was commanded by the guns of the fleet, in case the Egyptians should force an entrance at any point.
On the morning of the 15th two officers, deserters from Arabi's army, arrived at Alexandria and reported that it was Arabi's intention to cut the fresh water canal supplying the town. In consequence of this rumor, orders were given for the filling of all tanks and cisterns.
A detachment of cavalry was sent to Fort Marabout, with orders from the Khedive to the commanding officer to surrender at once. On Friday the Egyptian flag had been hoisted over it ; but on two ironclads being sent to the fort, it was hauled down and a white flag hoisted. The fort still remaining in the hands of the enemy, it was determined on Thursday that, unless it was surrendered, it should be bombarded on the following day. The cavalry found it evacuated, and brought word that the garrison had withdrawn in the night.
About noon, the Minotaur arrived and landed her contingent of marines and seamen.
During the day the native population streamed back into the city through the various gates, with loaded donkeys, carriages, and vehicles of all descriptions. Men, women and children carried white flags as a sign of their submission.
Captain Maude, of the Temeraire, made a reconnoissance to within half a mile of the enemy's outposts. He found Arabi's army strongly posted, and apparently with the intention of fighting upon the ground it had taken up. At the time of the reconnoissance there were no signs of work upon entrenchments. The reported strength of Arabi's army at this time was 6000 infantry, 400 cavalry, 36 guns, one rocket and one Catling battery, with a large body of irregulars.
In spite of the British patrols, fresh fires occasionally broke out. On the whole, the fires had abated by night, and the work of restoring order progressed rapidly.
On the morning of the 16th the Tamar, with the marines, and the Agincourt, and the Northumberland, with the 38th Regiment and 3d Battalion 60th Rifles, arrived. The force now was sufficient not only to defend Alexandria, but to take the offensive, if deemed advisable. From the 12th to the 16th July 370 men had held two miles of lines against an army of some 9000 men, with a mob of ruffians behind in the city.