A Very Rare 2 Clasp Ngs 1793 Awarded for Sir Sydney Smith’S Epic 2 Month Defence of Acre in 1799 Against French Forces Led by Napoleon Himself
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A VERY RARE 2 CLASP NGS 1793 AWARDED FOR SIR SYDNEY SMITH’S EPIC 2 MONTH DEFENCE OF ACRE IN 1799 AGAINST FRENCH FORCES LED BY NAPOLEON HIMSELF. THE RESULTS OF THE SIEGE HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON NAPOLEON’S AMBITIONS, LATER SAYING OF SMITH "THAT MAN MADE ME MISS MY DESTINY!" NAVAL GENERAL SERVICE 1793-1840, 2 CLASPS, ACRE 30 MAY 1799, EGYPT ‘ADAM SAMPSON’ Ordinary Seaman Adam Sampson, served aboard H.M.S. Tigre, commanded by the famed Sir Sydney Smith, during the epic 2 month siege of Acre in 1799. Described as his first decisive defeat on land, the outcome of the siege forced Napoleon’s withdrawal back to Egypt and ultimately determined his ambitions for further conquest in North Africa. Sampson would continue to serve aboard Tigre during the British landings and campaign in Egypt, that finally defeated Napoleon in that theatre. Honoured on his return to Britain in 1801, Napoleon, reminiscing later in his life, said of Smith’s actions at Acre; "That man made me miss my destiny" The significant strategic importance of the walled city of Acre itself (today Akko in northern Israel) was due to its commanding position on the route between Egypt and Syria. With a French attack on the city imminent, Sir Sidney Smith with the two 74’s; H.M.S. Tigre, Theseus, and the 20 gun Alliance, anchored off Acre on 15 March 1799 to assist in the Ottoman defence. Two days later the French army, led by Napoleon himself, arrived and proceeded to invest the town. Over the following two months, the French made repeated and furious assaults on the town, each time being repulsed, Napoleon finally calling of the siege on 20 May 1799. During this siege itself, the crew from Smith’s ships were employed in a variety of roles. From the start, he landed men and guns to defend the city itself, landing addition forces when need, leading his men from the front during sorties and attacks. He anchored Tigre and Theseus, one on each side of the town, so their broadsides could assist the defence and armed captured gunboats to harass the enemy. French losses during the siege were reportedly in the region of 4500 men, or half their number. Ottoman, casualties were thought to be around 2300, though may well have been a fair number higher. Casualties were also heavy in Smith’s command, Tigre, Theseus, Alliance sustaining 170 in action. Of this number, 146 Officers and ratings/marines of Tigre became casualties; 17 killed, 48 wounded, 4 drowned, and 77 prisoners, a very large number for a ship with a crew of approximately 600. A further 87 killed and wounded by an accidental explosion of ammunition aboard Theseus, which severely damaged the ship itself. Whether Sampson was among this number is unknown, however it would be worth tracing him on Tigre’s musters to see if this reveals anything and also to trace his full service. James’s Naval History of Great Britain gives an extensive description of the siege of Acre: http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~pbtyc/genealogy/Naval_History/Vol_II/P_286.html A print out of the above from James, is included with the research and can be emailed to anyone interested in this medal H.M.S. TIGRE’S SERVICE 1799 -1802 H.M.S.Tigre 80 guns; Captain Sir William Sydney Smith, from June 1798, Mediterranean Station “In October 1799 Sir Sidney Smith was senior officer of the squadron employed off the coast of Egypt. He was blockading Alexandria when news reached him that Napoleon had stormed Jaffa. He immediately sent Theseus to Acre with the French Royalist engineer Philippeaux to organise the defences of that place. The French found found Acre defended only by a handful of Turks and British sailors (less than 3,000 men) and covered by the guns of Tigre, Theseus and two gunboats. On 17 March, while rowing inshore near Caifa, Sir Sidney discovered the advance guard of the French army marching along the shore. He returned to Tigre and sent her launch to defend the ford across a small river the biblical brook of Krishon. The French, flushed with their success at Jaffa, were taken by surprise by the vigourous fire which greeted them on the morning of the 18th. Because of the fire from the British ships the French were obliged to attack from the north-east side of the town. Here they opened the siege trenched and launched an attack against Acre's low, un-breached wall which was repulsed with great slaughter. The French brought up guns from Jaffa. These soon made a 50 foot breach in the wall but Sir Sidney placed two 68-pounders to cover the breach, an 18-pounder in a ravelin and a 24-pounder in the light house. The fire from these, helped by flank fire from the ships, crushed every assault. By 1 April the French realised that Acre was not going to be a repeat of Jaffa, where 8,000 men were defeated in three days. They drove a mine under one of the towers and occupied the lower floors for a night and two days until they were driven out by the Turks and sailors on the upper stories. Djezza Pasha had seated himself in sight of the French in the tower and was paying 50 piastres for every French head. By 2 May the British had run ravelins on either side of the French approach and manned them with marines from Tigre and Theseus During the following week the French made seven night attacks on the ravelins and nine on the town, all defeated. On the 7th., after 51 days, the Turkish fleet from Rhodes with 7,000 troops arrived, only to be becalmed. Napoleon took advantage of the delay to launch one last attack but Sir Sidney landed every man he could spare from the guns and led them to fill the breach. By the 20th. Napoleon was in full retreat having lost over 4,000 men and many officers including eight generals. Sir Sidney Smith was granted a pension of 1,000 pounds per year for his services at Acre and thanked by both houses of Parliament. During the campaign in Syria Sir Sidney's intercession saved many French prisoners from a cruel death at the hands of the Turks. One who published an account of his rescue was M. Delasalle, a second Lieutenant of Dragoons who, after spending days in a dungeon in daily expectation of death, was released and taken to safety on board Tigre where he was treated with the respect due to an officer. When Patrona Bey, the Turkish Vice Admiral, was assassinated in Cyprus on 18 October during a mutiny, Capt. Smith had just been joined by Seid Ali Bey with troops from Constantinople. Together they proceeded to the mouth of the Damietta branch of the Nile to draw the French away from the Grand Vizier's army at Gaza. Tigre’s boats took possession of a ruined castle on an island in the entrance of the channel and hoisted the Turkish flag. The Turkish gunboats then advanced and came under fire from two 32-pounders and an 8- pounder mounted on the mainland at point blank range. The French guns were soon silenced by the carronade from Tigre’s launch which had been mounted in the castle and by field pieces in the small boats. Lieut. Stokes was detached with the boats to check a body of cavalry approaching and succeeded in stopping them with the loss of one man killed and one wounded. The exchange of fire continued from the 29 to the 30 October when, after a French 32-pounder was destroyed and a magazine blown up, the Turkish transports were ordered in. The landings were delayed until 1 November and this allowed the French time to reinforce. The first attack by French bayonets was routed by Turkish sabres but the Turkish reserve quit their station to chase after the fugitives only to be routed in their turn by the advance of French reserves combined with a cavalry charge on the flank. Tigre’s boats rescued all who fled into the water except those taken prisoner by the French who waded in after them. The French said that they had taken about 1100. The Grand Vizier's army, assisted by marines from Tigre, advanced to El Arish on 20 December. Major Douglas of the marines reconnoitred the fort and batteries were erected from the 24th. The fire from these silenced the French guns and Major Douglas climbed into the fort by means of a rope let down to him and accepted the surrender. Unfortunately he could not restrain the Turkish troops and 300 of the French garrison were slaughtered before they could be brought under control. Among those serving with the army were Captains Winter and Trotte and Mr Thomas Smith, midshipman. Major Douglas arrived at the Admiralty Offices on the morning of 27 March 1800 with Sir Sidney Smith’s dispatches. Two seamen from Tigre were wounded when she assisted in the disembarkation of the army at Aboukir Bay on 8 March 1801. Sir Sidney Smith, with other captains and officers of the Royal Navy under his command, landed with the army. One officer and five seamen were killed and nineteen seamen wounded from the naval detachment in an action on 13 March. Tigre’s losses were Two seamen killed, eleven wounded, of which four died later. On 21 March the army, by now in a position 4 miles from Alexandria, was attacked by the French force of some 11-12,000 men.