One hundred years ago
Alexander has ceased to exist. The British Admiral, suspicious of the of- ficial assurances, instituted inquiries for himself, and became satisfied that armaments were still proceeding. He ac- cordingly, on Sunday, intimated that the forts must be surrendered, under penalty of a bombardment on Tuesday morning. The terms were refused, and on Tuesday morning, at six o'clock, English time, the Fleet opened fire on all the forts at once. The Egyptians replied with the greatest resolution; but though their guns were excellent, and once penetrated the armour of the 'Superb', their gun- ners rarely hit the vessels, which, with the exception of the 'Invincible', steam- ed slowly up and down while firing. Still, it was nearly seven before the fort Marsa-el-Kanat blew up, noon before the Pharos fort was silenced, and night before the Meks fort was completely deserted. By the morning of Wednesday, however, all firing had ceased, and, as is now known, Arabi Pasha had resolved upon retreat. No details can be quite trusted, till a landing has been made; but the evidence indicates that the fire crush- ed the works and destroyed many of the guns, while upwards of 600 of those who worked them — one account says 2,000 — were killed on the spot. Only six men had been killed in the British Fleet, and no ship seriously injured.
Spectator, 15 July 1882
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