In order to explain the cause of the war in Syria, it is necessary to
give a short sketch of the political relations of the Turkish empire
and the Pachalic of Egypt, as also of the reasons which induced the
great European powers to interfere in the affairs of the East. The
Sultan of Turkey claimed to hold sway over the whole of Syria and
Egypt, and appointed Pachas to govern them in his name. One of the
most remarkable men of his day was Mehemet Ali. From a low origin,
having become a soldier, he raised himself by his talents and
intrigues to a high command in the army of the Sultan, and
afterwards, being sent to Egypt, he deposed the Pacha of that
province and slipped into his shoes. Though much in advance of his
countrymen, he was unscrupulous as to the means he used to strengthen
his power. Finding the Mamelukes, who had much assisted him in
obtaining his Pachalic, very troublesome, he invited them, to the
number of nearly five hundred, to a feast in the citadel of Cairo,
where he had them all massacred with the exception of one chief, who
leaped his horse over a high wall and escaped.
The Turkish empire has for many years been gradually decaying, and
Russia, Austria, France, and England, it is supposed, look with
longing eyes each to obtain a portion of it when it finally falls to
pieces; but as each of these great powers are jealous that one should
possess a bit of more value than the rest, they are all interested in
maintaining what is called the integrity of the Ottoman Empire.
Russia especially has resolved to make herself mistress of
Constantinople, and waits only a plausible excuse for sending an army
to take possession of that city; the other powers, therefore, though
they have no objection to prevent Turkey from ever regaining
sufficient strength to do harm, will not allow her, if they can help
it, to be so weakened that she may fall an unresisting victim into
the hands of Russia, or, on the other hand, be conquered by any of
the tribes to the south. Now, Mehemet All having consolidated his
power in Egypt, and made himself perfectly independent of the Ottoman
empire, began to consider the possibility of rising a step higher,
and mounting the throne of the Caliphs. To effect this object, which
was doubtless his aim, he assembled a large army, which he
disciplined under European officers, and at the head of it placed his
son Ibrahim Pacha, and sent him into Syria.
The Porte, from its weakness, had allowed many of the Pachas in Syria
to become almost independent of it; and, therefore, hoping that they
and Mehemet Ali would weaken each other's power by the contest, did
not at first complain of Ibrahim's advance into the country: when,
however, he had made himself master of St. Jean d'Acre and other
places, the Turks assembled an army to oppose him. This army he
speedily drove before him, and a still larger one having been
collected, he finally defeated and dispersed it at the battle of
Koniyeh, where the Grand Vizier himself was taken prisoner. Had
Ibrahim at once advanced, he might have captured Constantinople; but
he delayed till the Russians, called in by the Sultan for his
protection, had reached the Bosphorus, and with them he had no wish
to try the fortune of war; he, therefore, entered into a treaty, by
which, in addition to Egypt, he and his father obtained the
government of the whole of Syria and the Pachalic of Adana. Instead,
however, of ruling the new provinces he had obtained, wisely and
well, Mehemet Ali taxed the people to the very utmost, and made them
hate his rule as much as they had done that of the Turks. Several
revolts consequently took place, and the Sultan likewise, who had
never ceased to long for the recovery of Syria, at length sent an
army to drive out the Egyptians. At this juncture of affairs,
England, France, and Austria thought it for their interests to
interfere. Had the Turks been defeated, as would probably otherwise
have again been the case, Constantinople would have been occupied by
the Russians, to prevent it falling into the hands of Mehemet Ali,
and the Russians, having once grasped the rich jewel they so
naturally covet, would never have consented to give it up.
The Ottoman forces continued to advance till they were met by the
Egyptians near Nezib, on the 24th of June, when, after a sanguinary
contest of four hours, the former were completely routed, 6,000 men
being killed or wounded, and 10,000 left in the hands of Ibrahim.
The Sultan Mahmoud the Second died on the 1st of July, without
hearing of this disaster, and was succeeded by his son Abdul Medjid,
a youth of seventeen.
To add to the difficulties of the Turks, their fleet, under the
command of the Capudan Pacha, who had been sent to the Dardanelles,
sailed for Alexandria, and joined that of the Egyptians.
The excuse the Capudan Pacha made for his desertion was, that he had
no confidence in Kosrew Pacha, the new Grand Vizier, and that he
believed he had murdered the Sultan.
There can be no doubt that the French had secretly encouraged Mehemet
Ali in his aggressive proceedings, and in consequence of this, the
other four powers, England, Prussia, Austria, and Russia, entered
into an agreement without consulting France, to put a stop to his
career of conquest, and to compel him to withdraw his army into
Egypt; Russia, on her part, undertaking not to send an armed force to
Constantinople. The following ultimatum was offered to him. He was
to have the hereditary sovereignty of Egypt, and the possession of
the Pachalic of St. Jean d'Acre for life. If within ten days from
the notification of these terms the Pacha should not accept them, the
Sultan was to offer him Egypt alone, and if he still persisted in
refusing, the four Powers were to compel him by force to assent to
the proposed settlement.
In spite of the threats held out, Mehemet Ali refused to accede to
the proposed terms, and made every preparation in his power for
resistance. In consequence the four Powers resolved that the ports
of Syria and Egypt should be declared to be in a state of blockade,
and a large British fleet, under the command of Admiral Stopford,
with some Austrian and Turkish ships, were sent to enforce it.
OPERATIONS OF THE BRITISH FLEET BEFORE THE
COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES.
We at length come to the more legitimate part of our narrative, the
naval occurrences of the war; and yet, without the preceding sketch
of the circumstances which led to it, the object would be perfectly
incomprehensible. As soon as it was settled that work was to be
done, the Admiralty ordered Captain Charles Napier, of the
'Powerful,'[1] to hoist a broad blue pennant, and to take under his
command the 'Ganges,' 'Thunderer,' 'Edinburgh,' 'Castor,' and
'Gorgon.' At this time it was expected that, at any moment, a war
with France might break out, and the officers of the British squadron
were cautioned to be on their guard against surprise. It was,
altogether, the most exciting period as far as the British fleet in
the Mediterranean was concerned, since the last war. It will not be
necessary to describe minutely the movements of the various ships
till the commencement of hostilities. In addition to the English and
Austrian squadrons, the Porte had managed to fit out a small fleet,
through the exertions of Captain Walker, of the British Navy (now Sir
Baldwin Walker), and he was placed in command of it with the rank of
Admiral. A fleet of transports was also got ready, on board which
embarked 5,373 troops under the orders of Selim Pacha, who was
directed to co-operate with the British forces. Commodore Napier
employed the time while negotiations were going on, in examining
Beyrout and various other places on the coast of Syria, which, it was
probable, would be the future scene of operations.
The consuls of the four powers, at Alexandria, having presented the
ultimatum of their Governments to Mehemet Ali, requiring his final
decision in twenty days, he replied, that the territories he had won
with the sword he would defend with the sword, and that he should
give them the same answer if they came again at the end of the time
they mentioned. This he did not fail to do; so they hauled down
their flags, and took their departure. The first act of hostility on
the part of the British was the detention of some Egyptian ships
loaded with provisions and warlike stores for the army in Syria, and
also of an Egyptian frigate, bound to Scanderoon, with stores. Sir
Robert Stopford was, meantime, blockading the port of Alexandria with
three ships of the line, a frigate, and two steamers of the English
fleet, and two Austrian frigates, and a schooner.
Our narrative of active operations must commence on the 12th of
August, when Commodore Napier's squadron anchored off Beyrout. This
was during the twenty days allowed to Mehemet Ali to accept or refuse
the treaty of the 15th July. Beyrout is a small town, surrounded by
a wall surmounted with ruinous turrets, and mounting but few guns.
The arms, ammunition, and provisions were stored in two weak castles.
About a mile and a half from the town, on a point of land, stands the
quarantine establishment, surrounded by a high wall, and here was
encamped a body of 4,000 Turkish troops, who, it was understood, were
anxious to return to their allegiance to the Sultan. There was a
second camp, a little removed from the first, and at a still greater
distance up the country, were quartered the Egyptian and Albanian
troops.
The Commodore having drawn up a proclamation, calling on the Syrians
to return to their allegiance to the Sultan, sent it on shore to the
Turkish camp, by Lieutenant Fitz-James--a service of considerable
danger. He, however, succeeded in delivering copies of the
proclamation to some of the officers, and in returning in safety to
his ship; but it is doubtful whether they were ever read to the
troops--at all events, no attention was paid them.
On the 14th the squadron weighed, and stood close into the town, the
'Powerful' anchoring within 300 yards of one castle; the 'Edinburgh,'
about the same distance from another; the 'Ganges,' close into the
bay, with her broadside bearing between the two camps, so as to
command the Turkish camp to the south; the 'Thunderer' off the point,
and the 'Castor' in the bay round it. Captain Reynolds, of the
'Ganges,' was ordered to prevent, if possible, the Turkish troops
from returning, but not to fire till it became absolutely necessary;
while none of the other ships were to commence hostilities without a
signal from the Commodore.
Captain Napier's object in this demonstration was to induce the
Egyptians to restore their arms to the mountaineers of Lebanon, and
to protect the Turkish troops. Neither object was accomplished; and
the Turkish troops were marched out at night from the quarantine
station, by a gate which had not been observed.
Commodore Napier, having shifted his pennant to the 'Gorgon' steamer,
examined the Syrian coast, to select a good landing-place, then ran
over to Cyprus to communicate with Admiral Walker, and returning,
reconnoitred St. Jean d'Acre and Tyre, and went back to Beyrout.
At this time Suliman Pacha, the chief of the Egyptian forces,
occupied Beyrout with about 15,000 men. Ibrahim and Osman were at
Balbeck with 10,000 more; the garrison of Sidon consisted of 3,000;
that stationed in Tripoli and its neighbourhood of 5,000; while the
rest of the Egyptian army, numbering some 40,000 to 50,000, were
scattered through various parts of Syria.
On the 9th of September, the 'Princess Charlotte' arrived off Beyrout
with the flag of Sir Robert Stopford, and on the same day the
Austrian squadron, under Admiral Bandeira, and the Turkish fleet and
transports under Admiral Walker, arrived. Admiral Stopford was
Commander-in-Chief of the land as well as the sea forces of the
Allies; and in consequence of the illness of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir
Charles Smith, who had arrived in the 'Pique,' to take the direction
of the military affairs, the Admiral placed the command of the troops
under Sir Charles Napier, who has on many occasions shown himself as
well able to defeat his enemies on shore as at sea. Preparations
were immediately made for bombarding and taking the town and fortress
of Beyrout.
[1] When Captain Napier was fitting out the 'Powerful' at Portsmouth,
he had the following characteristic announcement placarded on the
walls:--
"Wanted active seamen for the 'Powerful'--CAPTAIN NAPIER.
"The 'Powerful' is a fine ship, and in the event of a war will not
fail to take her own part."
The 'Powerful' was not long in shipping a fine crew.