Captain was under fire from as many as six ships, all of which had more guns than she, and lost so much of her rigging that she was no longer of much use. As a result, Nelson maneuvered close enough to the Spanish San Josef to send out boarders instead. Meanwhile, Excellent had engaged San Nicolas, which became so tightly entangled with San Josef that Nelson was able to order his boarders to cross the first Spanish ship onto the second. Both were successfully captured. This maneuver was so unusual and, in future, so widely admired in the Royal Navy that using one enemy ship to cross to another became known as "Nelson's patent bridge for boarding enemy vessels". The Spanish managed to, finally, disengage after which the battle was over. Jervis crossed over to Irresistible -- to which Nelson had gone, Captain no longer being suitable -- and made a show of approving Nelson's disobeying orders. Had the maneuver not worked Nelson would surely have faced court-martial, but in the face of its success and Jervis' acknowledgement that Nelson was correct in his judgement that the British line could not have caught the Spanish, Nelson was later knighted and promoted to Rear-Admiral. As a result of the battle, the United Kingdom was assured of an unassailable position on the seas surrounding France and Spain for the remainder of the French Revolutionary Wars, though another check would be necessary later against Napoleonic France. In the aftermath, Nelson was knighted. In April of the same year he was promoted to Rear Admiral of the Blue, the sixth highest rank in the Royal Navy. Later in the year, during an unsuccessful expedition to capture a treasure ship at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, he was shot in the right elbow with a musketball. He lost the lower half of his arm, and was unfit for duty until mid-December. The next year, Nelson was once again responsible for a great victory over the French. The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Abukir Bay) took place on August 1, 1798, and as a result, Napoleon's ambition to take the war to the British in India came to an end. The Battle of Abukir Bay
The Battle of the Nile also known as The Battle of Abukir Bay was an important naval battle of the Wars of the French Revolution between a British fleet commanded by Admiral Horatio Nelson and a French fleet under Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers. It took place on the evening and early morning of August 1 and August 2, 1798. French losses were as high as 1,700 dead (including Brueys) and 3,000 captured. British losses were 218 dead.