The castle at the entrance to the New Harbour of Alexandria bearing S.E. 65., near the castle to the left is the ancient obelisk known by the name of Cleopatra's Needle, on the right is a distant view of Pompey's Pillar - taken on board the Swiftsure, Augst. 19st 1798

The Rev. Cooper Willyams (1762-1816) was something of a polymath who is chiefly remembered for having written "the first, the most particular, and the most authentic account of the battle" [of the Nile]. A talented artist and topographer, he began his professional career as a clergyman in 1785 but, in November 1793, took the position of ship's chaplain on H.M.S. Boyne for an expedition to the West Indies led by Vice-Admiral Sir John Jervis. He published an illustrated account of the expedition in 1796 and the following year became domestic chaplain to Jervis who, by then, had been created Earl St. Vincent. From May 1798, he served as chaplain to H.M.S. Swiftsure and, as such, was present during Nelson's pursuit of Napoleon's Egyptian invasion across the Mediterranean and the subsequent action known to history as the battle of the Nile (1st August 1798). Using his own notes and sketches, he later published A Voyage up the Mediterranean in the Swiftsure, a seminal work in the study of Nelson's life and achievements which was acclaimed upon publication and became an instant best-seller. Illustrated throughout with his own consummate and carefully captioned watercolours, the present watercolour is a particularly fine and attractive example.