Repulsion of the 1799 Siege of Acre

302, Lot: 523. Estimate $150. Sold for $170. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

temp. HANOVER. Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith. 1764-1840. Æ Medal (41mm, 38.95 g, 12h). Mudie’s National Medals Series: The Siege of Acre. By G. Mills and N. G. A Brenet. Dated 1799, but struck 1820. Uniformed bust left / ACRE DEFENDED./ BONAPARTE REPULSED/ SYRIA SAVED/ XX. TH MAY/ MDCCLXXXXIV, British lion with a rocky pass, protecting Syrian camel from a menacing French tiger. BHM 476; Eimer 906; Mudie 7. EF, reddish-brown surfaces, a few minor marks.

The unsuccessful French siege of the port city of Acre marked a turning point in Napoléon’s campaigns in Egypt and Syria. While Napoléon expected Acre to fall quickly, he met staunch resistance from the Ottoman commander Jezzar Pasha’s forces, who were ably assisted by a Royal Navy flotilla under the direction of Admiral Smith. After two months the French were forced to retreat. Late in life, Napoléon Bonaparte remarked of Admiral Smith: “That man made me miss my destiny.”