Sir Sidney Smith was a Royal Navy officer, adventurer and diplomat who fought Revolutionary and Napoleonic France in several theatres. Captured during an operation near Le Havre, he escaped imprisonment in Paris and later helped defend Acre against Napoleon in 1799, a success that ended the French advance in Syria.
Smith also served in the Mediterranean and supported anti-slavery causes, but his independent manner frequently caused conflict with superiors. Sir Sidney Smith was born in London and died in Paris.
In G. A. Henty’s At Aboukir and Acre, Historical figures including Napoleon and Sir Sidney Smith connect the fictional action directly to the documented events. In Julian Stockwin’s Tenacious, The war then shifts to Acre, where Sir Sidney Smith and a small naval force help resist Napoleon’s army.