General Vaubois waited in vain for supplies. French preparations had dragged on until Napoleon—now Premier Consul—appointed Contre-amiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée to command a relief expedition. The squadron, comprising Le Généreux (one of the two survivors of the Battle of the Nile), three corvettes serving as armed storeships, and one armed storeship, all with some 3,000 men, arms, food and ammunition on board, sailed from Toulon-sur-Mer on 6 February 1800. The expedition ended in disaster. On the morning of 18 February English ships met the French squadron off Lampedusa island. Contre-amiral Perrée was killed at the start of the action and at 1.30 p.m. Le Généreux struck her colours. The rest of the French convoy returned to Toulon. On 24 August Vaubois dispatched the frigates La Diane and La Justice to run the blockade to France. The Success sighted them, with the Northumberland and the captured Le Généreux, now crewed by the British, giving chase. The British captured La Diane but La Justice escaped under cover of darkness. Vaubois' surrender The siege was nearing its end. The French garrison had eaten all the horses, the mules, the dogs, the cats and the rats of Valletta. Finally, on 4 September 1800, Vaubois sent an emissary under a flag of truce to the British commander Major-General Henry Pigot. The following day, Pigot and Captain George Martin, RN, negotiated terms of surrender with General Vaubois and Contre-amiral Villeneuve. (Ironically the French excluded Captain Alexander Ball, as chief of the Maltese, from the negotiations, as the French did not want to surrender to the Maltese.) The British granted Vaubois and the French fair terms and the honours of war, including the right to keep their arms and spoils. Vaubois and his troops were quickly repatriated to Marseilles. After Malta While the siege continued, Vaubois became a senator on 27 July 1800. He was named a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1804 and a Count of the Empire in 1808. In 1809 he led a division of the National Guard. He became a peer of France and Knight of St. Louis in 1814. During the Hundred Days in 1815, Vaubois did not join Napoleon. He died in 1839. Sources Chandler, David. Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars. New York: Macmillan, 1979. Annuaire de la noblesse de France et des maisons souveraines de l'Europe. Paris. References External links somewhat contesting Napoleon's willingness to help Vaubois in