Chapter VII

HE army remained stationary from the 13th till the 20th March.  Tents were brought, which protected the men from the sun by day and the dew by night; a market was established where fresh provisions could be bought, sheep being sold for half a dollar, or about 2s. 3d. each.  Ostriches also were sold at a dollar, these being principally bought by the Highland soldiers, in order to add extra feathers to their bonnets, in which they took great pride.[1]

In addition to the severe military duties necessary in a position so close to the enemy, the army was constantly employed in constructing batteries, bringing up the guns, provisions, and firewood, consisting of date palms, which would scarcely burn when it was obtained; the palm branches were, however, useful to make shelters from the sun.  The want of horses or camels was distressingly felt, as all had to be dragged or rolled through the sand by soldiers and sailors.

At first they had no water, but every regiment was ordered to dig for it, and the 13th found a copious supply by hitting on an ancient aqueduct arched over, the existence of which was unknown to the natives.

Several skirmishes took place at the outposts, a soldier of the 92nd being wounded on the 17th, and in one of them our cavalry lost 2 officers wounded and 3 taken, 7 men killed, 6 wounded and 12 taken. and 42 horses killed or wounded—a great loss to an army very ill provided with that arm.

On the 20th a column of infantry and cavalry was seen to enter Alexandria, and an Arab chief gave warning of the arrival of General Menou, the French Commander-in-Chief, with a large army, and of his intention to surprise the British camp.

The wounded Gordons had been sent on board ship, and some to Rhodes, and the regiment was so reduced by sickness, especially ophthalmia, and by the casualties of the 13th March, that it was, in General Orders of the 20th, ordered to march (the Commander-in-Chief’s guard excepted) to Aboukir[2] at four o’clock next morning, there to rest and recruit its strength.

B. O., March 20th, 1801.—”Major-General Coote feels extreme concern that the 92nd Regiment is ordered to march to Aboukir; he hopes they will soon return to the army, and cannot part with that corps without requesting that the officers and men will accept his best thanks for their attention to their duty since they have been under his command.”

On the morning of the 21st the army, as usual, was under arms [92] at three o’clock.[3]  All was quiet for half an hour, when the report of a musket was heard on the extreme left, then a cannon and scattered musketry.  A thick mist hung over the plain, through which the dawn of day was hardly perceptible.  The 92nd, mustering little more than 150 effective men,[4] had just begun their march to Aboukir, when these shots were heard, and the regiment was halted.

The men openly expressed their wish to be placed in line, but the Commander-in-Chief, who was near, called the officers round him, told them the firing was only an affair of outposts, and that they must proceed on their route; but as the firing extended to the right, the boom of cannon, added to the rattle of musketry, followed by loud shouts, showed the real attack to be in that direction.  Sir Ralph mounted his horse, and was about to ride to the scene of alarm, when, at the loud calls from the ranks to permit them to take their part in the fray, he consented to their request, and Major Napier immediately countermarched the regiment in order to resume his former station in the line.[5]  As the Gordons arrived, they had barely time to form between the Royals and the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 54th, when they heard through the mist the French drums beating the charge.  The brigade was on rising ground, and their general, cautioning them to be cool and steady, waited to receive the attack.

When the enemy carne near enough for the muskets to tell, the brigade poured in a volley which staggered them, but they bravely continued to advance till the British prepared to charge.  At the flash of the steel the French fell back, but advanced again, and this was repeated more than once, while they still kept up a musketry fire.  Finding the red-coats could not be forced from their position, the enemy brought up two field-pieces loaded with grape, which had murderous effect on the British brigade.  The latter threw out skirmishers as the French retired, the rest of the men being ordered to lie down to avoid the grape-shot which flew like hail, till one of the guns burst, or the ammunition exploded, killing the gunners, whose bodies could be seen blown into the air.  The other gun was then drawn off, their infantry retiring with cavalry protecting their rear.  Fortunately for them there was no artillery in that part of the British line to give them a parting salute.

The brigade in which the 92nd was placed had to their left rear the 8th, 18th, 90th, and 13th Regiments; on their immediate right were the Guards, to the right and rear of the Guards were Derrol’s [93] and Dillon’s Regiments, and on the right front of these were Stuart’s,[6] the 42nd and 28th Regiments.  The whole of the above formed for a time the front line of the British army.

Meanwhile the battle was raging with still greater fury on the British right.  The enemy had advanced against the Roman ruins, but were met by so heavy a fire that they fell back in confusion, their general being killed.  A strong fresh column, however, at once advanced and, carrying on the broken troops, renewed the attack in greater force on the front and flank of the British who were defending the ruins.  Menou (the French Commander-in-Chief) supported this attack by a grand charge with all his cavalry on the right and right centre.  The 42nd was suddenly charged in flank by the French horse and broken, but the Highlanders formed in little groups, standing back to back, and bravely resisted the dragoons.  The 28th were maintaining the fight to their front, and hearing French shouts behind them, the rear rank had just time to face about when it was assailed by a French regiment, which had got round under cover of the mist, and these gallant men, standing back to back, maintained this extraordinary contest for a considerable time.  In memory of this exploit the 28th wear their badge at the back as well as on the front of their head-dress.

Sir Ralph, who had proceeded to the right on the first alarm, had sent his aides-de-camp with orders to different brigades, and whilst thus alone he was attacked by some French dragoons and thrown from his horse.  An officer then rode at him and attempted to cut him down, but the veteran general seized the sword and wrested it from his hand, and at that moment the officer was bayoneted by a soldier of the 42nd.

A singular incident happened soon after, an aide-de-camp to General Cradock, whilst going with orders, having his horse killed.  Seeing Sir Sidney Smith,[7] he asked to mount his orderly’s horse, when just as Sir Sidney was turning to tell the man to give it, a cannon ball struck off the dragoon’s head!

Sir Ralph was wounded in the thigh, but only mentioned pain from a blow on his breast, supposed to have been received in the scuffle with the French dragoons, and when the cavalry were repulsed, he walked to the redoubt on the right of the Guards, from which he could view the whole field of battle.

A second charge of cavalry was attempted, but completely failed. The guns in the British battery had exhausted their ammunition, and some of the infantry on both sides were in the same condition; in one instance they actually pelted stones at each other, and a [94] sergeant of the 28th was killed by one of these unusual weapons at the redoubt.

While this was going on to the right, a column of Grenadiers had advanced as soon as day dawned, supported by a heavy line of infantry, to assault the centre, and tried to turn the flank of the Guards; but the officer commanding the latter wheeled back some companies and checked this movement, and the advance of General Coote’s Brigade compelled them to retreat, and terminated the important operations of this eventful day.  General Menou, finding that every one of his movements had failed, and that no serious impression had been made upon the British, retired in very good order to the heights of Nicopolis in his rear, under cover of the cannon placed on that formidable position.  The want of cavalry, artillery, and ammunition on the part of the British was fortunate for the French, whose loss would otherwise have been very much greater.  By ten o’clock a.m. the action was over.

Sir Ralph had remained in the battery, where several times he had been nearly killed by cannon shot.  He had continued walking about, paying no attention to his wound.  Officers came and received his orders without knowing from his appearance that he was wounded, unless when they saw the blood trickling down his clothes.  It was only when exertion was no longer necessary that his spirit yielded to nature; he became faint, and was carried to a boat by a party of the Gordon Highlanders who formed his permanent guard, cheered by the feeling expressions and blessings of the soldiers as he passed.  He was taken on board Admiral Lord Keith’s ship, the Foudroyant, where he died on the 28th March, leaving a name enshrined in the grateful recollection of his country.[8]  He was succeeded in the command of the army by Major-General Hutchinson, but before his death he desired that officer to thank the whole of the troops “for their conspicuous and brilliant conduct in the action of the 21^st, which has dismayed an insolent enemy, has raised the glory of their country, and established their reputation for ever.”

The ultimate effects of the battle of Alexandria, though not immediately apparent, were very great and far-reaching.  It increased the confidence of the British soldiers, and revived the military spirit of the nation, which supported it through the arduous conflict awaiting it, which lasted almost without intermission till it culminated in the battle of Waterloo.  It taught Continental nations that the army of Britain was to be respected as well as the navy; it delivered Egypt from the French yoke, and decided to some extent the fate of the civilised world.  The prophetic eye of [95] Napoleon at once discerned the magnitude of its consequences, and he received the intelligence of the disaster at Alexandria with a degree of anguish only equaled by that experienced from the shock of Trafalgar.[9]

In this battle the British army had an effective strength of less than 10,000 men, including 300 cavalry.  They had two 24-pounders and 34 field-pieces defending their position.  The French General Reynier puts the number of their army at 9700, including 1500 cavalry, with 46 pieces of cannon; they had also a dromedary corps, all picked men, which was used in the same way as our camel corps.  After the action, when the Gordons were resting, Sir Ralph Abercromby was carried past, and when it became known that he was dangerously wounded, “the interest excited was so great that everyone ran to get a sight of him whom we all loved.”[10]

The men were at once employed to carry the wounded to the boats; in this humane work French and British were treated with equal care, and these poor fellows, their passion cooled, were to be seen making friends and helping one another.

G.O., March 21st, Camp near Alexandria.—”The works on the left to be completed in the course of this day and night.  As it is possible the enemy may be desperate enough to make a night attack, Major-General Hutchinson is under the necessity of requesting that the troops may remain with their accoutrements, and lie in their blankets in the position they occupy.  General officers are to take care not to throw away fire during the dark, but to use the bayonet as much as possible,” etc.

The loss of the British were 1500 killed and wounded.  1040 Frenchmen were buried on the field, and it was estimated that they had lost in killed, wounded, or prisoners about 4000 men, among them most of their principle officers.  Two pieces of cannon were taken, and 400 horses were lying in the field; a standard was also taken, belonging to a regiment of the “Invincibles,” emblazoned with the names of French victories in Italy.[11]

The Gordon Highlanders lost 3 rank and file killed, and 2 officers and 44 rank and file[12] wounded.  Among the wounded was M’Kinnon the bard.  Sergeant MacLean, a friend and admirer of the poet, found him insensible, but seeing that he still breathed, had him conveyed on board ship, where he recovered and composed two poems, one describing the landing in Egypt, the other the battles [96] of the 13th and 21st of March, which are still the admiration of the lovers of Gaelic poetry.[13]  The latter poem is given in Appendix V.  On the 22nd the Gordons could only muster about 150 rank and file fit for duty.  All hands were employed in bringing up guns, even boat carronades being utilised to strengthen the position.

G.O., March 22nd.—”The troops to sleep in their tents this night as usual.  In case the enemy does not attack to-morrow morning, the 92nd Regiment will march to Aboukir at six o’clock to relieve the detachment of dismounted dragoons who are in the fort.”

Accordingly the regiment marched to the Fort of Aboukir.  Soon after their arrival the Capitan Pasha, with 6000 Turkish allies, landed at Aboukir, and encamped near the spot where the French had buried 4000 of his countrymen two years before, and where the remains were barely covered by the drifting sand.

On April 1st, Mr Archibald Campbell (paymaster, from lieut. 91st Highlanders) writes from Camp near Aboukir Fort, for Captain J. Cameron, to tell that he had been wounded on the 21st, and had just rejoined from ship-board, the regiment being fifteen miles from the army to recruit its strength, having been reduced on the 21st to about 150 effective men, the rest either killed, wounded, or sick of a slight fever which they brought with them, and of which they are now fast recovering.  He mentions that they have plenty of good water, good market for meat, fish, and vegetables, etc.; that Lieutenant Clarke from Badenoch is dead of his wound, and that Captain Cameron desires him to say that “all the young lads that came from your country escaped in the different actions, except those he mentioned in his last letter, and also a Corporal Alexander Cameron from Clunes, who was wounded on the 21st.  They are all doing well.”

On April 1st they had 244 rank and file fit for duty, 250 sick and wounded present in camp, and 103 on board ship; 89 sick or on duty at Rhodes, Lisbon, recruiting in Scotland, etc.—total, 686 rank and file.

Officers commanding companies were desired to see that all convalescents had fresh provisions, and that all the men had the option, instead of their ration of 1lb. of salt pork, of taking 4d. a day to supply themselves with fresh meat.

[97] The regiment remained here till the 2nd May, when, being sufficiently recovered, it marched, carrying three days’ provisions through the desert, where it suffered from want of water, to El Hamed, near Rosetta, which had been taken in April, when the Castle of St Julien had also surrendered to the combined British and Turkish forces.[14]

General Hutchinson had cut the isthmus which separated Lake Maadieh from the dried bed of Lake Mareotis, and by filling it, to a great degree isolated Alexandria from the rest of Egypt.

The British and Turkish troops advanced along the banks of the Nile; at the same time, a flotilla of armed vessels and transport boats ascending, captured an important convoy descending the river for the support of the garrison of Alexandria.  The evacuation of the entrenched camp at Ramalieh and its occupation by the British cut off the supplies from Alexandria, and prevented co-operation between the French there and their army at Cairo.

Meanwhile the Grand Vizier, encouraged by the defeat of the French, crossed the desert which separates Syria from Egypt.  At his approach the French drew back to Cairo, where their forces were increased by the arrival of the troops from Ramalieh.[15]  General Belliard moved at me head of 6000 chosen troops to meet the Turkish force at El Hanka, but the movements of the Grand Vizier were now directed by British officers, and after an indecisive action of five hours, Belliard retreated to the Capital; a result so different from any that had previously attended their warfare with the French, that it raised the courage of the Ottomans, and disposed them to trust to the guidance of the British for the future.

General Hutchinson advanced to Cairo with part of the English army, and on the 20th of May invested the city on the left bank of the Nile, while the Grand Vizier did so on the right bank; with the result that on the 27^th of May General Belliard capitulated, on condition that his troops should be conveyed to France with their arms, field-artillery, and baggage.  They numbered 13,672, besides the civil servants; and they left in the hands of the British 320 pieces of heavy ordnance, besides the field-pieces they carried away with them.

During the advance to Cairo the Gordon Highlanders were brigaded with me 1st Royals, 50th and 30th Regiments, under General Doyle.  Starting from El Hamed on May 8th, they at once got into the cultivated country, and those who have had a similar [98] experience will understand the joy and delight they felt, after being so long scorched in the sandy desert, when their eyes once more rested on corn-fields and green grass.  Their first camp was on the banks of the Nile, where they luxuriated in the delicious watermelons and vegetables which abound there.  Among these the tobacco plants, looking like magnificent cabbages, which none of the Highlanders had seen before, at once caught the eye of the cooks, who thought they would delight their comrades with real kail broth, and accordingly put what they supposed to be succulent “kail blades” in the camp kettles.  The results, physical or moral, were hardly what they expected!

The 92nd was employed in the affair of Ramalieh, where a sergeant (James Clark) was wounded.  The soldiers were amused at the Turks who were in advance; when one man was wounded, six or seven of his comrades would assist in carrying him to the rear, which practice our men thought might account for their being so constantly beaten by the French two years before.

The march was enlivened by frequent skirmishes, and after one of these the kindly Scots were horrified at finding a party of Turkish troops engaged in barbarously hacking and killing a number of French prisoners they had taken.  The Gordons quickly put a stop to this inhuman proceeding, and expressed their detestation of it by soundly thrashing every one of their Oriental allies they could catch.

On the 17th May, the men were bathing in the river near Algam, when the alarm sounded.  General Doyle’s Brigade instantly fell in, and marched off into the desert in pursuit of a large convoy of which an Arab had brought intelligence.  It was marching from Alexandria to Cairo, escorted by a considerable body of troops, who moved by the river at night and kept to the desert by day.  General Doyle, with 250 of the 12th and 26th Dragoons, led the advance.  There was a burning sun above them, and when they got among the loose hot sand, reaching sometimes above the ankle, the progress of the infantry was slow and very fatiguing.  Many of the men had not had time to fill their water-bottles, and the rations had not been served out when they marched; their throats were parched with intolerable thirst, which drove some nearly mad, whilst others tantalised their imaginations by thinking of the clear streams of their own country; but they plodded on for about seven miles till they heard firing behind a sandhill.  The cavalry had found the enemy halted for the day; a corps of infantry formed his front line, three divisions of the Dromedary Corps and heavy Dragoons in echelon protected the flanks; on the right flank was a piece of artillery, and in the centre were the baggage camels.

The British infantry were far behind when the small force [99] of cavalry approached the French square.  They halted at some distance, while Major Wilson, waving a white pocket-handkerchief, rode up and asked for the officer in command.  Colonel Cavalier, for that was his name, came forward, when Major Wilson told him he was sent to offer terms of surrender on condition that his troops should lay down their arms and be sent back directly to France.  The colonel angrily ordered him to retire.  The major answered that it was the humanity of his general which induced him to offer these terms, and reminded Colonel Cavalier of the responsibility which now attached to him.  To this the colonel paid no attention, and Major Wilson was returning to General Doyle when an aide-de-camp galloped after him, and begged him to go back to Colonel Cavalier, who, on his repeating the proposed conditions, requested time to consult his officers.  An evident sensation of joy was to be observed on the faces of the French soldiers, who, though they were veterans of many campaigns, were demoralised by the unaccustomed reverses of the 13th and 21st March.  They were sick of Egypt now that they had to play a losing game, and, as they afterwards allowed, when they heard Major Wilson say that they would be at once sent back to France, that word had such an irresistible effect that Colonel Cavalier, after trying for easier terms, was constrained to surrender.  They were marched, escorted by the 250 dragoons, afterwards joined by the infantry, to a field close to headquarters at Algam, where they grounded their arms, and our tired and thirsty soldiers were dismissed to their well-earned meal, washed down, no doubt, by a long drink of rum and water, for tea was as yet an unknown luxury.  The convoy was composed of 569 men—infantry, cavalry, and artillery—including 120 of the Dromedary Corps, who were the picked men of the army, and excited universal admiration among the British.[16]  One gun and 550 camels with their Arab drivers became the property of the captors, as also the horses, which were sold to the commissariat, where they were much needed.  There were also a number of asses, which were taken by the men to carry their knapsacks.

On the 18th they had the first view of the Pyramids, and on the 19th they encountered one of those hot winds called Sirocco, which darkened the atmosphere with sand, making it so difficult to breathe that several horses and camels died; the ground was heated like the floor of a furnace, everything metallic became burning hot, and the thermometer registered 120 in the shade.[17]  The army halted and pitched their tents, using blankets also as a defence against what one of the Gordons described as “a Highland snowstorm, only sand and heat in place of snow and cold.”

On the 22nd May the regiment encamped opposite Cairo, [100] which surrendered on the 27th.  Some time after the capitulation of that city, the army of Major-General Baird arrived, consisting of 3600 British and 2800 Sepoys.  They had sailed from Bombay in December, but were delayed by contrary winds. They were accompanied by the usual Indian camp-followers, and the army from Britain were astonished at their admirable arrangements and the comparative comfort in which they lived.

The regiment remained here till July, and took part in a review before the Grand Vizier.  The British troops, notwithstanding their rags, formed a very martial parade, and the Scotch regiments, from their being ‘sans-culottes,’ particularly excited his wonder.[18]  The men made excursions to the Pyramids, visiting the celebrated Sphinx, which was afterwards granted as a crest to the regiment in honourable memory of its gallant conduct in the campaign.  They had also freedom to enjoy the sights and amusements of Cairo, where many strange Oriental customs then existed, including a market where, among other commodities, women were sold by auction!

The Gordons formed part of the escort of the French army of Cairo, who were marched as prisoners of war to the place of embarkation on the Nile, and afterwards the regiment proceeded to Rosetta, on the march to which three popular regimental characters died, of whom one was known as “Strong Ale Rob.”

G.O., Headquarters Camp near Imbebo, July 14th, 1801.—”Lieut.-General Sir John Hely-Hutchinson, K.B.,[19] has received His Majesty’s orders to return the generals, officers and soldiers of the army his thanks for the brilliant services they have rendered their country; and for the manner in which they have sustained and increased the honour of the British name and the glory of the British arms.  You landed in Egypt to attack an enemy superior in numbers, provided with a formidable body of cavalry and artillery, accustomed to the climate, flushed with former victory, and animated by a consciousness of hard and well-earned renown.  Notwithstanding these advantages, you have constantly seen a warlike and victorious enemy fly before you, and you are now in possession of the capital.  Such are the effects of order, discipline, and obedience, without which even courage itself must be unavailing, and success can be but momentary.  Such also are the incitements which ought to induce you to persevere in a conduct which has led you to victory, has acquired you the applause of your Sovereign, the thanks of Parliament, ‘and the gratitude of your country.

To such high authorities it would be superfluous in me to add my testimony; but be assured your services and conduct have made [101] the deepest impression on my heart, and never can be eradicated from my memory.  During the course of this arduous undertaking, you have suffered some privations which you have borne with the firmness of men and the spirit of soldiers.  On such painful occasions no one has ever felt more sensibly than I have done.  But you yourselves must know that they are the natural consequences and effects of war, which no human prudence can obviate; every exertion has been made to diminish their extent and duration; they have ceased, and I hope are never likely to return.  Nothing now remains to terminate your glorious career but the final expulsion of the French from Egypt, an event which your country anticipates, and a service which, to such troops as you are, can neither be doubtful nor difficult.  The prevalence of contrary winds has prevented the arrival of ships from England with money; your pay has been in arrear; but this inconvenience is now at an end, and everything that is due shall be put in course of payment, and discharged as soon as possible.

The following Order was also promulgated to the army at large:—

Horse Guards, May 18th, 1801.—“The recent events which have occurred in Egypt have induced His Majesty to lay his most gracious commands on H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief to convey to the troops employed in that country His Majesty's highest approval of their conduct, and, at the same time, His Majesty has seemed it expedient that these, his gracious sentiments, should be communicated to every part of his army, not doubting that all ranks will thereby be inspired with an honourable spirit of emulation.  Under the blessing of Divine Providence, His Majesty ascribes the successes that have attended the exertions of his troops in Egypt to that determined bravery which is inherent in Britons; but His Majesty desires it may be most solemnly impressed on the consideration of every part of the army that it has been a strict observance of order, discipline, and military system which has given its full energy to the native valour of the troops,” etc.

His Royal Highness having thus obeyed His Majesty's command, added his own remarks on the example set to the whole British army by Sir Ralph Abercromby and the troops under his command.  “The boldness of the approach to the coast of Aboukir, in defiance of a powerful and well-directed artillery; the orderly formation upon the beach under the heaviest fire of grape and musketry; the reception and repulse of the enemy’s cavalry and infantry; the subsequent charge of our troops which decided the victory, and established a footing on the shores of Egypt, are circumstances of glory never surpassed in the military annals of the world.  The advance of the army on the 13th of March presents a spectacle of a move-[102]ment of infantry through an open country, who, being attacked upon their march, formed and repulsed the enemy; then advanced in line for three miles, engaged along their whole front, until they drove the enemy to seek his safety under the protection of his entrenched position; such had be en the order and regularity of the advance.  Upon the 21st of March, the united force of the French attacked the position of the British army.  An attack begun an hour before daylight could derive no advantage over the vigilance of an army ever ready to receive it; the enemy’s most vigorous and repeated efforts were directed against the right and centre.  Our infantry fought in the plain greatly inferior in the number of their artillery, and unaided by cavalry.  They relied upon their discipline and courage.  The desperate attacks of a veteran cavalry joined to those of numerous infantry, which had vainly styled itself invincible, were everywhere repulsed; and a conflict the most severe, terminated in one of the most signal victories which ever adorned the annals of the British nation.  In bringing forward these details, the Commander-in-Chief does not call upon the army merely to admire, but to emulate such conduct,” etc.

G.O., 18th July-Gazette of 23rd May 1801.—92nd Foot.—Quartermaster-Sergeant Donald M'Barnet to be ensign vice Wilkie, promoted.

On the same date (18th July) the thanks of both Houses of Parliament were communicated to the regiment, in common with the other troops in Egypt.

The regiment left Rosetta on August 7th, and marched by the heights of Aboukir, arriving at the camp near Alexandria on the 9th.  Here it found a draft of recruits, who were regularly drilled morning and evening.

R.O., Camp before Alexandria.—In consequence of the reduction of the recruiting company,[20] Captain Peter Gordon's company will be called Captain Grant’s.

On the 11th Brigadier-General Hope's Brigade, and on the 13th Major-General Moore's Brigade arrived, as did Lieut.-General Sir J. H. Hutchinson on the 15th; he immediately determined to besiege Alexandria on the eastern and western fronts, having an army of 16,000 men under his command.

On the evening of the 16th, General Coote’s Division embarked in boats on the inundation for the purpose of attacking on the west, and the same evening Major-General Doyle’s Brigade, the 30th, 50th, and 92nd Regiments, were held in readiness to make a diversion in favour of General Coote, and to gain ground necessary for the progress of the siege on the western front.  General Moore was al so ordered with a corps of light troops to act on the right.  [103] The left column were to storm the Green Hill on the right of the French line, and the right column to occupy the Nole Hill in front of the French left.

At two o'clock on the morning of the I7th August, the troops were under arms; the 30th Regiment directed itself against the Green Hill, the 50th on their right, and the 92nd remained in reserve between them, ready to support either.  The light company of the 30th leading was challenged by the advanced French sentry, who, receiving no answer, fired and wounded the leading officer, but was himself immediately shot.  Very little opposition, however, was made, and our troops took possession of the works.  General Moore also occupied the Nole Hill with the Corsican Rangers,[21] after slight resistance, from which he was able to reconnoitre ; but finding it too advanced to maintain, withdrew some distance, when the enemy reoccupied the hill.

The French, finding their pickets attacked, and fearing a general assault, beat to arms, and began a heavy fire from their works, which continued for three hours; but, our troops being covered by the inequalities of the ground, little execution was done.  At seven o’clock a strong body of the enemy unexpectedly appeared, and advanced rapidly against the Green Hill, and the post particularly possessed by the 30th.  That corps had been ordered to shelter themselves from the cannonade in the ditches of the works, and behind ridges of the hill; thus they were scattered when the French began to ascend, supported by a heavy fire from all the batteries.  The assembly was beat, 170 rank and file were collected, who instantly charged with the bayonet and routed the French.  The 50th and 92nd at once advanced to the charge, and the enemy was driven back to the walls of Alexandria.  The 30th lost 28 men killed and wounded; the 92nd suffered comparatively little, but 7 men were wounded, of whom Private G. Tod died of his wounds.

The siege lasted till the 26th, when an armistice was agreed to, and on 1st September articles of capitulation were signed by General Menou, after a defence which his country had reason to approve.  His troops were so short of provisions that, when General Hope dined with him after the capitulation was signed, the bill of fare consisted entirely of horse flesh.

The 92nd, accompanied by a few dragoons, was one of the first regiments that entered the place, and pitched their tents between the ancient and modern walls of Alexandria.

General Morning Order.—The 92nd Regiment is for the future to be attached to Brigadier-General Hope's Brigade.[22]

[104] R.O., September 16th.—The Marquis of Huntly has requested Lieut.-Colonel Napier to inform the regiment that he was much pleased with the accounts he had of their conduct, and that no person could be more gratified by the credit the 92nd acquired in Egypt than himself.  His Lordship has also enclosed a letter from the Duke of York to be put in Regimental Orders.

Horse Guards, 30th May 1801.

My LORD, —I have to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's letter of the 24th inst., and I need not assure you how sincerely I unite with you in regretting the loss of so deserving an officer as Lieut.-Colonel Erskine of the 92nd Regiment.  I have ever entertained too high a sense of the gallant services of that corps not to have recommended on this occasion that the step should go in the regiment, of which His Majesty has been pleased to approve.

I am, My Lord,
Yours,

Major-General the Marquis of Huntly,                                 Frederick, Commander-in -Chief.
etc. etc.                                                                                                           

 

Accordingly, Major Napier had been promoted lieut.-colonel, and Captain John Cameron major.

The French had lost in the campaign in all 32,180 of their military establishment, of whom 3000 were killed in the different actions and 1500 had died of disease since the British landed, the rest having been taken in battle, or in the garrisons, convoys, or detachments which had surrendered.  They also lost 600 deserters and 768 of the civil establishment.  The British and Turkish troops had captured 1003 pieces of cannon, besides about 500 that were unserviceable.

The loss of the British in killed and wounded (of whom, however, many died) was:—

Officers killed, including quartermasters, 23.
" wounded, 169 ; missing, 8.
Sergeants killed, 20; wounded, 149; missing, 2.
Rank and file killed, 505; wounded, 2728; missing, 73.

Of that number the Gordon Highlanders had 13 officers wounded, of whom 4 died of their wounds; 23 n.c. officers and soldiers were killed in action, and 128 n.c. officers and soldiers, including Sergeant-major M'Intosh, were wounded, of whom 36 died of their wounds.[23]

The names of the officers wounded are as follows:—

On March 13th—

 

On March 13th—

 

Killed in Action

 

Died of their Wounds

 

[106] Before the garrison of Alexandria were embarked for France, the men of the Gordons got on very friendly terms with the Frenchmen, some of whom could speak English.  They shared their provisions and exchanged articles with each other, and both used to laugh heartily at the slovenly habits of the Turkish troops, who when on sentry would sit down and smoke their long pipes, giving themselves little trouble about their duty.

From the Regimental Orders of the 5th October, it appears that the men had generously expressed a wish that the money due to them for providing themselves with fresh meat in lieu of salt pork, which they had not used, should be given to the widows and orphans of the regiment, who had been made so by the campaign.  The lieut.-colonel informs them that it amounts to £150, which will be paid to them; that he will be happy to put himself at the head of any subscription for so charitable and proper a purpose; and that the men can subscribe what they wish individually, so that each shall be free to give or not as he likes.

G.O., Camp before Alexandria, October 5th, 1801.—The 23rd, 42nd, and 92nd Regiments, with detachment Royal Artillery, will march to-morrow morning at six o’clock to Aboukir for embarkation.  The regiment embarked on H.M.S. Renommée and Modeste Frigate on the 6th October.  Since the landing on the 8th of March it had been engaged in three battles, had taken part in the investment of Cairo and the siege of Alexandria, besides several minor affairs and skirmishes.

The 92nd, in common with the other corps employed in the campaign, afterwards received the Royal authority to bear on their colours and appointments the Sphinx and the word Egypt.  They had also won the exceptional honour Mandora,[25] now only possessed by the Scottish Rifles and the Gordon Highlanders.

They had, however, suffered much, and tales of the sore eyes, the flies, the thirst and the sand-storms of the deserts of Egypt are repeated to this day by their descendants on the banks of the Spey.

The Grand Seignior of Turkey presented gold medals to the officers, which varied in size according to rank.

R.O., R.M.S. Renommée, October 8th, 1801.—The lieut.-colonel was happy to receive the following letter from Captain Probyn, one of the Commander-in-Chief’s aides-de-camp.

Headquarters, 6th October 1801.

SIR,—As the guard of the 92nd who have been doing duty at headquarters are about to join their corps, the Commander-in-Chief has directed [107] me to express to you his entire approbation of the exemplary conduct of the guard in general, and of Sergeant Mark in particular.[26]

I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient and humble servant,
(Signed) J. PROBYN, A.D.C.

To the Commanding Officer
of the 92nd Regiment.

The ships arrived at Malta on the 19th October, and the regiment remained there till the 15th November, part only being landed.

The men’s Highland clothing seems to have been entirely worn out, and no tartan being available to renew it, pantaloons of various sorts and colours were served out to them.  The officers, who appear to have been in the habit of going ashore in the Highland dress, are desired in Orders not to do so till the men have it, “but they may wear their bonnets.”  While at Malta, Sergeants Allardyce and M’Arthur were suspended for four months respectively from “rank and pay” by sentence of court-martial.

On December 25th Orders are dated “At sea off Carthagena,” and on January 2nd Lieut.-Colonel Napier is sorry to have to acquaint them that he is informed by Captain M'Kellar (of the Renommée), that from the uncertainty of the wind, it is absolutely necessary to stop one-third of the allowance of bread and spirits, which they both lament extremely, but hope in a few days communication may be had with the shore.  They got supplies at Malaga on the 5th January.