A body of French troops, supported by several batteries, awaited the arrival of their enemies, but were forced to give way in defiance of every exertion, and after severe loss. The loss of the British amounted to 576 rank and file, in killed, wounded, and missing. The QUEEN'S ROYAL Regiment was first employed under the command of Sir Sydney Smith, at the siege of Fort Aboukir; but on the 12th of March, seven companies, under Lieutenant-Colonel Jones, were ordered to join the army, and arrived in time to take a share in the victory of the 13th of March. The other three companies of the regiment remained with the Twelfth Light Dragoons (dismounted) before Aboukir, until the surrender of that fort on the 19th of March. The regiment was afterwards attached to the fourth brigade, under Major-General Sir John Doyle's command, and was present at the glorious Battle of ALEXANDRIA, on the 21st of March; when a protracted and well-contested fight terminated in victory to the British troops after a loss of between 1400 and 1500 men. After the battle of the 21st of March, the QUEEN'S ROYAL was detached, with the flank companies of the Fortieth regiment, under Colonel Spencer, to _Rosetta_, and was employed in the reduction of that town, and of the fortress of _St. Julien_, which commanded the navigation of the Nile, on which occasion one of the '_French Invincible Standards_' was taken. The Regiment then proceeded with the army towards Cairo, and was engaged in the affair at _Rahmanie_,--the capture of the French convoy in the Desert,--at the surrender of _Cairo_--and in the escort of the French garrison from that city to its place of embarkation. Subsequently, the regiment joined that part of the army which was engaged in the blockade of _Alexandria_, and was attached to the reserve brigade commanded by Major-General (afterwards Sir John) Moore. Alexandria surrendered on the 2nd of September, 1801, and the QUEEN'S ROYAL was ordered to Fort Pharos, at the entrance of the harbour, where it continued until the following December. In this campaign, the severe loss sustained by the British army in their active operations against the enemy was greatly augmented by deaths caused by fatigue, as well as by the climate of Egypt. The casualties in the QUEEN'S were 36 killed and 70 wounded[27]. In the action of the 21st of March, Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercrombie, the commander-in-chief of the army, received a mortal wound, and died on the 28th of the same month. His merits are attested in General Orders issued to the army on the 16th of May, 1801[28], and in the dispatch of his successor, General Hutchinson, in the following terms: 'His memory will be recorded in the annals of his country, will be sacred to every British soldier, and embalmed in the recollection of a grateful posterity.' The same officer adds, 'It is impossible for me to do justice to the zeal of the officers, and to the gallantry of the soldiers, of this army.'