British Victory at Alexandria

March 21, 1801

On a dune-swept shore east of Alexandria, Abercromby's redcoats broke the remnants of Bonaparte's abandoned Army of the Orient. The general died of his wounds; France's Egyptian adventure, begun with such Enlightenment swagger, limped toward surrender. The sphinx stayed. The savants kept their notes. The campaign established British military prestige in the eastern Mediterranean and opened the door for Muhammad Ali's rise to power in Egypt.