Far from the battlefields they had contested in Mississippi and Georgia, the paths of William Loring and William Sherman crossed again in 1869. Sherman, now General of the Army under President Grant, recommended Old Blizzards for a new mission. Ismail, the Khedive of Egypt, was seeking American officers to help modernize his nation’s army. Ismail had dreams of Egyptian independence from the Ottoman Turks, as well as ambitions of his own empire. Ismail’s uncle Saïd had begun construction of the Suez Canal (ironically, partly funded by Egyptian cotton sales to Europe during the American Civil War), which had put Egypt in great debt. Because of this, Ismail was also forced to deal with growing British and French influence in his nation. American technology and know-how offered a possible way out. The situation also offered a new chance for dozens of Civil War veterans. A little more than fifty former Union and Confederate officers served in Egypt during Ismail’s reign.

Loring quickly accepted the offer made by Thaddeus Mott, the first American to join the Khedive’s army (Sherman had helped Mott find suitable recruits for the venture). Old Blizzards made the three-week journey to Egypt accompanied by Mott and Henry Sibley, little knowing that he would spend the next ten years in Egypt. He began his service to the Khedive as Inspector General of the Egyptian Army, suggesting that the country’s defenses be strengthened, and the army reorganized and modernized. Quickly winning the favor of Ismail, Loring was then placed in charge of the country’s coastal defenses, erecting fortifications that still stand today. He made his headquarters in Alexandria’s Gabara Palace, once occupied by Saïd himself, and pulled down a comfortable salary of $4,200 a year. Since the coastal city was the point of arrival for the incoming Americans, Loring usually took it upon himself to greet the new recruits. As the only American who actually commanded Egyptian forces, Loring was an able and effective leader. But as before, when he came under the command of those he did not agree with, sparks flew. (And sometimes bullets!)

In 1875, King John of Ethiopia wiped out an Egyptian expeditionary force that had entered his country. Egypt half-heartedly decided to strike back. An army was raised, and Loring, originally slated to command the force, was instead made chief of staff to Ratib Pasha, commander in chief of the Egyptian army. Miscommunication and confusion would mark the entire campaign, and Ratib rarely listened to Loring’s advice. After several months of delay the force reached the Gura valley, on the way to the Ethiopian capital, but transportation and supply were in a shambles, and a sizeable portion of the force was still in the rear.

On March 7, 1876, King John and an army of 60,000 attacked the Egyptians. The Egyptian forces in the field were routed (more than 2,000 were killed), and retreated into their fort. The Egyptians repelled a second Abyssinian attack on March 9, and the bruised Abyssinian army began to disintegrate. In late April, Ratib hurriedly withdrew his men. Upon the expedition’s return, the Egyptian officers squarely placed the blame for the disaster on Old Blizzards and the other Americans. The Americans were now largely shunned or ignored, and had plenty of time on their hands. Loring followed other pursuits, visiting Mount Sinai, and embarking on a new career as a writer. He penned an anonymous account of the Gura campaign that appeared in Blackwood’s Magazine and Littell’s Living Age.

In the end, Ismail’s ambitions bankrupted Egypt, and he could no longer afford his American officers. In 1878, an Egyptian commission of inquiry (heavily influenced by European powers) demanded the Americans be dismissed. Even a visit by Loring’s old friend Ulysses S. Grant failed to help the position of the American officers. For his service to Egypt, Loring was given two unprecedented decorations and the title of Fereek Pasha (Major General). Old Blizzards lingered for another nine months in the land of the Pharaohs, but finally began the journey home in March of 1879, revisiting several European countries on the way.