When the French campaign in the Middle East turned to Syria, Perrée took command of a squadron of three frigates and two brigs, survivors of the Battle of the Nile, to ferry supplies and artillery for the Army in spite of the Ottoman and British blockades. The squadron comprised the frigates "Junon" (Commander Pourquier), "Courageuse" (Captain Trullet) and "Alceste" (Captain Barré), and the brigs "Salamine" (Lieutenant Landry) and "Alerte" (Demay). Arrived at Jaffa, the frigates unloaded their cargo, and furthermore shared their own ammunition, leaving the frigates with only 15 shots per gun; Junon also landed four of her 18-pounder long guns.