Mobile Register

July 3, 1861

Page 2

Excursion Trip to New Orleans

The Firing into the Creole—Statement of the Officers

Messrs. Editors: As everything like adventure seems worthy of note these days, we presume upon your kindness to ask a short space in your valuable columns for an account of our little voyage to New Orleans. Our little party, fifteen in number, having procured the beautiful little sloop Creole from Capt. Andrew J. Hodge, who will please accept our thanks for the same, set out for a small jaunt to New Orleans to see what could be seen. We left on Tuesday 26^th ult., and after a pleasant sail of three days, arrived in the city, no incident worthy of note having occurred. We passed a small schooner which we supposed to be a Yankee craft in quest of prey. It however did not interfere with us nor we with it. After spending two days in the city, we left for home on Sunday morning and arrived at Biloxi at 10 o’clock on Monday. We learned that the Yankee fleet had been there and captured nine of our schooners, but saw nothing of them. Leaving Biloxi we met the schooner Rapid, D. J. Files Captain, bound for Biloxi. He had a fair wind and seemed to be moving on finely. About ten miles this side of Round Island we discovered a schooner which at first we supposed to be one of our own home vessels. She passed our bow about seven miles from Grant’s Pass, rounded up to the spit of Dauphin Island and came about.—She lowered her launch, manned it with, as we supposed, about eighteen men, and both the launch and the schooner made for us at full speed.

The launch fired at us four times, two of the shots taking effect in our mainsail; the schooner also fired two shots at us from a small cannon, both, however, falling short of us about thirty feet. The launch approached to within about one-half to three quarters of a mile of us, the schooner perhaps not nearer than 1 ½ miles. We fired them a salute of three guns. After pursuing us for a mile or so they tacked and returned towards Round Island. We then proceeded homeward and arrived about 9 o’clock this morning, with no other adventure worthy of notice.

The following note was handed us by Captain John Foster, who came over with us as a passenger:

ON BOARD THE OYSTER SLOOP CREOLE

Gentlemen: Although aware of the fact that you had men aboard of the right grit, I did not expect to find you prepared with arms to cope with an enemy, but was pleased as well as surprised to find on board quite a sufficiency of small arms, such as rifles, muskets, pistols, etc., to enable the gallant little squad in anything like close quarters, to interest, as I think, at least, twice their number of the enemy.

Respectfully, JNO. FOSTER

You will please give this a place in your columns for what it is worth.

A. LANE, Captain

F. W. VALKING, 3^d Lt. Nept. Blues

H. JACOBS, O. S. Torrent Rangers, and twelve others