out two miles from the city.
Skirmishing was kept up with this our new enemy during the night, but
without any great casualty happening. On the following morning,
however, we advanced in a body to attack a battery that had been
constructed near the city, chiefly out of barrels of brown sugar. We
were at first warmly received with the cannon and musketry planted
there, but they soon got tired of our Peninsular medicines: I suppose
the pills disagreed with them, for they were very quickly obliged to
retire into the city and no more fighting ensued; and some terms
having been hinted at, when the black regiments had eaten a quantity
of the fortifications, which they seemed to be very fond of, and we
had put some into our haversacks as likely to be useful to sweeten our
cocoa, we returned to our boats, and dropping down the river to a
piece of land called Dolphin Isle, there encamped again.

The island was uninhabited, except that there were plenty of
alligators, racoons, and oysters there; but we had plenty of
provisions, that is, in the shape of meat and flour, though no bread,
which inconvenience was from the want of ovens. We soon set to work,
however, to construct one by burning a quantity of oyster-shells for
lime, and having mixed that with sand and water we made some very good
cement; after which we got a lot of iron hoops from the vessels, with
which we formed the arch, and so we put one oven together; and I much
doubt if it did not bake as well as any English one, considering the
style of dough that we had. After it had been found to answer so well,
at least twenty more were constructed on the once desolate but now
busy little isle. We were constantly on the coast in search of
oysters, of which there was an abundance; and some of the more
industrious of us even collected them for sale among the troops who
either preferred buying them to taking the trouble of collecting them
for themselves, or else were unable to go on the sands on account of
being on duty. They were sold very cheap, however; I have known half a
bushel go for one dollar, which was certainly not much for the trouble
of getting them.

During our stay here a playhouse was likewise erected, and some of the
more clever among the officers and men amused the troops in that way.
The scenery was rather rude, to be sure; but with these and various
other games and freaks the three months that we lay there passed off
very pleasantly The poor blacks, however,