After about a week had elapsed a gun-brig arrived to convey us to North America, England being then at war with the Americans, and we went on in her to the mouth of the River Mississippi. There we disembarked into barges holding about a hundred troops each, and having been towed up by other small sailing and rowing boats to Orleans, were put on shore near that place, our body consisting of five English and two black regiments, with a battalion of marines.
We marched on the same day and encamped about 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.