. . . On the 10th we were embarked¹ early on the same transport ships that brought us from Schody Island² and in the afternoon we sailed toward the good Rhode Island. 

Already in the previous year Rhode Island was considered one of the austere places in America and now we were in position to probe the island's characteristics of austerity. After a short time we arrived in the Sound.³ On the 13^th in the afternoon two ships loaded with our troops ran on a sandbank. The Rebels saw this and immediately came out with a row-galley on which they had some swivel guns (cats heads) and fired on the ship that held half Ansbachers and half Bayreuthers, mostly privates. This ship had no cannons which the Rebels probably saw. The other grounded ship on which I was, lay not far off with six cannons. One was brought up on the quarterdeck and fired two shots toward them and they withdrew and departed. New London lay just before us where at the harbor we could see a strong Rebel fort and several schooners. To get off the sandbank we raised a distress flag and fired a shot so that the rest of the convoy anchored and sent boats and sailors to help us. The other ship that was attacked came loose immediately, ours was fast and required more effort. 

At 10 PM all soldiers were loaded in the boats. 50 men and I in a boat were tied up at the front of the ship. The tide came in with such fury that water was entering the boat, we yelled for help but nobody heard us. All the soldiers from the other boats had returned to the ship. At last the soldiers threw us lines so we could pull ourselves forward and we cut the rear line. Now everyone wanted to be the first off the boat. Through this the boat was brought in danger of capsizing. Once the ship came loose we dropped anchor here.