OCTOBER 31ST, 1864: The CSS Chickamauga, Lt. Wilkinson, captured and burned the ship Emma L. Hall, with cargo of molasses and sugar, and the ship Shooting Star, with cargo of coal, off the northeast coast of the United States. The Chickamauga had slipped through the Union blockade off Wilmington, N.C., on the 28th.
Wilkinson transferred the passengers of the Shooting Star to a passing vessel, Albion Lincoln, which headed directly for New York to spread the word that the Chickamauga was out again.
Wilkinson later wrote of the transfer of prisoners: "In truth, I was relieved from an awkward dilemma by the opportune capture of the Albion Lincoln for there was absolutely no place for a female aboard the Chickamauga. I do not doubt, however, that the redoubtable Mrs. Drinkwater [wife of Shooting Star's Master] would have accommodated herself to the circumstances by turning me out of my own cabin.
"Heavens! what a tongue she wielded. The young officers of the Chickamauga relieved each other in boat duty to and fro and she routed every one of them ignominiously."
A Lady You Don't Want to Mess With.
--Old B-Runner
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