On her last trip into Wilmington, the Owl was almost captured by a Federal cruiser and had to jettison valuable mail and sustained 12 casualties. This was after Fort Fisher had fallen but Maffitt was unaware of that.
Maffitt then tried to run into Galveston, Texas, but grounded on Bird Island Shoals at the entrance and within range of 16 enemy cruisers. A tug got her off barely in time and the Owl not only ran into port, but ran out safely as well.
There is some evidence that the last two attempts to run the Federal blockade were made under the name Foam.
--Old B-R'er
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