CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Gift Of 
 J. G. Schurman 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 PAQE 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Washington and Lafayette, 208 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 BUEGOYNE's Campaign, 237 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 Bbandywine, 247 
 
 CHAPTER XHI. 
 The Horrors of Valley Forge, . . , .268 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Monmouth, 296 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Wyoming AND Cherry Valley 315 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Sir Arthur at Camden, 337 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 The Traitor , . 364 
 
 CHAPTER XVni. 
 Hope and Despair, , . 383 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 The Sword op Cornwallis, 406 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Conclusion, . , 434 
 
Cornell University Library 
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 tlie Cornell University Library. 
 
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 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022430460 
 
■WASHINGTON AT TltENTON. 
 {After painlmg bu Col. Joint rnimbull.) 
 
INDEPENDENCE 
 
 A STORY OF THE REVOLUTION 
 
 JOHT^ Ef MUSIOK 
 
 AUTHOR OF "COLUMBIA," "BSTEVAN," "ST. AUGUSTINB,'" 
 "POCAHONTAS," "THE PILGRIMS," BTC, ETC. 
 
 THE COLUMBIAN HISTORICAL NOVELS 
 VOLUME IX. 
 
 Subscription BOition 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY P. A. CARTER 
 
 T!Ceto ¥orft 
 
 FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY 
 London and Toronto 
 
 1894 
 Printed in the United Staten 
 
 L 
 
X3 
 
 COPTRIOET, 1893, B7 THE 
 
 FUNK & WAGNALLg COMPANY 
 IBegistered at Stationers' Hall, London, Eng.'] 
 
 0> C3> \^<!''>\AVM'V---»C-.Vv___ 
 
THE MEMORY OP FATHER AND MOTHER, 
 
 EPHRAIM J. AND MARY MUSICK, 
 
 WHO, IN MY EARLY CHILDHOOD, TAUGHT ME 
 
 TO LOVE MY OOUNTET, REJOICE IN HER INDEPENDENCE, HONOR 
 
 AND RESPECT HER LAWS, AND DEFEND HER FLAG, 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 
 
 BY 
 
 THEIR SON. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 A FEW years before his death, Mr. George Ban- 
 croft, America's historian, remarked that George 
 Washington was the greatest uninspired man that 
 ever lived. A careful study of the history of our 
 country and the biographies of all great men will 
 lead one to believe the statement correct. Much 
 has been said in disparagement of Washington, 
 and some writers have thought that his genius has 
 been eclipsed by Americans of later times. You 
 may take any standard of greatness, however, and 
 Washington will still be, " First in war, first in 
 peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. " 
 Since the time of Gincinnatus the world has not 
 produced so pure, unselfish and unambitious a 
 patriot. The noble martyr president, Lincoln, 
 perhaps, comes nearest to Washington in the real 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 standard of greatness; yet the truest friends of 
 Lincoln cannot claim that he was the equal of the 
 " Father of his country. " The uninformed try to 
 believe that Ulysses S. Grant was his superior as 
 a general ; but a careful study of the campaigns of 
 the two, with all the conditions and circumstances 
 taken into consideration, proves that Washington 
 as a military genius was Grant's superior. Grant's 
 armies were well fed, clothed and paid; Washing- 
 ton's poorly fed, almost naked, and paid in currency 
 so depreciated that it took ten dollars to purchase 
 a skein of thread. Grant had unbounded resources. 
 Washington, with none, fought the flower of the 
 British and German armies. Another quality of 
 Washington's greatness was his unselfish devotion 
 to his country. He served his country without 
 pay, merely requiring that he be remunerated for 
 his personal expenses. Washington was unambi- 
 tious. He declined a throne and refused to accept 
 the presidency the third time. Some of our more 
 modern great men have evinced a wish to break this 
 established rule. Grant's flank movement on Vicks- 
 burg displayed the military genius of a great man, 
 but in point of military strategy it cannot compare 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 with the sudden retrograde movement of Washing- 
 ton at Trenton and Princeton . Sheridan ' s magnetic 
 power at Winchester, where his presence turned 
 defeat and utter rout into victory, was only a 
 repetition of Washington at Monmouth. Grand, 
 noble Lincoln held together our glorious republic 
 in the hour that threatened its destruction ; but it 
 was the great Washington who gathered together 
 a few weak fragments and moulded them into a 
 mighty nation. By honest comparison with our 
 greatest men, Washington towers above them all. 
 Assailed by foes without and enemies within, mis- 
 treated and maligned, he never complained or re- 
 sented. Never had man more opposition from 
 those who should have befriended him. John 
 Adams, in his desire to make Gates commander- 
 in-chief, became the open enemy of Washington. 
 Most of the New England members of the conti- 
 nental congress were his secret or open foes, and 
 crippled him in every way they could. In addi- 
 tion to these hinderances he had Lee a traitor, the 
 ambitious Gates not much better, with Conway, 
 Arnold and others constantly breeding dissension. 
 Under unfavorable circumstances, he was com- 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 pelled to contend witli a -foe vastly superior in 
 numbers, arms and discipline. 
 
 It is not only as a military genius that Washing- 
 ton should be regarded great, but as a statesman, a 
 financier, a business man, a Christian gentleman, 
 husband and son. "We have no public character 
 rqore pure, no mind more lofty nor far-seeing. His 
 predictions breathe the spirit of prophecy. . Being 
 of the Church of England doubtless brought upon 
 him, in part, the opposition of Puritan New Eng- 
 land. Like the Saviour of man, " though oft re- 
 viled, yet, like a lamb, he ne'er reviled again." 
 His heart was too full of kindness, love and nobil- 
 ity to admit malice or revenge; and when in 
 power he was never known to punish a personal 
 enemy. He lived for our country; he was our 
 country, and his memory is to-day our glorious 
 land of liberty. You can no more sever the brain 
 and heart and retain life^ than you can separate 
 Washington from the United States and preserve 
 our great republic. His name still cheers the 
 American to battle for the flag which he first un- 
 furled. 
 
 In considering the period of the struggle for in- 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 dependence, Americans should not forget those 
 noble-hearted Englishmen, whose pens and voices 
 were given to the cause of America. The great 
 mass of common people in England were in sym- 
 pathy with the Americans, while Pitt in the house 
 of lords, and Fox and Burke and Barre in the 
 house of commons openly espoused their cause. 
 No American can ever do too much honor to the 
 noble William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, whose dying 
 speech in the house of lords was for Americans 
 and liberty. Monuments to the memory of this 
 man should be erected all over our land. 
 
 An American author would be guilty of the 
 basest ingratitude did he fail to mention those 
 noble foreigners who risked their lives to establish 
 American liberty. Foremost among these and 
 nearest to the hearts of all Americans is the noble 
 Lafayette; then follows Count Pulaski, the gen- 
 erous Pole who died on American soil, with Baron 
 De Kalb, De Barre, Duplesses, De Fleury and other 
 Frenchmen who fought for American indepen- 
 dence. Baron Steuben and Kosciusko must have 
 their "share of thanks from Americans throughout 
 all time. 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 The despised Hessians under tlie light of inves- 
 tigation do net seem so black as at first painted. 
 It has been attempted in the narrative of August 
 Steckel, a conscripted Hessian, to give some idea 
 of the Hessian soldier sold by an unprincipled 
 Prince to an unprincipled King. 
 
 Benedict Arnold, the blackest traitor since the 
 days of Judas, had his good qualities ; and many 
 other men of like temperaments, whom history 
 praises for their patriotism, might have done as 
 did Arnold under similar circumstances. He was 
 one of America's bravest sons, and in the begin- 
 ning of the war of the revolution was fully as 
 patriotic as any. His treason partook more of ^ re- 
 venge than treachery. Gates, from personal jeal- 
 ousy, by his acts of injustice, drove Arnold to the 
 thought of treason. His private fortunes were des- 
 perate ; he was harassed by debtors ; was greatly 
 wronged ; was weak and ambitious, and he yielded 
 to the promptings of Satan to betray his country. 
 No American can condone Arnold's treason, yet 
 in the light of all the wrongs he suffered by am- 
 bitious and unscrupulous men, there should at^this 
 late day be some pity for the hero of Bemis Heights. 
 
PREFACE. xi 
 
 Lee and Gates were ambitious, unscrupulous, 
 treacherous and cowardly. They deserve eijual 
 condemnation with Arnold. Putnam was a true 
 patriot and as brave a man as ever lived ; but he 
 lacked the ability to handle a great army, as was 
 proven by his blunders at Long Island and else- 
 where. He was ambitious and by some fair-minded 
 historian has been charged with disobedience to the 
 orders of his superiors. 
 
 The romance of this story begins in 1764 with 
 the agents sent by the Earl of Bute to America to 
 make the . acquaintance of leading men and the 
 people generally, and to ascertain their temper as to 
 the subject of taxation by parliament. Travelling 
 in disguise as Englishmen journeying for pleasure, 
 a party of four of these messengers arrived at 
 Eugby Tavern, kept by Jean Stevens on the old 
 Concord road, about twelve miles from Boston, 
 where a group of New England farmers were gath- 
 ered to discuss political affairs over their punch. 
 A strange young woman who was a guest at the 
 tavern recognized one of the agents, and led the 
 people to believe he was her husband. A shrewd 
 Yankee, suspecting that the gentlemen travelling in 
 
xii PREFACE. 
 
 " ooacli and six" were agents of King George III., 
 proceeded to chastise them, when the mysterious 
 woman rushed to the rescue of one. The wretch 
 whom she saved from punishment cast her off, 
 she swooned ; the coach drove on, and the unfor- 
 tunate woman was carried into the house. During 
 the night she gave birth to a daughter and died. 
 The fate of the child is woven into the threads of 
 romance about the life and fate of Albert Stevens, 
 the hero of this story, who is a lineal descendant 
 of Hernando Estevan, the cabin boy who accom- 
 panied Columbus on his first voyage of discovery. 
 With a view to giving a truthful narrative of 
 the history of the great struggle for independence 
 in an enticing form, so as to fix the incidents more 
 firmly in the mind of the reader, the history of the 
 Revolution is woven into the story of Albert Ste- 
 vens and the unknown Estella. 
 
 JOHN R. MUSICK. 
 
 KntESVlLLi:, Ho., June 13th, 1893. 
 
TABLE or OOI*^TE1^TS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAOS 
 
 RuoBY Tavern 1 
 
 CHAPTEE n. 
 Stamps, Tea and Chains 26 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 First Blood of the Revolution 53 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Flora Macdonald, 78 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Royalty Repulsed 93 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Document of Freedom, 125 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 The Hessian, 138 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Long Island, 160 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Brothers Meet, . 185 
 
 xiii 
 
LIST or ILLTJSTEATIOFS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Washington at Trenton, after painting by Col. John 
 
 Tiximbull, (Frontispiece) 
 
 Rugby Tavern, 1 
 
 " Neighbor Hill, the country is going to the dogs, " . 7 
 
 "Come on!" 22 
 
 " Parliament is going to shut up Boston Harbor, " . 57 
 "Why this ain't foxberry, nor sage tea, neither, if 
 
 I've got any taste !" 64 
 
 But they could not distance the swift-footed Selim, . 92 
 
 " That's the hole that lets in the air of Independence !" 97 
 
 General Warren, Ill 
 
 "How d'ye like that? Come back and git another 
 
 dose!" 115 
 
 To his amazement, he drew out a bit of yellow paper 
 
 printed in his own language, .... 175 
 
 Albert, with a lighted pine knot, sat in the bow, . 203 
 His heart beat violently as he contemplated seven men 
 
 opposed to him 219 
 
 Marquis de Lafayette, 226 
 
 He climbed into a sapling, 245 
 
 She seized the rammer and swabbed the gun, . . 312 
 
 " Her very image !" 323 
 
 Putnam thundered down the dangerous steps, . . 340 
 
 Benedict Arnold 366 
 
 Encounter between Washington and Tarleton, . . 400 
 
 Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, . . . 419 
 
 Map of the United States, in the year 1800, . . 424 
 
 The British sailed away with American colors flying, 439 
 XY 
 
INDEPENDENCE, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 RUGBY TAVERN. 
 
 N the year 1764, there stood 
 at the side of the old Con- 
 cord road, about twelve 
 miles from Boston and only 
 two from the village of 
 Lexington, a house of puh- 
 lic entertainment called the 
 Eugby Tavern. The tavern 
 had been built in the early 
 days of the colony, by one 
 Josiah Eugby, who fell an early victim 
 to some Indian raid, from which the 
 tavern escaped. It was an old building 
 with more gable ends than a lazy boy would care 
 to count on a sunny day. There were huge, zig-zag 
 chimneys, out of which it seemed as if the smoke 
 could not choose but come in unnatural, fantastic 
 1 1 
 
 UGBT Tavern 
 
g INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 shapes, imparted to it in its tortuous progress 
 The vast stables were gloomy, ruinous and empty. 
 The place had been built so long ago that the old- 
 est inhabitant in the neighborhood could not recall 
 the time when it was not ancient, and there were 
 many stories connected with its early history, some 
 of an unsavory nature. The governor of the col- 
 ony had slept under the roof one night while re- 
 turning from a visit to his plantations in the in- 
 terior, and many great men had partaken of the 
 refreshments of Eugby Tavern, for, although it had 
 changed owners, it never had changed names. The 
 matter-of-fact and doubtful folks, of whom there 
 were a few among the Eugby customers, were in- 
 clined to look with discredit upon the traditions of 
 the tavern as being a resort for witches, and Simon 
 Tapley, the lank Yankee youth, who enjoyed the 
 landlord's beer and cider, often said he admired 
 the taste of the witches, if they came there for en- 
 tertainment. 
 
 Without passing on any of the mooted questions 
 concerning Eugby, it was even. in that early day a 
 very old house, fully as old as it claimed to be, and 
 perhaps, which sometimes happens with houses as 
 well as ladies of a certain age, older. The win- 
 dows were old, diamond-pane lattices; its floors 
 were sunken and uneven, blackened by the hand 
 of time, and heavy with massive beams. Over the 
 
BUOBY TAVERN. 3 
 
 doorway was an ancient porch, quaintly and gro- 
 tesquely carved; and here on Summer evenings 
 the more favored customers smoked and drank and 
 whiled away the time with songs, or stories, or dis- 
 cussing the politics of the country. Many of the 
 straitlaced Puritans looked on the old tavern as 
 a place of evil, and hurried by it as they would a 
 pest house ; and yet it was perfectly respectable. 
 On the porch reposed two grim-looking, high- 
 backed settles, like twin dragons guarding the en- 
 trance to some fairy mansion. 
 
 For many long years swallows had built their 
 nests in the chimney of the disused rooms, and from 
 earliest spring to latest autumn whole colonies of 
 sparrows chirped and twittered about the eaves. 
 No one but the landlord could reckon up the host 
 of pigeons about the dreamy old stable yard and 
 outbuildings. The wheeling and circling flights 
 of runts, fantails and tumblers were perhaps not 
 quite consistent with the grave and sober character 
 of the building, but the monotonous cooing, which 
 never ceased to be raised by some of them all day 
 long, was in harmony with the melancholy aspect 
 of the grim old pile. 
 
 With its overhanging stories, drowsy little panes 
 of glass, and front bulging out and projecting over 
 the pathway, the old house looked as if it were nod- 
 ding itself to sleep. It needed no great stretch of 
 
4 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 the imagination to detect in it other resemblances 
 to humanity. The English bricks of which it had 
 been built had originally been a deep dark red, but 
 had grown yellow and discolored like an old man's 
 skin ; the sturdy timbers were decayed like teeth ; 
 and here and there the ivy, like a warm garment 
 to comfort it in its old age, had wrapped its green 
 leaves closely round the timeworn walls. 
 
 On this golden autumn day, as the glow of the 
 setting sun fell upon the oak and chestnut trees of 
 the adjacent forest, the old house, partaking of its 
 lustre, seemed their fit companion, and appeared 
 to have many years of life still before it. 
 
 In the gray twilight of that autumn evening in 
 1764, a full moon rose over the eastern horizon 
 and flooded the wooded hills and picturesque val- 
 leys about old Eugby, with soft refulgent light. 
 Though some people of the village thought the tav- 
 ern an abode of evil, many for one cause or another 
 were compelled to tarry there for a while, though 
 the godly shook the dust off their shoes on leaving. 
 
 The present proprietor was a young, sad-faced 
 man named Jean Baptiste Stevens. Some said he 
 was a Frenchman, some that he was an English- 
 man, others that he was a Virginian. He was a 
 pale, melancholy man, who seldom smiled. His 
 wife was a very pretty woman with black eyes, 
 cheeks like roses and a slightly foreign accent. 
 
RUGBY TAVERN. 5 
 
 Some one whispered that she was an evicted Aca- 
 dian and that there was a dark mystery back of 
 her life. She was, unlike her husband, bright, 
 sparkling and merry, while Jean was usually se- 
 date, taciturn and melancholy. He was afflicted 
 with some malady in his head which at times caused 
 slight derangement, and he was subject, at long 
 intervals, to attacks of epilepsy. 
 
 Jean Stevens and his wife were unpopular among 
 the strict Puritans, for it was whispered that they 
 were papists and, even as late as 1764, papists 
 could hardly be trusted in Massachusetts. They 
 had many friends among that class of people who 
 delight to congregate in tap -rooms and discuss cur- 
 rent topics of the day. Massachusetts was always 
 noted for its politicians, even in its younger days 
 as a colony. Rugby Tavern was a favorite place 
 for the farmers, mechanics and idlers to assemble, 
 and it was nothing uncommon of an evening to 
 find the tap-room crowded with such local celebri- 
 ties ^s, Nathan Buker, Jonathan Stevens of Lex- 
 ington, a distant relative, some thought, of the 
 proprietor, Henry Brown, George Hill, Job Niles 
 and many others eager to discuss the relations of 
 the colonies to the mother country. Their meet- 
 ings were so frequent that they at last came to 
 style themselves the Rugby Club. 
 . The last year had added to the list a large, over- 
 
6 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 grown youth witli a decided Yankee dialect and 
 appearance, named Simon Tapley. Whence Simon 
 came, no onp knew. He was first seen as a boy 
 working around Marblehead and Boston, until 
 Mr. Jonathan Stevens, a farmer near Lexington, 
 brought him home, to bring him up to years of 
 maturity. In size, Simon was a man, although he 
 could not have been over seventeen. Simon had 
 not much " book larnin'," but he was gifted with 
 a large amount of common sense. He knew nothing 
 of his ancestors and cared less. He hated aristoc- 
 racy and loved republicanism and early in life took 
 an interest in public affairs. 
 
 On the evening in question, old man Brown sat 
 in the tavern, which was lighted by three wax 
 candles, talking with his neighbor George Hill. 
 Brown was fully fifty years of age, portly, red- 
 faced and very slow and emphatic in his address. 
 He wore a brown coat, gray w?iistcoat coming half- 
 way to his knees, gray breeches and leggins, with 
 stout shoes covered with dust. His three-cornered 
 hat was pushed back over his broad brow, which 
 was gathered into a mass of wrinkles and knots, 
 as, striking his knee with his fist, he declared : 
 
 " The country is going to the dogs ! yes, neigh- 
 bor Hill, the country is going to the dogs!" 
 
 " Why, Mr. Brown, dew tell ! have ye heard 
 anything?" asked a youth who had just entered. 
 
RUaBY TAVERN. 7 
 
 " Here is Simon Tapley again, " interrupted Mr. 
 Hill, a farmer of about the same age of Mr. Brown. 
 
 "Yes, Lwant tew hear the news, and Mr. Ste- 
 vens he lets me come over as soon as I have done 
 the chores. Dew you think there is going to be 
 
 "Neighbor Hill, thiI country is going to the doqs!" 
 
 any "fighting, Mr. Brown?" asked Simon, taking 
 off his old, well-worn hat out of respect for the 
 
 " Oh, I don't know, " Brown answered, evasively. . 
 
8 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 There was a spare chair nearest the fireplace, 
 and Simon took possession of it. He occupied a 
 modest position in the corner and contented him- 
 self to wait until others came. They came, Job 
 Niles, Nathan Buker, Mr. Jonathan Stevens and 
 ■ others, until the assembly was complete. Simon 
 Tapley knew that it would not be long before the 
 subject in which they were all interested would be 
 brought up for discussion. 
 
 At this moment a bright little boy about five or 
 six years old entered the room. The appearance 
 of the child at once changed the topic of conversa- 
 tion. 
 
 "Hello, Jean, where did you get this boy?" 
 asked Mr. Brown of the proprietor whom he knew 
 to be childless. 
 
 " He is my cousin's son. " 
 
 " Where is your cousin?" 
 
 "In New York." 
 
 " Egad, I knew not that you had a cousin. " 
 
 " I have a cousin Noah in New York City, and 
 my father is living in Virginia. My cousin's wife 
 is here on a visit, and brought their child Albert 
 with her. " 
 
 "Was Noah with Wolfe at Quebec?" asked 
 Major Buttrick, who was one of the group. 
 
 " Yes, sir, and with Braddock on the Monon- 
 
RUGBY TAVERN. 9 
 
 " Come here, child, will you make as brave a 
 man as your father?" said the Major. 
 
 Little Albert with a childish squeal and a peal 
 of laughter escaped from the hand outstretched to 
 clutch him and, making good his escape, ran into 
 another apartment to his mother. 
 
 When the child was gone, the farmers were 
 ready to resume the conversation on public affairs. 
 Mr. Brown was the oldest of the group and was 
 often appealed to on account of his age and su- 
 perior wisdom. The colonies were in a precarious 
 position; they were approaching a transitional 
 period. The old king had been dead scarce four 
 years, and his grandson George III. was already 
 firmly fixed on the throne. The question was, 
 what would he do for the colonies? 
 
 "Have you news from England, Mr. Brown?" 
 asked Major Buttrick. 
 
 " News — yes, egad, too much news, " the pletho- 
 ric Mr. Brown answered. 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "Well, His Majesty King George III. has 
 snubbed Pitt, and the country is going to the 
 dogs, " and again Mr: Brown brought his clenched 
 fist on his knee, while all the assembly rose to their 
 feet and in one voice cried : > 
 
 "Snubbed Pitt 1" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
10 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 "How.?" 
 
 " You see the king as is, and prince as was at 
 the time of the old king's death, was at Kew pal- 
 ace, with his tutor and favorite companion the Earl 
 of Bute. " 
 
 "What kind of a fellow is the Earl o' 
 Bute?" Simon, despite his minority, ventured to 
 ask. 
 
 "He's a scamp," cried Mr. Brown. "He's a 
 regular scamp, and we all know it. William Pitt, 
 the prime minister and our best friend, went to 
 Kew to condole and consult the new monarch. He 
 didn't get to see him, and next went to St. James' 
 palace, where he called on young King George and 
 presented, him with a sketch of a speech the new 
 king was to make at a meeting of the Privy Coun- 
 cil, for you know all those fellows have their 
 speeches written for them. If you'll believe it he 
 snubbed Pitt— told him a speech was already pre- 
 pared and every preliminary arranged." 
 
 " Who did it?" asked Buttrick. 
 
 '"The Earl' of Bute, who is a favorite of the 
 young king's mother, and they do say that he will 
 be the leading spirit of the administration." 
 
 ".Is there not some scandal about the king's 
 mother, the Princess Augusta, and this Earl of 
 Bute?" 
 
 " Yes, not only some, but, egad, a great dea,l. 
 
RUaBY TAVERN. 11 
 
 She iS no better than she should be, if she is our 
 king 's mother. " 
 
 " Gawl darned if I want such a king!" drawled 
 Simon. 
 
 " Hush, Simon, you've got to have him. It be 
 treason to say aught against him, " put in the saga- 
 cious Brown. 
 
 " Are we really going to lose Pitt out of the 
 cabinet?" asked Jonathan Stevens. 
 
 " So it seems, and, by zounds, it's a sad time 
 for America when we lose our best friend!" 
 
 "We kin fight," declared Simon. 
 
 "Hush, boy, you're mad." 
 
 " Didn't we whip the French, and can't we 
 whip the British?" 
 
 " The British helped us whip the French. " 
 
 " Yes, and I would get the French to help whip 
 the British. " 
 
 " You are too young, Simon, you talk too 
 much, " declared Mr. Jonathan Stevens. " I be- 
 lieve, gentlemen, that King George has made a 
 mistake. " 
 
 "Yes," answered Mr. Brown, " like Kehoboam, 
 he forsakes the counsel which the old men gave 
 him, and takes counsel with the young men that 
 were brought up with him, that stood before him. " 
 
 " Have you heard any of the plans of the king 
 and Bute?" asked Major BuWriok, 
 
12 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Yes ; they do say, as have come from England, 
 that King George is going to build a palace which 
 shall be richer and more gorgeous than the King 
 o' France has, " answered Brown. " That palace'U 
 cost two million pounds. " 
 
 " Where will he get the money?" 
 
 " Tax us to pay it. " 
 
 "Tax us! great Jehosaphatl hang me ef I'll 
 pay a cent on it!" cried Simon. 
 
 " How will they tax us?" asked Major Buttrick. 
 
 " I don't exactly know all about it, but I heard 
 something about a stamp tax being made. " 
 
 "Stamp tax!" cried George Hill. "Hang me 
 if I use any stamps!" 
 
 "I'll stamp 'em in the earth, " cried Simon. 
 
 " They say Bute says the American colonies 
 shall be brought into absolute subjection to the 
 British Parliament. " 
 
 "By force?" 
 
 " By force if necessary. " 
 
 " Do they intend to tax us?" 
 
 " They say they will, and I did hear they intend 
 sending some secret agents over the sea to travel 
 in the colonies, make the acquaintance of leading 
 men and collect information about the character 
 and temper of the people. " 
 
 "They''ll find pooty quick the kind o' temper 
 I am in, " cried Simon Tapley. 
 
BUOBY TAVERN. 18 
 
 "But we won't know when ttey do come," said 
 one, " They are spies, snakes-in-the-grass and 
 may be among us a-wormin' out all the informa- 
 tion they want and we not knowin' it. " 
 
 " Let us not talk to strangers, " said Simon. 
 
 " You talk too much, that is certain, Simon, " 
 put in Mr. Brown. 
 
 The little party had now worked themselves up 
 to quite a pitch of frenzy. They were all loyal 
 to the king, yet they realized that they possessed 
 inalienable rights which the king ought to respect. 
 The older men were cautious of their words, for 
 they knew what it was to be attainted of treason. 
 
 The conversation had almost risen to a hubbub, 
 when suddenly there came a loud hello at the door 
 which called Mr. Jean Stevens, who had been a 
 quiet listener, to the porch. 
 
 " 'Ello, Stevens, is that you?" asked a man 
 standing in the road with a whip under his arm. 
 
 " Yes; what do you want, Silas?" 
 
 " There's a 'oman in my wagon, wot I war driv- 
 in' from Boston to Concord; but I doubt ef she 
 kin make it. She say she be awful sick an' must 
 stop or she'll die. " 
 
 The call which brought Mr. Stevens to the door 
 put an end to the exciting conversation in the tap- 
 room, and as soon as they learned there was a sick 
 woman in the driver's wagon, she at once received 
 
14 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 the warmest sympathy of the good people, Mrs. 
 Stevens joined her husband and, with the tender- 
 est emotions of her soul stirred, said : 
 
 " Certaiijly, bring in the poor, dear mademoi- 
 selle." 
 
 Jean, with a gallantry to which the New Eng- 
 landers were strangers, hastened to the covered 
 wagon, and helped out a young woman. As soon 
 as she came near enough for the rays of the old 
 lantern which hung on the porch to fall on her 
 face, all saw she was young and beautiful. Her 
 eyes were very dark and large, her complexion 
 clear and bright, though decidedly careworn. 
 
 " If the madam won't go on to-night, I be goin' 
 back home, " said Silas. 
 
 " It's late, and you'd better wait until morning, " 
 said Jean. 
 
 Meanwhile the newcomer had held a whispered 
 consultation with the landlady and was taken up- 
 stairs to one of the large front -rooms which over- 
 looked the old Concord road. 
 
 " I can't stay. It's a bad piece o' business for 
 me. She tell me she give me half a crown if I 
 drive her to Concord before midnight. I drive 
 like Jehu, an' she say the wagon jolt and make 
 her sick, and four miles from Concord she can 
 go no further. Now, truly, have I earned my 
 money?" 
 
RUaBY TAVERN. 15 
 
 " I have no doubt she will pay you ; come in. 
 the morning and see. " 
 
 Silas turned toward his reeking and panting 
 horses which stood in the road, but something 
 seemed ito trouble him. Wheeling about he re- 
 turned to the landlord and, in a mysterious under- 
 tone, said: 
 
 "Jean, will ye promise me to well and truly 
 keep a watch on her? I know people are prone in 
 these latter days to evade their obligations, and she 
 might get up at midnight and walk to Concord, 
 and so cheat me o' my dues. " 
 
 The landlord assured him he thought there was 
 little danger of her doing so, for he knew from the 
 expression on the lady's face that she was very ill. 
 Silas was dismissed and Mr.^ Stevens returned to 
 the tap-room, where a profound silence had fallen 
 over the group, out of respect for the new arrival. 
 
 " You have a guest to-night, Jean, " said Mr. 
 Brown, " a real guest. Do you know her name?" 
 
 " I have not asked, " Jean answered. 
 . " Perchance your wife may learn it. " 
 
 It was but a few moments before the conversa- 
 tion again drifted to the wrongs of the American 
 colonies, and bid fair to be as animated as before. 
 In the midst of the conversation the door to the 
 hall was suddenly pushed open, and the wife of the 
 grave proprietor appeared. 
 
16 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 "Jean, Jean!" she called. 
 
 Jean hastened to the side of his amiable spouse, 
 who whispered some intelligence in his ear. It 
 must have been very startling, for it caused even 
 the grave, taciturn Jean to start back and stare at 
 his wife in an astonished manner. Before he could 
 regain his speech or utter an exclamation of sur- 
 prise, there suddenly came a clatter of hoofs down 
 the old road toward Boston, the roar of wheels 
 and sound of coacbing horn. 
 
 "Whoa! Hilloa there!" 
 
 A gay equipage had drawn up before the house, 
 and every guest in the tap-room hastened out to see 
 what it was. A strange equipage it certainly was 
 for that country. An elegant coach drawn by six 
 snow-white horses with silver- mounted harness. 
 Never had the oldest caller at Rugby seen such a 
 turn-out. In the full glow of the broad-faced 
 moon, it seemed to have suddenly dropped down 
 from the skies. There were two drivers in livery 
 oil the front seat, while two footmen were in the 
 rear over the boot, where some baggage was stored. 
 
 " Hello the house there ! " cried a finely dressed 
 gentleman on the outside of the coach. " Does any 
 one live here?" 
 
 " I do, " Jean answered, going out to the young 
 men who seemed owners of this remarkable equi- 
 page. 
 
RUGBY TAVERN. 17 
 
 " Can we get some refreshments here?" asked 
 a stout man of thirty-five or forty, pushing open 
 the door of the coach. " Egad ! beastly towns you 
 have in America, where a gentleman can't get a 
 glass of brandy, ale or porter if he is dying 
 for it." 
 
 " You are right, Sir Arthur, " said another, 
 alighting from the coach. " I shall be glad when 
 this business is over and we are once more back in 
 England, where people have different notions. " 
 
 " You can find whatever you wish here, gentle- 
 men." 
 
 " Who are they?" asked Simon. 
 
 "Zounds! how do I know?" answered Mr. 
 Brown. 
 
 " I believe they are the pesky agents of Bute, " 
 ventured Simon. 
 
 Simon was politely told to mind his own busi- 
 ness and hold his tongue, which he did not promise 
 to do. Meanwhile the occupants of the coach, four 
 in number, alighted, leaving the driver, his assist- 
 ant and two footmen by the great vehicle, which 
 excited as much curiosity among the farmers as 
 does the first arrival of a railway train at a country 
 town. 
 
 " It's my opinion, " said Mr. Brown in an un- 
 dertone, " it's my opinion they are informers — 
 Bute's agents, sent to get our temper." 
 
18 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " They kin easily git mine, " said Simon. 
 
 "Hush, Simon!" 
 
 "I'd love to thump 'em. " 
 
 Then all listened to the oldest of the four, who 
 was in the tap-room. 
 
 " Come up, my dear boys, take a nip of brandy. 
 It goes deucedly well in this country — a kind of 
 antifogmatic. " 
 
 " Egad, you're right. Sir Arthur. " 
 
 " We've got a lord in there, " whispered Major 
 Buttrick. 
 
 "Lord, don't I wish I could get at him!" cried 
 Simon. 
 
 "Hush, Simon!" 
 
 " Here, lads, a toast to King George III. !" cried 
 the man called Sir Arthur. 
 
 " Hear, hear, hear!" responded his companions, 
 and the toasts were drunk. . 
 
 Sir Arthur smacked his lips and declared: 
 
 " That brandy was never made in America, eh, 
 Grumple?" 
 
 " By zounds, no!" Grumple answered. " What 
 .say you. Brass?" 
 
 Mr. Brass, who was a tall, thin man with eyes 
 like his constitution, weakened by early dissipa- 
 tion, answered: 
 
 " By Jove, my lord, I would say it was from 
 France, " 
 
RUGBY TAVERN. 19 
 
 "I don't like French liquor," growled Sir Ar- 
 thur with an oath, " by the mass, I like noijiing 
 French!" 
 
 " Save the ladies, " put in the fourth, a well- 
 dressed, fat young man, whose beefy face glowed 
 between the rolls of his powdered wig. His name 
 was Theophilus Snuffer, and he was a stout young 
 fellow of about thirty years of age, who displayed 
 unmistakable signs of dissipation. 
 
 All the while the landlord stood silently listen- 
 ing to the conversation of his guests. 
 
 Sir Arthur, who evidently was displeased with 
 the reference to ladies, answered : 
 
 " Egad, I want no more to do with French ladies, 
 you catch a tartar when you least expect it. " 
 
 " Zounds ! Sir Arthur, have you another affair?" 
 
 " Drink your brandy. Snuffer, and let us go. " 
 
 Mr. Grumple had already drained his glass and 
 going out of the house espied Simon standing under 
 the large oak tree which grew betw,een the door 
 and road. Considering this an excellent oppor- 
 tunity for him to display his powers as an investi- 
 gator, Mr. Grumple took a notebook from his pock- 
 et and asked : 
 
 " How old is that house, my friend?" 
 
 " You'll have to ax somebody older than apy 
 here. " 
 
 " What! is it so very ancient?" and Mr. Grum- 
 
30 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 pie squeezed his notebook, while Simon reiterated 
 his former statement. He looked very hard into 
 the youth's face, which was fixed and immovable. 
 
 " How old are you?" 
 
 " About seventeen. " 
 
 " About! don't you know exactly?" 
 
 " No, stranger, I was bom at such an early 
 period o' my existence I don't remember much 
 about it. " 
 
 " Are you a good subject of King George?" 
 
 " I am as good as any, so long as King George 
 behaves himself. " 
 
 Mr. Grumple was so shocked at this that he 
 stopped for a moment and stared at the youth as 
 though he were guilty of treason. Out came the 
 notebook, and he noted down the answer forthwith. 
 
 " Are there many in this country like you?" 
 asked Mr. Grumple. 
 
 " I opine if you'll travel from Boston to Georgia 
 you'll find 'em thick as hops all over the coun- 
 try." 
 
 Mr. Grumple entered every word of this state- 
 ment in his notebook with view of communicating 
 it to a club of which he was a member as a sample 
 of the American. This important entry was scarce 
 completed when the companions of Mr. Grumple, 
 a trifle merrier than they had entered the tavern, 
 emerged into the moonlight. 
 
RUaSY TAVERN. 21 
 
 " Come, come, Grumple — let ua be going. " 
 
 " Here is a stilling for you, young man, " said 
 Mr. Grumple, holding out the money to Simon. 
 
 What was the Englishman's astonishment, when 
 that unaccountable person flung the money at the 
 donor's head and, in language as forcible as figura- 
 tive, expressed the desire to take the amount out 
 of Mr. Grumple's hide. 
 
 " You are mad ! " cried Sir Arthur. 
 
 "Or drunk!" shouted Brass. 
 
 "Or both!" cried Snuffer. 
 
 "Come on!" yelled the belligerent Simon, spar- 
 ring away like clock-work. " Come on, all four 
 on you!" 
 
 "Here's a lark!" shouted Major Buttrick, who 
 really enjoyed the sport. " Go to work, Simon, " 
 and he and the younger retainers at Eugby crowded 
 around the party in high glee. 
 
 " What's the row, Simon?" inquired Mr. Jona- 
 than Stevens. 
 
 "Eow!" answered the angry youth, "what did 
 he want to write down my sayings for?" 
 
 " I didn't want your sayings, " cried the aston- 
 ished Mr. Grumple, who began to tremble for his 
 own safety. 
 
 " What did you take 'em for?" inquired Simon. 
 
 "I didn't," indignantly answered Mr. Grumple. 
 
 "Would anybody believe," continued Simon, 
 
S2 
 
 IND^PENbWNCE. 
 
 hot and panting with rage, *' would anybody be- 
 lieve as an informer 'ud come from England a-tak- 
 in' every word a feller says to report it to Bute and 
 King George? There is the book in which he took 
 down every word I said into the bargain. " 
 
 The eyes of all fell on the tell-tale notebook, 
 which Mr. Grumple still held 
 in his hand, but which he sought 
 to conceal. 
 
 " Did he, though?" inquired 
 Major Buttrick, who enjoyed the 
 *■ V discomfiture of Mr. Grumple. 
 "Yes, he did," replied 
 Simon, " and then, arter aggra- 
 vatin' me to assault him, gets 
 three witnesses here to prove it; 
 -. but I'll give it him, if I've six 
 ^^' months for it. Come on!" and 
 Simon dashed his three-cornered 
 hat on the groiyid, with a reck- 
 less disregard for his own per- 
 sonal property, and knocked the 
 cocked, laced hat off Mr. Grumple 's head at a blow 
 which a professional boxer might have envied. 
 His long arms and hard fists seemed invincible. 
 Another blow fell on Mr. Grumple's nose, another 
 on his chest, sending him on his back into the 
 road, and a third stroke was planted so near Sir 
 
 "Comb on!" 
 
RUOBY TAVERN. 23 
 
 Arthur's left eye as to cause a discoloration of 
 that member, and a fourth by way of variety hit 
 Mr. Snuffer's waistcoat. Then Simon danced out 
 into the road and back again and finally dashed 
 the whole temporary supply of breath out of Mr. 
 Brass' body, and all in half a dozen seconds. 
 
 " Egad ! what beastly country have we gotten 
 into?" exclaimed Sir Arthur. His lordship had 
 just begun to stagger to his feet when the irre- 
 pressible Simon pouficed on him again. What 
 would have been th^ result, had not an incident 
 put a stop to thef '.onslaught is not known, for 
 everybody sided wi^ Simon. At this moment the 
 wild shriek of a f emalg. was heard from the window 
 above, and the nejft moment the sick woman in 
 loose white robes rushed out upon the scene. 
 
 " Arthur — Arthur — Arthur 1 Spare him — spare 
 him !" she cried, seeking to entwine her arms about 
 his lordship's neck. 
 
 With a vulgar oath, the Englishman put her 
 aside and said : 
 
 " You here, Estella — ^I thought you dead!" 
 
 " No, no, Arthur, I have found you now, and 
 you shall not leave me. " 
 
 " Zounds, egad I this is a d — 1 of a fix for a poor 
 fellow to be in. Away, woman! I — I don't know 
 
 you." 
 
 " You do, you shall not leave me. " 
 
24 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 The woman spoke liiirriedly, wildly, passionately 
 for a few moments, while she frantically clung to 
 Sir Arthur. His companions picked themselves 
 up, and Mr. Snuffer was heard to whisper to Brass, 
 while Grumple wiped the blood from his face: 
 
 " Egad, it's another of his lordship's adventures. 
 This is more serious than the young vagabond 
 thumping away at us. " 
 
 Sir Arthur's patience was at last exhausted, and, 
 hurling the woman from him with such violence 
 that she fell senseless against the porch, he sprang 
 into the coach, followed by his companions, and 
 the great vehicle went thundmiig down the road. 
 
 Mr. Brown and Jean Stevens tenderly lifted the 
 insensible Estella and cayie4 her to her room 
 above. Though neither spoke, each knew there 
 was a dark story of betrayal and desertion back of 
 all this misery. Jean's wife and Mrs. Stevens of 
 New York were in the apartment, and when the 
 unfortunate creature was laid on the bed, the men 
 retired leaving her with the women. As they de- 
 scended the stairs Mr. Brown asked Jean : 
 
 " Does your wife know her?" 
 
 " They were children together. " 
 
 " What is her name?" 
 
 "Estella Mead." 
 
 They had scarce reached the tap -room when 
 Jean's wife appeared and said they must have a 
 
RUOBY TAVERN. 25 
 
 doctor at once. It was but two miles to Lexington, 
 and Simon ran and brought one while all the 
 revellers retired. At dawn of day there was the 
 feeble wail of an infant in the sick room. 
 
 A few moments later Jean's wife came down to 
 where the husband had waited all night long. There 
 was a look of horror on her face. 
 
 " What has happened?" he asked. 
 
 "Oh, Jean, the poor girl is dead!" sobbed the 
 wife. 
 
 "And the child?" 
 
 "The child will live." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 
 
 The affair was a nine days' wonder. Some of 
 the more Puritanical inhabitants of the neighbor- 
 hood thought it disgraceful, and no more than 
 might have been expected of Eugby; Mrs. Buker, 
 who lived in sight of Lexington just over the hill, 
 and who had a particular spite at Eugby, because 
 her husband spent so many leisure hours there, 
 declared : 
 
 " No one could expect any better of the place. " 
 
 Simon Tapley and a young friend from Anhalt, 
 Germany, named Jacob Steckel, who were quite 
 friendly with Jean, called next day to inquire after 
 the young woman, and were horrified to learn that 
 she was dead. 
 
 "Deat! oh, mein gracious, dot vos too sad!" 
 said the honest, kind-hearted Jacob. 
 
 " It is very sad, Jacob, " answered Mrs. Stevens. 
 " The poor woman left a little baby. " 
 
 " Vot vas you goin' to do mit it?" asked the 
 German youth. 
 
 26 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CBAINS. 27 
 
 " We have not yet decided. " 
 
 Simon at once offered a suggestion whicli the 
 husband and wife had already considered. 
 
 " Why don't yew keep it yourselves?" he asked. 
 " Yew have no children o' your own. Keep this 
 one, and I dare say yew'U be glad yew did it. " 
 
 This doctrine was in keeping with the wishes of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, and they were easily per- 
 suaded to follow out the plan. Mrs. Brown was 
 on intimate terms with Mrs. Stevens, and she came 
 over to assist in arranging the details for the funeral. 
 
 " They dew tell as how you knew the poor, dear 
 thing, " said Mrs. Brown to Adrianne. 
 
 "I did." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " In Acadia. Her name was Estella Mead, and 
 she was a sweet, innocent girl. When we were all 
 driven out of Acadia by General Winslow, I lost 
 sight of Estella,. and I never saw her again until 
 last night. " 
 
 " Did she tell you anything of herself?" 
 
 " Only that she had been to England, and mar- 
 ried one of the men who came in the coach last 
 evening. After her child was born and she knew 
 she must die, she clung to my neck and sobbing 
 declared with sobs that she had been lawfully wed. " 
 
 " The man undoubtedly is a scamp. " 
 
 Mrs. Stevens knew nothing of him; but she 
 
28 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 fully accorded with Mrs. Brown in the belief. 
 There was no one to claim the baby, and the 
 childless pair adopted it. The mother slept in 
 the churchyard, and the little Estella thrived and 
 grew strong. She was a beautiful child, possess- 
 ing the same great, melancholy eyes of her mother. 
 She was very patient, seldom crying or making any 
 complaint. When an infant she would lie for 
 hours gazing into the faces about her. 
 
 "Isn't she sweet?" cried little Albert Stevens, 
 as he danced about the babe ; for Albert was a fre- 
 quent visitor at Eugby. " Won't you give her to 
 me. Aunt Annie?" 
 
 He called Mrs. Stevens Aunt Annie and her 
 husband Uncle Jean, though they were no nearer 
 related to his father than cousins. 
 
 " I cannot give little Estella away, " Mrs. Stevens 
 smilingly answered. " Should I do so, I would 
 have no little ray of sunshine to lighten up this 
 gloomy old house. " 
 
 "But I do love her." 
 
 " You may love her all you wish, Albert, and 
 may come very often and see her. " 
 
 "Indeed I will." 
 
 " When she gets older she will be your little 
 playmate. " 
 
 " And when I am a man and she is a woman, 
 she will be my wife. " 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 29 
 
 " Perhaps ; but that is a long time off yet. " 
 
 Mr. Brown, having heard of the return of the 
 agents sent over 'to ascertain the temper of the 
 Americans, informed his friends that he had learned 
 from a very reliable source that the board of trade 
 had proposed to annul the colonial charters, and 
 to make the people submit to royal government 
 and taxation. This information caused many in- 
 dignant remarks from members of the Eugby 
 Club. 
 
 A few months later the good assemblage at 
 Eugby, as well as all the other colonists in Amer- 
 ica, were roused to a spirit of indignation, by the 
 officers of customs asking for writs of assistance — 
 warrants to empower them to call upon the people 
 and all officers of government in America to assist 
 them in the collection of the revenue, and to enter 
 the stores and houses of the citizens at pleasure, 
 in pursuit of their avocation. These writs were 
 granted, and the people, seeing the great peril to 
 which their liberties were thereby exposed, resolved 
 to openly resist the measure. 
 
 " It's contrary to English liberties, " declared Mr. 
 Brown. " Don't the law say every man's house is 
 his castle? Yet the meanest deputy of a deputy's 
 deputy may enter it at will. 1 tell you the 
 country is going to the dogs!" and he brought his, 
 heavy hand down upon his knee. 
 
30 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 That which roused the New Englanders as much 
 as any other thing was a report of a scheme on foot 
 for establishing the ritual of the Church of Eng- 
 land, or state mode of worship, in the colonies. 
 This was too much for Puritan New England, and 
 Eugby Tavern and a hundred other places rang 
 with loud opposition to the scheme. 
 
 The writs of assistance were first issued in Massa- 
 chusetts. Their legality was questioned, and the 
 politicians of Eugby went to hear the matter dis- 
 cussed before a court held in the old town hall in 
 Boston. James Otis, the fiery orator, in course of 
 his argument denounced the writs as " the worst 
 instruments of arbitrary power ; the most destruc- 
 tive of English liberty and the fundamental princi- 
 ples of law. " He said : 
 
 " No act of parliament can establish such a writ. 
 Even though made in the very language of the 
 petition, it would be a nullity. An act of parlia- 
 ment against the constitution is void. A man's 
 house is his castle ; and whilst he is quiet, he is 
 guarded as a prince in his castle. This writ if it 
 should be declared legal, would totally annihilate 
 this privilege. Custom-house oi3ficers may enter 
 our houses when they please. We are commanded 
 to permit their entry. Their menial servants may 
 enter, may break looks, bars and everything in 
 their way ; and whether they break through malice 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 31 
 
 or revenge, no man, no court may inquire. " After 
 rousing his audience to the highest pitch with his 
 oratory, he concluded with the stirring words: " I 
 am determined to sacrifice estate^ ease, health, 
 applause, and even life to the sacred call of my 
 country, in opposition to a kind of power, the ex- 
 ercise of which cost one king his head and another 
 his throne. " 
 
 "He's got a head' full o' common sense," de- 
 clared Mr. Brown. 
 
 " Now I like that, " said Simon Tapley. " He 
 talks tew suit me, and I believe it's time to slap 
 King George's chops, that's what I think. " 
 
 The Americans had much to alarm them. Bute 
 was prime minister and a man more incompetent, 
 or more ignorant of American affairs perhaps never 
 lived. His character was blackened, and he was 
 assailed by the press and caricaturists, until, as 
 early as 1763, he resigned and was succeeded by 
 George Grenville, a brother-in-law of the immortal 
 Pitt. 
 
 The new minister was an honest, conscientious 
 statesman, but incapable of grasping the great 
 American problem. He found an empty treasury 
 and the national debt increased by the expenses of 
 the war just ended of nearly seven hundred mill- 
 ions of dollars. Increased taxation was absolutely 
 necessary. That burden upon the English people 
 
32 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 ■was then very great, and, viewing the temper of 
 the public mind then, he dared not increase its 
 weight; so he looked to the Americans for relief, 
 and formed schemes for drawing a revenue from 
 them. He did not doubt the right of parliament 
 to tax them, and he knew they were able to 
 
 pay- 
 
 At Eugby Tavern the politicians assembled to 
 discuss the right of parliament to tax Americans, 
 and Mr. Brown, who was the sage of those meet- 
 ings, declared: 
 
 " If we had any representation in parliament, we 
 could not object to being taxed, but they won't let 
 us elect a piember to either house. Why? Be- 
 cause we are a big country and they small. We 
 are growing, and in a little while our representa- 
 tion would be larger than theirs. It would be a 
 case o' the tail a-wagging the dog. " 
 
 The ideas of Mr. Brown were the ideas of many 
 other New Englanders. The Massachusetts assem- 
 bly resolved as early as 1763 : 
 
 " That the sole right of giving and granting the 
 money of the people of this province is vested in 
 them, as the legal representatives; and that the 
 imposition of taxes and duties by the parliament of 
 Great Britain upon a people who are not repre- 
 sented in the house of commons, is absolutely ir- 
 reconcilable with their rights; that no man can 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 33 
 
 justly take the property of another without his 
 consent ; upon which principle the right of repre- 
 sentation in the same body which exercises the 
 power of making laws for levying taxes, one of the 
 main pillars of the British constitution is evidently 
 founded. " These ideas were speedily formulated 
 into the well-known maxim " Taxation without rep- 
 resentation is tyranny. " 
 
 At Eugby, the maxim was so often repeated that 
 Simon, who was somewhat of an ornamental sign- 
 painter, painted the motto on a board which was 
 nailed over the door. 
 
 Charles Townsend, who had been secretary of 
 war, was made first lord of trade, and he made 
 many propositions affecting Americans. One was 
 that the crown officers of the colony should be in- 
 dependent of the people for their salaries, and he 
 suggested maintaining a standing army there at the 
 expense of the inhabitants for their own subjuga- 
 tion. He also proposed a stamp tax, which Bute 
 had suggested to parliament. He also recom- 
 mended the enforcing of the navigation laws, which 
 empowered all officers and seamen of the British 
 navy to act as custom-house officers and informers. 
 In the spring of 1764, Grenville, in the house of 
 commons, proposed a duty on stamped paper. 
 Mr. Huske a native of Portsmouth, New Hamp- 
 shire, then living in England and a member of the 
 3 
 
I 
 34 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 house of commons, assured the royalists that the 
 Americans were able to pay a liberal tax. 
 
 Of course the subject excited great feeling in 
 the colonies. Public and private discussions ran 
 high. Rugby Tavern was only one of many 
 thousand places where the matter was well venti- 
 lated. Men, women and even children became in- 
 terested in the great questions. The people were 
 divided in opinion, and party names, afterward so 
 familiar, of Whigs, Patriots, and the Sons of Lib- 
 erty on one side, and Loyalists or Tories on the 
 other now first came into vogue. As yet every- 
 body proposed loyalty to the British crown. In- 
 deed there were few 'who at this time had begun 
 to dream of independence. In Massachusetts, the 
 voice of that stern Puritan and conscientious Chris- 
 tian gentleman, Samuel Adams, who was then a 
 little more than forty years old, was lifted up, witb 
 words of logic and defiance against the measure ; 
 and he wrote the address of the citizens of Boston 
 to the Massachusetts legislature, saying: 
 
 " There is no room for delay. These unexpected 
 proceedings may be preparatory to more extensive 
 taxation; for if our trade may be taxed, why not 
 our lands and everything we possess? If taxes 
 are laid upon us in any shape, without our having 
 legal representation where they are laid, are we not 
 reduced from the character of free subjects to the 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 35 
 
 miserable state of tributary slaves? This annibi- 
 lates our charter right to govern and tax our- 
 selves. We claim British rights, not by charter 
 only; we are born to them. Use your endeavors 
 that the weight of the other North American colo- 
 nies may be added to that of this province, that by 
 united application all may happily obtain redress. " 
 
 In 1764, resolutions opposing the stamp act were 
 proposed in the Massachusetts legislature. 
 
 Dr. Franklin was sent as American agent to 
 England, and soon after his arrival, he was waited 
 upon by G-renville and other politicians, and con- 
 sulted about the stamp tax. Franklin at once de- 
 nounced it as an unwise measure, and declared that 
 the Americans would never submit to being taxed 
 without their consent. 
 
 Little Estella had been a little over one year at 
 Eugby and played with Albert her favorite, in the 
 great room while the politicians discussed the 
 king's speech on the assembling of parliament in 
 1766. In that famo«s speech he presented the 
 American question as one of " obedience to the 
 laws and respect for the legislative assembly of 
 the kingdom." 
 
 " And the stamp act is to be the test, " said Mr. 
 Brown the plethoric leader of the Eugby politicians. 
 
 " Yes, he appears insensible to the danger to his 
 realm," remarked Mr. Stevens. 
 
36 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " May be the darned fool wants to fight, " said 
 Simon ; but the politicians were shocked at the in- 
 elegant as well as unguarded remark, and he was 
 censured for his rashness. 
 
 Colonel Barr, a brave officer under Wolfe in his 
 campaign against Quebec, was now a member of 
 the house of commons and, knowing the American 
 people, became their friend along with Pitt, Burke, 
 and Fox. On April 5th, 1764, parliament passed 
 what was called " The Sugar Act. " This levied 
 duties on coffee, pimento, French and East India 
 goods, and forbade iron and lumber to be exported 
 except to England. Mr. Brown, at one of the 
 Eugby consultations, said : ' 
 
 " The object of the act was for the avowed pur- 
 pose of raising a revenue, but it raised a storm of 
 indignation instead. If we are taxed and not rep- 
 resented we are slaves," whereupon Simon, leaping 
 to his feet, declared his willingness to fight rather 
 thaijL be a slave, but he was quietly set down, and 
 the business of the evening went on. 
 
 On the 27th of February, 1765, the obnoxious 
 stamp act passed the house of commons by a vote 
 of two hundred and fifty against fifty, and on the 
 22d of the following month it received the king's 
 signature and became a law. A storm of indigna- 
 tion went all over the colony. Men everywhere 
 condemned it, and Eugby Tavern was the scene of 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 37 
 
 many heated debates, and Mr. Brown once more 
 struck his fist upon his knee and gave vent to his 
 favorite expression : 
 
 " I tell you the country is going to the dogs ! " 
 
 Simon had purchased a new rifle and spent much 
 of his leisure practising with it. Albert Stevens' 
 father had removed to Boston and the lad, who 
 spent much of his time in the country, was fre- 
 quently with Simon and Jacob Steckel, his young 
 German friend. Before he was ten years old he 
 had been taught by them to load and fire a rifle, 
 and could hit the bull's eye at a hundred 
 paces. 
 
 The stamp act created the wildest excitement. 
 Officers appointed to sell stamps dared not offer 
 them for sale. No deed or public document was 
 valid without the proper stamp, and yet people 
 would not use them. It was during the excite- 
 ment in the Virginia house of burgesses that Patrick 
 Henry gave vent to his famous utterance : 
 
 " Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I. his Cromwell, 
 and George III. " 
 
 " Treason — treason ! " interrupted Mr. Robinson 
 the speaker. 
 
 " Oeorge III. may profit hy their example. If 
 that be treason, make the most of it. " 
 
 This famous speech Mr. Brown delighted to 
 quote at Eugby, and Simon and his young German 
 
88 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 friend both declared they fully agreed with Patrick 
 Henry. 
 
 Henry's five resolutions introduced into the 
 house of burgesses, claiming for Virginians the 
 right of British subjects; that only their own rep- 
 resentatives could lawfully tax them; declaring 
 the attempt to vest that power in any other hands 
 subversive of both British and American liberty, 
 were duplicated in the Pennsylvania assembly, and 
 on October 7, 1765, a congress of delegates, or 
 committees from nine colonies met in New York, 
 Its spirit harmonized with that of Massachusetts, 
 Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and its declaration of 
 rights and grievances, " was cordially approved by 
 all the colonial assemblies." The mob spirit in 
 the New England and middle colonies was quite 
 strong. Even in New York where there was al- 
 ways a strong Tory element, the Sons of Libertj^ 
 frequently broke out in riots. 
 
 Eevenue officers appointed to sell stamps were 
 forced to resign or leave the country. The system 
 of boycotting British merchants was adopted and 
 the wealthy men of the kingdom began to feel the 
 eiffects of King George's folly. The king saw that 
 he had made a great mistake in leaving Pitt out of 
 his cabinet. The public were loudly clamoring 
 for his restoration to the premiership. The king 
 sought to restore Pitt; but that great man was 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 39 
 
 shy, though upon a change of the odious stamp 
 act and repeal of the cider tax, Pitt consented to 
 form a new ministry. 
 
 Having become satisfied that the stamp act could 
 not be enforced it was repealed on the 29th of 
 March, 1766. The politicians at Eugby had scarce 
 ceased congratulating themselves over their victory 
 when they had a dash of cold water thrown on 
 their spirits by parliament asserting that it had a 
 right to bind the colonies in all cases whatever. 
 They were next informed that troops had been sent 
 to New York with power, under the law, to break 
 into houses and search for deserters. 
 
 " Yes, and the governor of TTew York wants an 
 appropriation to maintain these soldiers to oppress 
 the people," said Mr. Brown. " Well, I must say 
 the country is going to the dogs. " 
 
 The soldiers and citizens of New York were not 
 long in coming to blows. The former, being in- 
 solent and overbearing, soon became objects of 
 hatred. The Sons of Liberty set up a liberty pole, 
 and the soldiers, to show their authority, cut it 
 down. Next evening they set it up again, when a 
 free fight occurred, in which clubs, fists and bay- 
 onets were used. For awhile a terrible revolt was 
 anticipated in New York; but the trouble was 
 averted. 
 
 King George had not abandoned his schemes of 
 
40 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 taxing tlie Americans. A majority of parliament 
 at heart might have been with the Americans, but 
 they dared not oppose the king. He held in his 
 hands royal gifts in fat offices, ■which they or their 
 friends might want, and none save such spirits as 
 Pitt, Fox, Burke and Barre dared defy him. In 
 June, 1767, taxes were levied on tea, paints, paper, 
 glass and lead. This led to the determination of 
 the Americans to pay no more duties at all. 
 
 " I am not goin' to drink any more tea," Simon 
 Tapley declared when Mr. Brown told him what 
 had been done, and reiterated that the country was 
 going to the dogs. When the governor of Massa- 
 chusetts refused to call a general court, there was 
 a public meeting at the town hall; resolutions 
 were passed to encourage " economy, industry, and 
 manufactures, " and a committee was appointed to 
 get subscribers to an agreement to discontinue 
 " importation of British goods not absolute neces- 
 saries. " This bold act was imitated by other colo- 
 nies and it is hardly necessary to add was heartily 
 approved by the convention of Rugby Tavern. 
 
 The king of France, no doubt still smarting 
 under the results of the recent war, determined to 
 use all in his power to be avenged. In the grow- 
 ing discontent of the colonies the shrewd French- 
 men saw an opportunity for vengeance, and Baron 
 De Kalb was sent to America to learn something 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 41 
 
 of the resources of Americans and their temper. 
 The Baron stopped several days at Rugby, where 
 Jean and his wife conversed with him in French, 
 much to the annoyance of Simon and Jacob who 
 wondered what the Frenchman wanted. 
 
 The American colonies were in a ferment. A 
 single spark might kindle a conflagration which 
 would require rivers of blood to extinguish. Mod- 
 eration was advised by many. Even those fiery 
 orators Otis and Dickinson advised moderation. 
 The American people did not wish to rebel. They 
 were really loyal to Great Britain and had scarce 
 a thought of independence. A wise king would 
 have retained them ; but George III. went on add- 
 ing blunder to blunder, until reconciliation was 
 impossible. 
 
 In February 1768, a circular letter, written by 
 Samuel Adams, was sent by the Massachusetts 
 general court to other colonial assemblies, inviting 
 cooperation for the defence of colonial rights. It 
 was not long after this before there was a collision 
 between the revenue officers and the people of 
 Boston. 
 
 The commissioner of customs, who had come to 
 Boston from Halifax, became insolent and over- 
 bearing. In June, the sloop Liberty, belonging to 
 John Hancock, whom the crown officers hated, 
 came into harbor with a cargo of Madeira wine. 
 
43 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Just at sunset, the " tide-waiter" in the employ of 
 the commissioners went on board and tooJc his seat 
 in the cabin, as usual, to drink punch with the 
 master until the sailors should land the cargo of 
 dutiable goods. Hancock resolved to resist the 
 obnoxious revenue laws, and at about nine o'clock 
 in the evening, his captain and others in his em- 
 ploy entered the cabin, confined the tide-waiter and 
 proceeded to land the wine without entering it at 
 the custom-house or observing any other formula. 
 The master of the ship died from over-exertion. 
 
 The custom-house officers seized the sloop for 
 violation of the revenue laws. A crowd of citizens 
 quickly gathered on the wharf, among whom were 
 our friends Brown, Hill, Niles, Stevens, Simon, 
 Jacob Steckel and even Albert Stevens. Albert's 
 father was at this time a resident merchant of Bos- 
 ton. A smuggler named Malcolm headed the mob. 
 Collector Harrison and controller Hallowell were 
 on hand to enforce the law. Harrison thought the 
 vessel might be left at Hancock's wharf with a 
 "broad arrow mark" upon her; but Hallowell de- 
 termined to moor her under the war vessel Romriey. 
 An exciting scene followed.* 
 
 " You had better let the vessel stay at the wharf ^" 
 said Malcolm. 
 
 * The above scene is taken from Mr. Bancroft's history. 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 43 
 
 " I shall not," answered Hallowell, and he gave 
 directions to cut the fasts. 
 
 " Stop, at least, till the owner comes, " said the 
 people who crowded round. 
 
 "No, d— n you!" cried Hallowell. " Cast her 
 off!" 
 
 "I'll split out the brains of any man that offers 
 to receive a fast or stop the vessel, " said the master 
 of the Bomney, and he commanded the marines to 
 fire. 
 
 " "What rascal is that who dares to tell the ma- 
 rines to fire?" roared the exasperated Simon. Mr. 
 Stevens, turning to Mr. Harrison, who was a well- 
 meaning man, said: 
 
 " The owner has been sent for. You had better 
 let her lie at the wharf until he comes down. " 
 
 " No, she shall go, " insisted the controller. 
 " Show me the man who dares oppose it. " 
 
 " Kill the d — n scoundrel!" cried the master. 
 
 Stung to anger, Malcolm retorted : 
 
 " We will throw the people of the Romney over 
 board." 
 
 "By G — d, she shall go!" repeated the master, 
 and he again called to the marines. " Why don't 
 you fire? Fire on them !" 
 
 " Oh, if I only had my rifle !" cried Simon, tears 
 starting from his eyes; but Simon's rifle was in 
 Lexington, and the moorings were cut and the vea- 
 
44 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 sel towed away to safe ancliorage under the guns 
 of the Bomney. 
 
 From the above scene, the reader may form an 
 idea of the spirit of the people. 
 
 Most of the colonies gave answers to the Mas- 
 sachusetts circular letter for a general continental 
 congress. The royal governors of the colonies did 
 all in their power to prevent a general congress ; 
 but the work of forming one went bravely on. 
 Efforts were made to bribe Hancock ; but he was 
 beyond bribery. Town meetings were called and 
 patriotic songs were sung. 
 
 In North Carolinia, the royal governor, Tryon, 
 was meeting with open opposition from the bands 
 of patriots called regulators. He ordered out the 
 militia, and they even came to blows. Tryon for 
 the time being triumphed; but in Massachusetts, 
 the hotbed of rebellion, the royal government was 
 getting worsted in every encounter. It required 
 no sage or prophet to foresee that unless the home 
 government became more moderate in tone, trouble 
 would result. Mr. Brown and his friends at Rugby 
 felt sure of this, and Simon and Jacob were even 
 bold enough to say there would be bloodshed, and 
 both continued practising with their rifles. Even 
 grandfather Stevens, father of Jonathan, the Lex- 
 ington farmer, took down his old rifle every day 
 and practised shooting at a mark. 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 45 
 
 Four regiments of troops were ordered to Boston. 
 Accordingly, on Saturday morning, the 1st of Oc- 
 tober, 1768, in spite of the solemn remonstrances 
 of the politicians at Bugby Tavern as well as other 
 good people, the troops were landed on the long 
 wharf, under cover of the guns of the war-vessels. 
 The cowardly governor had gone to the country to 
 avoid the general storm of popular indignation, 
 leaving the military to bear the brunt of the odium 
 and its effects. 
 
 When Dalrymple, the commander of the troops, 
 demanded food and shelter for them, he was told 
 by the selectmen of the town : 
 
 " You will find both at the castle. " 
 
 " And you will not furnish quarters for my sol- 
 diers?" asked the colonel. 
 
 " "We will not, " responded the selectmen. 
 
 The soldiers, innocent tools of an unscrupulous 
 sovereign, of course became objects of hatred, and 
 the terms tyrant and rebel were freely bandied be- 
 tween the troops and the citizens. Hancock and 
 Malcolm were arrested for violation of acts of par- 
 liament, but on trial were acquitted. 
 
 The quartering of troops in Boston brought about 
 quarrels between the friends and enemies of Amer- 
 ica in parliament, and resulted in the resignation 
 of the Earl of Chatham, William Pitt. Lord 
 North, a more fitting tool, was given the place and 
 
46 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 commenced that long leadership of the ministry, 
 which continued until near the close of the strug- 
 gle for independence. In the house of commons 
 that great and good man, Colonel Barre, whose 
 voice was ever ready to aid the people whom he 
 loved, breathed a spirit of prophecy, when, in his 
 speech in March, 1769, he said: 
 
 " I predicted all that would happen on the pas- 
 sage of the stamp act, and I now warn the minis 
 ters that, if Jhey persist in their wretched course 
 of oppression, the whole continent of North Amer- 
 ica will rise up in arms, and these colonies perhaps 
 be lost to England forever. " 
 
 People in America began to learn that they could 
 manufacture most of their goods. Young ladies, 
 under the name of Daughters of Liberty, formed 
 spinning societies, and the hum of industry min- 
 gled with the patriotic expressions all over the land. 
 
 King George evidently was too blind to see his 
 mistake. North was only the echo of the king, 
 who swayed this minister with a perfect control. 
 The king had made it an inflexible rule never to 
 redress a grievance, unless such redress was prayed 
 for in a spirit of obedience, and those who have 
 studied the characters of the politicians at Eugby 
 Tavern know they were in no teniper to humiliate 
 themselves. The king was determined to assert 
 the right of parliament to tax the colonies, and he 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 47 
 
 insisted that one tax must always be laid to keep 
 up that right ; so the king and his pliant minister 
 clung to the duty on tea. While a tax for revenue 
 in the smallest degree was imposed on the Ameri- 
 cans, their real grievances were not redressed, and 
 they stood firm in their resistance. They worked 
 the engine of non -importation, or boycotting, with 
 great vigor. The exports from England to Amer- 
 ica, which, in 1768, had amounted to almost $12,- 
 000,000 (of which tea represented $660,000), in 
 1769 only reached a little over $8,000,000, the tea 
 being only $220,000. Pownal, the predecessor of 
 Bernard as governor of Massachusetts, showed, in 
 a speech in parliament, that the total product of 
 the new taxes for the first year had been less than 
 $80,000, and that the expenses of the new custom- 
 house arrangements had reduced the net profits of 
 the crown revenue in the colonies to $1,475, while 
 the extraordinary military expenses in America 
 amounted, for the same time, to $850,000. 
 
 " Wonder if the darned fool King George thinks 
 he'll ever get rich at them figures?" laconically 
 remarked Simon Tapley when Mr. Brown had made 
 the above statement over his bowl of punch at 
 Rugby. The patriots at Rugby, as well as all over 
 the country were encouraged by expressions of 
 sympathy from the middle classes in England and 
 throughout Europe. 
 
48 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 While most of the Americans still abhorred the 
 idea of separation, Samuel Adams and a few others 
 prophesied thetirth of a new nation. In New 
 York, the Sons of Liberty, in 1770, had more 
 trouble with the troops over the destruction of their 
 liberty pole, which they had kept iron banded, but. 
 which the soldiers nevertheless destroyed, and for 
 a while the city trembled on the eve of a bloody 
 riot. 
 
 In Boston, so strong was the opposition to the 
 use of tea, that merchants were forbidden to im- 
 port it. A tory merchant named Theophilus Lillie 
 announced his intention to import and sell tea, 
 when one morning he found a mob of half-grown 
 boys had set up a, signboard with a rudely carved 
 head on it, pointing to his store as a place to be 
 shunned. This so exasperated a neighboring tory 
 merchant, that he strove to tear it down. The 
 boys, among whom was Albert Stevens, pelted him 
 with stones and mud, and, going into his store, he 
 seized a shot-gun and fired among the lads, killing 
 Christopher Snyder and wounding Samuel Gore. 
 The murder of Snyder produced a profound sensa- 
 tion, and such a funeral train as followed the little 
 martyr to his grave was never before seen in Bos- 
 ton. On his coffin was inscribed, " Innocence itself 
 is not safe. " 
 
 The soldiers, who had grown more insolent, on 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 4» 
 
 the 5tli of March, set out to have their revenge on 
 some citizen. In King Street they were met by a 
 mob of seven hundred people armed with clubs 
 and other weapons. They had been chasing the 
 citizens about the town, striking them with the 
 flat side of their swords, until the lion voice of 
 Simon Tapley shouted: 
 
 " Town-born, turn out! Down with the bloody 
 backs!" 
 
 The soldiers ran, and fearful excitement fol- 
 lowed. At the barracks on Brattle Street, a sub- 
 altern at the gate cried out, as the populace gath- 
 ered there : 
 
 " Turn out ! I will stand by you. Knock them 
 down! Kill them! Eun your bayonets through 
 them!" While a division of soldiers was passing 
 the custom-house, the barber's boy cried out: 
 
 " There is the scoundrel who knocked me down !" 
 
 A score of voices shouted: 
 
 " Let us knock him down. Down with the 
 bloody backs! Kill him! Kill him!" The crowd 
 pelted him with snow and bits of ice. He snapped 
 his gun, but it failed to fire. He ran up the cus- 
 tom-house steps, but, unable to enter the building, 
 called to the main guard for help. Captain Pres- 
 ton, the officer of the day, sent eight men, with 
 unloaded muskets, but with ball-cartridges in their 
 cartouch boxes, to help their beleaguered comrade. 
 4 
 
50 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 At that moment the stout Boston bookseller, Henry 
 Knox (who married the daughter of General Gage's 
 secretary, and who was a major-general of artillery 
 in the army of the revolution), holding Preston by 
 the coat-tails, begged him to call the soldiers back. 
 
 " If they fire, " cried Knox, " your life must an- 
 swer for the consequences. " 
 
 Preston nervously answered : 
 
 " I know what I am about, " and ran after his 
 men. 
 
 They were pelted with snowballs and ice, and 
 Crispus Attucks, a brawny Indian from Nantucket, 
 at the head of some sailors, gave a war-whoop and 
 shouted : 
 
 " Let us fall upon the nest ! The main guard ! 
 The main guard!" The soldiers instantly loaded 
 their guns. Then some of the multitude pressed 
 on them with their clubs, struck their muskets 
 and cried: 
 
 " You are cowardly rascals for bringing arms 
 against naked men!" 
 
 Attucks shouted : 
 
 " You dare not fire!" and called upon the mob 
 behind him : " Come on ! Don't be afraid I They 
 daren't fire! Knock them down! Kill 'em!" 
 
 Captain Preston came up and tried to appease 
 the multitude. Attucks aimed a blow at his head 
 with a club, which Preston parried with his arm. 
 
STAMPS, TEA AND CHAINS. 51 
 
 The Indian knocked a soldier's musket from his 
 hand, and, seizing the bayonet, a struggle began 
 for possession of the weapon. Some one behind 
 Preston cried: 
 
 " Why don't you fire? Why don't you fire?" 
 The struggling soldier, hearing the word fire, 
 just as he regained his gun, and being hot with 
 rage, shot Attucks dead. Five other soldiers fired 
 at short intervals without being restrained by Pres- 
 ton. Three of the populace were killed, and five 
 wounded, two mortally. The indignation was so 
 great, that the soldiers were removed to the castle 
 or fort. Captain Preston and his soldiers engaged 
 in the Boston massacre were arrested, tried and 
 acquitted by a New England jury. Notwithstand- 
 ing the fairness shown by the colonial jury, an act 
 was passed in parliament whereby soldiers and offi- 
 cers in the king's service could be tried only in 
 England. 
 
 Town meetings, denunciations and everything 
 else did not deter the stubborn British king from 
 forcing the tea on the colonists. Though ships 
 with tea were forbidden to enter the harbor, the 
 ship Dartmouth, on the 28th day of November, 
 1773, was anchored off the castle with a cargo of 
 tea from London. Handbills were circulated, town 
 meetings called, and a party, among whom were 
 Simon Tapley and Jacob Steckel, went aboard 
 
53 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 disguised as Indians and emptied the tea into the 
 harbor. The act was approved by all the colonies. 
 Even such pioneers as Daniel Boone, who was push- 
 ing out into the wilds of Kentucky, heard and ap- 
 proved the act. 
 
 The bold destruction of the tea in Boston Harbor 
 resulted in the Boston Port Bill, a bill closing 
 Boston Harbor. General Gage was appointed Gov- 
 ernor of Massachusetts. The port of Boston was 
 closed at noon June 1st, 1774. An army of min- 
 ute men was raised and preparations for war were 
 made. At one of the great field meetings on Bos- 
 ton Common, Alexander Hamilton made his first 
 famous speech for liberty, while yet but little more 
 than a boy. 
 
 On Monday, September 5th, 1774, the First Con- 
 tinental Congress convened at Philadelphia. The 
 session of this congress is familiar to all. The 
 members were shy and cautious at first, but not 
 timid. They were only sounding each other to 
 know how they stood. No one thought of inde- 
 pendence and few of war, until Patrick Henry 
 gave utterance to his patriotic declaration : 
 
 " I am not a Virginian, but an American." 
 
 Local differences and dissensions were laid aside 
 and the body which the monarch feared so much, 
 proceeded to coiisider matters involving the welfare 
 of their country and the birth of a new nation. 
 
CHAPTEE TIT. 
 
 riRST BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 The lltli of May, 1774, was a lovely day, and 
 the picturesque, drowsy little village of Lexington 
 seemed so quiet and peaceful that no rude alarm 
 could possibly ever disturb its sweet repose. The 
 home of Jonathan Stevens, just over the hill, was 
 an average New England house. Jonathan Ste- 
 vens was in Boston on business, and his sons, with 
 Albert Stevens, now fifteen years of age, who had 
 come to spend the summer at the farm, were in the 
 field at work. 
 
 " The country is the place for boys," Noah Ste- 
 vens thought, and as Mr. Jonathan Stevens was 
 a distant relative, he arranged to have Albert 
 spend the summer there. Consequently we find 
 Albert in the field with Joshua and Levi Stevens, 
 assisting them in their work, while they discussed 
 the political situation of the country, for Albert 
 had been about liugby Tavern enough to imbibe a 
 great deal of Mr. Brown's wisdom. 
 
 The day was drawing to a close, and Mrs. Stevens 
 53 
 
54 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 and her daughters were in the kitchen, preparing 
 supper for the " boys in the field" and the father 
 who was expected home from town in time for 
 supper. Mary Stevens, who had been busy look- 
 ing over an apron full of plants called by the New 
 Englanders foxberry leaves, at last said, with some 
 disgust : 
 
 " Mother, why do we have to drink foxberry 
 tea? We hain't had any boughten tea this great 
 while. " 
 
 " Why, child, it's because the parliament has put 
 a tax on boughten tea, and the committee down 
 tew Boston say we mustn't buy any more till the 
 tax is taken off again," answered the mother. 
 
 " Won't the committee let us drink anything but 
 foxberry? I am tired to death of it. " 
 
 "Why yes, child, the committee will let us 
 drink anything we can get, except boughten tea, 
 that parliament has put a tax on. If we buy 
 an ounce of that, we shall all be published in the 
 papers as traitors to our country. " 
 
 Mary seemed a little puzzled at this. She leaned 
 over the clean, neat table for a few moments in a 
 reflecting mood, and asked: 
 
 " Mother, what does all this mean, about traitore 
 to the country ? When I was coming home through, 
 the woods this afternoon, bringing these foxberry 
 leaves, Mr. Brown sat on his horse by the side of 
 
FIRST BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 55 
 
 tlie road talking with Mr. Buker, and he said he 
 had just come home from Boston, and there was 
 more trouble down there ; but he said we had more 
 to fear from traitors among ourselves than anything 
 we had to fear from parliament. What does he 
 mean by traitors?" 
 
 " You've hearn your father tell how the parlia- 
 ment is laying unreasonable taxes on the colonies, 
 and how, that if the people don't all unite to resist 
 them, we will all be ground into the dust by-and- 
 by. Them that turns against us and takes sides 
 with parliament is traitors tew the country. What 
 more did Mr. Brown say?" 
 
 Mary only knew that Mr. Brown had said there 
 was more trouble, and that he concluded with his 
 pet phrase that the country was going to the dogs. 
 Mary was sent to make the tea, and then, as it was 
 near the hour of the father's return, she looked 
 down the road to see if he was coming. 
 
 " Father is coming over the hill, mother. " 
 
 " Then blow the horn for the boys to come 
 from the field, and we will all have supper to- 
 gether. " 
 
 Mary took down the horn and blew a long and 
 loud blast. Mr. Stevens rode up on his sober 
 roan horse and dismounted just as the three boys 
 in their shirt-sleeves came in from the field. 
 
 " Well, husband, what news do you bring from 
 
56 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Boston ? " asked Mrs. Stevens. " Is there any news 
 from England-home?" 
 
 " Don't call England home any longer. I thank 
 God it is not the home of my ancestors. She was 
 the home of your forefathers and mothers ; but she 
 is no longer worthy the sacred title of home. She 
 tramples her children underfoot and has no right to 
 expect respect from them. " 
 
 " Oh, dear, gracious, mercy me ! what is the 
 matter?" 
 
 "Matter enough!" said the husband, taking off 
 his hat and wiping his face with his handkerchief. 
 " Parliament has been at its dark, dirty work again. 
 They mean to make us all hewers of wood and 
 drawers of water here in the colonies, to support 
 the English aristocracy in their idleness ; but let 
 them go on; let them try their worst; they'll find 
 out before they get through, that the people of these 
 colonies will not be slaves. " 
 
 "What dew you mean, Jonathan? Tell us all 
 about it. " 
 
 " They have passed an act to shut up the harbor 
 of Boston, and stop all vessels from going in or out 
 of there to trade. First of next month the harbor 
 is to be closed. " 
 
 Consternation held everybody dumb at the an- 
 nouncement. The boys who had just entered were 
 silent. At last Albert asked : 
 
FIRST BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 57 
 
 " Has farther got his ships loaded yet?" 
 " No, and I come to bring you all down to Bos- 
 ton to help him to-morrow, with the oxen and 
 
 "FAKLIAMBIfT IS GOING TO SHUT UP BOSTON HAEBOR!" 
 
 carts, and everybody we can get, for if they are 
 not loaded and out before the first, he may as well 
 set fire to 'em. " 
 
58 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Well, Simon will be here this evening and he 
 can go with us, " said Levi. 
 
 " And we can get Jacob Steckel, too. " 
 
 " We want every one we can get, for help is 
 scarce. " 
 
 " I am going to take my rifle, " put in Albert. 
 " I may need it. " 
 
 At this moment grandfather Stevens came in 
 from his apartment and though he was hard of 
 hearing, his keen eyes told him that something was 
 wrong. He was eighty years of age and a devoted 
 patriot. His father was Charles Stevens who knew 
 Cotton Mather, and was a grandson of one of the 
 Mayflower passengers. 
 
 " What is it? what is the matter? Has any- 
 thing happened?" the old man asked. His grand- 
 son Levi screamed in his ear: 
 
 " Parliament is going to shut up Boston Harbor. " 
 
 " What !" cried the old man in surprise. " How 
 are they goin' to do that?" 
 
 Levi explained that a bill had been passed clos- 
 ing the harbor on the first of June. When the old 
 man had heard it all, he said: 
 
 " Well, well, if it comes to that, I shall have to 
 try once more, old as I be, to see if I can handle 
 a musket. I don't know as I could walk to Bos- 
 ton ; but I could ride down in the wagon, and if 
 Boston is invaded, I will go. Jonathan, ain't all 
 
FIRST BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 59 
 
 tlie country goin' down to Boston? I'm nigh on 
 to eighty-one ; but, old as I be, if it comes to that, 
 I'll go myself. My eyesight is pnrty good yet, 
 and I can take aim as well as ever. Though I 
 could not march about after the enemy much, I 
 could set in Noah Stevens' store and fire out o' his 
 back window, which looks right out on the harbor, 
 so long as there was a ounce o' powder in Boston. " 
 
 Grandfather Stevens was assured that there was 
 no immediate danger of hostilities, and if there 
 were, younger men would be ready to take up the 
 quarrel. Before they had finished supper, Mary 
 Stevens, who had been sent on an errand over to 
 Mrs. Niles, came back all excited and out of breath, 
 with the news that Mr. Niles had come from Bos- 
 ton and said " things were all in an uproar there, " 
 because Boston Harbor was going to be closed, and 
 he was going back to help his brother get his vessel 
 loaded. That Mrs. Niles would be very lonesome 
 on the morrow and wanted Mrs. Stevens to come 
 and spend the afternoon. 
 
 " I don't believe I will go, " returned Mrs. Ste- 
 vens. 
 
 "Why not?" asked Mr. Stevens in amazement. 
 
 " Oh — nuthin' in particular, only I don't feel as 
 though I cared particularly about seein' her." 
 
 " Now, mother, somethin's happened to break 
 off the friendship between you and Misses Niles. " 
 
60 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Mrs. Stevens, lowering lier voice to almost an 
 awe-inspiring whisper, answered : 
 
 " I strongly suspect Miss Niles drinks boughten 
 tea; and if I knew it, I'd never set foot in her 
 house again. " At mere suggestion of this heinous 
 crime, Mr. Stevens started and looked uneasily 
 about him. 
 
 " If that's the case, so much more the reason you 
 ought to go and see, and find out the truth about 
 it. If it's a fact that she drinks India tea, it's our 
 duty to. report her to the committee. What makes 
 you think she drinks boughten tea?" 
 
 " Last two times I was there, I smelt boughten 
 tea, if I ever smelt it in my life. Besides, when 
 the parson was here to tea t'other night, I sent 
 over^nd borrowed Miss Niles's black tin teapot, 
 because mine had the nose melted off, and when I 
 reused it out, as true as you're alive, Jonathan, a 
 fair leaf of boughten tea came out o' the nose. I 
 showed it to Jane and she knew it in a minute. " 
 Mr. Stevens, with the grave look of an inspector, 
 turned to his oldest daughter and asked : 
 
 " Jane, could you swear it was boughten tea?" 
 
 " Yes, I know it was ; it couldn't be nothin' else. 
 I tasted it, and I would swear it was. " 
 
 Mr. Stevens felt that it was a matter worthy of 
 investigation. He advised his wife to go with Mrs. 
 Brown and Mrs. Hill to the house of the accused 
 
FIRST BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 61 
 
 and ascertain to a certainty if she really did use tlie 
 proscribed drug. Meanwhile, every arrangement 
 was made for an early departure next morning. 
 Simon Tapley came over, Jean Stevens and little 
 Estella came to learn the latest from Boston. 
 
 Estella Mead was a beautiful little child of nine, 
 and her great dark eyes gleamed with tenderness 
 and affection at sight of Albert who had been her 
 playmate from infancy. She ran to him with a 
 cry of joy, and soon the two were romping in the 
 yard. 
 
 " I am going to Boston to-morrow, Stella," said 
 Albert seriously, when tired out they sat down on 
 the stile to rest. 
 
 " Oh, Albert, are you? When will you come 
 back?" 
 
 " In two or three weeks. " 
 
 " You are not going to war, are you?" she asked, 
 her eyes growing moist. 
 
 "Not now!" 
 
 Seizing his arm and clinging to it as if she feared 
 something would happen, she said: 
 
 " Don't ever go, Albert, please don't, because 
 you might be killed." 
 
 He laughed at her fears and told her there was 
 no war to go to. Jean Stevens took his foster 
 child and returned to Eugby Tavern, and Mr. 
 Jonathan Stevens insisted on everybody going to 
 
63 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 bed as they would have to rise at an early hour 
 next morning. The New England farmhouse was 
 blazing with light before the first faint blush of 
 Aurora had crimsoned the eastern horizon, and ere 
 the sun had risen Mr. Stevens, his sons as well as 
 Albert, Simon and Jacob, whom they had secured, 
 were on their way to Boston with wagons, carts 
 and oxen to assist in loading the ships. 
 
 Mrs. Stevens felt the importance of the duty 
 which devolved on her that day. She went to her 
 neighbors, Mrs. Brown, and Mrs. Hill, and to them 
 told her suspicions in regard to Mrs. Niles and 
 asked them to go with her as a committee to inves- 
 tigate and report on the terrible charge. The com- 
 mittee arrived in due time at the house of the unsus- 
 pecting Mrs. Niles, and were cordially received by 
 the smiling lady. Mrs. Niles sent her daughter to 
 the barn for eggs for supper and soon after went 
 herself to bring a load of wood. This left the 
 committee alone. It was a golden opportunity for 
 Mrs. Stevens, and rising she went to the kitchen 
 fireplace where she seized the teapot. She opened 
 the lid, smelt of it, and handed it to the other in- 
 spectors, each of whom smelt of it in turn and ex- 
 changed glances of triumph. The teapot was re- 
 turned before Mrs. Niles came in. "While supper 
 was in progress, Mrs. Niles was a part of the time 
 in the room with her guests and a part of the time 
 
FIRST BLOOD OF THE BEVOLUTION. 63 
 
 in tte kitchen assisting her daughter Sally and 
 directing affairs, keeping up a running talk all the 
 time. Mrs. Stevens found occasion to remark : 
 
 " I don't think the colonies will ever give up to 
 parliament, and let 'em tax us and make slaves of 
 us just as they are a mind to, and I do hope they 
 will never give up, come what may. For my part, 
 I had rather wear hum-made gowns and drink fox- 
 berry tea as long as I live, than have my children 
 brought under the yoke of bondage to parliament. " 
 
 " I just think so, too, Miss Stevens, " declared 
 Mrs. Brown. 
 
 "And so do I," added Mrs. Hill. "Give me 
 foxberry tea and hum-made gowns, and a free 
 country. What dew you say, Mrs. Niles?" 
 
 The suspected woman hesitated, while a tell-tale 
 flush swept over her face, and she answered : 
 
 " "Wall, as for hum-made gowns, I had jest as 
 leave wear 'em as not, or anything else the com- 
 mittee chooses ; but I must confess it is a dreadful 
 trial for me to do without tea. There is such com- 
 fort in a strong dish of shu-shou, that I do really 
 wish the committee would take off the restriction 
 on it. " * 
 
 At this, the committee exchanged glances which 
 
 *The terms shu-shou, meaning India tea, and foxber- 
 riea were in use in New England during the revolution, 
 though modern le^icographeys do not mention them, 
 
«4 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 meant much, and Mrs. Hill admitted, that, while 
 there was great comfort in a cup of shu-shou, for 
 her country's sake she would give it up. When 
 Mrs. Niles went out to look after her supper, the 
 committee again exchanged glances, and each de- 
 clared : 
 
 " There, ain't she guilty ! " Although Mrs. Niles 
 was a personal friend, they determined not to spare 
 her. Soon the delicious odor of tea came from the 
 kitchen, and the three women, so long deprived of 
 that luxury, could not but enjoy it. When in- 
 vited out to supper, they praised Mrs. Niles' bis- 
 ciiit and butter, but looked suspiciously at the tea. 
 When a' lady refuses her tea, she must be patriotic. 
 The tea was poured and passed, and Mrs. Stevens 
 raised her cup half-way to her mouth. When 
 convinced that it was neither foxberry nor sage, 
 she put it down. 
 
 " Why, this ain't foxberry, nor sage tea, neither, 
 if I've got any taste, " declared Mrs. Brown. 
 
 " So it seems to me, " declared Mrs. Hill. 
 
 Yet these patriotic ladies, much to the disgust of 
 Mrs. Stevens, drained their cups. When they had 
 done so, Mrs. Brown looked their host in the face 
 and remarked : 
 
 " Now, Mrs. Niles, you haven't been a-giving 
 us boughten tea, have you?" 
 
 " I shouldn't think you would ask after drink- 
 
FIRST BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 65 
 
 ing a cupful, " the irritated Mrs. Stevens answered. 
 " For my part, I could tell it clear across tlie room 
 by the smell." 
 
 Then Mrs. Niles, with a triumphant smile, which 
 abashed and puzzled the committee, answered : 
 
 " Well, to tell the truth, it is as good a dish of 
 shu-shou as I could make!" 
 
 The looks of horror and expressions of dismay 
 which followed this declaration were indescribable. 
 The ladies pushed back their cups, and Mrs. Brown 
 declared : 
 
 " I shan't cross my conscience, Miss Niles, by 
 drinkin' your boughten tea. I love my country 
 too well for that, and have too much respect for 
 the committee. " 
 
 " Oh, now. Miss Brown, you might just as well 
 be hung for an old sheep as a lamb, " replied Mrs. 
 Niles, with provoking coolness. " You've drinked 
 one cup, let us pour you out another. " 
 
 " No, I shan't touch another drop of it." 
 
 " Nor I, neither; I'd jest as soon drink poison," 
 vowed Mrs. Hill. Mrs. Stevens, who was as calm 
 as a summer's morning, said: 
 
 " Well, Miss Niles, I'm perfectly astonished, 
 and I'm sorry for you. How do you dare break 
 over the rules of the committee in this way? 
 You'll jest as true be published in the papers as a 
 traitor to the cause of the country, as you are alive. " 
 5 
 
66 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Mrs. Niles very calmly answered: "I doa't 
 think so. " 
 
 " Oh, you certainly will ; there's no help for it. " 
 
 " Yes, you certainly will. Miss Niles, you'll be 
 published as a traitor, " declared Mrs. Brown. 
 
 " Oh, Miss Niles, you've ruined yourself, " al- 
 most sobbed Mrs. Hill. " If nobody else don't 
 complain of you, I shall feel it my duty to go to 
 the committee myself about it. " 
 
 " Wall, I'm not afraid of any trouble about it, " 
 declared Mrs. Niles. 
 
 " "Why not? I think it's high time you was 
 afraid of it, " said Mrs. Stevens. 
 
 " Because I haven't broke over the rules of the 
 committee, not one of 'em. We had ten pounds 
 of this tea in the house when rules against buying 
 and using India tea were first published ; and you 
 know families were allowed to use up what they 
 had in the house. I'm very much obliged to you, 
 ladies, for coming here to teach me patriotism ; but 
 I should like to see the woman, or man, either, who 
 would go further, or su£Eer more than I, for the 
 good of my country. I would not only go without 
 tea but without bread. Yes, I would live on one 
 potato a day and work day and night while my 
 strength lasted, before I'd have the colonies give 
 up to parliament, and let 'em tax us, and take 
 av.-ay just what they're a mind to from us. " 
 
"WHY, THIS ain't FOXEEKRY NOR SAGE TEA, KEITHEIt, IF I'VE GOT ANY TASTE/ 
 
FIRST BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 67 
 
 " Good for you, Miss Wiles ! now I like to hear 
 you talk that way," cried Mrs. Stevens. Mrs. 
 K iles continued : 
 
 "I've no idea of buying any more tea till our 
 troubles with parliament are over, or till the com- 
 mittee takes off the restriction. But as we have 
 this in the house, we might as well drink it once 
 in a while and take the comfort of it, and give a 
 cup to our friends when they come to see us, as to 
 let it lay in the cupboard and lose its strength and 
 all be wasted. So now, ladies, just drink your 
 tea and take the comfort of it. This tea wasn't 
 taxed. " 
 
 And they did. Even the patriotic Mrs. Stevens 
 drank three cups and declared it the most delicious 
 beverage she had ever tasted in her life. 
 
 With this little sketch of the patriotism of New 
 England women, we will hasten on with the story. 
 The port of Boston was closed, as has already been 
 told, and a feverish state of anxiety pervaded the 
 colonies. 
 
 Eugby Tavern was a scene of constant discussion 
 during the long winter of 1774 and 1775. Albert 
 Stevens, who had been in Boston in the early part 
 of the winter with his father, had incurred the dis- 
 pleasure of some of the officers for stoning them, 
 because their soldiers broke the skating ponds of 
 himself and playmates. The boys reported the 
 
68 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 soldiers to Governor Gage, who promised that their 
 ice ponds should not be destroyed again. Albert 
 was sent to spend the remainder of the winter at 
 Eugby. Here he saw many bowls of punch dis- 
 appear and heard many fiery declarations. Simon 
 Tapley, though now a man, seemed little older or 
 more discreet than when we introduced him ten 
 years ago. He openly declared King George " a 
 darned fool, " and said he was ready to fight. Al- 
 bert had a gun of his own and joined Captain John 
 Parker's minute men at Lexington. So had Simon 
 and Jacob Steckel. 
 
 The long winter of 1774-6 had passed and spring 
 had Gome. The provincial congress of Massachu- 
 setts had but just adjourned, and Samuel Adams 
 and John Hancock were still at Lexington. The 
 latter was visiting his betrothed, Dorothe Quincy, 
 at Mr. Clarke's in Lexington, on the ever memor- 
 able 19th of April, 1775. Albert Stevens was at 
 Eugby in the house of his father's cousin, where 
 he had spent the winter. Mr. Noah Stevens had 
 sent his family to the home of Jonathan Stevens, 
 near Lexington, but tarried behind to make some 
 other arrangements before joining him. 
 
 On the' afternoon of the 18th, he met Paul Ee- 
 vere, who said : 
 
 " Are you going to Lexington this evening?" 
 
 "lam." 
 
FIRST BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 69 
 
 " You Had better start early. " 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " I half suspect that Governor Gage will send 
 troops to arrest Adams and Hancock at Lex- 
 ington and destroy the military stores at Con- 
 cord." 
 
 " That will cause trouble." 
 
 " I know it ; go early. " 
 
 How Gage's secret leaked out, the govemornever 
 knew. Paul Eevere, Dr. Warren, Noah Stevens 
 and others made arrangements for a sudden emer- 
 gency to warn Hancock and Adams of danger, and 
 to arouse the country. At ten o'clock that even- 
 ing, eight hundred British troops marched silently 
 to the foot of the common where they embarked in 
 boats and passed over to Cambridge. They were 
 commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, assisted 
 by Major Pitcairn. Gage supposed his secret was 
 unknown ; but Lord Percy, who knew of the pro- 
 posed seizure of military stores, while crossing the 
 common heard one of the citizens say : 
 
 " The British will miss their mark. " 
 
 "What mark?" he asked. 
 • " The cannon at Concord, " was the reply. He 
 hastened to inform Gage who issued orders that no. 
 one should leave that city ; but his order came too 
 late. Dawes, Warren and Eevere were across. 
 Stevens was well on his way toward Lexington, 
 
70 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 ■when the thunder of hoofs came behind him. In 
 a moment Paul Eevere was at his side. 
 
 " They are coming, " he said. " The British are 
 coming. " 
 
 " Have you seen them?" 
 
 " No, but a signal light in the old church tower 
 told me. On! on! let us go. I shall see that 
 Hancock and Adams are warned and out of the 
 way. Dawes and the others will rouse the coun- 
 try." 
 
 It was but natural that Mr. Stevens should wish 
 to look after his family, so he dashed up to the 
 house of Jonathan Stevens. The moon was shin- 
 ing broad and full, and the town was peaceful and 
 quiet as he passed through it. He called aloud 
 and Jonathan came out asking : 
 
 "What is the matter?" 
 
 " The British regulars are coming ! They will 
 be here by daylight. " 
 
 " Then we'll fight, " and he called to his boys 
 Joshua and Levi to get up and load their guns. 
 Even the old grandfather insisted on rising and 
 loading his rifle. As there was plenty of time, 
 Levi mounted the roan colt and flew down the road 
 to Eugby to notify Albert, who had joined. Captain 
 Parker's company, and Jean Baptiste Stevens. 
 But Jean had had a fit during the early part of the 
 evening, and was hardly recovered, so Albert seized 
 
FIRST BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 71 
 
 his gun and mounting the roan colt behind Levi, 
 the two rode at a gallop back to Lexington. They 
 heard bells ringing and drums beating and found 
 the minute men under Captain Parker assembling 
 on the green before the church. 
 
 "Where is Eevere?" asked Mr. William Em- 
 merson, the minister, with gun in hand, powder- 
 horn and bullet-pouch slung over his shoulder like 
 a warrior. 
 
 " Revere, Dawes and Prescott have gone on to 
 rouse the whole country, " answered Captain Parker. 
 
 It was a few minutes after two o'clock in the 
 morning when the inhabitants of Lexington, young 
 and old, began to gather on the green with fire- 
 locks in their hands. Albert Stevens was in the 
 assembly, his gun in his hand. His teeth chat- 
 tered a little, as he heard Caleb Harriiigton tell 
 Jonas Parker: 
 
 " We are going to have a fight, and some one 
 will be hurt. " 
 
 "I am not going to run," responded Jonas 
 Parker, a stout young wrestler of twenty. " I'll 
 die before I run. " 
 
 " Fall in line, " said Captain John Parker. 
 
 The men and boys with their guns formed a line 
 and the roll was called. One hundred and thirty 
 answered to their names. When this was done. 
 Captain Parker said : 
 
72 tNDJEPHNDENCE. 
 
 " Load your guns carefully with powder and 
 ball ; but do not fire until you are fired upon. " 
 
 "That's pretty hard tew do," Simon growled 
 under his breath. Mr. Eobert Monroe, an old 
 man who stood by his side, said : 
 
 " A good soldier obeys orders, " and Simon was 
 silent. 
 
 Three or four messengers were sent down the 
 road to look for the British regulars, and retnming 
 reported they were not in sight. The captain set 
 a watch down the road and dismissed the company 
 with orders to come at the beat of the drum. Some 
 went to their own houses. Jonathan Harrington 
 went to his, but a short distance away, to tell his 
 wife to keep the children asleep until the troops 
 had passed. 
 
 " There will be trouble, I fear, " he added. 
 
 " Jonathan, do be careful of yourself," his sob- 
 bing wife implored. 
 
 " I will ; but my country needs my services, " 
 was the Jarave answer of one of the first martyrs of 
 liberty. 
 
 Albert lay on the ground near the church, while 
 Simon and Isaac Muzzey sat on the steps of the 
 church, their rifles between their knees. A little 
 knot of brave but inexperienced patriots were 
 gathered about them listening to the expressions 
 of dry humor given vent to by Simon. 
 
FIRST BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 73 
 
 The last stars were fading from the sky, when 
 their pickets came running in, crying : 
 
 " They are coming J They are coming!" 
 
 "Pall in!" cried the captain. The drum beat 
 the long roll, and signal guns were fired, which 
 the advancing troops heard. Major Pitcairn, who 
 commanded the advance, halted his men and had 
 them load their guns, assuring them there would 
 be work to do. Less than seventy fell into line 
 in two ranks and paraded on the green, a few rods 
 north of the old meeting-house. 
 
 " Don't be scared, boy," said a kindly voice at 
 Albert's side. The lad was considerably excited. 
 Looking up, he saw it was the gray-haired old man, 
 Eobert Monroe. 
 
 " I will not fear with you at my side," he an- 
 swered, and his hand ceased trembling. He looked 
 up in the sky and saw the morning star fading 
 away and thought: "Oh, my God! will I ever 
 see it again!" The east was rosy with light. He 
 glanced at the church and thought how often these 
 good people had renewed their faith, and looked 
 up to God as the stay of their fathers and protec- 
 tion of their privileges. How often on that village 
 green, hard by the burial-place of their ancestors, 
 they had pledged themselves to each other to com- 
 bat manfully for their birthright inheritance of 
 liberty! There they stood now, side by side, 
 
74 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 under the provincial banner, with arms in their 
 hands, silent and fearless, willing to fight for their 
 privileges, scrupulous not to begin civil war, and 
 unconscious of immediate danger. They trod 
 the altar of freedom, and were to furnish the 
 victims. 
 
 As the British van appeared in sight at a quick 
 step, Albert became nervous and looked down the 
 line asking : 
 
 "Where is Simon?" 
 
 " Here, only two or three away, " was the answer. 
 
 " And Levi and Joshua?" 
 
 Both were near. The British van was now in 
 full view and Albert saw a man on horseback lead- 
 ing them. He knew it was an officer and cocked 
 his gun to shoot him. 
 
 " Don't — don't fire unless we are attacked," cau- 
 tioned Captain Parker. The officer in command 
 of the British gave a command which Albert did 
 not hear, upon which the soldiers hurried forward 
 at double-quick time, almost upon a run, closely 
 followed by the grenadiers. Pitcaim, the officer 
 whom Albert saw, rode in front, and, when within 
 five or six rods of the minute men, cried out: 
 
 " Disperse, ye villains ! ye rebels, disperse ! Lay 
 down your arms! Why don't' you lay down your 
 arms and disperse?" 
 
 Three or four timid men in the rear rank obeyed, 
 
FTR8T BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 75 
 
 but the remainder stood firm, and Captain Parker 
 commanded : 
 
 " Steady, lads, steady ! " 
 
 Witli an oath, Pitcaim levelled his pistol and 
 pulled the trigger. A stunning report shook the 
 air, and the bullet passed just above Captain Par- 
 ker's head. 
 
 " Fire!" roared Pitcairn, drawing his sword and 
 waving it in the air. 
 
 "Bang, bang, bang, bang!" went some half a 
 dozen muskets ; a few seconds later, followed by a 
 rattling crash of firearms. 
 
 "Oh, my God!" groaned the aged Mr. Eobert 
 Monroe, and, falling against Albert, he dropped 
 dead to the earth. 
 
 " Disperse ! " cried Captain Parker. " We are 
 overpowered. " Albert had levelled his rifle on Pit- 
 cairn, but Mr. Monroe falling against him the ball 
 only grazed the Major's horse. 
 
 Jonas Parker, the strong wrestler of Lexington, 
 who had promised never to run from the British, 
 nobly kept his vow. A shot brought him to his 
 knees ; but, wounded as he was, he fired, and his 
 bullet wounded one of the tenth light infantry. 
 The soldier set up a howl of pain, and his nearest 
 comrade ran up to Jonas and, with a terrible oath, 
 drove his bayonet to the young man's heart, as he 
 vas feebly trying to reload. Isaac Muzzey lay 
 
76 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 dying from a musket ball in the head. Jonathan 
 Harrington, Jr., was struck in front of his own 
 house on the north of the common. His wife was 
 at the window as he fell, with blood gushing from 
 his breast. He rose in her sight, tottered, fell 
 again, then crawled on hands and knees toward his 
 dwelling. The horrified wife ran to meet him, but 
 only reached him as he expired on their threshold, 
 with his screaming children about him, and the 
 brutal soldiers jeering and scoffing at their grief. 
 Caleb Harrington, who had gone into the meeting 
 house for powder, was shot as he came out. Sam- 
 uel Hadley and John Brown were pursued and killed 
 after they had left the green. Asahel Porter of 
 Woburn, who had been- taken by the British on 
 the march, was shot within a few rods of the com- 
 mon. These were the shots heard around the 
 world. 
 
 After firing his gun, Albert was in the act of 
 reloading, when Joshua seized him and dragged 
 him over the hill. In a few moments Colonel 
 Smith came up and, in a cool, unmoved voice, as 
 he surveyed the dead and dying, asked : 
 " What have you been doing, Major?" 
 " Shooting a few of the d — d rebels!" was the 
 brutal answer. The pursuing soldiers were re- 
 called, the troops wheeled into line and continued 
 the march to Concord. 
 
FISST BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 77 
 
 At Eugby Tavern the soldiers halted for a mo- 
 ment and ordered some refreshments. They cursed 
 poor Jean, who was still confused from his recent 
 attack, and so weak he could scarce stand. His 
 wife came and said : 
 
 " He is sick — let me help you. " Estella, in 
 a fright, ran to the attic and wept. 
 
 "You are going to Concord," said Jean's wife, 
 her dark eyes flashing. " You will come back 
 faster than you went. " 
 
 Pitcairn laughed and, mounting his horse, rode 
 away. As the troops were moving off, little Es- 
 tella put her head out of the window, and a cap- 
 tain of grenadiers looking up saw her. Seizing 
 the hand of Adrianne Stevens, who still stood on 
 the porch, with voice trembling with emotion, he 
 asked : 
 
 "Who is she? — who is that child? In God's 
 name tell me ! " 
 
 Adrianne looked closely at the man and recog- 
 nized him as one of the guests in the coach and 
 six, who had called at the tavern the night Estella's 
 mother died. 
 
 " You are Sir Arthur Whimple?" she said. 
 
 " Hush ! I will tell you as we come back. We 
 will not be gone long. " 
 
 The columns were moving and he joined them. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FLORA MACDONALD. 
 
 There is not a schoolboy but knows how the 
 British marched to Concord, knocked in the heads 
 of about sixty barrels of flour, spiked some old 
 cannon and then marched to the bridge to attack 
 some minute men under Major Buttrick ; how they 
 were repulsed in a skirmish and bpgan a retreat. 
 That retreat is famous in history. Men and boys 
 with guns seemed to spring up from the ground. 
 Every stone fence, every tree and bush, every house 
 became a volcano of fire and death. The road was 
 strewn with dead and dying redcoats. When the 
 troops passed Rugby, Sir Arthur Whimple had no 
 time to interview Adrianne. From an attic window 
 she saw him bareheaded and coatless, as he flew 
 down the road. He had been wounded in the face, 
 for his cheek was bloody. Albert, who had come 
 to the house after the British had passed, levelled 
 his rifle on the captain ; but she begged him not 
 to fire at that man, so he shot a big grenadier in- 
 stead. 
 
 78 
 
FLORA MAODONALD. 79 
 
 As tlie troops passed Lexington, Mr. Jonathan 
 Stevens, his father, his two sons and Noah were 
 behind the stone fence near the farm-house. Each 
 in turn fired and three soldiers were seen to fall. 
 One of them dropped just after the report of grand- 
 father's gun, and, wiping his spectacles, the old 
 man said: 
 
 " I tell ye, boys, there's nothin' like takin' good 
 aim. " 
 
 The common schoolboy knows how sorely the 
 British were pressed on that retreat and how they 
 barely escaped ; but there are some incidents which 
 the reader perhaps does not know. While brave 
 men were buckling on the offensive and defensive 
 armor of war, kissing wives and children adieu, 
 there were other brave men, giants in intellect, try- 
 ing by voice and pen to instil courage into the 
 weak and vacillating. In Virginia, the represen- 
 tatives of the house of burgesses approved the acts 
 of the continental congress, but were rather timid 
 about taking important steps for defence. It was 
 at the old St. John church in Eichmond, almost a 
 month before the battle of Lexington, that Patrick 
 Henry spoke the following inspiring words : 
 
 " "What has there been in the conduct of the 
 British ministry for the last ten years to justify 
 hope? Are fleets and armies necessary to a work 
 of love and reconciliation? Have we shown our- 
 
80 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 selves so unwilling to be reconciled tliat force must 
 be called to win us back to our love? Let us not 
 deceive ourselves. Sir, these are the implements 
 of war and subjugation, the last argument to which 
 kings resort. I ask, gentlemen, what means this 
 martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to 
 submission? Has Great Britain any enemy in this 
 quarter of the world to call for all this accumula- 
 tion of armies and navies? No, sir; she has none. 
 They are meant for us ; they can be meant for no 
 other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon 
 us chains which the British ministry have been 
 long forging. And what have we to oppose them? 
 Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying 
 argument for the last ten years; have we anything 
 new to offer? Shall we resort to entreaty and sup- 
 plication? "We have supplicated; we have pros- 
 trated ourselves before the throne, and have im- 
 plored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical 
 hands of the ministry and parliament. Our peti- 
 tions have produced additional violence and insult ; 
 our supplications have been disregarded, and we 
 have been spurned with contempt from the foot of 
 the throne. In vain, after these things, may we 
 indulge the fond hope of reconciliation. There is 
 no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be 
 free; if we wish to preserve inviolate those inesti- 
 mable privileges for which we have been so long 
 
FLORA MACDONALD. 81 
 
 contending ; if we mean not basely to abandon the 
 struggle in whicli we have been so long engaged, 
 and wliicb we bave pledged ourselves never to 
 abandon until tbe glorious object of our contest 
 stall be obtained, we must fight I I repeat it, sir ; 
 we must fight ! An appeal to arms and to the God 
 of Hosts is all that's left us. 
 
 " They tell us, sir, that we are weak, unable to 
 cope with so formidable an enemy ; but when shall 
 we be stronger? "Will it be next week or next 
 year? "Will it be when we are totally disarmed, 
 and when a British guard shall be stationed in 
 every house? Shall we gather strength by irreso- 
 lution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means 
 of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our 
 backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, 
 until our enemies shall have bound us hand and 
 foot? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper 
 use of those means which the God of nature hath 
 placed in our power. Three millions of people, 
 armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a 
 country as that which we possess, are invincible 
 to any power which our enemy can send against 
 us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles 
 alone. There is a great God who presides over the 
 destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends 
 to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not 
 to the strong alone ; it is to the vigilant, the active, 
 6 
 
83 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 the brave ; and, again we have no election. If we 
 were base enougb to desire it, it is now too late to 
 retire from tbe contest. There is no retreat but in 
 submission and slavery. Our chains are forged. 
 Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Bos- 
 ton. The war is inevitable : and let it come ! I re- 
 peat it, sir ; let it come ! It is vain, sir, to extenuate 
 the matter. Gentlemen may cry peace, peace ; but 
 there is no peace ! The war is actually begun ! the 
 next gale that sweeps from the north will bring 
 to our ears the clash of resounding arms? Our 
 brethren are already in the field. What is it that 
 the gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is 
 life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at 
 the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it. Al- 
 mighty God ! I know not what course others may 
 take ; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death ! " 
 That famous speech rang like a trumpet over 
 all the colonies. It did as much as Lexington 
 and Concord to inspire the people to resist the 
 encroachments of tyrants. It nerved Colonel 
 Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain boys to 
 march through the wilderness and seize that im- 
 portant and almost impregnable fortress Ticonder- 
 oga. It frightened Governor Dunmore of Virginia 
 into abdicating his government shortly after the 
 outbreak at Lexington, and really put an end to 
 royal government in Virginia. 
 
FLORA MACDONALD. 8a 
 
 Minute men were arming all over the nation, and 
 regiments and brigades were everywhere formed, 
 and an army of provincials was surrounding Bos- 
 ton. Preparations were being made for a Canadian 
 invasion and a general war spirit everywhere per- 
 vaded. 
 
 TSo part of the united colonies was more loyal 
 to the cause of liberty than the south. In North 
 Carolinia, resistance to oppression began early. 
 The Mecklenberg Declaration of Independence, in 
 May, 1775, was but a culmination in action of the 
 patriotic sentiments of the province. Governor 
 Martin, who succeeded Tryon, alarmed by the 
 threatening aspect of the popular will, first forti- 
 fied his " palace" at New Berne and then took 
 refuge in Fort Johnson, near the mouth of Cape 
 Fear River. From that stronghold he was driven 
 in July, by the patriots in arms, to the Pallas, a 
 sloop-of-war near Cape Fear. The fort was de- 
 stroyed, and the governor fulminated menacing 
 proclamations from his floating quarters. His po- 
 litical friends were numerous ; but under the wise 
 leadership of Cornelius Harnett, John Ashe and a 
 few others, the Whigs were so well organized, that 
 they silenced the Tories and kept the obnoxious 
 ones prisoners on their own plantations. The con- 
 tinental congress voted to furnish supplies for a 
 thousand men in that province, to counteract the 
 
84 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 influence of Governor Martin and his friends ; and 
 a popular convention was assembled at Hillsbor- 
 ough in August, assumed the control of the colony 
 and authorized the raising of two regiments, with 
 Eobert Howe and James Moore to command them. 
 The governor, from the Pallas, sent a proclamation 
 denouncing the convention as treasonable, and the 
 convention denounced his manifesto as " a scandal- 
 ous, malicious and scurrilous libel, tending to dis- 
 unite the good people of the province, " and ordered 
 the common hangman to burn it. 
 
 Soon after the rebellion in England, in 1745, 
 many Scotch Highlanders, some of noble blood, 
 having favored the " Young Pretender" as Charles 
 Stuart was called, were forced to fly from their 
 native country, and they settled in North Caro- 
 linia. Some of them even went among the Chero- 
 kee Indians, and their descendants still live in the 
 Eosses, Adairs, McLeods and many other Scotch 
 names. John Eoss, for forty years the principal 
 chief of the Cherokees, was- half Scotch. In the 
 Indian Territory to-day, Scotch names are almost 
 as common as in the Highlands. 
 
 Strange as it may seem, notwithstanding all the 
 persecutions which the Scotch suffered at the hands 
 of the English they were generally loyal to the 
 home government when the war for American in- 
 dependence broke out, Among them was Flora 
 
FLORA M4CD0NJiLD. 85 
 
 MacDonald, wlio, in her beautiful young maiden- 
 hood, had saved the life of the " Pretender" after 
 the disastrous battle of OuUoden. "With her hus- 
 band and children, she had settled at Cross Creek 
 (now Fayetteville), and had great influence among 
 her countrymen. Among her children was one 
 sturdy youth of eighteen or twenty, a tall, robust 
 fellow, brave as a lion, who, during the Eevolution, 
 became famous in South Carolinia. Authentic his- 
 torical accounts of him are so meagre that he is 
 only known as Scotch MacDonald. Flora and her 
 family were all true to King George. Late in 
 1775, Governor Martin was acting in concert with 
 Dunmore in southwestern Virginia, and was ex- 
 pecting a British force on the coast of North Caro- 
 linia. He therefore resolved to strike an effectual 
 blow against the republicans of the province. He 
 commissioned Donald MacDonald, an influential 
 Scotchman at Cross Creek, a brigadier-general, and 
 Flora's husband took a captaincy under him. He 
 was authorized to embody the Highlanders and 
 other loyalists into a military corps, and raise the 
 royal standard at Cross Creek. It was formally 
 unfurled at a large gathering of the clan, by Flora 
 herself, who was then a handsome matron of be- 
 tween forty and fifty years of age. While Colonel 
 Howe was absent with his regiment assisting the 
 Virginians against Dunmore, fifteen hundred armed 
 
86 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Tories gathered under the banner of Flora Mac- 
 Donald. 
 
 On hearing of this gathering, Colonel Moore 
 inarched with his regulars and some Hanover mili- 
 tia, eleven hundred strong, to disperse them. At 
 the same time the minute men were gathering in 
 large numbers. MacDonald was alarmed and fled 
 toward Cape Fear,'hotly pursued by Moore. At a 
 bridge over Moore's Creek (an affluent of the South 
 Eiver, and a principal tributary of the Cape Fear), 
 he was met by armed patriots of the Neuse region, 
 under Colonels Casewell and Livingston, on the 
 evening of the 26th of February, 1776. During 
 the night both parties rested on their arms and at 
 daylight next morning a terrible conflict ensued. 
 The Tories, unable to withstand the fierce onslaught 
 of the Whigs, were scattered in every direction, 
 leaving many of their dead and wounded on the 
 ground. Many were made captives, among them 
 the general, and husband of Flora MacDonald. 
 This victory greatly encouraged the Whigs and 
 disheartened the Tories. The MacDonalds, being 
 paroled, soon after returned to Scotland in a sloop- 
 of-war. On the voyage they were attacked by a 
 French cruiser, which they succeeded in beating off. 
 During the engagement between the two vessels, 
 the brave Flora MacDonald remained on deck and 
 was wounded in the hand 
 
FLORA MACDONALD. 87 
 
 One of Flora's sons was not captured in the fight 
 at the bridge. He was the stout, red-haired young 
 man whom we have mentioned. He escaped into 
 the thickets and for days lived in the woods. 
 During the time, young MacDonald was seriously 
 reflecting on the past, present and future. He 
 suddenly made up his mind to become a Whig, 
 and fight the British and Tories. He joined the 
 small forces of Peter Horry in South Carolinia. 
 The colonel asked him the reason for changing 
 parties, and gives the following in substance as his 
 reply : * 
 
 " Immediately after the misfortune of my father 
 and his friends at the great bridge, I fell to think- 
 ing what could be the cause ; and then it struck 
 me that it must have been owing to their own 
 monstrous ingratitude. 'Here now, ' said I to my- 
 self, 'is a parcel of people, ' meaning my poor father 
 and his friends, 'who fled from the murderous 
 swords of the English after the massacre at CuUo- 
 den. "Well, they came to America, with hardly 
 anything but their poverty and mournful looks; 
 but among this friendly people, that was enough. 
 Every eye that saw us had pitj', and every hand 
 was stretched out to assist. They received us into 
 their houses as though we had been their own un- 
 fortunate brothers. They kindled high their hos- 
 
 * See Weems' Life of Marion, page 75. 
 
88 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 pitable fires for us, and spread their feasts, and bid 
 us eat and drink and banish, our sorrows, for that 
 we were in a land of friends. And so, indeed, we 
 found it ; for, whenever we told of the wonderful 
 battle of CuUoden, and how the English gave no 
 quarter to our unfortunate countrymen, but butch- 
 ered all they could overtake, these generous people 
 often gave us their tears and said : 
 
 " ' " Oh, that we had been there to aid with our 
 rifles ; then should many of these monsters have 
 bit the ground." 
 
 " ' They received us into the bosoms of their 
 peaceful forests, and gave us their lands and their 
 beauteous daughters in marriage, and we became 
 rich. And yet, after all, as soon as the English 
 came to America, to murder this innocent people, 
 merely for refusing to be their slaves, then my 
 father and friends, forgetting all that the Ameri- 
 cans had done for them, went and joined the Brit- 
 ish, to assist them to cut the throats of their best 
 friends. 
 
 " 'Now,' said I to myself, 'if ever there was a 
 time for God to stand up to punish ingratitude, 
 this was the time, and God did stand up, for he 
 enabled the Americans to defeat my father and his 
 friends most completely ; but instead of murdering 
 the prisoners as the English had done at Culloden, 
 they treated us with their usual generosity. And 
 
FLORA MACDONALD. 89 
 
 now tliese are the people I love and will fight for 
 as long as I live. ' " 
 
 There was no braver man in the American army 
 than Scotch MacDonald. From the same authority 
 above quoted, we give an amusing incident with 
 which many of our readers are no doubt familiar. 
 There were many wealthy Tories in South Caro- 
 linia who prided themselves on their excellent 
 horses. The thoroughbred horse was as much the 
 pride of the South Carolinian as he is of the Ken- 
 tuckian to-day. There lived near Monk's Comer 
 a rich old Tory, famous for his fine horses. It 
 chanced that Scotch MacDonald was without a horse 
 when Tarleton camped near the Corner. Next 
 morning after the arrival of the British troops he 
 went to the wealthy old Tory and representing 
 himself as a sergeant of Colonel Tarleton's corps, 
 presented that officer's compliments, adding that 
 Colonel Tarleton was come to drive the rebels out 
 of the country, and knowing him to be a good 
 friend of the king, begged he would send him one 
 of his best horses for a charger, and that he should 
 not be the loser by it. 
 
 The old Tory, delighted to know that his loyalty 
 and fame were recognized by so great a personage 
 as Colonel Tarleton, went fairly wild with delight. 
 He had the supposed sergeant breakfast with him 
 and gave him a glass of his famous old peach 
 
90 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 brandy, and would insist on his wearing his new 
 overcoat as the morning was damp. The horae, a 
 noble steed, whose speed and endurance never found 
 an equal, was brought out, saddled and bridled. 
 It was a thoroughbred Arabian horse, and Mac- 
 Donald was delighted with the prize. The old 
 Tory was- almost beside himself with rage when he 
 learned the trick which had been played him. 
 MacDonald was the dread of British and Tory 
 dragoons. He had no more sense of fear than a 
 hungry tiger, and as for his strength, it was such, 
 that, with one of his Potter's blades, he would 
 make no more to drive through cap and skull of a 
 British dragoon, than a boy would, with a case 
 knife, to chip off the head of a carrot. Selim is 
 described by one who saw him as " a noble horse, 
 full sixteen hands high, with the eye of a hawk, the 
 spirit of the king eagle, a chest like a lion, swifter 
 than a roebuck, and strong as a buffalo. " 
 
 General Peter Horry gives the following descrip- 
 tion of the fury of one of MacDonald 's charges: 
 
 " Poor MacDonald ! The arm of his strength is 
 now in dust, and his large red cheeks have long 
 ago been food for the worms ; but never shall I 
 forget when I first saw him fight. 'Twas in the 
 days when the British held Georgetown, and Marion 
 had said to me, 'Go and reconnoitre. ' I took only 
 MacDonald with me. Before day we reached our 
 
FLORA MAODONALD. 91 
 
 places of concealment, a thick clump of pines near 
 the road, and in full view of the enemy's lines. 
 Soon as the bonny, gray-eyed morning began to 
 peep, "we heard the town all alive, as it were, with 
 drums and fifes, and about sunrise we beheld five 
 dragoons turn out, and with prancing steeds dash 
 up the road toward us. I turned my eye on Mac- 
 Donald and saw his face all kindled up with the 
 joy of battle. It was like that terrible joy which 
 flashes from the eyes of an ambushed lion, when 
 he beholds the coming forth of the bufEaloes toward 
 his gloomy cave. 
 
 "'Zounds! MacDonald,' said I, 'here are odds 
 against us, five to two. ' 
 
 "'By my soul, now, captain,' he replied, 'and 
 let 'em come on! Three are welcome to the sword 
 of MacDonald. ' 
 
 " Soon as they were coming fairly opposite to 
 us, we gave them a blast from our bugles, and 
 with drawn sabres broke in upon them like a tor- 
 nado. 
 
 " Their panic was complete ; two we stopped, 
 overthrown and weltering in the road. The re- 
 maining three wheeled about, and taking to their 
 heels, went off as if old Nick had been bringing 
 up the rear. Then you might have seen the dust 
 which dragoons can raise, when, with whip and 
 spur and wildly rolling eyes, they bend forward 
 
92 tNDEPENt)ENCe. 
 
 from the pursuit of death. My charger being but 
 a heavy brute was soon distanced; but they could 
 not distance the swift-footed Selim. Eapid as the 
 deadly blast of the desert, he pursued their dusty 
 course, still gathering upon them at every jump. 
 And before they could reach the town, though so 
 near, he had brought his furious rider alongside of 
 two of them, whom he cut down. One hundred 
 yards further, and the third would also have been 
 slain, for MacDonald with his crimson claymore 
 was within a few steps of him, when the guns of 
 the fort compelled him to retire. However, though 
 quickly pursued by the enemy, he had the address 
 to bring off an elegant horse of one of the dragoons 
 killed." 
 
 Flora MacDonald 's son became one of the most 
 famous of the famous Marion's brigade, and his 
 adventures, if they-could be collected, would make 
 a volume much larger than this. 
 
BUT THEY COULD NOT DISTANCE TUE SWIFT-FOOTED SELISI. 
 
CHAPTEK V. 
 
 ROYALTY REPULSED. 
 
 It was tbree days after the Concord fight before 
 there was an assembly of the politicians at Eugby 
 Tavern. Mr. Brown, who had a hole in his hat 
 made by a British musket-ball on the day the 
 troops retreated from Concord, was first to suggest 
 a meeting of what he called the Eugby Club. Mr. 
 Brown was very proud of that hole in his hat, and 
 when the hat began to wear he put it away. One 
 of his nephews had fallen in the morning fight at 
 Lexington, and Mr. Brown could not call a meet- 
 ing of the club until after the funeral ceremonies. 
 
 Fortunately no member of the Eugby Club had 
 been slain in the fight. Simon had had a hand-to- 
 hand fight with a British officer and been twice 
 knocked down; but beyond a few insignificant 
 bruises he was all right. 
 
 Mr. Niles had a mark on his cheek which he 
 declared had been made by a bullet, and Mr. Buker 
 had fallen over a stone fence and hurt his shoulder. 
 
 " It was a dirty day's work," said Mr, Brown. 
 93 
 
94 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " But them Britishers got the worst of it, " de- 
 clared Simon. 
 
 " Simon, you talk too much." 
 
 " I'm not a boy now. " 
 
 At this moment Albert came in. He carried 
 three muskets and a brace of pistols with him. 
 
 " Where did you get those?" asked Mr. Brown. 
 
 " I found them in the woods. " 
 
 " The cowards threw 'em away," said Mr. Niles. 
 
 " There is another dead redcoat in the field, Mr. 
 Brown." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " Eight at the corner of Mr. Potts' field, just 
 over behind the stone fence. He fell into some 
 bushes and was not seen until the crows began to 
 
 %•" 
 
 " Thought we had picked 'em all up. Well, it 
 don't seem as if we will ever get through buryin' 
 them fellers. We must look after him. " 
 
 "It's not necessary. Father and Joshua went 
 with a wagon to bring him to town and bury him. " 
 
 " And are the boys still pickin' up things along 
 the road?" 
 
 " Yes, sir. The road all along the way was 
 strewn with guns, swords, pistols, muskets, bay- 
 onets and everything a soldier carries. " 
 
 Mr. Brown, shaking his head sagely, remarked: 
 
 " They were in a hurry that day. When they 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 95 
 
 sliot my nephew Jolin Brown at Lexington, they 
 made me mad, and I — well, I won't boast, but I 
 got even." 
 
 " The death of poor Jonathan Harrington, shot 
 and killed before his wife and children, was terri- 
 ble, " said Mr. Niles. 
 
 "We'll pay 'em back for it!" cried Simon. 
 "Gawl dam 'em, I am going to pay 'em back!" 
 
 " We'll soon have a chance. Our fellows are 
 not going to stop until we drive 'em out of Boston. " 
 
 " That's yust wot I say mit mein zelf, " put in 
 Jacob. " We should have done dot ven dey first 
 come to Boston. Oh, I vish mein brudder August 
 vas here from Yarmany und help us fight de Brit- 
 ish. He not like 'em." 
 
 " I thought your brother August was coming?" 
 said Mr. Jonathan Stevens. 
 
 " Dat he vas, only he haf von wife and some 
 leedle children vot he cannot bring mit him nor 
 leaf 'em behint." 
 
 But the main question to be discussed on this 
 night was driving the British out of Boston. Si- 
 mon thought there should be no delay in the matter, 
 and Mr. Brown said the minute men were already 
 assembling about the town and had been since 
 Percy, Pitoairn, and Smith had been driven into 
 the city. 
 
 Mr. Brown at the Eugby Club paeeting declared 
 
96 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 they would never — no, never — stop, until they had 
 driven Governor Gage and his hirelings out of the 
 country. It was a right which he thought parlia- 
 ment should grant them, and then Mr. Brown drank 
 his punch and smoked his pipe and winked know- 
 ingly- 
 
 The gathering at Rugby was large that evening, 
 and everybody was talking loudly when Major 
 Buttrick came in. The appearance of the hero of 
 Concord was the signal for three rousing huz- 
 zas. Mr. Brown, who had just finished his third 
 bowl of punch, rose and laid his pipe aside. Every- 
 body knew that Mr. Brown had something very 
 important to communicate, for though he was rather 
 unsteady on his legs, his face was seriousness itself. 
 He steadied himself against the table and, taking 
 up his hat, began : 
 
 " Gentlemen, let's have order ! " This point hav- 
 ing been gained Mr. Brown pointed to the orifice 
 in the crown of his hat made by the British bullet 
 and added, " Gentlemen, d'you see that?" After 
 a pause, he went on: " Gentlemen, I am proud of 
 that. That's the hole that lets in the sunlight and 
 air of independence. " 
 
 " Hear — ^bear — hear!" cried half a score. 
 
 " But, gentlemen, I did not rise to make a speech 
 — I riz to propose a toast to the h?ro o' Concord, 
 Major Buttrick. " 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 
 
 97 
 
 "Wild yells went up on every side, and Mr. 
 Brown, waving his hand through the curling clouds 
 of tobacco smoke to secure order, continued, " Fill 
 up — fill up and drink with a will!" 
 
 Every bumper was filled, and then Mr. Brown, 
 
 ' That's the yloue that lets in 
 the air of independence." 
 
 in a speech which 
 was interrupted 
 by the increasing 
 thickness of his 
 tongue, made a 
 short speech in 
 which the hero of 
 Concord and the bullet-hole in his hat were awk- 
 wardly mixed. 
 
 The toast was drunk among wild huzzas. The 
 party at Eugby were growing every moment more 
 noisy, when a horseman suddenly galloped up to 
 7 
 
98 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 tlie door, threw himself from the saddle and, en- 
 tering the tavern, cried: 
 
 " "Why are you rioting here, when the country- 
 is struggling to break the shackles of slavery?" 
 
 " Paul Revere!" cried a do^en at once. " "What 
 news?" 
 
 " The whole country is wild with excitement, 
 and men are everywhere marching to Boston. 
 General Putnam, "Warren, Colonel Prescott and 
 others are organizing a great army there. Every 
 man who can carry a gun must go. " 
 
 "I'm ready," responded Simon. "I'm goin' 
 now, " and he snatched his musket. 
 
 " I will go with you, " said Albert, and he went 
 into the next room to get his rifle. 
 
 "Albert! Albert!" called a sweet childish 
 voice, and turning he saw Estella, her dark eyes 
 fixed on hina. 
 
 " "Where are you going?" she asked. 
 
 "To Boston.?' 
 
 " They may kill you, Albert, as they did Jona- 
 than Harrington and Mr. Monroe. " 
 
 " We will kill them, Stella. " 
 
 " But I am so afraid to have you go. " 
 
 " Our country demands me, Stella, you can't un- 
 derstand it. Pray for me while I am gone and ask 
 God to save me. " 
 
 "I will— I will." 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 99 
 
 " And he will Hear your prayer. " 
 
 As Albert was about to join the party starting 
 to Lexington, Adrianne Stevens called to him and 
 said : 
 
 " Albert, do you remember the officer whom I 
 prevented you from slaying on the retreat from 
 Concord?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Do not harm him. " 
 
 " Why, Aunt Annie? Why are you so strongly 
 attached to the British captain?" 
 
 Pointing to Estella, she answered, " For her sake 
 do him no harm. " 
 
 " Her sake — why for her sake? What is Stella 
 to him, or he to her?" 
 
 "Albert, I can't explain all to you now; but 
 harm not that man if you can avoid it. Promise 
 me that — promise it as you hope for heaven. " 
 
 Filled with mystery and wonder, he made the 
 promise and, slinging on his bullet-pouch and pow- 
 der-horn, he kissed the child and his aunt and, 
 snatching up his gun, ran to join the party who 
 were supporting the unsteady legs of Mr. Brown 
 on-the march to Lexington. At Lexington, Cap- 
 tain Parker was forming his company on the green 
 which three days before had been stained with their 
 blood. 
 
 On to Boston, was the cry from every lip. Fully 
 
100 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 two hundred armed men were on the ground with 
 their guns in their hands. Formed in two lines, 
 with Captain Parker at their head, at the sound 
 of fife and drum they began the long march of ten 
 miles to Boston. Mr. Jonathan Stevens, Mr. 
 Hill and Mr. Buker followed with wagons filled 
 with provisions, blankets and camping outfits. 
 
 Albert and Simon marched side by side. Albert 
 yawned sleepily and gazed at the stars overhead. 
 The boy was becoming tired. Though he was only 
 sixteen years of age, he was almost a man in size; 
 but this long march was fatiguing even to his 
 youthful frame. The band of patriots made most 
 of the march in silence. Only the heavy tread of 
 marching men and the rumbling of wagons or faint 
 lowing of a tired ox broke the silence. 
 
 Albert, who was still pondering on the strange 
 request of his aunt, at last said : 
 
 " Why did she make such a request?" 
 
 " What are yew talkin' about?" asked Simon. 
 
 " I was goin' to shoot a British officer in the re- 
 treat from Concord, when Aunt Annie begged me 
 not to do so. To-night she made me promise not 
 to harm him. " 
 
 " Dew she know him?" asked Simon. 
 
 " She must. " 
 
 "Now may be it was that darned redcoat I had 
 the tussle with. I never told yew about it, did I?" 
 
BOYALTY REPULSED. 101 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Well, yew aren't ol(i enougli to remember about 
 it, but ten years ago I was at Eugby, when there 
 came four fellows in a coach and six. They were 
 spies and informers, and I knew it, and I just went 
 to knockin' 'em about, when a strange woman there 
 stopped me. I forgot all about it, until we were 
 chasin' some o' the red coats out of a field near 
 Concord, and as sure as I'm a white man, one o' 
 them was that gawl darned Sir Arthur. He snapped 
 his pistol at me, and I snapped my gun at him, 
 but neither was loaded. Then he tried to cut me 
 with his sword, but he broke it on my gun-barrel, 
 and I knocked him dyown, and somebody struck 
 me, and I fell. When I got up, he was gone. I 
 saw him runnin' with the others dyown the road 
 and shot three times at him and missed. " 
 
 " Don't you do it again, Simon. " 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " Aunt says we mustn't on Stella's account." 
 
 " Why, what has Stella got to dew with it?" 
 
 " I don't know, but aunt does, and for her sake 
 he must not be harmed. " 
 
 The little army came to a halt. There was some 
 disturbance ahead, which only proved to be Mr. 
 Brown's legs refusing to carry him further. He 
 was taken to the rear, put in a baggage wagon, and 
 the little army went on. 
 
103 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 As thej neared Boston, more caution became 
 necessary. They were constantly meeting outly- 
 ing parties of Americans who challenged them. 
 Constant halting and explanations consumed so 
 much time that the night was almost spent when 
 the company, which had been constantly increasing 
 in numbers, reached a halting place. 
 
 Albert was so weary and sleepy, that he could 
 scarce keep his eyes open. At last they halted 
 among some trees on the banks of a stream. There 
 were thousands of men all about them, some sleep- 
 ing on the ground on blankets, some in tents, and 
 some sitting under trees. Others were constantly 
 arriving all through the night. Ear across the 
 water, dimly seen through the fog and mist, a few 
 lights faintly glimmered. These were the lights 
 at Boston. Albert was told to take a blanket and 
 go to bed, which meant lie down upon the ground. 
 
 This order he obeyed. In a few moments he 
 was sound asleep, and so weary was he from tha 
 long night. march, that he did not wake until the 
 sun was well up in the sky. Then he was roused 
 by his German friend saying : 
 
 " Id vas time you be giddin' up, mein frient." 
 
 Albert rose and looked about him. What crowds 
 of people ! From the hill in their rear down to 
 the water were young men, old men and large boys, 
 all with guns in their hands, and wearing very 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 103 
 
 warlike aspects. Across the water lie could see 
 the spires of Boston glittering in the morning sun 
 through the fog. Like crimson specks in the dis- 
 tance could be seen the British sentries watching 
 the hostile horde who had sworn to drive them 
 away. 
 
 It was estimated that the army of Americans 
 gathered about Boston was at least fifteen thousand 
 strong. Massachusetts alone turned out ten thou- 
 sand, Connecticut three thousand, and the remain- 
 ing New England colonies furnished two thousand. 
 Of these troops. General Ward was commander-in- 
 chief. His headquarters were at Cambridge. The 
 right wing of the army was stationed at Roxbury 
 and the left wing at Medford and Chelsea. 
 
 At first Albert Stevens was confused by the 
 numbers of men about him ; but soon he became 
 used to them and learned to know the regiment and 
 quarters to which he was assigned. He was made 
 a corporal and began to study military tactics. His 
 mother, brother and sisters were at Lexington, but 
 his father came often to see him and bring supplies 
 to the army. Noah Stevens, who had served under 
 Washington and Wolfe, was not too old to do mili- 
 tary duty, and became an assistant to the quarter- 
 master-general in furnishing supplies for the troops. 
 
 Albert wondered why they did not advance and 
 attack the hated British at once, but was told they 
 
104 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 were not quite ready. They were waiting for re- 
 inforcements and to become better drilled. Every 
 day was spent in marching and countermarching, 
 in sham battles, and exercise in the manual of 
 arms. Most of the New Englanders were armed 
 with rifles and fowling-pieces, but at short range 
 these were very effective weapons. At the close 
 of May, Albert learned that a considerable rein- 
 forcement had arrived at Boston from England. 
 The British now had from ten to twelve thousand 
 veteran troops, all well armed and disciplined. Gen- 
 erals Howe, Clinton and Burgoyne, all experienced 
 officers, were in command of this formidable force. 
 Though the Americans were superior in numbers, 
 they were far inferior in arms, ammunition and 
 military science. Although they had sixteen field- 
 pieces, not more than half a dozen were available 
 for service. Their brass pieces, which were few, 
 were of the smallest calibre. They had, however, 
 some heavy iron cannon, with three or four mortars 
 and howitzers and a scanty supply of balls and 
 bombs, while of powder they were almost destitute. 
 Albert kept asking why they did not hurl some of 
 those heavy iron balls at the enemy. A small 
 pyramid of these projectiles lay on the ground near 
 one of the pieces. Others were asking the same 
 question ; but days passed on and not a shot had 
 been fired. 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 105 
 
 One morning, however, he observed some activ- 
 ity near the largest cannon. A group of men were 
 swabbing it out and loaded it with a solid shot. 
 He ran down to where they were and asked some 
 one what they were going to do, but no one an- 
 swered. They seemed to know their business, but^ 
 preferred not to be questioned. At last the gun I 
 was loaded, and he saw them sighting it at a point 
 of land a mile or two away, where he could see 
 some men at work digging up the sand and form- 
 ing an earthwork. At last the gun was sighted 
 and some one said, " Fire !" A man applied a long 
 iron rod, one end of which was heated red-hot, to 
 the touch-hole of the cannon. He heard a fizz, 
 saw a little cloud curl upward, then a boom, and 
 as the smoke rolled upward, he saw the sand and 
 dirt knocked about in every direction, and the 
 workmen left their picks and shovels and ran. 
 They returned in a few moments, and the cannon 
 was again loaded. 
 
 " A little higher this time, " said an officer. 
 " You undershot that time. " 
 
 The efEect of this shot was to almost bury the 
 workmen under the sand, and Albert saw them 
 carry one of their number up the hill. They re- 
 turned again ; but a third shot drove them away, 
 and they abandoned the work. A few days later, 
 Albert heard some one in the camp say that the 
 
106 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 British intended to fortify Dorchester heights, and 
 the speaker declared it as his opinion, that " it is 
 time for us to move. " 
 
 Simon thought so too, and so impatient was he 
 to have a hand in this trouble, that he vowed if 
 somebody did not move, he was going to move 
 himself. Mr. Brown, who was sitting on an empty 
 keg surrounded by a small party of admirers, 
 struck his hand on his knee and declared : 
 
 " The country is going to the dogs !" 
 
 On the following day (16th of June), General 
 Ward issued orders to Colonel Prescott to proceed 
 to Charlestown and occupy and fortify Bunker Hill. 
 
 Albert Stevens' company had been assigned to 
 the command of Colonel Prescott of about one 
 thousand men. The first intimation he had of any 
 work to be done was an order to take provisions 
 for a single day. Early in the evening of the 16th, 
 they were mustered on Cambridge Common, near 
 the college. The colonel, who wore a long calico 
 coat, something like a modern dressing-gown, drew 
 them up in line, and brought them to a paradereat. 
 
 " What are we going to do?" Albert asked. 
 
 " Hush ! " some one whispered. Then President 
 Langdon of the college came out before the arrayed 
 patriots and, lifting his hands toward the gathering 
 stars, offered a fervent prayer for the cause for 
 which they were to battle. When the prayer was 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 107 
 
 over, they were ordered to right face, and in files 
 of four they began their march, led by the valiant 
 Prescott himself, preceded by two sergeants with 
 dark lanterns and accompanied by Colonel Gridley 
 and Judge "Winthrop of Cambridge. 
 
 "Where are we going?" Albert asked; but no 
 one would tell him, and he heard the sharp com- 
 mand : " No talking in ranks !" 
 
 They crossed over to Charlestown and reached 
 Bunker Hill. He knew the spot well, for he had 
 played there many times. What were they going 
 to do? There was a long whispered consultation, 
 and then they proceeded to Breed's Hill, still nearer 
 to the bay and British shipping. Then there 
 loomed up in the darkness wagons loaded with 
 picks and shovels. It was midnight before Gridley 
 staked out the work and orders were given to lay 
 down their rifles and seize their picks and spades. 
 Albert needed not ask what was to be done now. 
 He knew. He was young and strong, and soon 
 his pick began to tell. He had Simon on one side, 
 Jacob on the other, while Levi and Joshua were 
 near. The redoubt grew up all about them like 
 magic. 
 
 Meanwhile, Captain Manners had been stationed 
 on the Charlestown shore to watch the enemy. It 
 was a clear, starlight night, and Colonel Prescott, 
 accompanied by Major Brooks, went twice down 
 
108 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 to the shore to reconnoitre. By listening they 
 could distinctly hear the British sentries' cry of: 
 
 "All's well." 
 
 With Prescott's band, the night was one of 
 sleepless vigilance and incessant toil. Albert did 
 not seem wearied or sleepy. He heard his captain 
 say: 
 
 " Boys, the stronger the work you shall have 
 thrown up when morning comes, the less chance 
 there will be for you to be struck by a cannon- 
 ball." 
 
 Day dawned, and the redbubt was almost com- 
 pleted, although the pick and shovel were still plied 
 with unabated vigor. The British were quiet. 
 
 " Can it be they have not seen us yet?" Albert 
 asked. 
 
 " The sun has not riz yet, " answered Simon. 
 " They'll be poundin' away at us afore it's up." 
 
 Simon had scarce ceased speaking, when a wreath 
 of white smoke curled up from the forecastle of a 
 British ship called the Idvely, and land and sea 
 shook with the heavy report, while a solid shot 
 struck the top of the work lower down and sent 
 sand and gravel flying in every direction. 
 
 " Lie close and keep on at your work, " cried 
 Colonel Prescott. 
 
 The alarm was given to the British war-ships, 
 and a heavy cannonade was commenced. The fire 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 109 
 
 from a battery of six guns, on Copp's Hill, proved 
 most annoying ; but tbe Americans, regardless of 
 bombs and balls, continued their labors with un- 
 shaken constancy. The first martyr on that sacred 
 altar of liberty was Asa Pollard, of Billerioa, who 
 was killed by a cannon -shot. This was the only 
 death during the forenoon. 
 
 The Americans in the neighborhood of the re- 
 doubt were by no means idle. About two hundred 
 yards in the rear of the breastwork was a stone 
 fence surmounted by rails. In front of this an- 
 other fence was constructed, and the space between 
 the two filled with hay, which happened to be in 
 the field. A subsidiary work was thrown up on 
 Bunker Hill, properly so called, by General Put- 
 nam. 
 
 The British realized the importance of dislodg- 
 ing the enemy, and Gage and the other generals 
 were holding a consultation as to the best means 
 of storming the works. After mature deliberation, 
 it was determined to transport a competent force 
 across the river and attack the works in front. 
 
 The day was cloudless, and the vertical rays of 
 the sun were intensely hot to the toiling patriots, 
 yet they labored on until the redoubts were fin- 
 ished. When they had completed them, Albert 
 threw himself on the ground under the earthwork 
 and wiped the reeking perspiration from his brow. 
 
110 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 The cannon from the shipping and from Oopp's Hill 
 still continued to roar, while the balls struck against 
 the earthworks. Occasionally a shell flew scream- 
 ing over their heads and exploded on the ground, 
 but did no harm. 
 
 " "We will have time for dinner, boys, " said the 
 captain. " Eat while you can, fpr we had no break- 
 fast, and we'll have need of all our strength. " 
 
 No warrior enjoys his meal just before a battle. 
 The most trying ordeal of the soldier is lying in 
 the trenches or on the battlefield awaiting an at- 
 tack. When one is once in it, the excitement of 
 action sustains him, and he becomes reckless of 
 danger, Ijut lying and expecting an enemy to come 
 up and shoot him tries the nerves of the strongest. 
 
 Just before the conflict, Greneral "Warren, presi- 
 dent of the provincial congress, galloped up to the 
 American works. Putnam, who was on the field, 
 met him and said : 
 
 " Ah ! is it you, General ? I am glad to see you, 
 and yet I regret your presence. Your life is too 
 precious to be thus exposed; but since you are 
 here, let me receive your orders. " 
 
 " No, " the gallant fellow answered. " I give no 
 orders. I come as a volunteer ; and now say where 
 I can be most useful. " 
 
 " Go then to the redoubt, " said Putnam ; " you 
 will be less exposed. " 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 
 
 Ill 
 
 "Tell me," rejoined Warren, "where will be 
 the point of greatest danger. " 
 
 " The redoubt will be the enemy's first and 
 principal object, " said Putnam ; " if we can defend 
 that, the day is ours. " 
 
 As "Warren passed on, the troops recognized him, 
 and their wild cheers roused Albert, who was rest- 
 ing under the earthwork. He 
 saw Colonel Prescott offering 
 him the command and heard 
 the brave Warren say : 
 
 " Give me a musket ; to- 
 day I take a lesson from a 
 veteran in the art of war. " 
 
 Albert Stevens, crouching 
 under the earthwork with his 
 hand on his gun, waited pa- 
 tiently the attack. The heavy 
 balls and whistling shells flew 
 over their heads or struck against the embankment 
 with monotonous regularity. Simon, despite all 
 orders to the contrary, could not refrain from tak- 
 ing an occasional peep over the works at the enemy. 
 
 " Oh, why in thunder don't they come on and 
 hev this over with, an' not be a-shootin' their din- 
 ner pots at us?" he growled. 
 
 It was two o'clock in the afternoon, when Simon 
 looking over the works said : 
 
 Gbneral Wabren. 
 
112 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " They are comin' now. I see twenty-eight 
 barges a-movin' from the end o' Long Wharf to 
 Morton Point. " 
 
 " There mnst be a good many of them. " 
 
 " Wall, raly, there are; but the more the better. 
 We'd like tew use 'em all up at once ef we kin." 
 
 Fifteen minutes later Simon took another ob- 
 servation and said he saw a second detachment 
 leaving Winnisimmett ferry and joining the first, 
 while reinforcements were coming from the ship- 
 ping. These several detachments, amounting to 
 four thousand men, were under command of Gen- 
 eral Howe, subordinate to whom were General 
 Pigot and Colonels Nesbit, Abercrombie and Clark. 
 After landing, the troops formed in two divisions 
 and stood for several moments at a parade rest. 
 
 " Wonder what they're waitin' fer? We are 
 ready," remarked Simon. Mr. Brown, who was 
 near him, declared: 
 
 " Simon, you talk too much ! " but it was im- 
 possible to keep Simon silent, or his head below 
 the works. A terrific cannonading commenced all 
 along the British line. This was the order for the 
 infantry and grenadiers to advance. 
 
 " They are comin' now in two divisions, " said 
 Simon. " One is comin' right for us and the other 
 for the rail fence. Hello, there's yer father's nigger 
 Salem, Albert. What's he doin' here?" 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 113 
 
 A negro with his musket in his hand came hur- 
 rying up. 
 
 " Massa Albert, I heard ye war here, and I went 
 to yo' father and told him I wanted to come. He 
 said I mought if I could git to ye. I knowed I 
 could do dat an' I found one o' dera muskets ye 
 picked up at Lexington an' brung it along. I've 
 got fourteen cartridges to fire. " 
 
 "Say, Albert, say!" cried Simon who was sit- 
 ting on the parapet, "gawl darn me for a fool, ef 
 thar ain't that Major Pitcairn, who war at Lexing- 
 ton. Now I'm goin' tew plug him centre." 
 
 "No, massa, lemme do it," pleaded Salem. 
 " He killed Massa Harrington, I want revenge. " 
 
 " Get down from there, Simon, " cried Colonel 
 Prescott, who was hurrying along the line giving 
 his final orders. Simon descended. " Crouch 
 down, all of you, in the trenches, and don't fire 
 until you get the word. Not a shot must be fired 
 until yoa can see the whites of their eyes." 
 
 Putnam came~ along a moment later repeating 
 the same order: 
 
 " Fellow-soldiers, powder is scarce and must not 
 be wasted. Eeserve your fire until you can see 
 the whites of their eyes, then take aim at the 
 officers. " 
 
 As the British advanced, pouring in volley after 
 volley, some of the more nervous began to return 
 8 
 
114 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 the fire, when Prescott, running down the line, 
 cried : 
 
 " The next man that fires before the order is 
 given, shall be immediately shot." 
 
 The order was a wise one, for few shots were 
 thrown away. It gave the Americans time to 
 steady their nerves. Those who had fired reloaded. 
 Albert had but three or four charges of powder, 
 but he supposed that Joshua or Simon had plenty. 
 As he lay behind the redoubt he could hear them 
 coming. The steady tramp, the wild cheer, the 
 volleys and plunging shot seemed only to steady 
 his arm. They were very near, only eight rods 
 away, and Prescott in a voice of thunder cried : 
 
 " Now, men, now is your time! Make ready!" 
 All along the line could be heard the clicking of 
 gun-locks, as they were pulled to a full cock. 
 " Take aim ! " A row of heada, most of them bare, 
 rose above the redoubt, which was covered with 
 gun-barrels. 
 
 "Fire!" 
 
 A roar followed. Such a deadly fire perhaps 
 was never before made. Red-coats fell by pla- 
 toons. Whole ranks went down ; but a volume of 
 smoke rolled upward and hid the scene. 
 
 Prescott might have held down a lion ; but he 
 could not hold down Simon Tapley and Albert. 
 They mounted the redoubt and tried to pierce the 
 
'HOW d'ye t,IKK THAT? COME BACK AND GIT ANOTHER DOSE !" 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 115 
 
 smoke, which was impossible. When the smoke 
 cleared away, they saw the whole hillside covered 
 with slain and wounded. The ranks of the British 
 were broken, and confusion appeared on every 
 side. The British officers attempted to rally their 
 troops; but they only fired at random and fled 
 down the hill. Simon danced along the top of the 
 redoubt, shook his fists at the retreating Britons 
 and yelled : 
 
 "Gawl darn you! how d'ye like that? Come 
 back and git another dose. " 
 
 " Oh, Simon, you talk too much ; git down, " 
 called Mr. Brown, who was loading his gun in the 
 trenches. Simon and Albert were both ordered 
 down by their captain and proceeded to load. 
 
 " I am very scarce of powder, Simon, " whispered 
 Albert, as he rammed home a bullet. " Can you 
 spare me some?" 
 
 " I ain't got more'n two or three charges. " 
 
 Albert spoke to a man next to him and he was 
 almost out. He was growing uneasy ; but there 
 was no time for further discussion. The British 
 had rallied and were coming up the hill once more. 
 A whisper ran along the line of patriots to that 
 effect. The impetuous Simon, as brave as he was 
 impulsive, again leaped upon the parapet. Howe, 
 having been annoyed by some sharpshooters from 
 Charlestown, now issued orders to burn the town. 
 
116 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Just as soon as Simon leaped the parapet lie saw 
 the flames burst up from -the town and he cried: 
 
 "Wall, ef the gawl darned, mean critters ain't 
 a-burnin' Charlestown, I am a liar." 
 
 "Get down, Simon!" roared Colonel Prescott. 
 
 " He'll get his plaguy fool head shot off, " growled 
 Mr. Brown. 
 
 Once more the Britons advanced up the hill, 
 marching over dead men and wounded writhing 
 in pain. Even the veterans felt nervous as they 
 advanced on that silent and deadly redoubt. Once 
 more Albert heard the advancing tread of troops. 
 They came nearer than before. He held his rifle 
 ready cocked when the words came: 
 
 " Make ready ! Take aim ! Fire ! " 
 
 Another blast of thunder and lightning, and the 
 deadly simoom of the desert could not have been 
 more fatal. Their nerves were more steady, and 
 it seemed as if the whole army had gone down. 
 General Howe was almost alone. Nearly every 
 officer of his staff was killed or wounded. So 
 sweeping had been the destruction, that the ranks 
 were fatally broken, and a second time orders were 
 issued for the British army to make good their 
 retreat. 
 
 " There is one left, there is one, " cried Simon 
 as he discovered a British officer. Albert was 
 bareheaded and without a coat. He had reloaded 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 117 
 
 his gun and raised it to shoot the officer, when 
 General Putnam mounted the parapet and cried : 
 
 " My gallant comrades ! spare, spare that officer ! 
 We are friends ; we are brothers ; do you not re- 
 member how we rushed into each other's arms, at 
 the meeting for the exchange of prisoners?" 
 
 Albert and Simon and all others lowered their 
 guns, and the officer. Major Small, with whom 
 Putnam had campaigned in the French and Indian 
 wars, was spared. 
 
 Although repulsed twice with losses as fearful 
 as unexpected, Howe, who was a brave man, de- 
 termined to dislodge the Americans at all costs. 
 Once more he formed his broken ranks, and a third 
 time came to the contest. A third withering volley 
 was fired, which made those veterans recoil. But 
 with that bull-dog tenacity which Britons and their 
 descendants possess, they pressed on. The Ameri- 
 cans were out of ammunition, had no bayonets, and 
 with a tremendous cheer the Britons passed over 
 their earthworks. 
 
 " Look out for yourselves, " roared Mr. Brown, 
 taking to his heels and running away. 
 
 "I'm gawl darned ef I'm goin' to run," cried 
 Simon. He seized some stones and began to hurl 
 them at the troops. Three were knocked down 
 and one actually had his skull crushed like an egg- 
 shell, by one of the heavy stones which Simon 
 
118 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 hurled. Major Pitcaim, wliose insolence and in- 
 humanity at Lexington will never be forgotten, 
 leaped on the parapet and shouted : 
 
 "The day is ours!" 
 
 Albert hurled a stone at him, but missed. 
 
 " Nebber mind, Ma'ssa, Salem fix 'em, " and the 
 negro levelled his gun at the major and shot him 
 dead. 
 
 The Americans could no longer contend with 
 hope, as their ammunition was fairly expended. 
 Prescott was reluctant to yield ; but it was wise — 
 it was best. An honorable retreat was still prac- 
 ticable and he chose this alternative, and the Amer- 
 icans retired in order from the hill. 
 
 As Albert was retreating with the others, he 
 heard some one cry : 
 
 "Oh, they have surrounded him." 
 
 In another moment a voice, which he afterward 
 heard was Major Small's, cried: 
 
 "Spare him, don't shoot him!" 
 
 "Who?" asked Albert. 
 
 Before he had time to ask more, he heard the 
 stunning report of a musket and the fall of a body. 
 He sprang back to the scene where a group were 
 struggling over a dying man. A soldier had raised 
 his bayonet to plunge into the body of the fallen 
 hero whom an American was supporting. < The 
 British Major seized the bayonet and turned the 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 119 
 
 keen point aside. The youth was hurried on by 
 the retreating mass, and it was not until night that 
 he learned of the death of General Warren. The 
 tired boy, filled with horror, slept on the ground 
 that night dreaming of the terrible events of that 
 awful day. 
 
 Next day after the battle, Albert -being ill re- 
 ceived a ten days' furlough, and his father took 
 him to their home in Lexington. Noah Stevens 
 had accepted a position as colonel in the continental 
 army, and was rejoiced to learn while his son was 
 at Lexington, that the continental congress had 
 unanimously appointed his former commander. 
 General George Washington, commander-in-chief 
 of the continental forces. This appointment was 
 made on the 15th of June, two days before the 
 battle of Bunker Hill. 
 
 " That is the best appointment they could have 
 made, " the colonel declared, when he read it at the 
 bedside of his sick son. 
 
 " Father, " said Albert with a faint smile, " when 
 next you see Mr. Brown, please tell him the coun- 
 try will not go to the dogs. " 
 
 With a laugh, Colonel Stevens said he would, 
 and urged Albert to get well, as his services were 
 needed. Albert had splendid nurses. His mother, 
 his younger brothers and sisters and the ever ten- 
 der, sympathetic little Stella came to comfort him. 
 
120 INDEPENDENCE. • 
 
 " War makes you sick," she said, " please don't 
 go away any more. " 
 
 Washington did not return to his home at Mount 
 Vernon after his appointment, but set out at once 
 for Boston. On July 2d, 1775, he arrived at 
 Cambridge and established his headquarters in a 
 fine house provided for him, which for a long time 
 was the home of the poet Longfellow. At nine 
 o'clock on the morning of ,the 3d of July he ap- 
 peared with his suite, under a large elm tree yet 
 standing at the northerly end of Cambridge Com- 
 mon. The continental forces were drawn up in 
 line, when Washington, with uncovered head, 
 stepped a few paces forward, drew his sword and 
 took formal command of the army. On the next 
 day, 4th of July, he issued his first general order. 
 
 One of the first efforts of the continental congress 
 was to enlist Canada in their service. It was 
 thought the Canadians could be easily induced to 
 take up arms against a country which had so re- 
 cently conquered them; but in this they were 
 mistaken. In Canadian matters the English par- 
 liament displayed their only skill in diplomacy in 
 American affairs. Knowing the strong Catholic 
 element predominating there, they extended to 
 them perfect freedom in matters of religion. On 
 the other hand, the duplicity of the American con- 
 gress in 1774 had made the Canadians lukewarm, 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 131 
 
 if not actually hostile. That congress had ad- 
 dressed them in affectionate terms; but in their 
 address to the people of Great Britain, who de- 
 lighted in shouting, " No Popery !" they had, un- 
 fortunately, in alluding to the Quebec Act, said, 
 " We think the legislature is not authorized by the 
 constitution to establish a religion fraught with 
 sanguinary tenets in any part of the globe; nor 
 can we suppress our astonishment, that a British 
 parliament should ever consent to establish in that 
 country (Canada) a religion that has deluged your 
 island in blood and dispensed impiety, bigotry, 
 persecution, murder and rebellion through every 
 part of the world. " This address, which the Eng- 
 lish had taken care should be translated into French 
 and distributed in handbills all over Canada, no 
 doubt saved Canada to Great Britain. It caused 
 the invasion of Montgomery, who captured Mon- 
 treal and fell at Quebec while attempting to storm 
 the impregnable fortress to fail in its purpose. 
 Arnold's expedition through the wilderness to 
 Canada was one of the most trying events of the 
 war. Colonel Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga, 
 was made a captive in skirmish on the Canadian 
 frontier and sent to England in chains. General 
 Washington assigned General Schuyler to the 
 northern army, and he made an effective and 
 efficient commander; but the Canadian campaign, 
 
123 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 from the lack of capturing Quebec, was not a suc- 
 cess. 
 
 Meanwhile, Washington closely invested Boston. 
 The siege went on slowly. There was occasionally 
 cannonading and threats of sorties or assaults, but 
 none were made. The inefficiency of the execu- 
 tive power made trouble with the democratic sol- 
 diery, who could not endure the restraint necessary 
 to good discipline. They were brave, but inex- 
 perienced, and they argued that if they were fight- 
 ing for liberty, they would not be slaves to the 
 will of superior officers. Washington was com- 
 pelled to dismiss some Connecticut troops, because 
 they demanded bounty. They went home in a 
 body amid the jeers and insults of the angry people, 
 who insulted them all along their line of march. 
 
 These untoward circumstances filled the mind of 
 Washington with the keenest anxiety; when sud- 
 denly a salutary change was visible. Within the 
 space of a fortnight, new hopes and renewed pa- 
 triotism seemed to fill the bosoms of the people, 
 and at the close of the year the regiments were 
 nearly all full, and ten thousand minute men, 
 chiefly in Massachusetts, were ready to swell the 
 ranks when called upon. The camp was well sup- 
 plied with provisions; order was generally pre- 
 served ; the commander-in-chief was more hopeful 
 than at any time since his arrival, and general 
 
ROYALTY REPULSED. 133 
 
 Cheerfulness prevailed. The wives of several of 
 the ofBicers arrived in camp. Mrs. Washington 
 with her son John Parke Custis and his young 
 spouse came on the 11th of December, and Christ- 
 mas day was spent quite agreeably in Cambridge. 
 
 On January 1st, 1776, the new continental army 
 was organized. It consisted of almost ten thousand 
 men, of whom nearly one-tenth were absent on 
 furloughs, which it had been necessary to grant as 
 a condition of re-enlistment. The event was sig- 
 nalled by the raising of a new flag composed of 
 thirteen stripes, alternately red and white, em- 
 blematic of the union of the thirteen colonies (for 
 Georgia had at last sent delegates to the continen- 
 tal congress) and in the dexter corner the British 
 union, the combined crosses of St. George and St. 
 Andrew on a blue ground, as indicative of the 
 loyalty of the colonies to the British crown. As 
 yet no one harbored a thought of independence. 
 
 During the cold winter, through ice and snow, 
 those brave patriots brought cannon from Ticondc- 
 roga with which they proceeded to bombard the town. 
 
 As the winter wore on, the American army drew 
 nearer and nearer, and for hours together their 
 cannons shook the earth and their balls flew shriek- 
 ing about the enemy. Howe, who had superseded 
 Gage, began to realize his critical situation. 
 
 "Washington was master. He had at his side 
 
124 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Generals Putnam, Greene and Sullivan, and he 
 knew the British must surrender or evacuate. 
 
 Howe decided to do the latter and, threatening 
 to burn the town if his troops were not permitted 
 to go unmolested, the British left in their ships on 
 Sunday, March 17th, 1776. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 17th the provincials 
 were on the move. They were anxious, and the day 
 seemed tardy in appearing. Reconnoitring Bunker 
 Hill, the sentries were observed to wear an aspect 
 more rigid than even the prescribed attitude of the 
 soldier would seem to demand. The men approached 
 with caution. Not a musket moved. At length a 
 nearer approach showed the sentries to be effigies. 
 
 "I'm darned ef they hain't sneaked off and left 
 a parcel o' scarecrows tew guard the city," cried 
 Simon. The men knocked the effigies about and 
 maltreated them to their hearts' content. 
 
 Ward and Putnam crossed from Cambridge and 
 Eoxbury, impeded by " crows' feet" (balls of iron 
 with several points), and entered the city with ban- 
 ners flying and drums beating. On the 18th, 
 Washington followed, and was hailed with shouts 
 of welcome as the deliverer of Boston. 
 
 The British fleets sailed away, and Mr. Brown 
 declared the war over and called a meeting of the 
 club at Rugby to celebrate the recent victorious 
 termination of the bloody war. 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 THE DOCUMENTS OF FKEEDOM. 
 
 Actions of people cannot be rightly interpreted 
 until the motives prompting them are known. If 
 you read that old John Jones shot his neighbor 
 Tom Smith, you naturally wish to know why he 
 did so. If you learn that Jones was a patriot and 
 Smith a traitor to his country, you understand the 
 motive. While the British are evacuating Boston, 
 and Mr. Brown is calling the Eugby Club together 
 to rejoice that the war is over, for Mr. Brown lived 
 in a small world of his own, and knew little beyond 
 Eugby Tavern and Boston, there was wild excite- 
 ment all over the colonies. Try on. Governor of New 
 York, alarmed at the belligerent actions of the Sons 
 of Liberty, in imitation of Dunmore of Virginia, 
 fled from New York to a British war-ship. The 
 provincial congress of New Jersey, disregarding 
 the authority of the royal governor (a son of Dr. 
 Franklin) assumed all the functions of regular gov- 
 ernment with the sanction of the people. Every- 
 where royal governors were abdicating and flying, 
 125 
 
136 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 or holding their power by the flimsiest threads 
 which threatened to snap at the slightest breeze. 
 The south had already boldly asserted her free- 
 dom, and in Georgia, the last colony to elect dele- 
 gates to the continental congress, there suddenly 
 burst forth a spirit of freedom which made royalists 
 tremble. 
 
 The first naval operation was against Charleston. 
 The gallant defence of Fort Moultrie has been told 
 again and again by faithful historians. General 
 Francis Marion was there. General Moultrie and 
 the gallant Sergeant Jasper, who had, at the peril 
 of his life, seized the flag when it had been cut 
 down, and mounting the parapet of palmetto logs, 
 replaced it. The British were repulsed. 
 
 As yet, however, everything in America was 
 uncertain. Technically, every patriot who shoul- 
 dered his gun to defend his life and liberties was 
 an outlaw. The people were fighting their own 
 sovereign, and had no fixed end in view. Some 
 still hoped for a reconciliation, and as yet there 
 was but little concert of action. The battles were 
 more like riots, the armed patriots more like mobs. 
 Even Washington's authority was doubted and 
 defied by the meanest soldier in the ranks. 
 
 The wiser of the patriots saw that something 
 must be done to give them a government to fight 
 for — a government to defend, for they were more 
 
THE DOCUMENTS OF FREEDOM. 137 
 
 in the nature of anarchists fighting against a gov- 
 ernment, than defending a principle. Wise, good 
 and brave men began to realize that reconciliation 
 was impossible, and to talk more boldly about dis- 
 solution. Thomas Paine, son of an English friend, 
 in a pamphlet called Common Sense, early in 1776 
 put forth an earnest plea for Independence. 
 
 Soon legislative bodies began to move in the 
 matter. The continental congress was firm at heart 
 but timorous in action for a while. In January, 
 1776, Franklin called up his plan for a confedera- 
 tion, and endeavored to have a day set for its con- 
 sideration, but was defeated by Dickinson, Hooper, 
 Jay and others, who were not ready for separation. 
 In February a proposition from Wilson, for con- 
 gress to send forth an address to their constituents 
 in which they should disclaim the idea of renounc- 
 ing their allegiance, disgusted that body and the 
 people. The common people everywhere were 
 ahead of congress in their aspirations for inde- 
 pendence, and it would seem as if they had driven 
 the continental congress to the measure at last. 
 The proposition of Wilson induced Harrison to say : 
 
 " We have hobbled on under a fatal attachment 
 to Great Britain. I felt that attachment as much as 
 any man, but I feel a stronger one for my country. " 
 
 Mr. George Wythe, from the same province, 
 was also fired with righteous indignation at the 
 
128 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 proposition and exclaimed, after asserting the nat- 
 ural and prescriptive rights of the Americans : 
 
 "We may invite foreign powers to make treaties 
 of commerce with us ; but before the measure is 
 adopted, it is to be considered in what character 
 we treat: As subjects of Great Britain? As rebels? 
 No ; we must declare ourselves a free people. " 
 
 These were the boldest words yet spoken on the 
 floor of congress. They were followed by a reso- 
 lution of Mr. Wythe, " That the colonies have a 
 right to contract alliances. " 
 
 "That means independence," said timid ones; 
 but the question whether the resolution should be 
 considered was carried by a vote of seven colonies 
 against five. In less than a month, Silas Deane 
 was appointed by a committee of secret correspond- 
 ence, a political and commercial agent, to operate 
 in France and elsewhere, and to secure necessary 
 supplies of every kind for an army of twenty 
 thousand men. He was instructed to say to the 
 French government, in substance : " We first apply 
 to you, because if we should, as there is every ap- 
 pearance that we shall, come to a total separation 
 from Great Britain, France would be the power 
 whose friendship it would be fittest for us to obtain 
 and cultivate. " It is reported that France had in- 
 timated a willingness to aid the Americans if it 
 could be done secretly. 
 
THE DOCUMENTS OF FREEDOM. 129 
 
 In various forms the subject of independence 
 was constantly bobbing up in the continental con- 
 gress. Like Banquo's Ghost, it would not down. 
 In the instructions to the commissioners to go into 
 Canada, John Adams said : 
 
 " You are to declare, that it is our inclination 
 that the people of Canada may set up such a form 
 of government as will be most likely, in their judg- 
 ment, to produce their happiness." Jay and others 
 objected to this as it meant "independence;" but 
 the sentence was adopted. Then, after a long de- 
 bate, congress resolved, in April, to throw open 
 the ports to the commerce of the world, " not sub- 
 ject to the King of Great Britain, " and that '' no 
 slaves be imported into any of the thirteen United 
 Colonies. " This resolution abolished British cus- 
 tom-houses and completely swept away the colonial 
 system. It was a most important step in the di- 
 rection of absolute independence. 
 
 The people, the times and the will of heaven 
 seemed to drive the continental congress to the act 
 of independence. North Carolinia first took posi- 
 tive action on the subject of independence. On 
 the 22d of April, 1776, a provincial convention in 
 that colony authorized its representatives in the 
 continental congress to concur with others in other 
 colonies in declaring independence. The peoDle 
 of Massachusetts did the same on the next day. 
 
 
130 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Those of Ehode Island and Virginia instructed their 
 representatives to propose independence. Connec- 
 ticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Pennsyl- 
 vania, either instructed their delegates to ask for 
 independence or htnted in that direction. At the 
 close of May the Maryland convention positively 
 forbade their. delegates to vote for independence; 
 but before June was over they were in accord with 
 Virginia. Georgia, Delaware, and South Caro- 
 linia took no official action in the matter and left 
 their delegates to act as they pleased. Dr. Frank- 
 lin's son, William Franklin, the last royal governor 
 of New Jersey, had been arrested by order of the 
 general congress and sent a prisoner of state to 
 Connecticut. 
 
 The desire for independence had become a living 
 principle of the continental congress, and that prin- 
 ciple soon found courageous utterance. On. the 
 10th of May, that body, on motion of John Adams 
 resolved: 
 
 " That it be recommended to the several assem- 
 blies and conventions of the united colonies, where 
 no government sufficient to the exigencies of their 
 affairs hath hitherto been established, to adopt such 
 a government as shall, in the opinion of the repre- 
 sentatives of the people, best conduce to the happi- 
 ness and safety of their constituents iu particulai', 
 and America in general, " 
 
THE DOCUMENTS OF FREEDOM, 131 
 
 This was a cautious yet a bold step ; but was 
 not sufficiently comprehensive to form a basis of 
 energetic action in favor of independence. Con- 
 gress only needed some one courageous enough to 
 take the initiatory steps, by offering an instrument 
 which should sever the cord that bound the colo- 
 nies to Great Britain. The man who-did so, every 
 one knew would be marked as an arch traitor and 
 incur the undying resentment of the royal govern- 
 ment. Nevertheless that person appeared. It was 
 Ki chard Henry Lee of Virginia whose constituents 
 had instructed him to " propose independence, " 
 and on June 7, 1776, he rose in his place in the 
 hall of congress, a spacious room in the state-house 
 at Philadelphia, which bas ever since been known 
 as Independence Hall, and in his clear, musical 
 voice read aloud the following resolution : 
 
 " That these united colonies are, and of right ought 
 to he, free and independent States; and that all political 
 connection between us and the Slate of Great Britain is, 
 and ought to he, totally dissolved. " 
 
 John Adams instantly seconded the resolution. 
 The iiames of the mover and seconder of the reso- 
 lution were omitted in the records of the journal 
 in order to screen Mr. Lee and Mr. Adams. Con- 
 gress was held with closed doors, and all the mem- 
 bers were sworn to secresy. Action on the resolu- 
 tion was postponed until the next day, which 
 
132 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 postponement was afterward extended to the 1st 
 of July ; and in order to avoid loss of time, " in 
 case the resolution should be adopted, a committee 
 was appointed to prepare a declaration to that ef- 
 fect. " The committee was composed of Thomas 
 JejBEerson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger 
 Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. Mr. Lee was 
 not appointed on the committee, for he had been 
 summoned home on account of the serious illness 
 of his wife. 
 
 The committee fully discussed the Declaration, 
 and when its topics were settled, the task of put- 
 ting the whole in proper form was committed to 
 the accomplished statesman, Thomas Jefferson. At 
 the end of two days he submitted a draft which 
 was unanimously adopted by the committee, after 
 some slight verbal alteration by Adams and Frank- 
 lin. Long and animated debates in congress fol- 
 lowed its presentation, and several amendments 
 were made. Among them was the striking out of 
 a long paragraph in which the king of Great Brit- 
 ain, in the general indictment, was held responsible 
 for the African slave-trade carried on by the colo- 
 nies and the perpetuation of slavery here. The 
 charge was not strictly truth, and a sacred regard 
 for truth caused the clause to be omitted. 
 
 From the first it was evident that a majority of 
 the colonies would vote for independence ; but their 
 
TBE DOCUMENTS OF FREEDOM. 133 
 
 unanimous consent was particularly desirable. To 
 secure this result, tlie friends of the measure bent 
 every energy. The assemblies of Maryland and 
 Pennsylvania at first refused to sanction it, and 
 Georgia, South Carolinia, and New York remained 
 silent. The delegates from Maryland favored it, 
 while those from Pennsylvania were divided. It 
 was not until the 24th of June that the people of 
 Pennsylvania, in a convention held at Philadelphia, 
 consented to " concur in a vote of congress, declar- 
 ing the united colonies free and independent states ;" 
 and by the unwearied exertions of Chase, Carroll 
 and other delegates from Maryland, the convention 
 of that province, on the 28th of June, recalled their 
 former instructions and empowered their represen- 
 tatives to concur with the other colonies in a 
 Declaration of Independence. Thus the most im- 
 portant obstacles in the way to unanimity were re- 
 moved ; and when a vote was taken in the commit- 
 tee of the whole house on Mr. Lee's resolution, on 
 the 2d July, all the colonies excepting Pennsyl- 
 vania and Delaware voted for it, four of the seven 
 delegates from the former voting against it, and 
 the two delegates who were present from Delaware 
 being divided — Thomas McKean favoring it and 
 George Eead opposing it. 
 
 Now that the all-important resolution was 
 adopted, it remained for final action on the Dec- 
 
134 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 laxation of Independence. The 2d and 3d of July 
 were spent in warm discussions. News of the ar- 
 rival of General Howe with a large army at Sandy 
 Hook had been received by the congress and made 
 a profound impression on that body. McKean, 
 burning with desire to have Delaware speak in 
 favor of independence, sent an express after Caesar 
 Rodney, the other delegate from that colony, who, 
 he knew, was in favor of the measure. Rodney 
 was eighty miles from Philadelphia, when he re- 
 ceived the message, and he tarried only long enough 
 to change his linen. Ten minutes later he was on 
 a swift horse speeding day and night until he 
 reached Philadelphia on July 4th, a short time 
 before the final vote on the Declaration was taken. 
 Read had changed his mind, and the vote of Dela- 
 ware was secured. Robert Morris and John Dick- 
 inson of Pennsylvania were absent. The former 
 was in favor, the latter was opposed to the meas- 
 ure. Of the other five Pennsylvania delegates 
 present. Dr. Franklin, James Wilson, and John 
 Morton were in favor of it, and Thomas Willing 
 and Charles Humphreys opposed to it ; so the vote 
 of Pennsylvania was also secured. When the final 
 vote was taken on that bright cool day, the 4th of 
 July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was 
 adopted by the unanimous vote of the thirteen 
 colonies, and Charles Thompson, the secretary of 
 
THE DOCUMENTS OF FREEDOM. 135 
 
 congress, made the following modest record of the 
 great event, in their journal : 
 
 " Agreeably to the order of the day, the congress 
 resolved itself into a committee of the whole, to 
 take into their further consideration the Declara- 
 tion ; and, after some time, the president resumed 
 the chair, and Mr. Harrison reported that the com- 
 mittee had agreed to a Declaration, which they de- 
 sired him to report. The Declaration being read 
 was agreed to. " 
 
 In that Declaration, after reciting their reasons 
 for making it, in a series of definite charges against 
 the British monarch, tha congress said : 
 
 " We, therefore, the representatives of the United 
 States, in general congress assembled, appealing to 
 the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude 
 of our intention, do, in the name and by the 
 authority of the good people of these colonies, 
 solemnly publish and declare that these united 
 colonies are and of right ought to be free and inde- 
 pendent states ; that they are absolved from all alle- 
 giance to the British crown, and that all political 
 connection between them and the State of Great 
 Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved, and 
 that, as free and independent states, they have full 
 power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alli- 
 ances, establish commerce, and do all other acts 
 and things which independent states may of right 
 
136 INDEPENDENCE: 
 
 do. And for the support of this declaration, witli 
 a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Provi- 
 dence, we mutually pledge each other our lives, 
 our fortunes and our sacred honor. " 
 
 Thus, by their act, the continental congress gave 
 birth to a nation. As it was necessary to have for 
 use a token of national authority, on the afternoon 
 of the same day the congress resolved : 
 
 " That Dr. Franklin, Mr. J. Adams, and Mr. 
 Jefferson be a committee to prepare a proper device 
 for a seal for the United States of America. " 
 
 The ringing of the bell known to-day as inde- 
 pendence bell first gave notice to the populace that 
 the Declaration of Independence had been adopted. 
 It was signed on the same day by every member 
 present who voted for it, " signing as it were with 
 halters about their necks. " As the voting in con- 
 gress was by colonies, a majority of the members 
 of that body could not bind any single colony. It 
 was, thei-efore, necessary for the members to sign 
 it, to show that a majority of the delegates of the 
 several colonies present were in favor of it. Their 
 signature, only, could be received as a proper au- 
 thentication of the instrument. These signatures 
 were attached to a copy on paper, and the instru- 
 ment was ordered to be engrossed on parchment. 
 This was done, and the copy on parchment was 
 signed by fifty -four delegates on the 2d of August. 
 
THE DOCUMENTS OF FREEDOM. 137 
 
 Two others afterward signed, one in September and 
 the other later in the Autumn. 
 
 Immediately after the adoption of the Declara- 
 tion of Independence, it was printed and scattered 
 broadcast with only the names of the president of 
 the congress and secretary attached to it. This 
 doubtless gave rise to the impression that only these 
 two signed the document on the Fourth of July. 
 
 When- Mr. Henry Brown at Eugby heard of the 
 signing of the Declaration of Independence by the 
 continental congress, he drained a bowl of punch, 
 shook his head knowingly and growled : 
 
 " What did the idiots do it for? The country 
 is going to the dogs." 
 
CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 THE HESSIAN. 
 
 King George III., after the affairs at Lexing- 
 ton and Bunker Hill, began to appreciate the 
 temper of the American people. War was in- 
 evitable, and the Americans were far more formi- 
 dable than he at first supposed. That a fierce and 
 bloody conflict was before him, he could no longer 
 doubt, yet he never relented one whit of his deter- 
 mination to humble the Americano. He had not 
 English troops sufficient to accomplish this, and 
 decided to secure foreign aid. 
 
 The king first applied to the empress of Eussia, 
 whom he was disposed to regard as a semi-barba- 
 rian, sovereign of a barbarous nation, for the loan 
 of her soldiers. As British gold would purchase 
 everything, a ready compliance was anticipated. 
 So much reliance was put in this demand, that 
 Gibbon the historian, in October, 1775, wrote to a 
 friend : 
 
 " When the Eussians arrive, will you go and 
 see their camp? We have great hopes of getting 
 138 
 
THE HESSIAN. 139 
 
 a body of these barbarians. The ministers daily 
 and hourly expect to hear that the business is con- 
 cluded. The worst of it is, the Baltic will soon 
 be frozen up, and it must be late next year before 
 they can get to America. " 
 
 A refusal was not dreamed of, yet it came. By 
 the hand of her minister, Catharine, the half -bar- 
 barian sovereign, answered : 
 
 " I am just beginning to enjoy peace, and your 
 majesty knows that my empire needs repose. It 
 is also known what must be the condition of an 
 army, though victorious, when it comes out of a 
 long war in a murderous climate. There is an im- 
 propriety in employing so considerable a body in 
 another hemisphere, tinder a power almost unknown 
 to it, and almost deprived of all correspondence 
 with its sovereign. My own confidence in my 
 peace, which has cost me so great efforts to acquire, 
 demands absolutely that I do not deprive myself 
 so soon of so considerable a part of my forces. 
 Affairs on the side of Sweden are but put to sleep, 
 and those of Poland are not yet definitely termi- 
 nated. Moreover, I should not be able to prevent 
 from reflecting on the consequences which would 
 result for our own dignity, for that of the two 
 monarchies and the two nations, from this junction 
 of our forces, simply to calm a rebellion which is 
 not supported by any foreign power. " 
 
140 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 The angry king sputtered out his indignation in 
 his irritable way : 
 
 " She has not had the civility to answer me in 
 her own hand, and has thrown out expressions that 
 may be civil to a Kussian ear, but certainly not to 
 a more civilized one. " 
 
 Failing to procure soldiers from Russia, King 
 George next applied to Holland for the loan of a 
 brigade of troops, but again met with a refusal. 
 The Deputies said : 
 
 " A commercial State should avoid quarrels if 
 possible, " and Van der Capellan, the greatest states- 
 man of the Netherlands at this time, remarked, 
 " A republic should never assist in making war on 
 a free people." Unwilling, however, to offend 
 England, the brigade was offered on the condition 
 that it should not serve out of Europe. While 
 these negotiations were going on, bargains were 
 made by the British government with some of the 
 less scrupulous German rulers for the hire of the 
 required number of soldiers. By the close of 
 1775, the bargain was closed. The contracting 
 parties were the reigning governors of Hesse-Cassel, 
 Hesse-Hanau, Brunswick, Anhalt, Anspach and 
 Waldeck, and the king of Great Britain. The 
 deal was one of the most unscrupulous in the 
 annals of history. The poor Hessians had, them- 
 selves, no choice in the matter. Like so many 
 
THE HESSIAN. 141 
 
 cattle they were sold and forced from their country 
 to a foreign land where they found themselves with 
 muskets in their hands, facing a foe and told to 
 fight. 
 
 About seventeen thousand German troops, most 
 of them well disciplined, were hired. Their mas- 
 ters were to receive for each soldier a bounty of 
 twenty-two dollars and a half, besides a subsidy, 
 the whole amounting to a large sum. The British 
 government also agreed to make a restitution for 
 all soldiers who might perish from contagious dis- 
 eases while being transported in ships ; in engage- 
 ments, and during sieges; and they were all to 
 take an oath of allegiance to the British monarch, 
 without its interfering with their oaths of allegiance 
 to their respective rulers. They were, according 
 to the agreement, to constitute a corps made up of 
 four battalions of grenadiers, each four companies ; 
 fifteen battalions of infantry of five companies 
 each, and two companies of Yagers (riflemen), all 
 to be well equipped with implements of war. The 
 chief commanders of these troops were General 
 Baron de Eiedesel, General Baron Knyphausen, 
 and General de Heister. The name of Hessians 
 was given to them all, and, because they were 
 mercenaries, they were particularly detested by 
 the Americans. The employment of them was a 
 disgrace to the British government, and the method 
 
143 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 used in forcing many of them away from their 
 homes was a crime against humanity. Laborers 
 were seized in the fields, mechanics in the work- 
 shops and worshippers in the churches, and were 
 hurried to the barracks without being allowed a 
 parting embrace with their families. Knowing 
 that it was the intention of recruiting officers to 
 impress men, even King George, unscrupulous as 
 he was, refused to commission them. He said: 
 
 " It, in plain English, makes me a kidnapper, 
 which I cannot think a very honorable occupation. " 
 
 In fact, the African slave trade was humane in 
 comparison to the brutal manner in which the 
 unfortunate Hessians were torn from their homes; 
 but without these troops the war would have been 
 short; even with them the British were not suc- 
 cessful. A part of them under Biedesel went to 
 Canada in the Spring of 1776, to assist in driving 
 the republicans out of that province. The re- 
 mainder under De Heister and Knyphausen joined 
 Howe at New York in the summer and saw their 
 first service on Long Island. 
 
 ***** 
 
 In the winter of 1775 and 1776, there lived in 
 Anhalt an honest young mechanic named August 
 Steckel. He was about thirty years of age and 
 was strong, brave and honorable. Every one who 
 knew the modest young German pointed him out 
 
THE HESSIAN. 143 
 
 as a model citizen, husband and father. His 
 home was in the outskirts of the village, and from 
 the rear door of his cottage could be seen in the 
 dim distance the Harz Mountains, their peaks 
 piercing the blue mists and looking like great bar- 
 riers to a mysterious, unknown world. 
 
 Here the young German mechanic had spent his 
 life. He cared little for the superstitious stories 
 of Harz Mounta'ins and the Black Forest. His 
 life was a poem rather than a romance. With his 
 handsome wife adoring him, his prattling babes 
 at his knees, on his return from a day of arduous 
 toil, what more could a husband ask? Their 
 friend Joseph Jager came frequently to spend the 
 evening and smoke a pipe with honest August. 
 Every one who passed his humble home pointed to 
 it with pride and said : 
 
 " There lives honest August Steckel. " 
 Frequently, when August and Joseph sat be- 
 fore the blazing fire in the former's cottage, they 
 talked of that new land; away across the sea, where 
 so many of all nations had gone to make homes. 
 August had a brother there from whom he fre- 
 quently received letters giving glowing accounts of 
 the country. Although there had as yet been but 
 little German emigration to America, August fre- 
 quently had his day-dreams of spending the re 
 raainder of his life in a, new land with Catharine 
 
144 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 and Ws children. It was hard living in Anhalt. 
 He worked early and late, but wages were small, 
 and he lived in constant dread of conscription. 
 He had served his prince a few months as a soldier 
 in Flanders; but August loved peace more than 
 war. He had no ambition save to be honest and 
 possess the love of his family. He realized that 
 he was living in a land of tyrants. From over the 
 seas came whispers of a land in which the Bird of 
 Liberty was pluming its wings, and he sometimes 
 longed to go and assist its flight. 
 
 One evening, early in January, 1776, Catharine 
 stood in the door of her happy, though humble 
 little home, awaiting the return of her husband. 
 The snow lay on the ground, and Harz Mountains, 
 gray and weird in their fleecy coat, seemed to have 
 lost half their terrors. Night was coming on 
 apace; the cold wind from the mountains was 
 blowing; but she did not mind it, for she was 
 awaiting the return of August. 
 
 A man, travelling on foot, entered the little 
 town. The few inhabitants who were at the mo- 
 ment at their windows or doors, regarded this 
 traveller with a species of anxiety. It would be 
 difficult to meet a wayfarer of more forbidding ap- 
 pearance. He was a man about forty years of age, 
 in the full vigor of life. His low cap with a, 
 leather peak partly concealed his sunburned and 
 
THE HESSIAN. 145 
 
 forbidding face. His clothes were of the coarsest 
 and plainest sort, consisting of shirt, vest and blue 
 woollen blouse. He had a neck-cloth, twisted like 
 a rope, loose blue trousers, met at the knee by 
 gray stockings, and wooden shoes were on his feet. 
 A well-filled knapsack was on his back and a large 
 knotty stick in his hand. His face was shaved 
 smooth, and his prominent chin, peaked nose and 
 thin lips gave to his face a sinister appearance. 
 
 No one knew him ; he was evidently a stranger 
 in the town. Everybody thought he came from 
 the south ; but no one was certain. He was not 
 hungry, for he passed the inn with only a cursory 
 glance toward it and came directly to the cottage 
 of August Steckel, whose wife still stood in the 
 door watching for her husband. 
 
 " August is late to-night, " she murmured to 
 herself, as she held her baby close to her breast. 
 
 She did not see the stranger until he was almost 
 at the house ; then she started to go in and close 
 the door, when he called to her : 
 
 " Catharine Steckel, don't run from an old 
 friend." 
 
 She paused and gazed at him in amazement, and 
 then cried : 
 
 ^"Herman Yost!" 
 
 " Aye, Qatharine, you have not forgotten me, I 
 see." 
 
 10 
 
146 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Why, how dared you return, since I told you 
 I never wanted to see you again? Herman Yost, 
 I am now a respectable wife ; you must go away. " 
 
 With a low chuckle, the new-comer gave a tug 
 at the peak of his^toap and said : 
 
 " No use for old lovers then ? " . 
 
 " Begone, before my husband comes. " 
 
 The stranger took a small book and pencil from 
 the pocket of his blouse, and asked : 
 
 " I have forgotten your husband's full name. " 
 
 " It is August Steckel, and an honorable name 
 it is, too. " 
 
 The stranger wrote down the name with perfect 
 coolness, and, while she was yet sounding the 
 praises of her husband, he asked : 
 
 "What is his age?" 
 
 " Thirty -five; but what can that be to you?" 
 
 " He is healthy, robust, strong?" 
 
 " Strong enough to crack your skull if you do 
 not depart before he returns. " 
 
 Herman Yost only laughed at this, and having 
 written all he chose concerning August Steckel, he 
 turned about and went away, remarking: 
 
 "That is all I want!" 
 
 " What can he mean?" Catharine asked herself, 
 while a shudder passed over her frame. Hugging 
 her babe close to her breast she re-entered the house 
 and, placing the child in its little bed, busied her- 
 
THE HESSIAN. 147 
 
 self preparing the frugal meal for her husband, at 
 the same time trying hard to shake oS the dismal 
 forebodings which seemed to possess her soul ; but 
 she could not wholly do so. 
 
 August returned, his honest face all aglow with 
 pleasure as he kissed his children and wife, and 
 said: 
 
 " Come, good frau, spread the cloth and let us 
 eat, for an honest day's toil demands an honest 
 meal. The wind blows off the mountains to-night, 
 and we shall have it cold. " 
 
 She spread the meal and they gathered round 
 the board. 
 
 "What makes you so melancholy?" he asked. 
 
 " Do I seem melancholy?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 She could not tell him that her old lover, her 
 husband's former rival and enemy, had been there. 
 She knew August would be angry and would start 
 forth in the night and shrieking storm to seek and 
 chastise Herman. The wind from Harz Mountains 
 had brought a snow-storm with it, and the flakes 
 were falling thick and fast in eddying whirls about 
 the houses. 
 
 Supper was over and the table cleared away. 
 August sat in his accustomed corner, his babe on 
 his knee and his eldest at his side, when there 
 came a rap at the door. He knew that knock. It 
 
148 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 was his dearest friend Joseph come to talk with 
 him during the long winter evening. He bade 
 him enter, and in a few moments the friends with 
 well-filled pipes sat before the fire, chatting pleas- 
 antly, regardless of the wild tempest which howled 
 about them. 
 
 " My friend August, there is a strange man in 
 the village taking the names of able-bodied men, " 
 said Jager. 
 
 "Why does he do that?" 
 
 " No one can tell, unless it is' to run a conscript. " 
 
 " But we are at peace. " 
 
 " Truly you speak, friend August, yet all the 
 remainder of Europe is not. England is at war 
 with her colonies in America. !' 
 
 " "What have we to do with that?" 
 
 " Much, if what I hear be true. " 
 
 " What have you heard?" 
 
 " That the king of England has made a compact 
 with our prince, whereby Anhalt is. to furnish a 
 number of soldiers to go to America. " 
 
 " And fight that people?" 
 
 " Yes. " 
 
 " It cannot be ; it cannot be ! " said August. 
 " My brother Jacob is there, and, were I not so 
 poor, I would go to America and fight her battles, 
 too. Our prince would not sell us as slaves in 
 that way. " 
 
THE HESSIAN. 149 
 
 " Rumor says he has done so, and I half believe 
 the fellow who is writing down so many names is 
 a spy of the press gang. Have you seen him?" 
 
 "Na" 
 
 " Then you are safe. His evil eye has been on 
 me, and he has my name. He may report me to 
 the press gang, and then I will be conscripted and 
 sent to the war in America. " 
 
 Catharine heard these words, and they went like 
 daggers to her heart. She could not gaze on her 
 poor husband sitting there imagining himself free, 
 when she knew the agefit had his name on the list. 
 How could she tell him that he was deceived, that 
 his enemy had come during his absence and from 
 her own lips had obtained the information neces- 
 sary to his conscription ? She felt in her soul that 
 she had betrayed the man she loved dearer than 
 life to his enemies. For two days she kept the 
 horrible secret. Her husband saw that something 
 was wearing on his pretty wife, and he urged her 
 to tell him what it was. Long she was silent, 
 until she could withhold no more. As she began 
 to tell the story of Herman Yost and his strange 
 questions, they were interrupted by the beating of 
 drums and sounds of martial music. Little Wil- 
 helmien, their eldest, five-year-old boy, who stood 
 at the window, danced with delight. Husband 
 and wife went to the door and saw a considerable 
 
150 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 body of soldiers marching hurriedly into the town. 
 This was something rather uncommon, for they 
 had had no soldiers in the city since August re- 
 turned with his regiment. 
 
 Why wa:s that company of yagers sent there? 
 
 " Never mind, Joseph will tell us all, when he 
 comes. " Joseph Jager was a sort of gossip gatherer 
 for the entire village, a,nd he never failed to bring 
 with him all the news of the town. In due time 
 he came. 
 
 " The poldiers have come," he said, as soon as 
 he was seated in the snug corner and had lighted 
 his pipe. 
 
 "Why did they come, Joseph?" August asked 
 uneasily. 
 
 '" I know not. " 
 
 " Where are they from?" 
 
 " Some say Berlin ; some say Hamburg. " 
 
 " And you do not know why they are here?" 
 
 " In truth, I do not know." 
 
 " Will they remain long?" 
 
 " I know not how long will be their stay." 
 
 Then they smoked for a long time in silence. 
 August asked where the soldiers were quartered, 
 and Joseph answered: 
 
 " In the old barracks. " 
 
 " I wish I was in America, where there are forests 
 and lands to which one may fly and live in peace. " 
 
THE HESSIAN. 151 
 
 " Have you heard from your brother Jacob?" 
 
 " Not since last summer. " 
 
 " Where was he then?" 
 
 " In a place called Massachusetts, and near a 
 town named Lexington. They have strange names 
 in that land of America. They name their coun- 
 tries, towns and rivers after the names given them 
 by the barbarians, or at least many of them. " 
 
 "When will you go to America, August?" 
 
 " When the war there is at an end. " 
 
 " And Heaven knows when that will be. Eng- 
 land and her colonies are at war, and it may be a 
 long one. " 
 
 " Perchance some compromise may be fixed up, 
 and then we will go. " 
 
 " The English are stubborn, and the colonists 
 are English themselves, and equally stubborn." 
 
 " I would it were at an end. " 
 
 The wind shrieked past the corners of the house, 
 and whistled down the chimney. 
 
 " The night is growing bitter cold, " said August, 
 and, rising, he laid some more logs on the fire. 
 They burned and crackled, while the flames roared 
 up the wide black throat of the chimney. Catha- 
 rine had tucked the eldest child warmly in its little 
 bed, and was holding the baby closely folded to 
 her breast. 
 
 " We will have a bitter cold night. " 
 
153 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " You wouldn't care to be in Harz Mountains?" 
 said Joseph, who, filling his pipe, settled down in 
 the warmest comer to enjoy a long smoke. 
 
 "Indeed I would not." 
 
 " The wind is bitter keen among the mountains. " 
 
 Then they sat and gazed into the glowing fire. 
 There is nothing more conducive to pleasant reflec- 
 tions than a cheerful fire burning on a hearth. 
 The glowing -embers, the bright-colored flames 
 make up a panorama of pictures which no artist 
 can excel. Long years after August remembered 
 that night, the blazing logs, the glowing coals and 
 pictures. 
 
 He saw armies and banners. He heard the 
 snapping of musketry and saw the sparkling shots 
 and smoke. There were men on horseback and 
 men on foot, plunging and charging, in thickest 
 conflict. Strange scenes loomed up before him, 
 and he caught a glimpse of foreign lands. Was 
 he reading in the fire his own destihy? Suddenly 
 a great stick of wood burned in twain and fell with 
 a crash into the mass, changing it all in an instant. 
 For a brief space of time all was utter chaos and 
 then there emerged from the ruins two faces. He 
 started up with a cry of wonder. The two pro- 
 files were his friend Joseph and himself. 
 
 " What is the matter, August?" asked both his 
 wife and his friend. 
 
THE HESSIAN. 153 
 
 " Did you not see them?" 
 
 " See what?" they asked. 
 
 " Our pictures. " 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 "In the fire." 
 
 " You are mad, my friend, " replied Joseph. 
 
 " You slept and were dreaming, " said his wife. 
 
 " Perhaps I did, but it was all so real," answered 
 the young husband. " While gazing into the pic- 
 tures made by the fire I seemed to be reading a 
 terrible future." 
 
 Ere any one had time to reply to his vagaries 
 there came a loud rap at the door and a summons 
 for admittance. 
 
 "Wife, who can that be? It is not common 
 that we have visits at this hour, " said the husband. 
 
 She had put the baby to sleep and, going to the 
 door, opened it. To her horror, half a dozen sol- 
 diers with muskets and bayonets in their hands, 
 led by an officer with drawn sword appeared. 
 Catharine felt as if she would faint, for instinc- 
 tively she knew it was the press gang come to take 
 away her husband. The officer, without the least 
 pretence to civility, said: 
 
 "This is the home of August Steckel?" and, 
 before she could answer, pushed her aside and 
 entered, followed by four men, leaving two stand- 
 ing just outside of the door on guard August 
 
154 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 and his friend rose to their feet, amazed at the im- 
 pudence of the officer and soldiers. 
 
 " Are you August Steckel?" asked the officer. 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 " Then you are the man we seek. " 
 
 ■' What mean you?" 
 
 " You have been conscripted, and we have come 
 to take you to your regiment. " 
 
 At this Catharine gave utterance to a shriek of 
 agony and. cried : 
 
 " Oh, heaven, spare him, spare him, spare him! 
 Do not take him from us ! See these two helpless 
 children. They will perish if he be taken from us. " 
 
 The officer, with an effort to be a gentleman, 
 answered : 
 
 " I am sorry for you, woman, but I have to 
 obey the orders of my prince, and he must go." 
 
 She fell on her knees and wrung her hands, 
 wept and implored in vain. The officer sternly 
 informed her that he was only obeying the orders 
 of superiors. Turning to Joseph, he added: 
 
 "And you, too, sir, are on the list; you are 
 Joseph Jager; we were told we would find you 
 here," and he laid his hand on the shoulder of 
 August's friend, saying, " Don't resist!" 
 
 Eesistance would have been folly. What could 
 two unarmed men have done against seven armed 
 soldiers, able to call a score more to their aid? 
 
THE HESSIAN, 155 
 
 Despite petitions, prayers and remonstrances, they 
 were handcuffed together and ordered to march. 
 
 " Give me time, oh, give me time to make 
 some arrangements for my family!" pleaded 
 August. 
 
 " What is your family to the prince? He must 
 have soldiers — march!" commanded the officer. 
 The wife sprang forward, flung her arms around 
 her husband's neck and implored them to kill her, 
 rather than take from her the father of her helpless 
 babes. She was rudely torn away,, fell fainting 
 on the floor, and the officer commanded a soldier 
 behind the conscripts to prick them with his bay- 
 onet until they moved on. He did so, and, thus 
 they were driven from the house. The town was 
 wild with excitement. Everywhere they beheld 
 companions in misery being hurried down the 
 street. From almost every house some wretched 
 being was dragged to swell the throng of con- 
 scripts. 
 
 No time was given to say iarewell. In many 
 instances they were not even allowed to dress com- 
 fortably, but were hurried to the barracks, where 
 they passed the night, and at dawn, without being 
 permitted to bid friends and relatives adieu, were 
 hurried away. 
 
 The army grew greater as they marched, August 
 knew not whither. At the end of a few days 
 
156 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 they came to a city of considerable size. He did 
 not even inquire the name. Here, huddled to- 
 gether in miserable quarters, and poorly fed, they 
 remained two weeks. No one was permitted to 
 write home or receive letters. They were formed 
 into companies and regiments, uniformed and given 
 arms, and drilled. August's captain was his old 
 enemy Herman Yost, promoted to this of&ce for 
 his services to the press gang. 
 
 At the end of two weeks they began a long 
 march and came to a seaport town. Here they 
 halted for another fortnight, which was passed in 
 drilling and exercising in arms. 
 
 One poor youth who lived at a village but a half 
 a league from the home of August Steckel, at- 
 tempted to escape. He did evade the cordon of 
 guards kept about the conscripted men and made 
 his way to the hills, but was pursued and caught. 
 He was brought back, tried for a deserter and 
 sentenced to die. He was a fair-haired, blue-eyed, 
 honest German youth of eighteen, who had never 
 done an evil act in his life. He begged for his life, 
 but military laws were inexorable. His prince 
 wanted money and, to procure it,, he sold his sub- 
 jects. He had refused to be sold into slavery and a 
 terrible example must be made of him. After his 
 sentence, he begged the privilege of writing home 
 to his widowed mother, but even this was denied 
 
THE HESSIAN. 157 
 
 him. He was given but a few hours to live and 
 as August was appointed to guard him, he gave 
 him some parting messages for his mother. These 
 words of a dying son he promised to deliver, if he 
 should ever be permitted to return to his native 
 Anhalt. 
 
 Next morning the youth was ordered out to die. 
 With August he pleaded, " Stay with me until all 
 is over?" August could not refuse, though he 
 realized how terrible the ordeal would be. The 
 victim, with his hands tied behind his back was 
 led from his prison, to a grove of trees beyond the 
 town. A sergeant with four files of soldiers had 
 the execution in charge. A chaplain prayed with 
 the prisoner, who then sat on a rude coffin by the 
 side of an open grave. His eyes were bandaged, 
 and August bade him farewell. He stepped 
 hurriedly aside and covered his face with his hands. 
 Then came some sharp commands, a volley of 
 musketry, a shriek of pain, and all was over. 
 August still kept his face covered with his hands, 
 until he heard some one shovelling the earth, 
 and then started as if from a terrible dream, and 
 hurried to his quarters. 
 
 He was so filled with horror and grief at that 
 terrible execution, that he dreamed of it night after 
 night. Fortunately he and Joseph were assigned 
 to the same company, and they consoled each other 
 
158 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 in the hope that all would yet come out right. 
 One morning they were ordered on parade with 
 knapsacks filled, and all their accoutrements. A 
 great army, fully seventeen thousand strong, was 
 on parade that day. Generals Baron de Kiede- 
 sel. Baron Knyphausen and De Heister were in 
 command of the troops. The order was given 
 to march, and the troops wheeled into line and 
 marched down to the docks where vessels were 
 
 lying- 
 
 " Where are we going?" asked August. 
 
 No one knew. He was reprimanded for talking 
 in ranks. They were taken aboard ships, and 
 sailed away he knew not whither. So ignorant 
 of the service they were to engage in were the 
 Hessians that very many did not dream they were 
 being sent to America, until the vessels were well 
 on their way. 
 
 For months they were drifting on a shoreless 
 ocean. The poor conscripts were sick at heart, and 
 were glad when land was sighted, even though it 
 should be a hostile shore. They saw before them 
 low-lying coasts and, further inland, great forests. 
 
 " What country is this?" asked Joseph. 
 
 " It must be America. " 
 
 " Then your brother may be here. " 
 
 " He is in the other army, and we will be en- 
 emies. " 
 
THE HESSIAN. 159 
 
 Thus the Hessians were brought to America as 
 mercenaries, to fight men struggling for liberty. 
 The story of August Steokel is only the story of 
 many of those unfortunate men forced into the 
 British service against their will. 
 
CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 LONG ISLAND. 
 
 Afteb the evacuation of Boston by the British, 
 there followed a period of inactivity. Mr. Brown 
 went to Eugby, where over his bowl of punch he 
 discussed " the late war, " while Albert and his 
 friends Simon and Jacob remained inactive in the 
 camp. In May, their regiment received marching 
 orders. Albert was now assigned to his father's 
 regiment. 
 
 Washington left the city in charge of General 
 Ward and made ready to take possession of New 
 York. He travelled by way of Providence, Nor- 
 wich and New London, on the way ordering troops 
 to meet him at headquarters. 
 
 Colonel Stevens' regiment marched to New York 
 soon after the departure of Washington. Eeaching 
 the city, they went into quarters near the Battery. 
 
 " I wonder what in tarnation they're goin' tew 
 dew next?" Simon growled, as they lay in camp. 
 
 " We expect the British to make their next, 
 attack here, " said Stevens. 
 160 
 
LONG ISLAND. 161 
 
 " Well, we are ready for 'em !" Simon declared. 
 
 " Veil, we yust are, mein frient, " answered 
 Jacob. 
 
 " Thar's a Lull passel o' pizen Tories in this 
 town, who ort tew be made tew eat dirt or stretch 
 hemp, " growled Simon Tapley. " I'm thinkin' 
 we ort tew hang 'em. No sooner had Gineral 
 Washington got back from Philadelphia 'an' they 
 tried tew pizen him. " 
 
 " But the man who made the attempt will hang 
 for it. He will never attempt to put poison in 
 green peas again, " said Joshua Stevens. 
 
 " Wonder what the continental congress is going 
 to do?" asked Albert. 
 
 " Nothin' , " growled Simon. " They hain't got 
 no spunk, or they would be a-slappin' King George 
 in the face. " 
 
 " They pulled down his lead statue yesterday, 
 and are melting it up into bullets to shoot at 
 royalty. " 
 
 " Hope we'll git a chance. I'm itchin' for an- 
 other whack at 'em. " 
 
 The young soldiers had not a great while to 
 wait. The seat of war had been transferred from 
 Massachusetts to New York, and the Island of 
 Manhattan, with its passes to the Hudson, was 
 put in position for defence. The city resembled a 
 camp or battle-field ; streets were barricaded ; sen- 
 11 
 
163 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 tinels were on duty, and no one passed from town 
 to the country without the countersign. At beat 
 of drum every citizen was domiciled and every sol- 
 dier at his post, not to leave it till the call of the 
 reveille. 
 
 The headquarters of the commander-in-chief 
 were at what was afterward denominated Eichmond 
 Hill, familiar to New Yorkers as the country seat 
 of Aaron Burr. The place was, at that time, 
 quite in the country, though now far below the 
 heart of the city. 
 
 The arrival of the British army at New York at 
 once threw the whole city into a fever of excite- 
 ment. There was no lack of military display. 
 Down at the Hook was a formidable fleet ; Staten 
 Island was alive with British soldiery; King's 
 Bridge, which united the Island of Manhattan with 
 the main land, had been strongly fortified by the 
 Americans, while every headland and projection 
 bristled with armed men and cannon. 
 
 Alexander Hamilton, a youth of brilliant parts 
 and an enthusiast for freedom, had already distin- 
 guished himself while in King's College. The 
 president. Dr. Hooper, was an irritable man, a 
 scholar, an aristocrat and, what was worse, a Tory. 
 Hamilton headed a party, some two or three years 
 before the period under consideration, composed .of 
 college boys, who one night marched out in silence 
 
LONG ISLAND. 163 
 
 and spiked the guns upon the Bowling Green, and 
 actually drove the president from the academic 
 groves, about where Barclay Street now is, to seek 
 shelter in the king's fleet. 
 
 Hamilton was a native of the West Indies, 
 originally a merchant's clerk; but his tropical 
 blood contemned the slow, dull mediocrity of a 
 life of gain, and he longed early for an opportunity 
 to distinguish himself. The passage of the Boston 
 Port Bill threw the whole country into a ferment, 
 and the opportunity for great achievements, for 
 which so many pine, yet few realize, was opened 
 before him. When the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence had been read to the people in Philadelphia, 
 it is well known that the old provincial bell, upon 
 which was inscribed, " Proclaim liberty through- 
 out the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof," 
 rang forth a peal such as had never greeted the 
 ears of men since the "tongue of Eoland," in 
 Antwerp, heralded the birth of the Dutch Ee- 
 public. 
 
 The possession of the city of New York and the 
 Hudson Eiver was of the utmost importance to 
 either army. The river commanded the State, 
 and, if once in the hands of the enemy, would 
 afford them an easy passage for troops and provi- 
 sions by the way of Canada, while at the same 
 time the Americans would find themselves entirely 
 
164 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 cut off from communication between the eastern 
 and western sections. 
 
 Accordingly, on tlie afternoon of the 12th of 
 July, two vessels, the Phoenix and Rose, the former 
 of forty, the latter of twenty gtins, were seen to 
 detach themselves from the fleet at Staten Island 
 and, with three tenders, make their way toward 
 the city. Consternation spread through the town. 
 
 " The city is to be bombarded ! The city is to 
 be burned!" was the cry on every side. 
 
 " We are goin' tew have some fun, " declared 
 Simon, as he seized his musket and ran to join his 
 company. Women and children hurried here and 
 there; goods were packed and valuables stored 
 away. The soldiers were under arms at once, and 
 messengers hurried off to King's Bridge and the 
 batteries on the Hudson to give the alarm. Soon 
 the booming of artillery echoed far and wide along 
 the shores. 
 
 A steady breeze and flooding tide pressed gal- 
 lantly upon the oncoming foe, who, with canvas 
 spread and bulwarks protected by bags of sand, 
 presented a fine sight to the eye. The guns of the 
 Battery opened upon them, followed by those of 
 Paulus Hook, on the Jersey side, answered by 
 broadsides from the enemy. Conscious of power, 
 confident in wind and tide, impregnable behind 
 their rampart of sand, the ships continued their 
 
LONG ISLAND. 165 
 
 way up the Tappan Zee (or Sea), in the northern 
 part of which they dropped anchor. The experi- 
 ment was a success. They wished to obtain sound- 
 ings and learn the position and number of the 
 American fortifications, which they were now able 
 to do with little difficulty. If their object had 
 been to land troops, as had been surmised, they 
 would have been prevented by the alertness of the 
 Americans. 
 
 The Howes still hoped for a reconciliation with 
 the colonies, but the hour had passed. A year 
 ago it might have been effected, but after the 
 signing of the Declaration of Independence it was 
 impossible. A flag of truce was sent for the pur- 
 pose of conferring with the " Eebel Chief, " which 
 was promptly responded to by a barge conveying 
 Colonel Reed, the adjutant-general on the part of 
 the Americans, who was duly instructed to receive 
 no letters or communications from the enemy un - 
 less addressed to the " Commander-in-Chief of the 
 Army of the Eepublic. " When Lieutenant Brown, 
 the bearer of the flag, stated that he had a letter 
 from Lord Howe to Mr. Washington, Colonel Eeed 
 promptly replied : 
 
 " I know of no such person in the American 
 army. " 
 
 The lieutenant then offered a letter addressed, 
 " George Washington, Esq. " 
 
166 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " I cannot receive such a letter," replied Colonel 
 Eeed, ordering the barge to push off. The per- 
 plexed officer then said : 
 
 " The letter is civil rather than military ; Lord 
 Howe regrets greatly that he had not arrived before 
 matters reached the present crisis. " 
 
 But Colonel Eeed was cool and stood on his dig- 
 nity. It' was important to force the enemy to ac- 
 knowledge the title of their commander-in-chief. 
 
 The boats at last parted, when Lieutenant 
 Brown, putting his own boat about, pursued the 
 Americans and asked: 
 
 " By what title does General-^r-Mr. Washington 
 expect to be addressed?" 
 
 " The position and title of General Washington 
 are well known, " answered Colonel Eeed, " and 
 Lord Howe will be at no loss as to the proper mode 
 of address. " 
 
 A few days later, the British adjutant-general, 
 Colonel Patterson, asked for a personal interview 
 with General Washington, which was granted. 
 
 Tlie interview resulted in nothing. Washington 
 insisted on being addressed by the title the conti- 
 nental congress had conferred upon him, which the 
 British commander was careful not to recognize, 
 for by so doing he would have to recognize the 
 authority of the congress. Lord Howe really 
 hoped to avert any further bloodshed; but the 
 
LONG ISLAND. 167 
 
 colonists, after July 4th, 1776, would listen to 
 nothing short of independence. 
 
 Many of the American soldiers were, like Albert, 
 not yet grown. It has often been said that the 
 battles of the Eevolution were fought by mere 
 boys, and it is most certain that a large proportion 
 of those who served in the ranks were under 
 twenty-one years of age. Albert's company was 
 composed mostly of tall boys, whose characters 
 were unformed, and to whom the example of so- 
 briety, good order and integrity were of the utmost 
 importance. Washington considered this with a 
 truly fatherly feeling. The young man who had so 
 tenderly cared for his step-children, borne with 
 the folly of one and wept the premature death of 
 the other, looked with a kindly eye upon these 
 poor youths, exposed thus early to the corruptions 
 of camp life. He remembered his own experience 
 at sixteen, a surveyor in the wilderness, defeated 
 at Du Quesne — defeated but not disheartened. 
 He recalled the long marches through pathless 
 woods, roaring rivers, his toils and perils by flood 
 and field, and, remembering these — remembering 
 the dauntless heart which had sustained him, it is 
 no wonder that he exacted much from human 
 daring, demanded much of manly hardihood and 
 soldierly endurance. He had a right to expect 
 but his heart was young to the day of 
 
168 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 his death, and he could sympathize with the 
 young. 
 
 The American camp, which might have degen- 
 erated into a scene of vice and debauchery, became, 
 under the auspices of Washington, a school for the 
 practice of virtue. Himself unspotted from the 
 world, he demanded the practice of an almost 
 austere virtue by those who surrounded him. The 
 orderly book of the army bears ample witness to 
 the purity inculcated by the great commander. It 
 is full of the aspirations of the patriot and the 
 piety of the Christian. He exhorted them to rise 
 superior to sectional jealousies and petty animosi- 
 ties, adding: 
 
 " Let all distinctions of nations, countries and 
 provinces thereof be lost in the generous consent, 
 who will behave with the most courage against the 
 enemy, and the most kindness and good humor 
 toward each other." 
 
 Again, we find the following, under date of 
 August 3d, a month after the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, when the army was in hourly expecta- 
 tion of an attack from a superior force, and both 
 men and officers were under constant fatigue duty : 
 
 " That the troops may have an opportunity of 
 attending public worship, as well as to take some 
 rest after the great fatigue they have gone through, 
 the general, in future, excuses them from fatigue 
 
LONa ISLAND. 169 
 
 duty on Sundays, except at the ship-yards, or on 
 special occasions, until further orders. The gen- 
 eral is sorry to be informed that the foolish and 
 wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a 
 vice heretofore little known in an American army, 
 is growing into fashion. He hopes the officers 
 will, by example, as well as influence, endeavor to 
 check it, and that both they and the men will re- 
 flect, that we can have but little hope of the bless- 
 ings of Heaven on our arms, if we insult it by our 
 impiety and folly. Added to this, it is vice so mean 
 and low, without any temptation, that every man 
 of sense and character detests and despises it." 
 Truly this man Washington was not only a mighty 
 man of battle, but a preacher of righteousness to 
 the people. 
 
 The situation of the Americans was constantly 
 growing more critical, and a great battle was almost 
 hourly expected. Albert Stevens saw General 
 Washington quite frequently at his father's quar- 
 ters. Colonel Noah Stevens and the General had 
 served together in the French and Indian wars, 
 and were life-long friends. When introduced to 
 the youth and informed that he was in the battle 
 of Lexington and Concord, Washington said: 
 
 " You are a brave lad, and I hope the God of 
 battles will preserve you to enjoy the liberties for 
 which we struggle. " 
 
170 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " General, what are we going to do with the 
 British shipping in the Tappan Zee?" asked Colo- 
 nel Stevens. 
 
 " General Putnam has been greatly worried 
 about them, and with his son-in-law is arranging 
 a chevaux-de-frise, consisting of four ships chained 
 and connected by heavy timber, bristling with 
 spikes, to be stretched across the river. This he 
 thinks will prevent their ascending further. " 
 
 " Where do you think the enemy will strike 
 first, general?" 
 
 " More than likely at Long Island, from present 
 appearances. " 
 
 Colonel Stevens' regiment was quartered near 
 the Battery, and early in August Albert saw the 
 enemy conveying troops from Staten Island by 
 means of boats to the shipping. 
 
 " Wonder ef they've got sick o' their bargain 
 an' are goin' tew give it up," remarked Simon. 
 
 " It vould seem so, py sure, " answered Jacob, 
 who was also watching the scene. 
 
 On the 17th of August, Colonel Stevens' regi- 
 ment was transferred to Brooklyn, where a con- 
 siderable body of troops was already waiting. 
 
 Eealizing the danger which menaced the city, 
 Washington wrote to the New York convention, 
 humanely urging the removal of the helpless in- 
 habitants of the city to a place of greater safety. 
 
LONa ISLAND. Hi 
 
 It was impossible to tell where the enemy would 
 strike. The vigilant Greene had personally in- 
 spected every rood of ground from Hell -Gate to 
 the Narrows, and batteries bristled from the 
 Wallabout to Gowanus Bay. A fort had been 
 thrown up on Governor's Island, and entrench- 
 ments on Red Hook. Upon the highlands com- 
 manding a view of the country roads was a fort of 
 no mean strength, known as Fort Greene. 
 
 Between these fortifications and the Narrows 
 was a range of densely wooded hills stretching 
 quite across the inland. This country now forms 
 a part of Brooklyn and Greenwood Cemetery. 
 Across this natural defence extended three great 
 thoroughfares, down to the villages lying upon the 
 lower or southwestern part of the island. On the 
 left of the works was the Bedford road, passing 
 over Bedford hills to the town of Jamaica. A 
 central road passed through this woody defile to 
 Flatbush. A third was nearer the sea, by Gowanus 
 Cove to Gravesend. 
 
 The positions were well chosen, and every hope 
 promised to be realized, when General Greene, 
 overcome by toil and exposure, was struck down 
 by a severe fever. Washington, at this critical 
 juncture, dispatched General Sullivan, who had 
 just returned from the northern army, to take 
 command. Greene hoped to recover in time to 
 
173 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 assume command at Long Island before the enemy 
 should strike at that point; but he was disap- 
 pointed, and the veteran Putnam was sent to this 
 most important field. Colonel Stevens' regiment 
 was placed under Putnam in one of the most im- 
 portant positions. Most of his men had fought at 
 Bunker Hill, and many participated in the Lex- 
 ington and Concord afEair. 
 
 On the 22d of August, just at daylight, Simon, 
 who had been down toward Gravesend, came run- 
 ning back to cainp for his gun. He reported that 
 the British were landing some of their forces. 
 The'pickets in that direction opened a sharp fire, 
 but after a skirmish were driven back, and the 
 main army of the British soon landed; while at 
 the same time the ships of war made their way up 
 the harbor, as if to bombard the city of New York. 
 Their measures were so well concerted, that the 
 patriots were in doubt as to their final movements. 
 Washington, on the New York side, hesitated 
 whether to cross over to Long Island and leave 
 New York city exposed or not. He placed too 
 much confidence in Putnam's ability. 
 
 Colonel Stevens' regiment and two others were 
 all that were left to oppose the landing of the 
 army. As Colonel Noah Stevens galloped forward 
 to reconnoitre, he saw that they had come to meet 
 the main British army. 
 
LONG ISLAND. 173 
 
 " "We cannot hold tliem in check long, " he re- 
 marked to one of his field ofi&cers. 
 
 The skirmishers were already engaging the 
 enemy and fought nobly, but ■were compelled to 
 fall back. The main line came up with the enemy 
 and opened a fire on them, but they might as well 
 have assaulted a wall of stone. The British beat 
 them back. They retreated, burning the harvest 
 fields and bams before them. 
 
 " Father, I don't like this, " said a voice to 
 Colonel Stevens, as he was galloping past a stone 
 fence. 
 
 " Albert, what are you doing there?" the colonel 
 asked, for he recognized his boy soldier behind the 
 fence. 
 
 " I am nicking my flint, so it will fire, " answered 
 Albert. " My gun missed last time. " 
 
 " Move on, you are in danger here. " 
 
 The British advance was firing at the youth's 
 head above the stone wall. Albert fixed his flint, 
 fired and ran to join his companions. The retreat 
 was orderly and the loss but slight. 
 
 For several days nothing effective took place. 
 Slight skirmishes occurred between the advance 
 guard of both armies. Eeinforcements came down 
 the river and from New Jersey and passed over to 
 Brooklyn ; but, being without tents, they suffered 
 from tbe occasional falls of rain. There was a 
 
174 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 great deal of sickness in the American camp. The 
 soldiery being young could hardly be restrained 
 from firing at everything that appeared in the 
 shape of a man coming from the direction of the 
 enemy. Simon Tapley in particular delighted to 
 lie on the Flatbush road and shoot at every red- 
 coat he saw. "Washington's vigilant eye detected 
 this proceeding, and he at once dispatched a 
 strenuous letter to Putnam commanding this " un- 
 soldierly conduct" to be stopped at once. He saw 
 that an army composed mainly of mercenaries, 
 with no interests in the results of battle, would be 
 most likely to contain many hard-fighting soldiers 
 willing to desert a bad cause for a good one, and 
 that such deserters lyould be intimidated and pre- 
 vented from leaving the British army from fear of 
 these straggling shots of the young soldiers. 
 
 About the same time an address was prepared 
 in German, and in various ways sent into the 
 British camp, inviting these Hessians to join the 
 American cause, and holding out a promise of land 
 to both privates and officers who should enlist in 
 the cause of freedom. 
 
 One evening, August and Joseph, the two con- 
 scripts from Anhalt, were sitting on the ground 
 by their bivouac fire talking of their home far 
 away, and of the loved ones from whom they had 
 received no word since the night they were so 
 
LONG ISLAND. 
 
 175 
 
 ruthlessly torn from them . As August remembered 
 his wife and helpless children, his eyes grew moist 
 with tears. His musket lay at his side, and from 
 his cartouch box he took a package of tobacco he 
 
 TO HIS AMAZEMENT, HE DBBW OUT A BIT OF YELLOW PAPBB 
 FEINTED IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE. 
 
 had that day purchased from an old peddler woman. 
 He broke open the package to light his pipe. To 
 his amazement he drew, out a bit of yellow paper 
 on which was some printing in his native language. 
 He read it and passed it to his comrade. It was 
 one of Washington's circulars to the Hessians 
 offering them lands and homes, if they would enlist 
 
176 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 in the cause of freedom. They knew what it was 
 to have a cruel monarch, and the look each gave the 
 other was significant. Joseph was first to speak. 
 
 " Could we do it?" he asked. 
 
 " I don't know," August answered. " Herman 
 Yost would like a pretext' to kill us. " 
 
 Then they both gazed into the fire for a moment 
 longer, then Joseph said : 
 
 " Let us kill him and go. " 
 
 August was silent. 
 
 Many Hessians did accept the terms and deserted 
 to the American cause, and their descendants may 
 still be found in the middle States. 
 
 The British had fifteen thousand men on Long 
 Island, while the army of the Americans did not 
 exceed five thousand. The Americans had thrown 
 up breastworks across the line of hills overlooking 
 the plain occupied by the royal troops at the several 
 passes, and thus the two armies stood, till at early 
 dawn, August 26th, when Simon, who had been 
 prowling • about in the direction of the enemy, 
 came rushing into the camp, yelling : 
 
 " "Wake up, boys ! roll out o' yer beds ! the red- 
 coats are on the march ! Gawl darn me ef we don't 
 have a little exercise afore breakfast, " and Simon 
 slung on his cartouch box and seized his gun. 
 He was about to run toward the British and Hes- 
 sians, when Colonel Stevens ordered hira back. 
 
LONG ISLAND. 177 
 
 From Simon it was ascertained that the enemy 
 were in motion upon the road leading along the 
 seashore to Gowanus Bay. Putnam was notified 
 at once and sent a detachment to meet them. The 
 Flatbush and Bedford roads also were well guarded, 
 supposing of course these the only points of access 
 known to the enemy ; but a Tory who was well 
 posted as to the south end of Long Island gave 
 Howe all the information he needed, and acted as 
 his guide in directing the troops. His descendants 
 still live in Brooklyn. It had been the plan of 
 Lord Howe to approach in three several divisions, 
 and by thus dividing the American forces to secure 
 victory, leaving at the same time an impression 
 that he might cannonade New York simultaneously 
 with his attack on Long Island. 
 
 Washington had for days been in the saddle 
 almost constantly, studying all the conflicting 
 movements of the enemy. He crossed several 
 times to Brooklyn, encouraging the young soldiery 
 by his noble presence and cheering words. Skir- 
 mishes upon Long Island were of very frequent 
 occurrence ; but nothing definite occurred till the 
 26th, when the plans of the enemy began to develop. 
 
 Ship after ship had landed troops upon the 
 island at the Narrows. Flatbush had been put in 
 a state of defence, marking the central point of the 
 British army, under the command of De Heister, 
 
178 INDEPENDENCE. - 
 
 commandant of the German mercenaries. Sii 
 Henry Clinton with the right wing had marched to 
 Platlands, to the right and west of General De 
 Heister, while the left wing, under General Grant, 
 extended itself to the ferry at Gravesend. Thus 
 the enemy had possession of the whole southeastern 
 part of the island up to within three miles of the 
 American lines. 
 
 When the sun went down on the 26th of August, 
 the patriots were threatened by these several di- 
 visions, twenty thousand strong, mostly soldiers 
 trained to war, accustomed to military rule, un- 
 scrupulous and Tjnsympathizing, who could plunge 
 their bayonets into whole battalions of patriots, 
 without remorse or hesitation. The Americans 
 were as one to four, compared with the enemy, 
 young, unaccustomed to arms, poor in all the ap- 
 pliances of war, and strong only in their convic- 
 tions of the justice of their cause. The right wing 
 of the royal army had fallen back to the Flatlands, 
 leaving De Heister in the centre confronting General 
 Hurd, at Flatbush. This division of the enemy 
 at Flatlands was composed of the very flower of 
 the British army. Here were Lord Percy, who 
 marched out with reinforcements to cover the royal 
 retreat at the battle of Concord, Sir Henry Clinton, 
 General Howe, who had evacuated Boston, and 
 Lord Oornwallis, who bad a destiny before him. 
 
LONG ISLAND. - 179 
 
 About nine in the evening, this finely appointed 
 division commenced a silent march, without beat 
 of drum or sound of trumpet through the woody 
 coverts, from Flatlands to Jamaica. The Tory 
 guide pointed out, and gave information that the 
 Americans, thinking the danger more imminent 
 on the seashore and at Flatbush, had left the 
 Jamaica route unguarded. Passing over the 
 marshes from Flatlands, the divisions reached 
 Jamaica before daybreak- and there learned that 
 the Bedford pass was entirely open. This was a 
 fatal mistake on the part of Putnam and proved 
 his inability, brave and patriotic as he was, to 
 handle a great army. Sir Henry Clinton imme- 
 diately sent a body of light infantry to secure the 
 pass, while the main wing halted until daybreak^, 
 when it could easily turn the left flank of the 
 American army. Three hours after the march of 
 the right wing of the royal army on the Jamaica 
 road. General Grant moved with the left wing 
 from Gravesend to Gowanus Cove, to meet the 
 right wing of the Americans. Hearing this, Put- 
 nam instantly ordered, out Colonel Stevens' regi- 
 ment and another under Stirling, who in high 
 spirits took the road, to the Narrows. As the 
 gentle morning twilight broadened into day, the 
 enemy was discerned approaching in great numbers 
 in handsome style on the level ground just below 
 
180 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 G-owanus Cove. Tlie Americans were posted on 
 an elevation above the road flanked by a heavy 
 wood, thus forming under the side of the hill in 
 full front to the foe, who were dispersed along 
 orchards, hedges and fences. 
 
 Just as the first rays of the rising sun began to 
 gild the tree-tops, the rattling crash of musketry 
 broke the peaceful silence. The dropping shots 
 became steadier until the roar of conflict rang out 
 on the morning air. For two hours both parties 
 maintained their ground with great bravery, when 
 the light troops of Great Britain were compelled 
 to fall back to the main body. 
 
 "Licked 'em agin, hang 'em!" roared Simon, 
 dancing with delight ; but before he had ceased to 
 rejoice, the roar of artillery gave notice of hot 
 work done that summer morning. The whole 
 woods were ablaze with naked flame, while the dis- 
 tant roar of cannon told that the centres of both 
 armies were engaged in deadly contest. From the 
 harbor, the British ships sent forth volumes of 
 flame, leaving a doubt whether New York was not 
 also being bombarded by the enemy. Ships were 
 making their way up the harbor ; all was horror 
 and consternation in the city, and the heart of 
 Washington was torn with anxiety. Crossing 
 over to Brooklyn, where the voice of battle was 
 for the time being the loudest, he reached the 
 
LONG ISLAND. 181 
 
 camp in time to hear the din of war thundering 
 along the Bedford road. 
 
 Through the mistake of Putnam, Sir Henry 
 Clinton ' s plan had been successful . He had gained 
 the left wing of the Americans, and they were on 
 the point of being surrounded. De Heister and 
 Grant heard the booming of cannon on their right 
 and knew that the Bedford pass was gained, and 
 the royal army was in the full tide of success. 
 The battle, which had been rather desultory, was 
 now prosecuted with a terrible vigor. Stirling's 
 division fought with a desperate valor, but finding 
 themselves opposed by a vastly superior force, and 
 now hemmed in between two fires, they were 
 obliged to surrender. General Sullivan, who op- 
 posed himself to De Heister's Hessians, no sooner 
 heard the artillery upon his left than he was con- 
 scious of the danger of his post. Abandoning the 
 redoubt, he descended to the plain, where he was 
 met by the murderous fire of the British and driven 
 back. On came the Hessians with fixed bayonets, 
 and the Americans, now between two fires, fought 
 with a desperate resolution. Trampled by the 
 cavalry, bayoneted by the Hessians, the young 
 soldiers, many of them mere boys, did prodigies 
 in the way of valor. Eallying and fighting, some 
 ran to the woods, where they were shot down with- 
 out mercy, while a little band cut their way 
 
183 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 through the lines of the enemy and, wounded, 
 worn and exhausted, gained the American lines. 
 
 It was when the division of Stirling was sur- 
 rounded and defeat was certain, that Albert found 
 his father, slightly dazed from a bullet, standing 
 by his dead horse. 
 
 " Father, let us run ; we can get through to the 
 American lines, " said Albert. 
 
 " No, my son; I am an officer; it is not for me 
 to leave my regiment. " 
 
 " Can I go?" 
 
 "Yes, go, and may God spare you," said the 
 father. 
 
 It was a gantlet of death his son had to run. 
 With Simon on one side and Jacob Steckel on the 
 other and a score more, they formed and dashed 
 right upon a line of Hessians. 
 
 " Gawl dam 'em, give 'em steel!" roared Simon, 
 driving his bayonet through a big Hessian. 
 
 The Americans had loaded guns and waited until 
 they were right on the enemy before 4hey fired, 
 mowing a swath through the line. 
 
 " Hurrah for Bunker Hill ! " roared Simon. 
 
 " Through here charge!" cried Albert. 
 
 The Hessians hastened to close up the gap, but 
 too late. The Americans were nearly all through 
 when their clashing points met. Jacob, whose 
 bayonet was crimson, met a Hessian soldier face to 
 
LONG ISLAND. 183 
 
 face. The soldier's cap had fallen off, and his 
 long, black hair floated in the breeze. One look, 
 one quick gasp, and he cried: 
 
 " August ! August ! " 
 
 Both Jacob and the Hessian dropped their guns 
 and stood like statues. 
 
 "He is madl" cried Albert and called to his 
 companions to bring him on. They dragged Jacob 
 by main force, and thus fought their way through 
 to the lines of friends, ■where all sank exhaust- 
 ed on the ground. Jacob could not sleep. He 
 seemed wandering in his mind and, pointing over 
 at the enemy, said : 
 
 " He is there — he is there!" 
 
 Washington determined to take advantage of 
 the darkness of night and a friendly fog to with- 
 draw his troops from Long Island to New York. 
 This was successfully done. A Tory woman sent 
 her negro servant to Lord Howe to acquaint him 
 with the action of the Americans. August Steckel 
 was on sentry duty that night, and as the negro 
 came up halted him. 
 
 " Missus send me to tell de commander dat the 
 rebels am crossin' ober to New York. " 
 
 August could not understand a word of Eng- 
 lish, and kept the negro until relieved. Perhaps 
 had he known all, he would have done the same. 
 When he was relieved, the negro was takeii to 
 
184 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 General Howe ; but by that time tbe tired Ameri- 
 cans were over safe on the New York side. While 
 Howe was swearing lik^ a trooper because the 
 negro had not been sent to him sooner, August 
 was shedding tears, as he and Joseph sat by their 
 camp-fire. 
 
 " I saw him, Joseph. I know I saw him ! "We 
 are enemies to slay each other. " 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 THE BROTHERS MEET. 
 
 Albert Stevens felt his heart sink -within him 
 as he went aboard the boat which conTeyed him 
 from Brooklyn to New York on that dark night. 
 His father's fate was really unknown. He had 
 last seen him wounded on the field of battle. 
 Though he had assured his son his wound was 
 trifling, his face was covered with blood. Besides, 
 Albert had a great dread of those merciless Hes- 
 sians. They had ruthlessly driven their bayonets 
 into his friends, and they might slay his father 
 also. 
 
 Jacob was like one distracted. At times he 
 wanted to return, and throw himself on the mercy 
 of the enemy, that he might again behold that 
 brother whom he loved. 
 
 Next day all was confusion. The troops were 
 moved up above the city. Albert's regiment had, 
 of course, lost its organization, for there were few 
 of it left. He was attached to another and sent to 
 Harlem Heights. 
 
 185 
 
186 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Here lie was quartered witli a few friends in 
 an old house. Now came Albert's most trying 
 ordeal, to write his mother of the defeat, and the 
 capture of his father. "War is cruel at best, and 
 even the most humane officials do not take great 
 pains to relieve the anxiety of families of their 
 enemy. Albert performed his difficult task, sealed 
 his letter and dispatched it to the anxious mother. 
 
 Simon had lost his humor, daring and bravado, 
 since the defeat. Had Mr. Brown seen him now, 
 he could not have complained of his talking too 
 much. But Simon's disposition to gossip returned 
 after a few days. 
 
 One evening he came to the room where Albert, 
 slightly indisposed, reclined on a bunk, and said: 
 
 " Howe is tryin' to make peace agin. He has 
 3ent to congress a proposition for peace, and what 
 do yew think congress did?" 
 
 " I don't know. I hope they will accept no 
 humiliating terms. " 
 
 " They won't. They have selected Dr. Franklin, 
 John Adams and Edward Eutlege a committee to 
 wait on his lordship and talk with him. Now 
 they'll see his lordship in a region that's at a white 
 heat, afore they consent to anything short o' inde- 
 pendence, unless I miss my tell. " 
 
 Simon was correct. The committee met Lord 
 Howe at the house of Colonel Billop, on the western 
 
THE BROTHERS MEET. 187 
 
 side of Staten Island, September llth. The ut- 
 most courtesy was observed. Lord Howe told the 
 committee that he could not recognize them as 
 members of congress, but as private gentlemen; 
 and that the independence of the colonies, lately 
 declared, could not be considered for a moment. 
 
 " You may call us what you please, " Dr. Frank- 
 lin answered for the committee. " We are, never- 
 theless, the representatives of a free and indepen- 
 dent people, and can entertain no proposition which 
 does not recognize our independence. " 
 
 The gulf between them could not be bridged, 
 and the conference soon terminated. Howe was 
 so anxious for a reconciliation that he accompanied 
 the committee back to Amboy. Though he used 
 every argument to persuade them, they shook their 
 heads, and said : 
 
 " Too late — too late to consider our ever being 
 subjects of King George III. We want indepen- 
 dence and will have nothing less. " 
 
 During the month of September, Albert heard 
 so many murmurs of discontent among the soldiers 
 that at times he thought the army on point of dis- 
 solution. 
 
 On the 14th of September, Simon said : 
 
 " Washington an' his officers held a council of 
 ■war, an' we are goin' to move further up the 
 island. I suspect we are goin' to give up New 
 
188 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 York, for the Britisli have already got it. I wish 
 I could fire a thousand guns at once ; I would go 
 to town an' blow 'em out o' the water." 
 
 " Have you heard anything of my father, Simon?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 Little by little the American forces were driven 
 up the Hudson, until at last they encamped on 
 Harlem Plains. Albert had exhausted every 
 means to learn something of his father, and as a 
 last resort resolved to apply to the commander-in- 
 chief in person ; so while the American army lay 
 at Harlem Plains he ventured one night to ask, at 
 headquarters, for admission. The sentry would 
 not allow him to pass until Albert sent a personal 
 request to see the general. The sentry was ordered 
 to admit the boy soldier. When Albert entered, 
 he saw a large, powerful man in blue military coat, 
 and boots, which met his sky-blue breeches at the 
 knees. He was poring over a map. His sword, 
 saddle and holsters were at his side. The kind 
 face was grave and sad, and from the great heart 
 there occasionally issued a deep-drawn sigh. So 
 intent was he on the map before him, that he did 
 not notice the young soldier, until he had stood 
 for several moments with his hat in his hand. At 
 last, raising his eyes, he said : 
 
 " Truly, I had forgotten you, my young friend. 
 Now what can I do for you?" 
 
THE BROTHERS MEET. 189 
 
 With a military salute, the youth took a step 
 forward and said : 
 
 " General, I have come to see you about my 
 father. " 
 
 "Where is he?" 
 
 " A prisoner — the British captured him at Long 
 Island." 
 
 " What is his name?" asked the general, taking 
 up a pen and marking on some blank paper. 
 
 " Colonel Stevens. " 
 
 " Colonel Noah Stevens, my old friend in the 
 Braddock campaign? I know you now, young 
 man. Your father was captured at Long Island, 
 and you have not heard from him?" 
 
 " No, I know not whether he is dead or living. 
 I received a letter from my mother who implores 
 me to learn his fate. I asked Captain Nathan 
 Hale, who went into the British lines to enquire 
 for my father. " 
 
 Washington, sighing, answered: 
 
 " You will never see the captain again. " 
 
 "Why, General?" 
 
 " He was detected by a Tory relative, seized and 
 hung for a spy. " 
 
 An ominous silence fell on the pair. After a 
 few moments, the anxious son asked : 
 
 " Is there no way I can learn my father's fate?" 
 
 " Yes, I am endeavoring to arrange with General 
 
190 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Howe for a commission for the exchange of pris- 
 oners. Your father should have been paroled. 
 If I send the commission, you shall accompany 
 them. " 
 
 " Into the British lines?" asked Albert. 
 
 " Certainly. " 
 
 " General, have you forgotten the fate of Captain 
 Hale?" 
 
 " I will provide you with papers which will pre- 
 vent your being arrested for a spy. Go to your 
 quarters, you will be sent for when the time comes 
 and shall not be forgotten. " 
 
 The American army continued to retreat slowly 
 before the enemy. Forts "Washington and Lee 
 were constructed and arrangements made to pre- 
 vent the British advancing on Albany. Albert 
 was at Fort Washington, when one night an officer 
 of the general's body-guard came for him. He 
 was told that he was to go with some officers next 
 day into the enemy's lines. Albert hardly under- 
 stood his mission; but he knew he would have a 
 chance to learn about his father. 
 
 "Without arms, they set sail at dawn of day in a 
 sloop, from the mast of which a white flag floated, 
 and glided down the river. Albert was silent. His 
 heart beat as they came alongside the big British 
 war-ships. 
 
 An armed sloop came alongside and convoyed 
 
THE BROTHERS MEET. 191 
 
 them past the captured city. He saw the Battery 
 lined with redcoats and their cannon mounted all 
 along the shore. The streets were full of them. 
 They sailed past Governor's Island, Paulus Hook 
 and Brooklyn, and went to Perth Amboy. 
 
 After many formalities, they were permitted to 
 land and marched up into town, which was even 
 then of considerable size, having been the home of 
 Governor Franklin at the outbreak of the war the 
 year before. 
 
 Albert was impressed by the military display 
 about him. The bristling cannons, the pyramids 
 of balls, ammunition wagons and gun-carriages, all 
 were enough to bewilder him. Then the army 
 about him presented a spectacle as picturesque as 
 it was terrible. Here was centred the flower and 
 pick of the British army, English, Scotch and Ger- 
 man. Here he saw a party of forty-second High- 
 landers, in national costume, and there a regiment 
 of Hessians, their dress and arms a perfect contrast 
 to the first. The slaves of Anspach and Waldeck 
 were there — the first sombre as night, the second 
 gaudy as noon. Here dashed by a party of the 
 seventeenth dragoons, and there scampered a party 
 of yagers. The trim, neat and graceful English 
 grenadier, the careless and half-savage highlander, 
 with his flowing robes and naked knees, and the 
 immovable stiff German could hardly be taken for 
 
Ida INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 parts of one army. Foraging parties were return- 
 ing. Some soldiers were driving in a herd of 
 cattle, while others were guarding wagons loaded 
 with household furniture, instead of the hay and 
 oats they had been sent for. 
 
 At the wharf, all was confusion and excitement. 
 The landing of grenadiers and light infantry from 
 the ships on their return from Long Island, the 
 sounds of martial music, the sharp commands and 
 constant tramp of soldiers kept up a continuous 
 excitement and noise. 
 
 Albert lingered a moment at the wharf to gaze 
 on the scene, while the commissioners passed on 
 and entered a house set apart for the transaction of 
 the business. When he turned to look for them 
 they were gone. He was a little confused, when 
 an officer approached him and asked : 
 
 " "What are you doing here?" 
 
 " I came with the commissioners, sir, and while 
 watching the troops, they left me. " 
 
 Albert's youth made a favorable impression on 
 the Briton, who was a sad-faced man, with streaks 
 of gray in his dark-brown hair. 
 
 " Are you with the rebel commission?" 
 
 " I am with the American commission, sir, " 
 Albert answered with spirit. 
 
 " Oh, I stand corrected. Po they send children 
 as commissioners?" 
 
THE BROTHERS MEET. 193 
 
 " I begged the general to let me come. I wanted 
 to learn my father's fate." 
 
 " Who is your father?" 
 
 " Colonel Stevens. " 
 
 "Stevens!" cried the Englishman. "Did he 
 keep the Rugby Tavern near Lexington?" 
 
 " No, sir ; it was his cousin who kept Eugby 
 Tavern. My father was Colonel Noah Stevens and 
 was captured with Lord Stirling and Sullivan; I 
 escaped. " 
 
 " Were you ever at Rugby?" asked the British 
 officer, who seemed to take little interest in the 
 military history of Albert or his father. " Do 
 you know the child — the little girl who lives 
 there?" 
 
 Albert started at this question and gazed more 
 intently on the man before him. He now recog- 
 nized him as the British captain, whom his aunt 
 had prevented his shooting on the retreat of the 
 enemy from Concord. The officer knew nothing 
 of that little incident however, and Albert did not 
 care to tell him. 
 
 " I know Estella Mead, " he answered. " I know 
 her well. I have known her since she was a baby. " 
 
 At the name of Estella Mead, the officer turned 
 away, pressed his hand over his heart and for a 
 moment was silent. At last, seizing Albert's 
 hand, he said : 
 13 
 
194 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Come with me. I will see that no harm be- 
 falls you. I want to talk with you. " 
 
 He led Albert to a tent where they were alone. 
 There he asked him to tell all he knew of Estella. 
 Albert did so. He told him how her mother had 
 come to Eugby, presumably deserted and betrayed 
 by a scoundrel, who was reported to be an English 
 nobleman. That she died after giving birth to 
 Bstellaj and that the child had grown into a bright, 
 charming little girl, loved by all who knew her. 
 
 When he had finished, he glanced at the ofB- 
 cer and saw tears trickling down his cheeks. As- 
 tonishment and curiosity overcame the youth's 
 timidity, and Albert asked: 
 
 " Sir, what does this mean ? Why do you 
 weep? Is little Estella Mead aught to you ? Who 
 are you?" 
 
 " Don't ask me, boy. Though your political 
 enemy, consider me your personal friend. When 
 this war is over, I will explain all. Now what 
 was your request?" 
 
 " I want to hear of my father. Colonel Noah 
 Stevens, who was captured at the battle of Long 
 Island. " 
 
 " No doubt he is in one of those prison ships in 
 the harbor; but I will ascertain, my lad, and let 
 you know. " 
 
 " How can you ? Communication is closed. " 
 
THE BROTHERS MEET. 195 
 
 " By some means I will send you a letter, never 
 fear." 
 
 Albert returned with the commission. They 
 were detained three days at Paulas Hook (Jersey 
 City), during which time the roar of cannon and 
 crash of musketry were heard at Fort Washington. 
 As soon as they were released, they learned that 
 Fort Washington had been captured with two 
 thousand men, but that the British had lost twelve 
 hundred in the attack. This was on the 16th of 
 November. On the 18th Fort Lee was evacuated. 
 
 The day after the evacuation, Albert and the 
 commissioners joined Washington's army. What 
 the result of that commission was, Albert never 
 knew. General Sullivan was exchanged a short 
 while after, and probably this was the result of 
 the commission. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 28th of November, 
 Albert was roused from a heavy slumber, and told 
 by the corporal to prepare to march. 
 
 " We are going to break camp. " 
 
 That was all they knew, when they commenced 
 the great retreat across New Jersey. The army 
 was in motion shortly after sunrise. The air was 
 clear and frosty ; the pools by the roadside were 
 skimmed with ice, and fields and fences were white 
 with hoar frost. The deep sand in the road was 
 damp with a frozen crust, and made the artillery 
 
196 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 and bagagge wagons move heavily ; but before ten 
 o'clock on that morning, they were out of sight of 
 the camp, and still moving on. 
 
 Noon came, and still the army marched on with 
 the characteristic slowness of an army. Occasion- 
 ally a gun or wagon stuck in the mud and caused 
 a halt. Shortly after noon there came galloping 
 down the line a negro. He was peering into the 
 faces of the soldiers as they trudged along. 
 
 At last he came to Albert Stevens and cried : 
 
 " Massa Albert, Massa Albert, a lettah for you!" 
 
 Albert looked up and cried : 
 
 "Salem, Salem, you here?" 
 
 " Yes, Massa, brung ye a lettah. " 
 
 The young soldier stepped out of the line to get 
 it, and then ran on to resume his place, while 
 Salem galloped away. Albert supposed he had 
 come from Boston, and that the letter was from his 
 mother. He was surprised on opening it to find 
 it in a strange hand. The missive was brief and 
 as follows : 
 
 Perth Amboy, Nov. 20, 1776. 
 Albert Stevens : 
 
 Your father is alive and almost recovered from 
 slight wounds received on Long Island. He is 
 at present confined in the prison ship Jersey. 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 W. 
 
THE BROTHERS MEET. 197 
 
 That brief missive filled his heart with joy. He 
 forwarded it as soon as he could to his mother. 
 
 Cornwallis was in pursuit of Washington, and 
 it seemed as if the patriot army must inevitably 
 be crushed, for it was growing weaker at every 
 step. The time of many enlisted men had expired, 
 and they were leaving the ranks, so that by the 
 last of November scarcely three thousand troops 
 remained in the American army. Newark, New 
 Brunswick, Princeton, and Trenton were succes- 
 sively evacuated by the Americans and occupied 
 by the enemy. Often the music of the pursuers 
 could be heard by the rear guard of the Americans. 
 Washington arrived at Trenton on the 8th of De- 
 cember and crossed the Delaware in boats. 
 
 Albert and Simon, who were in the last boat 
 that crossed, saw the British advance come in sight. 
 Washington was not discouraged amid all the 
 vicissitudes of defeat and retreat. 
 
 He stated he would retire beyond the Delaware 
 and, if still pursued, to the Alleghany Mountains. 
 So long as there was a shadow of an army and 
 congress held together, he would battle for the 
 infant republic. 
 
 General Charles Lee, who had been ordered to 
 join his superior with his force, dallied along be- 
 hind some distance. The actions of Lee are strange 
 and unaccountable. His best friends state that he 
 
198 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 was ambitious and -wished to act independent of 
 Washington, to whose position he aspired. He 
 was really little better than a traitor. Being a 
 native of Wales, it is possible that he was, deep in 
 his heart, in sympathy with Great Britain. Mr. 
 Lossing describes him as an able and efficient offi- 
 cer, yet he never displayed even ordinary ability 
 in the continental army. Lee was guilty of disobedi- 
 ence to the orders of his superioris, if he was not an 
 actual traitor. He endeavored to induce General 
 Heath, who was left in command at Peekskill, to 
 let him have a detachment of one or two thousand 
 men with which to operate; but Heath refused to 
 disobey the orders of General Washington. As 
 late as December 11th, the commander-in-chief 
 urged Lee to join him. Two days later, while 
 Lee's troops were at a place called Vealtown, and 
 he was basking at the inn of Mrs. White, nearly 
 three miles away, a party of British cavalry under 
 Colonel Harcourt dashed suddenly on the inn and, 
 swooping down on the foolish general, bore him 
 away without giving him time to dress. 
 
 General Sullivan, who was taken prisoner at the 
 battle on Long Island in August previous, had 
 been exchanged aind was now with Lee's division 
 of the army. On the capture of Lee the command 
 devolved on Sullivan, and he soon afterward crossed 
 the Delaware and joined Washington. 
 
THE BROTHERS MEET. 199 
 
 On crossing the river, Washington took the pre- 
 caution to secure every boat and bateau, so Com- 
 wallis had no means of continuing immediate pur- 
 suit. As Philadelphia, the seat of continental 
 government, was threatened, GTeneral Putnam was 
 sent to defend it, and soon he had a considerable 
 army in the city with artillery, arms and ammuni- 
 tion. 
 
 Winter was on the belligerents, and the British 
 were beginning to think of going into winter 
 quarters. General Howe, the commander-in-chief 
 of the British forces, remained in New York, and 
 the operations in New Jersey were under the con- 
 trol of General Cornwallis. The original design of 
 Howe was not to pursue the enemy further than 
 the Delaware ; but Cornwallis urged the capture of 
 Philadelphia, to which Howe assented. With all 
 his vigilance and daring, the management of the 
 British army in New Jersey displayed a wonder- 
 ful lack of judgment and military sagacity on the 
 part of Cornwallis. Instead of massing his forces 
 and attacking suddenly as Napoleon would have 
 done, his troops were divided into a chain of can- 
 tonments, extending from New Brunswick to the 
 Delaware, and down the river to a point below. 
 Small detachments were also stationed at Black 
 Horse and Mount Holly. Washington's greatly 
 diminished forces were increased by Lee's division 
 
200 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 under Sullivan and the regiments from Ticonderoga, 
 which united with him on December 21st, 1776. 
 
 The time had come for the master-stroke which 
 was to change the whole current of events of the 
 war for independence. 
 
 There were fifteen hundred Hessians and a troop 
 of light horse under Colonel Eall at Trenton. 
 Rail, having some fears for the safety of his slender 
 command, applied to General Grant for reinforce- 
 ments. That officer, partaking of the confidence 
 of others, said to the messenger: 
 
 " Tell the Colonel he is safe. I would under- 
 take to keep the peace in Jersey with a corporal's 
 guard. " 
 
 Albert's company were encamped in a wood. 
 The winter so far had been mild ; but now dark, 
 slate-colored clouds obscured the sky; the wind 
 blew up cold, and the soldiers hovered about the 
 camp-fires. Albert and his friends Simon and 
 Jacob sat apart from the others. Joshua Stevens 
 and his brother Levi were no longer with them. 
 One was wounded at Long Island and discharged ; 
 the other fell at Port Washington. The three pa- 
 triots were sad and dispirited. Jacob had never 
 seemed himself since the charge through the ranks 
 of Hessians at Long Island . He had not mentioned 
 his brother but once since. Then he said : 
 
 " If mine brudder August vas come from Yar- 
 
THE BROTHERS MEET. 201 
 
 many to bayonet me for fighdin for mine liperty, 
 he vas mine brudder no more. " 
 
 It was early morning. The soldiers had slept 
 on the frozen ground ■wrapped in their blankets. 
 At their feet had burned a fire which had been 
 kindled frequently throughout the night. Albert 
 yawned, shivered and, putting out his hand, said: 
 
 "It's snowing!" 
 
 " Yes, Albert, we are goin' tew have a spell o' 
 winter. Dew you know what day this ^s?" 
 
 " No. " 
 
 " This is Christmas. " 
 
 " Last Christmas I was home, " Albert said sadly. 
 "Oh, what changes!" 
 
 " By zounds ! I wish there was anqther change, " 
 growled Simon. " I'm tired o' all this retreatin' 
 and retreatin'. I joined the army tew fight, not 
 tew run. " 
 
 At this moment a corporal came past and said : 
 
 " Young men, get your breakfast and prepare to 
 march. " 
 
 " Another retreat, " grumbled Simon. 
 
 After breakfast the troops were paraded and 
 camp broken. Once more they were on the march. 
 During the day, frequent flakes of snow fell and 
 toward night it changed to a storm of snow mingled 
 with sleet. As night, drear and dark, gathered 
 over the army, Simon whispered to his companions : 
 
203 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Why are we goin tew tlie Delaware? By gosh, 
 thar's M'Conky's Ferry!" 
 
 They were halted near the river and Albert saw 
 General Washington ride by on his large white 
 horse. He went down to the river and dismounted. 
 Generals' Sullivan and Greene and Colonel Knox 
 were with him. Washington gazed on the turbid 
 waters for a few moments and said : 
 
 " The ice is running. " 
 
 " Can we cross, General?" asked Sullivan. 
 
 " We must, " answered the chief. 
 
 Albert now knew that some desperate plan was 
 on foot. He was near enough to hear Washington 
 add: ' 
 
 " The posts at Mount Holly, Burlington, Black 
 Horse and Bordentown are to be attacked by the 
 Pennsylvania militia under Generals Cadwallader 
 andEwing. " Unknown to General Washington, 
 Putnam, who had been made acquainted with the 
 design of attacking Trenton, sent Colonel Griffin, 
 with a body of one hundred and ■ fifty militia, 
 across from Philadelphia into New Jersey, to riiake 
 a diversion in favor of the Trenton expedition. 
 Griffin was instructed to proceed to Mount Holly, 
 for the purpose of attracting the attention of Colonel 
 Donop at Bordentown. His instructions were to 
 retreat down the river as soon as the enemy offered 
 battle and thus draw the detachment from Boi-den- 
 
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 HHSi^^i^y^vllHI 
 
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 L^ -^"W*"*.. ^Jfg^iqi^^Ml^sBHi^KSS^f ■fi'^iPl 
 
 ^^Ji^^Z^^SSi^^ 
 
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 "^ ^ ,,— 
 
 ALBERT, WITH a LIGHTED PINE KNOT, SAT IN THE BOW. 
 
THE BROTHERS MEET. 903 
 
 town after him. This movement was eminently 
 successful, and Colonel Donop, who should have 
 aided Eall, went oflE chasing after Griffin with two 
 thousand men. 
 
 " I believe, " Albert whispered to Simon, " that 
 we are going over to attack the Hessians at 
 Trenton. " 
 
 "It's a good plan," Simon answered. "The 
 Dutch will all be drunk on Christmas night, and 
 we'll bag 'em like a covey o' quails." 
 
 About nine o'clock, the first boats were ready 
 to receive passengers, and Albert and his two com- 
 panions entered among the first. Soldiers, cannon 
 and horses were crowded into the bateaux, and 
 then began a terrible voyage. Simon and Jacob 
 stood in the bow of the boat with long poles with 
 which they pushed away the great floating masses 
 of ice, which at times, despite their strength and 
 skill, struck the boat and threatened to upset it. 
 
 Albert, with a lighted pine knot, sat in the 
 bow throwing out a lurid glare on the water for 
 several yards about the scene. The sleet and 
 snow came down, and the night grew intensely 
 cold. When the first division was landed, they 
 went up to where there were some haystacks on 
 the shore. They crouched here and waited for the 
 others. All night long, until four in the morning, 
 the troops were coming over through the ice, which 
 
304 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 constantly increased in thickness. Albert lay 
 down partially under the haystack and went to 
 sleep. At four he was roused by Simon saying 
 they were forming. 
 
 " Nice way to spend Christmas, " growled Simon. 
 "Yet if we can lick some o' them Britishers before 
 we leave this country, I'll be kind o' glad we spent 
 the day crossin' the river." 
 
 The snow-storm was still raging as the army 
 took up the line of march for Trenton. 
 
 " It'll be daylight before we reach the town, 
 then we'll have it lively," growled Simon. 
 
 "I am freezing," a poor fellow groaned, who 
 had fallen in the water. His clothes were freezing 
 to his body, and he and another froze to death. 
 Washington separated his troops into two divisions, 
 one to march by the lower, or river road, the other 
 by the upper, or Pennington road. The distance 
 to Trenton by each was about equal. Both divi- 
 sions were ordered immediately on forcing the out- 
 guards to push directly into the town, that they 
 might charge the enemj'' before they had time to 
 form. Albert was with the division on the upper 
 road, commanded by Washington, General Lord 
 Stirling, Greene, Mercer and Stevens. Sullivan 
 led the division along the river road. 
 
 To attack before daybreak, as was the original 
 intention, was impossible; so the two divisions 
 
THE BROTHERS MEET. 205 
 
 pushed on, and bofh attacked the outposts at about 
 the same time, and a brisk skirmish ensued. The 
 pickets of the enemy fled, firing from behind 
 houses while retreating to the main body into the 
 town, closely pursued by the yelling Americans. 
 
 As "Washington supposed, Colonel Eall and his 
 German troops were still under the influence of the 
 night's carousal after the Christmas holiday. On 
 the morning of the battle, the convivial Hessians' 
 colonel was at the house of Abraham Hunt, who 
 traded with friend and foe. Hunt was sometimes 
 suspected of being a Tory, but never of being a 
 true "Whig. He had invited Colonel Eall and 
 others to a Christmas supper at his house. Cards 
 and wine were introduced and the night was spent 
 in uproarious hilarity. A nergo servant was kept 
 as a sort of porter and warden at the door. Just 
 at dawn, a messenger came in haste with a note to 
 Colonel Eall, sent by a Tory on the Pennington 
 road, who had discovered the approach of the 
 Americans. The negro refused the messenger ad- 
 mittance, saying: 
 
 " The gemmen can't be disturbed. " 
 
 Knowing the importance of the note, the bearer 
 handed it to the negro and ordered him to take it 
 to the colonel at once. 
 
 Excited by wine and about to " deal the cards" 
 the colonel thrust the note in his pocket, and did 
 
206 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 not look at the message, but continued his amuse- 
 ments which never abated until the roll of the 
 American drums fell on his drowsy ears. The 
 rattle of musketry, the rumble of heavy gun car- 
 riages, and tramp of war-horses high above the 
 raging storm aroused his apprehensions, and by 
 the time he could fly to his quarters and mount his 
 horse, the Americans were driving his soldiers be- 
 fore them like chaff. 
 
 A part of "Washington's division pushed down 
 King (now Warren) Street, and a part down Queen 
 (now Greene) Street. Sullivan's division entered 
 by the mansions of Colonel Dickinson and Ruther- 
 ford through Second and Front Streets. By this 
 disposition of the patriot forces at the time of the 
 attack, the enemy were hemmed in by the Assan- 
 pink or Assumpink (a considerable stream running 
 through the town) on the south and the invading 
 troops. At the head of King Street, Captain 
 Forest opened a six gun battery which command- 
 ed the avenue. Captain "William E. "Washington 
 and Lieutenant James Monroe, afterward president 
 of the United States, perceiving that the enemy 
 were endeavoring to form a battery in the same 
 street, rushed forward with a small party, drove 
 the artillery-men from their guns and captured 
 two of the pieces, just as the gunners were about 
 to fire. 
 
THE BROTHERS MEET. 207 
 
 Colonel Ball tried to form his men and advance, 
 but being completely hemmed in, and his troops 
 being panic-stricken, all was confusion. The 
 Americans were pressing closer and closer and 
 their deadly aim was thinning the Hessian ranks. 
 At last a bullet struck and mortally wounded 
 Colonel Ball, and he fell from his horse, pale and 
 bleeding. His aids and a servant bore him to his 
 quarters at the house of a Quaker named Stacey 
 Potts. Lieutenant-Colonel Scheffer tried to rally 
 the troops; but they fled in dismay down the 
 Princeton road, where they were met by Colonel 
 Hand with a party of Pennsylvania riflemen. Dis- 
 mayed and disheartened they threw down their 
 arms and surrendered. 
 
 The smoke of battle still hovered over the air, 
 the groans of dying were yet heard, when an 
 American soldier suddenly uttered a wild shriek : 
 
 " August — August — mein bruder ! " 
 
 Leaving his place in the ranks, he rushed to a 
 captive Hessian and threw his arms about his 
 neck. The brothers had met. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE. 
 
 August Steckel, the conscripted Hessian, was 
 a prisoner ; but his brother was one of his captors. 
 His friend Joseph Jager was wounded by a bullet 
 in the hip ; but the wound was not mortal. Poor 
 Jacob Steckel clung to his brother so fondly and 
 shed such tears of joy, that he attracted the atten- 
 tion of the officers. Albert hastened to the com- 
 mander-in-chief and told him in brief the story. 
 "Washington ordered that August be paroled. He 
 remained with his brother. They went to the 
 house where Joseph Jager lay wounded, and the 
 three talked over old scenes and times at Anhalt 
 until war, battle, blood and death were forgotten. 
 
 Washington went to the house where the 
 wounded Colonel Rail was lying, slowly bleeding 
 his life away. He offered such words of consola- 
 tion to the dying man as he could, and did all he 
 could in his brief visit to soothe his last hours. 
 
 Washington knew that Comwallis would soon 
 be on his trail, so he prepared for another brilliant 
 808 
 
WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE. 20» 
 
 stroke before retiring from New Jersey. All the 
 wounded and prisoners were sent across the river, 
 while he encumbered himself with as little baggage 
 as possible. 
 
 Thus the eventful year of 1776 passed out. 
 The last military stroke was in favor of the Ameri- 
 cans. The British had gained but little. New 
 York City and nearly all New Jersey were in their 
 possession ; but they had been expelled from Bos- 
 ton and lost about three hundred and fifty merchant 
 vessels, captured during the year by American 
 privateers. 
 
 The year 1777 opened auspiciously for the 
 Americans. On the 2d of January, Washington, 
 being apprised of the advance of Cornwallis with 
 a considerable force to attack him, suddenly broke 
 camp and slipped away to Princeton to fall on the 
 British there. The morning of the 3d of January, 
 1777, was exceedingly clear, cold, and brilliant; 
 everything was jewelled with hoar frost. As the 
 Americans emerged from behind a grove of trees a 
 little south of the Quaker meeting-house, their 
 arms glittering in the bright sun, they were dis- 
 covered by the seventeenth regiment of the enemy, 
 then under march across the hill along the old 
 Trenton road. Washington discovered the enemy 
 at the same moment, and both armies prepared for 
 a conflict. Mawhood, the British general, wheeled 
 14 
 
310 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 both his regiments and recrossed the bridge just as 
 Mercer, by a quick movement, reached it. Both 
 parties, by rapid evolutions, endeavored to get 
 possession of the high ground on the right toward 
 Princeton and west of the house of William Clark. 
 Mercer's command soon reached the house and 
 orchard of Clark, a little east of the old turnpike, 
 when, perceiving the British line approaching from 
 the opposite side of the height, he pushed through 
 the orchard to a hedge fence, from behind which 
 his riflemen poured in a deadly volley. The en- 
 emy returned the fire, and charged bayonets on 
 the Americans, who, being armed only with rifles, 
 were compelled to fly. The enemy pursued them 
 to the top of the snow-covered hill, where they 
 discovered the American column of regulars and 
 the Pennsylvania militia, commanded by Washing- 
 ton in person, advancing to the support of Mercer. 
 Mawhood retreated toward high ground in the 
 rear, leaving his artillery in the hands of the 
 Americans who were unable to take it away for 
 lack of horses. The battle only lasted about one 
 quarter of an hour, but it was terrible. Washing- 
 ton was exposed to the hottest fire. General 
 Mercer's horse was shot under him, and while on 
 foot endeavoring to rally his broken troops, he 
 was knocked down by a blow from a British sol- 
 dier's musket. 
 
WASHINOTON AND LAFAYETTE. 211 
 
 His rank was discovered, and the soldiers sup- 
 posed he was Washington. 
 
 " The rebel general is taken ! " several exclaimed 
 rushing to the spot. 
 
 " Call for quarter, you d — d rebel ! " 
 
 " I am no rebel ! " retorted Mercer, indignantly, 
 while half a dozen bayonets were at his breast; 
 and, instead of asking for quarters, he determined 
 to die fighting. He struck several blows with his 
 sword, when a bayonet was plunged into his body, 
 and he fainted and was left for dead. He was 
 taken to the house of Thomas Clarke, where he 
 died of his wound on the 12th of January. 
 
 The broken and routed seventeenth fled toward 
 Trenton and hastened to join Cornwallis. Wash- 
 ington pushed on to Trenton, and in a ravine near 
 the college he encountered the fifty-fifth regiment 
 and put it to rout, sending it flying toward Bruns- 
 wick, accompanied by the fortieth, which took 
 little part in the action. Washington pressed on 
 and captured a considerable number in a college. 
 
 The British loss in killed and wounded was 
 about one hundred, and three hundred prisoners 
 were taken. The Americans had suffered consid- 
 erable loss in officers at Princeton.' Greatest of all 
 was the loss of General Mercer; but, taken as a 
 whole, Washington had achieved a wonderful vic- 
 tory. 
 
213 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Viewed in all its varied aspects, Frederick the 
 Great of Prussia declared the exploits of the Patriot 
 and his handful of followers, between Christmas 
 and the twelfth of January, were the most brilliant 
 of any recorded in the annals of military achieve- 
 ments. At the very moment when his army ap- 
 peared to be on the verge of dissolution, Washing- 
 ton struck a blow so powerful that it paralyzed the 
 enemy. It broke up the British and Hessian 
 cantonments upon the Delaware and made Corn- 
 wallis anxious to secure quarters nearer New York, 
 under the protection of General Howe. It caused 
 Howe to recall a brigade from Ehode Island to 
 strengthen his force at New York, and it was not 
 long before the British were driven near the sea- 
 shores of New Jersey and held posts only at New 
 Brunswick, Amboy and Paulus Hook (now Jersey 
 City), for Washington with his army encamped at 
 Morristown and sent out such harassing expedi- 
 tions that both Briton and Hessian came to respect 
 the courage and prowess of the Americans, 
 
 The continental congress, which, at the approach 
 of Cornwallis, had fled to Baltimore now returned 
 to Philadelphia and resumed its session. 
 
 Before the end of January, Washington was 
 practically in possession of New Jersey. 
 
 About the last of January, Washington, in the 
 exercise of the discretion given him by congress, 
 
WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE. 213 
 
 issued a proclamation requiring all who had claimed 
 British protection and professed fidelity to the 
 crown, to take an oath of allegiance to the colonies, 
 or withdraw within the British lines. The legis- 
 lature of New Jersey, regarding the proclamation 
 as a violation of State supremacy — a doctrine that 
 was a constant menace to the life of the nation 
 down to the civil war, censured the commander-in- 
 chief. A class of republicans, from the first hour 
 of the nation's birth, seemed afilicted with the 
 nightmare of centralization. Happily only a very 
 few of the older people are to-day so affected. 
 
 The British, early in 1777, the third year of the 
 war, began to plan a vigorous campaign — a cam- 
 paign which in one season should crush out the 
 rebellion. Eeinforcements to the number of more 
 than thirty-five hundred were procured from the 
 German princes, and these, with a considerable 
 force, were sent to strengthen Howe below the 
 highlands and Burgoyne in Canada. Governor 
 Tryon was employed in embodying the American 
 Tories into military battalions, under Brigadier- 
 Generals Oliver De Lancy of New York, and Cort- 
 landt Skinner of New Jersey. Many French Cana- 
 dians joined the British forces on the Canadian 
 frontier; and under special instructions of Ger- 
 main, the colonial secretary, which he had received 
 from the king, bands of Indian savages were en- 
 
214 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 gaged to fight the republicans, the most of them 
 under the general command of Joseph Brant, a 
 Mohawk chief, a brother-in-law of Sir William 
 Johnson, and who had been educated by the white 
 people. 
 
 It seems almost incredible that a Christian prince 
 should scheme to rouse the ruthless savages against 
 the helpless women and children of the frontier ; 
 but historians have recorded the fact that Brant, 
 in many instances, was far more humane than 
 some of the British and Tory officers. 
 
 The acts of personal cruelty on part of the British 
 and Tories roused the resentment of the people. 
 On the 22d of May, Colonel Meigs crossed Long 
 Island Sound from Guilford, Connecticut, with 
 one hundred and seventy men in whale-boats, and 
 at two o'clock in the morning of the 23d attacked 
 a British provision-post at Sag Harbor, at the east 
 end of Long Island. They burned a dozen vessels, 
 also the stores and their contents, made ninety men 
 prisoners, and with these reached Guilford the next 
 day at a little past noon without losing a man. 
 
 A still bolder exploit was performed at Ehode 
 Island. General Prescott, a petty tyrant, who 
 was detested by the people, was in command of 
 the British troops there and made his head- 
 quarters at the farm-house of a Friend a few miles 
 from Newport. It was near the shore of Narra- 
 
WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE. 215 
 
 gansett Bay. Many of the inhabitants had ear- 
 nestly desired his removal, and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Barton of Providence resolved to attempt the 
 perilous task of capturing him. With a few 
 picked men, he crossed the bay from Warwick 
 Point, in four whale-boats, passed unobserved 
 through the British guard-boats with muffled oars 
 on a warm night (the 10th of July) and landed 
 near the general's headquarters without discovery. 
 The colonel and a part of his men walked silently 
 up to the house, seized a sentry and threatened 
 him with death if he made any outcry. Having 
 secured the sentry, they entered the house where 
 the owner sat reading. To Barton's inquiry for 
 the general's room, he pointed up the stairs. 
 Barton went upstairs, followed by four of his 
 men and a powerful negro, to Prescott's room. 
 While hesitating how to enter, the negro made a 
 battering-ram of his head and burst the door open, 
 and the soldiers rushed in before the confused 
 general could leap out of bed. He was made 
 prisoner, dressed and hurried away. 
 
 Meanwhile, Albert Stevens, Simon Tapley and 
 Jacob Steckel were with Washington at Morris- 
 town. The spring of 1777 was mild and beauti- 
 ful. The New Jersey forests were brilliant with 
 foliage and wild flowers. Birds sang as merrily in 
 the trees as if all the world had been at peace. 
 
216 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Frequent scouting parties were sent out from Mor- 
 ristown to harass the enemy. Jacob Steckel's 
 brother August was still in the American camp, 
 and had serious thoughts of joining the American 
 army. Joseph Jager had recovered from his wound 
 and, like many other conscripted Hessians, decided 
 to fight for the American cause. 
 
 On May 15th, 1777, Albert Stevens and Simon 
 Tapley met with an adventure, which at first 
 threatened to prove serious. They -joined a scout- 
 ing party sent out to harass some Tories foraging 
 in the neighborhood. They were armed with rifles 
 and pistols and were mounted on swift horses. 
 
 Ten miles from camp, they came upon a party 
 of Tories convoying three wagons loaded with 
 almost every conceivable kind of household furni- 
 ture taken from the patriots in the neighborhood. 
 A skirmish ensued in which the Tories were scat- 
 tered and the furniture recaptured. The little 
 patriot band had scarce started to return with the 
 captured booty, when a party of British dragoons 
 and mounted infantry suddenly appeared on the 
 scene. The Americans were outnumbered and 
 compelled to fly. Albert and Simon were sepa- 
 rated from the others, and dashed along the road 
 hotly pursued by a party of troopers. 
 
 " Simon, if our horses are not swift, the chances 
 are that we will be captured, " said Albert. 
 
WASHINOTON AND LAFAYETTE. 217 
 
 The young Yankee, wHo was an expert horseman 
 as well as marksman, wheeled in his saddle with- 
 out slackening his speed and fired at his pursuers. 
 Then he placed the breech of his rifle on his left 
 foot and proceeded to load as he galloped. This 
 operation with a muzzle-loading gun was no easy 
 task; but practice had made him perfect. As 
 they were speeding along the road descending a 
 hill, Albert's horse stumbled in a ditch and lamed 
 his left fore-leg, so his speed was greatly slackened. 
 Half a score of troopers were pressing in their rear, 
 and their situation became perilous. 
 
 " Get all the speed yew kin out o' him, Albert, 
 and by zounds, I'll cover your retreat!" 
 
 Simon gradually fell behind, menacing the foe 
 with his deadly rifle, while Albert galloped down 
 the slope across a ravine and over the hill beyond 
 as rapidly as his lame horse could carry him. Si- 
 mon jogged slowly along, casting an occasional 
 glance behind at the foe, who were warily approach- 
 ing. Simon crossed the ravine, wheeled around 
 and fired, wounding one of the advancing troopers 
 so severely that two of his companions had to 
 help him dismount and carry him to a farm-house 
 near. 
 
 About half-way up the hill, Simon came to a 
 halt and, dismounting, began to reload his gun, 
 keeping his horse between himself and the enemy. 
 
318 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 who had halted for consultation. It was nearly 
 noon and a scene of peace a,nd quiet lay all about 
 the young patriot. On his right was a farm with 
 a rail fence between him and the field. A farmer 
 was ploughing in the field, and a pig was rooting 
 among the leaves close by the fence. Simon had 
 halted just to the left of the road near the woods 
 which extended for several miles on the left to a 
 creek. Albert had disappeared over the hill, and 
 Simon determined to hold the enemy as long as 
 possible, for his own horse being fleet, he could 
 easily escape when he tried. 
 
 Having reloaded his gun, he waited for the 
 enemy to approach within range. The pig grunted 
 with satisfaction among the leaves, and the birds 
 twittered in the bushes on his left, while Simon 
 waited patiently for the enemy. His heart beat 
 violently as he contemplated seven men opposed to 
 him. 
 
 Simon was silent but deadly. His dry humor 
 which made him the life of camp and field was 
 hushed. His large blue eyes were flashing with 
 fire and determination. 
 
 The council of war was at last over and the 
 Britons began operations. They dismounted leav- 
 ing the horses with two, and the remainder began 
 to ascend the hill, taking advantage of every tree, 
 stump and stone which afforded the slightest shel- 
 
WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE. 
 
 219 
 
 ter. They knew tlie deadly e£Eect of Simon's aim 
 and dreaded it. 
 
 Suddenly from behind a stump there came a 
 little puff of smoke, and a carbine ball whizzed 
 
 ^'4^, ....... .."..V.X r.. 
 
 His heart beat violently as he contemplated seven 
 men opposed to him. 
 
 across the road and struck the ground so near the 
 pig as to scatter the leaves, sand and gravel over 
 the porker, causing him to utter a squeal, whisk 
 his tail and run away as fast as his short legs could 
 carry his fat body. Another puff from behind a 
 
330 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 dead tree down the hill, still another from a stone, 
 followed by two reports and the balls clipped the 
 leaves from the bushes above Simon's head. The 
 farmer in the field heard the shots and stopped his 
 oxen to gaze on the exciting scene. The troopers 
 pressed closer, aiid Simon cocked his gun. He 
 aimed first at one and then at another, and each in 
 turn sought cover from the ugly rifle. The object 
 of the patriot was to keep the Britons at bay as 
 long as possible, that Albert might have a chance 
 to escape. With the barrel of his rifle resting on 
 the pommel of his saddle he aimed at each head as 
 it in turn appeared from behind the brush or stone 
 until they had almost flanked him, when he fired 
 wounding one in the shoulder and, mounting his 
 horse, galloped away over the hill pursued by the 
 bullets of the enemy. Simon soon met with a sur- 
 prise. He had not gone a fourth of a mile, when 
 he suddenly ran into a party of Britons, who had 
 already captured Albert. Eesistance was useless, 
 and he surrendered. They were taken to a house 
 where a considerable number of the enemy were 
 assembled, and were kept until night. 
 
 When it was quite dark, an officer in command 
 came to the room in which the prisoners were con- 
 fined and said to Albert: 
 
 " You are Albert Stevens from Lexington, are 
 you not?" 
 
WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE. 221 
 
 " Yes, sir, and are you not the officer who so 
 kindly sent me information of my father?" 
 
 " I am, " he answered. " Your father is still on 
 board the prison-ship and is as well as a prisoner 
 can be. Have you heard from little Estella at 
 Rugby?" 
 
 " I have not. " 
 
 " "Who is this man with you?" he asked. 
 
 " I am the chap wot came so near threshin' the 
 ground with yew at Eugby, " Simon answered. 
 " Don't yew remember comin' in a coach an' six 
 and examinin' me and writin' down every word I 
 said?" 
 
 The officer, who recalled the scene, asked : 
 
 " "What is your name?" 
 
 " Simon Tapley, and as true a Yankee as ever 
 shot a redcoat. " 
 
 The officer turned about and walked away, 
 leaving the patriots alone. An hour later the 
 British hurriedly decamped, leaving Albert and 
 his companion at the house in charge of three 
 troopers. These held a hurried consultation, then 
 a non-commissioned officer came to the prisoners 
 and said: 
 
 " I am directed to release you without parole. 
 Your horses are in the barn. You are at liberty. " 
 
 The three troopers mounted their horses and 
 galloped away, leaving the Americans puzzled at 
 
323 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 their own liberation. There was a mystery about 
 their release which was not explained till years 
 after. Albert and Simon found their horses in 
 the barn, and made their way as rapidly as they 
 could to Morristown. 
 
 A few days after their return, "Washington broke 
 up his cantonments at Morristown and shifted his 
 camp to Middlebrook, within ten miles of Bruns- 
 wick. His whole force fit for duty was now about 
 seven thousand three hundred men, nearly all from 
 the States south of the Hudson. There were forty- 
 three regiments, forming ten brigades commanded 
 by Brigadiers Muhlenberg, Woodon, "Woodford, 
 Scott, Smallwood, DeBarre, "Wayne, DeHaas, Con- 
 way, and Maxwell. 
 
 On the 31st of May, reports were brought to 
 camp that a fleet of a hundred sail had left New 
 York and stood out to sea. "Whither bound and 
 how freighted was unknown. If they carried 
 troops, their destination might be Delaware Bay 
 and Philadelphia. "Washington knew that Sir 
 "William Howe had been reinforced by troops from 
 Germany, and Howe had transferred his head- 
 quarters to Brunswick. 
 
 "Washington ordered Putnam to send down some 
 of the continental troops at Peekskill. Arnold 
 had, at this critical juncture, been put in com- 
 mand of Philadelphia, a post which he had been 
 
WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE. 233 
 
 Induced to accept, although the question of rank 
 had not been adjusted to his satisfaction. Warlike 
 news came from the north, where Burgoyne, with 
 a strong army of British and Hessians, threatened 
 an invasion. General Schuyler, an able officer in 
 whom Washington implicitly relied, still had com- 
 mand of the northern army, and was collecting as 
 large a force as possible to oppose Burgoyne. 
 
 Some historians have called this the darkest 
 period of the revolutionary war ; but the darkness 
 was not without rays of light. Patrick Henry's 
 prophecy that the " God of hosts would raise up 
 friends to fight their ^battles," was about to be 
 verified. Across the sea in the old countries the 
 news was spread that thirteen colonies were strug- 
 gling with a tyrant. The appeal went to hearts 
 that beat with human kindness and to souls noble 
 and grand. The appeal reached such souls as 
 Kosciusko, Steuben, Pulaski, De Kalb and the 
 immortal Lafayette. 
 
 At a dinner, Lafayette, then scarcely more than 
 a youth, heard of the struggle of the American 
 colonies for freedom, and resolved at once to risk 
 his life and fortune for them. He was a marquis 
 and very wealthy, but his nobility of soul, his 
 fervent enthusiasm, made him a lover of liberty. 
 He fitted out a ship at his own expense and, ac- 
 companied by Baron de Kalb, sailed for America, 
 
234 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 after having several narrow escapes from arrest 
 and confinement. His departure created a great 
 sensation, not only in France, but in England. 
 Gibbon the historian, in a letter from London, 
 dated April 12, 1777, says: 
 
 " We talked chiefly of the Marquis de Lafayette, 
 who was here a few weeks ago. He is about 
 twenty, worth 130,000 livres a year, the nephew 
 of Noailles, who is ambassador here. He has 
 bought the Duke of Kingston's yacht and is gone 
 to join the Americans. " 
 
 The voyage across the sea was long and stormy, 
 but they efiected a landing in the night near GeorgCT 
 town, South Oarolinia, where they were hospitably 
 received as soon as known and were entertained by 
 Major Huger, who, on the 25th of April, conveyed 
 them to Charleston, where they were received with 
 enthusiasm. The sensation produced by Lafay- 
 ette's arrival in this country was much greater than 
 that produced in Europe by his departure. It was 
 one of the most prominent and important circum- 
 stances in our revolutionary contest ; and, as has 
 often been said by one who bore no small part in 
 its trials for success, " none > but those who were 
 then alive can believe what an impulse it gave to 
 the hopes of a population almost disheartened by 
 a long series of disasters. " "Well it might, for it 
 taught them that in the first rank of nobility in 
 
WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE. 225 
 
 Europe, men could still be found who not only 
 took a deep interest in their struggle for liberty, 
 but were willing to share their sufferings; that 
 their desperate and obscure struggle for freedom 
 in a remote comer of the world, found supporters 
 among those whose natural and powerful allies 
 were of a splendid despotism ; that they were ob- 
 jects of a regard and interest throughout the world. 
 From Charleston, Lafayette journeyed to Phila- 
 delphia, where congress was still in session. At 
 first he was somewhat coolly received ; but when it 
 was known that he wished to volunteer to serve 
 without pay in defence of liberty, congress ex- 
 pressed its high sense of the value of his personal 
 worth by the following resolution : 
 
 " "Whereas the Marquis de Lafayette, out of his 
 great zeal to the cause of liberty, in which the 
 United States are engaged, has left his- family and 
 connections, and at his own expenses come over to 
 offer his services to the United States, without 
 pension or particular allowance, and is anxious to 
 risk'his life in our cause : Resolved, that his services 
 be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, 
 illustrious family and connection, he have the rank 
 and commission of major-general in the army of 
 the United States. " 
 
 His commission was dated July 31st, 1777, when 
 he was only nineteen years and eleven months old. 
 15 
 
326 
 
 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Washington heard of the arrival of Lafayette, 
 and as he was called to Philadelphia regarding the 
 military defence of the city, he soon had the satis- 
 faction of meeting him. It was at a public dinner 
 where Washington first rnet the illustrious for- 
 eigner. He saw a youth not yet twenty years of 
 age, tall, commanding and dignified. 
 
 " I knew him before I was 
 introduced to him," he de- 
 clared. When the company 
 was about to break up, Wash- 
 ington took young Lafayette 
 aside and said : " I want to 
 thank you for leaving your 
 country, home and friends to 
 come and fight our battles. 
 Such unselfish devotion to the 
 
 cause of a struggling people 
 Marquis de Lafayette. , , . ^ , 
 
 can only emanate from a truly 
 
 noble heart. I hope you will become one of our 
 military family, and I trust you will make my 
 headquarters your home. " 
 
 The personal acquaintance thus commenced soon 
 ripened into an intimacy that was never for a mo- 
 ment interrupted. The private correspondence of 
 Washington shows that he not only felt for La- 
 fayette the warmest affection, but. that he enter- 
 tained the highest opinion of his military talent, 
 personal probity and general prudence and energy. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 bukgoyne's campaign. 
 
 While Washington was trying to protect Phila- 
 delphia from the armies of Howe and Cornwallis, 
 Burgoyne was endeavoring to carry out the plan 
 of the campaign in the north. He went to Eng- 
 land in the autumn of 1776, and arrived in May, 
 1777, at Quebec, bearing the commission of lieu- 
 tenant-general and commander-in-chief of the Brit- 
 ish forces in Canada. In June he gathered about 
 seven thousand men at St. John's, on the Sorel, 
 for an invasion of the province of New York. 
 His force was composed of British and German 
 regulars, Canadians and Indians. The Germans 
 were under command of Major-General Baron de 
 Riedesel, and Burgoyne 's chief lieutenants were 
 Major-General Phillips and Brigadier-General 
 Eraser. 
 
 On the 20th of June, at dawn of day, Burgoyne 
 
 began his march of invasion. The wives of many 
 
 of the officers accompanied their husbands, for the 
 
 British anticipated only a pleasant journey to New 
 
 327 
 
228 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 York. The wbole army shared in the ardor and 
 hopes of its chiefs. Not a doubt was entertained 
 of an approaching triumph. Thus prepared, Gen- 
 eral Burgoyne proceeded to encamp near the little 
 river Bouquet, upon the west bank of Lake Cham- 
 plain, at no great distance north of Crown Point. 
 Here having addressed his army in a speech calcu- 
 lated to excite their highest ardor, and issued a proc- 
 lamation warning the Americans against any at- 
 tempt to resist his progress, upon pain of savage 
 fury, devastation, famine and kindred calamities, 
 he moved upon Crown Point, whence soon after he 
 proceeded with all his- force to invest Ticonderoga. 
 
 This fortress at the time was under command of 
 General St. Clair. Believing his ^garrison, only 
 three thousand men, one third of < whom were 
 militia, inadequate to resist the attack of so for- 
 midable a force as was approaching, St. Clair 
 ordered that the fort be evacuated, and his army 
 retreated, after having burned or destroyed every- 
 thing which might prove important to the invading 
 foe. . -^ 
 
 The night of July 6th was appointed for the 
 evacuation. The British army was near, and great 
 caution was exercised, in order to effect their re- 
 treat in safety. General St. Clair led the van- 
 guard, and Colonel Francis the rear. Orders were 
 passed for the soldiers to march in silence. St. 
 
BUROOYNE'S CAMPAIGN. 229 
 
 Clair drew out the vanguard at two in the morning. 
 Francis with the rear left at four. The baggage, 
 furniture, military stores and provisions had been 
 embarked on board of two hundred bateaux and 
 five armed galleys. The general rendezvous was 
 appointed at Skenesborough, the bateaux proceed- 
 ing up Wood Creek, and the main army taking its 
 route by way of Castleton. 
 
 Under the animating prospects of effecting their 
 retreat in safety, the army and bateaux were pro- 
 ceeding on their respective routes, when a house 
 on Mount Independence suddenly and most unac- 
 countably took fire. The flames burst forth almost 
 in an instant, lighting up all the country far around 
 and revealing, to the surprise of the royalists, the 
 retreating patriots. 
 
 Orders were issued for immediate pursuit, and 
 General Fraser, at the head of a strong detachment 
 of grenadiers and light troops, proceeded by land 
 along the right bank of Wood Creek. General 
 Eiedesel rapidly followed with his Germans, to 
 aid him if required, while Burgoyne embarked on 
 board of several vessels and gave chase by water. 
 
 By three in the afternoon, the van of the British 
 squadron, composed of gunboats, came up with 
 and attacked the American galleys, near Skenes- 
 borough Falls. In the mean time, three regiments 
 which had been landed at South Bay ascended and 
 
330 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 passed a mountain witli great expedition, in order 
 to turn the Americans above Wood Creek, to de- 
 stroy their works at the falls of Skenesborough, 
 and to cut off their retreat to Fort Anne ; but the 
 Americans eluded this stroke by the rapidity of 
 their flight. The British frigates having joined 
 the van, the galleys, already hard pressed by the 
 gunboats, were completely overpowered. Two of 
 them surrendered, and three were blown up. The 
 Americans now despaired, and, having set fire to 
 their works, mills and bateaux, and otherwise de- 
 stroyed what they were unable to burn, they 
 escaped as well as they could up Wood Creek, 
 without halting till they reached Fort Anne. 
 Their loss was considerable ; for the bateaux were 
 loaded with baggage, provisions and ammunition 
 necessary to their sustenance and military opera- 
 tions. The corps which had set out by land was 
 in no better situation. The vanguard, conducted 
 by St. Clair, had arrived at Castleton, thirty miles 
 distant from Ticonderoga and twelve miles from 
 Skenesborough ; the rear, commanded by Colonels 
 Francis and Warner, had rested the night of the 
 sixth at Hubbardston, six miles below Castleton 
 toward Ticonderoga. 
 
 At five o'clock on the morning of the seventh, 
 the English column, under General Fraser, made 
 its appearance. The Americans were strongly 
 
BUROOYNE'S CAMPAIGN. 231 
 
 posted, and were disposed to defend themselves. 
 Eraser, thougli inferior in point of numbers, had 
 great confidence in the valor of his troops. He 
 also expected every moment to be joined by Gen- 
 eral Eiedesel; and being apprehensive that the 
 enemy might escape if he delayed, he ordered the 
 attack immediately. The battle was long and san- 
 guinary. The Americans, being commanded by 
 valiant officers, behaved with great firmness ; but 
 the English displayed an equal obstinacy. After 
 several shocks, with alternate success, the latter 
 began to fall back in disorder ; but their leaders 
 rallied them anew and led them to a furious charge 
 with the bayonet. The Americans were shaken 
 by its impetuosity. At this critical moment. Gen- 
 eral Eiedesel arrived at the head of his column, 
 composed of light troops and some grenadiers, and 
 the tide of battle was immediately turned. The 
 Americans, overpowered by numbers, fled on all 
 sides, leaving their brave commander with many 
 other officers and over two hundred soldiers dead 
 on the field. About the same number, besides 
 Colonel Hale and seventeen officers of inferior rank, 
 were made prisoners. Above six hundred were 
 supposed to be wounded, many of whom, deprived 
 of all succor, perished miserably in the woods. 
 The loss of the royal troops, in dead and wounded, 
 amounted to a little over one hundred and eighty. 
 
333 INDEPENDENOM 
 
 On receiving intelligence of the foregoing dis- 
 aster, St. Clair proceeded by a circuitous route to 
 Fort Edward, in order to strengthen General 
 Schuyler, in anticipation of an attack upon that 
 fortress. With the accessions thus made, the 
 troops at Fort Edward amounted to but little more 
 than four thousand, including the militia. The 
 losses of the Americans had been great, and were 
 severely felt. No less than one hundred and 
 twenty-eight pieces of artillery, besides a great 
 quantity of stores, baggage and provisions, par- 
 ticularly flour, had either fallen into the hands of 
 the enemy, or been destroyed. Added to these 
 losses, a general panic had seized upon the inhabi- 
 tants, especially on account of the Indians attached 
 to the British army, and against whose merciless 
 and savage spirit there was felt to be no security. 
 
 While Burgoyne was detained at Skenesborough, 
 General Schuyler was actively engaged in increas- 
 ing his means of defence. Trenches were opened 
 and the roads leading to the fort were in every 
 possible way obstructed. The patriots felled great 
 trees which it took time and labor to remove. The 
 militia from various quarters were summoned to 
 the American standard, and artillery and stores 
 were forwarded from various points. At last 
 General Burgoyne moved toward Fort Edward; 
 but such were the obstacles which impeded his 
 
BUROOYNE'S CAMPAIGN. 23i 
 
 movements, that lie did not reacli the banks of tte 
 Hudson, near the fort, until the 30th of July. 
 
 Schuyler, convinced that all his efforts would 
 not render that post defensible against such a for- 
 midable force as was approaching, abandoned it 
 and retired lower down to Stillwater, where in- 
 trenchments were thrown up. 
 
 General Burgoyne unexpectedly found himself 
 destitute of provisions, and he was until the 15th 
 of August engaged in procuring means for the 
 support of the army, which they were obliged to 
 bring from Ticonderoga at great expense and labor. 
 Burgoyne'-s great mistake was in the attempt to 
 reduce FortiEdward. Had he made his way from 
 Skenesborough to Albany, he might have secured 
 that important place before'''the Americans could 
 rally. 
 
 While posted at Fort Edward, Burgoyne learned 
 that a large store of live cattle, corn and other 
 necessaries belonging to the Americans had been 
 deposited at Bennington, a village in VeiTQont, 
 about twenty miles from the Hudson. Impelled 
 by necessity, as well as by the desire of adding to 
 his military fame, he resolved to attempt their 
 seizure. The accomplishment of the plan he en- 
 trusted to Colonel Baum, a German officer of great 
 bravery and well versed in this sort of partisan 
 warfare. 
 
234 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Accordingly, with a force of five hundred men 
 and two light field-pieces, Baum set forth in proud 
 anticipation of success. The roads, however, were 
 so heavy, that the detachment was fatally retarded. 
 The intelligence of their approach preceded them 
 in time to allow Colonel Stark, a trave, active 
 man, who was in command at Bennington with a 
 corps of New Hampshire militia, to assemble a 
 considerable reinforcement of Green Mountain boys 
 from the neighboring towns. Before Baum made 
 his appearance, the number of Americans had 
 swelled to about two thousand. On learning the 
 numbers of the enemy, Baum dispatched an ex- 
 press to Colonel Breyman, who had been detached 
 to support him if necessary, to urge his march. 
 In the mean while, Baum took post on the banks 
 of the Walloon Creek to await the arrival of his 
 auxiliaries. 
 
 Stark, however, was not disposed to accommo- 
 date his foe by any such delay, and on the 15th of 
 August the Americans came in sight of the enemy. 
 A minister who had come with a part of his flock 
 to strike a blow for his country was impatient at 
 delay ; but Stark comforted him with the promise, 
 that, if the next day were clear, he should have 
 fighting enough. 
 
 "When the sun rose on the sixteenth. Stark con- 
 certed with his officers the plan for the day. See- 
 
BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN. 2m 
 
 ing small bands of men in shirt -sleeves and carry- 
 ing fowling-pieces without bayonets steal up behind 
 his camp, Baum mistook them for friendly country 
 people placing themselves where he could protect 
 them ; and so five hundred men under Nichols and 
 Herrick united in his rear. "While his attention 
 was arrested by a feint, two hundred more posted 
 themselves on his right, and Stark, with two or 
 three hundred, took the front. As they advanced to 
 the attack, about three o'clock, Colonel Stark cried: 
 
 " See, men ! There are the redcoats ! We must 
 beat to-day, or Molly Stark's a widow!" 
 
 Baum, who had at first supposed them to be 
 loyalists, was surprised when they poured in a 
 deadly fire from all sides. His men were soon 
 broken and in confusion; but he rallied them, and 
 for a time made a brave resistance. At last, by 
 an impetuous charge, the Americans drove them 
 from the field. 
 
 The fortune of the day had already been decided, 
 when Colonel Breyman appeared. He was, in fact, 
 perfectly ignorant of the engagement and fate of his 
 pioneers. "What was his consternation, on reach- 
 ing the entrenchments of Baum, to find, instead of 
 .friends, enemies ready to give him battle. Not- 
 withstanding his troops were fatigued, he deter- 
 mined to renew the conflict, and did so for a while 
 with apparent success, for a part of the Americans 
 
236 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 were bent on plunder ; but tbe clash of arms re- 
 called them to the scene, and the British were soon 
 routed, leaving their baggage and one thousand 
 muskets in the hands of the Americans. The 
 loss of the British in the two engagements was about 
 two hundred killed and five hundred wounded and 
 prisoners. The loss of the Americans did not 
 much exceed one hundred. 
 
 The exploit of Bennington redounded not only 
 to the credit of Stark and his home troops, but to 
 the good of the country at large. It was the be- 
 ginning of a series of disasters which culminated 
 in the overthrow of Burgoyne. Meanwhile, Gen- 
 eral Grates, whose ambition exceeded his patriotism, 
 was appointed by congress to supersede General 
 Schuyler. There was a party in congress headed 
 by John Adams in opposition to Washington. It 
 was the ardent desire of Adams to have Gates 
 supersede the commander. Schuyler was an inti- 
 mate friend of Washington, and a blow at one was 
 a blow at the other. Gates aspired to be comman- 
 der-in-chief, and it was thought that this would 
 give him an excellent opportunity to make his 
 fame as a military genius. 
 
 Already the fortunes of Burgoyne were on the 
 decline. Schuyler had effected his fortifications 
 at Stillwater and was prepared to crush the enemy 
 when Gates came. 
 
BUaaOYNE'S CAMPAIGN. 237 
 
 Meanwhile, General Burgoyne continued in his 
 camp on the left bank of the Hudson, where he 
 used the most unremitting industry and persever- 
 ance in bringing stores and provisions forward from 
 Fort George. Having at length, by strenuous 
 efforts, obtained about thirty days' provisions, he 
 resolved to pass the river with his army, in order 
 to engage the enemy and force a passage to Albany. 
 As a swell of water, occasioned by great rains, had 
 carried away his bridge of rafts, he threw another 
 bridge of boats across the river at the same place. 
 Toward the middle of September, he crossed with 
 his army to the right bank of the Hudson and en- 
 camped on the heights and in the plain of Saratoga, 
 Gates being then in the neighborhood of Stillwater 
 about three miles below. Thus the two armies 
 were brought face to face and a battle was mo- 
 mentarily expected. 
 
 Burgoyne advanced to a point very near the 
 American lines ; and on the morning of the 19th 
 he moved his army in three columns to offer battle. 
 The left wing, with the immense train of artillery, 
 under command of General Phillips and Eiedesel, 
 kept upon the plain near the river. The centre, 
 composed largely of Germans, extended to a range 
 of hills that were touched by the American left, 
 and was led by Burgoyne in person. Upon these 
 hills, Fraser and Breyman, with grenadiers and 
 
238 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 infantry, were posted, with intention of outflank- 
 ing the republicans. The front and flank of the 
 invading army were covered by the Canadians, 
 Indians and Tories. The active Arnold, with 
 about fifteen hundred men, had kept the British 
 for days in suspense by his repeated assaults. 
 
 Gates, lacking the personal courage and skill of 
 a good commander, resolved to act on the defensive 
 within his own lines. Arnold, who, whatever 
 may be said of him, was brave as a lion, had been 
 urging Gates all morning to send out a detachment 
 and give the enemy battle ; but he gave no order 
 and evinced no disposition to fight. Even when, 
 at eleven o'clock, the boom of cannon awoke the 
 echoes of the hills, which was Burgoyne's signal 
 for a general advance of his army. Gates seemed 
 almost indifferent. His officers became very impa- 
 tient as the enemy drew nearer. Arnold was as 
 restive as a hound in a leash. He was finally per- 
 mitted to order out Morgan with his riflemen and 
 Dearborn with infantry, to attack the Canadians, 
 and Indians who were swarming upon the hills in 
 advance of Burgoyne's right. The Indians and 
 Canadians were driven back and Morgan's riflemen 
 pursued them so vigorously that they became scat- 
 tered and weakened. The Canadians and Indians 
 being reinforced by a party of Tories drove them 
 back. For a moment it seemed as if the famous 
 
BURGOYNE'S CAMPAION. 239 
 
 Virginia riflemen were lost ; but Morgan sounded 
 his shrill whistle, and they rallied around him, 
 with the Massachusetts and New Hampshire troops, 
 and after a short fight checked the advance of the 
 enemy. 
 
 In the mean while, Burgoyne, by a rapid move- 
 ment, attempted to fall heavily on the left and 
 centre of the Americans, while Fraser, on the ex- 
 treme right, made a quick movement to turn the 
 American left. The vigilant Arnold, with equal 
 celerity of movement, attempted to turn the British 
 right at the same time. He might have succeeded 
 had not Gates denied him reinforcements, and done 
 everything in his power to restrain him. Masked 
 by the thick woods, neither party could know 
 much about the doings of the other, and they sud- 
 denly and unexpectedly met in a ravine, west of 
 Freeman's farm at which Burgoyne had halted. 
 There they fought desperately for awhile. Arnold 
 was forced back, when Fraser, by a quick move- 
 ment, called up some German troops from Bur- 
 goyne's centre to his aid. Arnold rallied his men, 
 and with the assistance of New England troops 
 under Brooks, Dearborn, Scammel, Cilley and 
 Hull, he smote the enemy so lustily that their line 
 began to waver and fall into confusion. General 
 Phillips, from his position below the heights, 
 heard the din of battle resounding through the 
 
'<S40 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 woodfi and hurried over the hills with fresh troops 
 and some artillery, followed by a portion of the 
 Germans under Eiedesel, and appeared upon the 
 ground when victory seemed about to rest with the 
 Americans. Still the battle raged. The ranks of 
 the British were fearfully thinning, when Eiedesel 
 made a furious attack on the flank of the Ameri- 
 cans with cannon and musketry, which compelled 
 them to give way. The Germans saved the British 
 army from ruin. 
 
 It was now the middle of the afternoon on that 
 bright September day ; after a brief lull the battle 
 raged with renewed vigor. Burgoyne, after can- 
 nonading the Americans and receiving no response, 
 ordered a bayonet charge. Column after column 
 of British troops moved over the gently rolling 
 ground toward the American lines. As they came 
 forward at a charge, the silent enemy sprang for- 
 ward like tigers from a covert and assailed the 
 British so furiously, with ball and bayonet, that 
 they recoiled, and were pushed back. At that 
 time Arnold was at the headquarters, seated on a 
 large black charger, imploring Gates in vain for 
 reinforcements. When he heard the battle raging 
 with no decisive results, he could no longer brook 
 delay. Turning his horse ' s head toward the storm , 
 he cried : 
 
 " I'll soon put an end to it!" and went oft" at a 
 
BUnaOYNE'S CAMPAIGN. 241 
 
 gallop, followed by an officer whom Gates sent 
 after him to order him back ; but, fortunately, the 
 subaltern could not overtake the impetuous Arnold. 
 Gates was foolishly jealous of Arnold and would 
 rather have sufEered defeat than that he should 
 have won laurels. But for Arnold, there is no 
 doubt that Burgoyne would have reached Albany 
 victorious, for Gates was too incompetent and 
 cowardly to repel him. The jealous Gates, angry 
 because the army praised Arnold, did not mention 
 his name, nor that of the gallant Morgan, in his 
 official report of the battle. The generals of an 
 army are their own historians and never fail to do 
 themselves ample credit. Many a soldier of the 
 rank smiles when he reads the official reports of 
 the officer. Arnold keenly felt the ill treatment of 
 General Gates, and there can be no doubt that 
 brooding on his neglect and misusage finally in 
 duced him to betray a country which seemed to 
 forget him The battle raged for three hours after 
 Arnold's arrival on the field of action. The 
 British were repulsed, shattered and dispirited. 
 They had lost about six hundred men, while the 
 American losses were not more than half as many. 
 Arnold urged Gates to attack him next morning, 
 September 20th, 1777 ; but Gates would not consent. 
 Burgoyne withdrew to a point two miles from the 
 American lines and cast up entrenchments, hourly 
 16 
 
243 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 hoping for reinforcements from Sir Henry Clinton. 
 He was in a desperate condition. Some encour- 
 agement from Clinton did revive his hopes. Clin- 
 ton made a diversion up the Hudson, but it failed 
 to effect any favorable result for Burgoyne. They 
 burned Kingston, Rhinebeck and the Livingston 
 Manor aiad frightened some Dutch farmers almost 
 out of their wits; but the news of Burgoyne's sur- 
 render caused them to retreat. 
 
 On the 4th of October, Burgoyne and his officers 
 held a council of war, in which there was a divi- 
 sion of opinion; but it resulted in a decision to 
 fight. On the seventh, they issued liquors and 
 rations for four days and moved on the Americans" 
 left. Gates, angry at Arnold's impertinence, had 
 deprived him of command. In any other than a 
 patriot army battling for liberty, this would have 
 resulted in defeat, for Arnold was popular among 
 the rank and file. 
 
 Gates could have crushed the weak invaders at 
 a blow ; but he chose his usual dilatory way of 
 fighting, and the action never began in earnest 
 until half -past three o'clock. As Burgoyne was 
 about to advance, he was astounded at the thunder 
 of cannon on his left and the crack and rattle of 
 rifles and muskets on his right. Poor had ad- 
 vanced stealthily up the slope on which the troops 
 of Acldand and Williams were posted, and in per- 
 
BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN. 243 
 
 feet silenee pressed on througli the thick wood 
 toward the batteries of the latter. When they 
 were discovered, the enemy opened a heavy storm 
 of musket-balls and grape-shot upon the Americans. 
 Though they clipped the leaves and branches over 
 the heads of the patriots, scarce a shot struck one 
 of the Americans, who poured in a galling fire on 
 the enemy, and a fierce conflict ensued. The 
 Americans rushed up to the very mouths of the 
 cannon and struggled hand-to-hand with the enemy 
 for victory among the carriages of the field-pieces. 
 One cannon was taken and retaken five times. 
 The gun was at last captured by the Americans 
 and turned on the enemy. 
 
 Meanwhile Morgan assailed Eraser's flanking 
 corps in advance of the British right with such a 
 tempest of rifle-balls, that they were driven back 
 to their lines. With the speed of the gale, Mor- 
 gan wheeled and fell upon the British right with 
 such appalling force and impetuosity that their 
 ranks were quickly broken and thrown into confu- 
 sion. It was followed by an onslaught in front by 
 Major Dearborn, with fresh troops, when the British 
 broke and fled. They were soon rallied and formed 
 by Earl Balcarras. The centre, composed chiefly 
 of Germans, maintained its position. 
 
 All the while, Arnold, stripped of authority to 
 issue a single order in the fight, had heard the roar 
 
244 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 of battle as a leashed hound would the sound of 
 his master's horn. The impetuous, quarrelsome, 
 insubordinate brigadier, thirsting for glory and 
 fired by patriotism stood chafing with impatience 
 and irritation, a chained spectator of the battle. 
 At last, when he could no longer restrain himself, 
 he sprang upon the back of his big black charger 
 and dashed once more at full speed into the field 
 of action. Gates sent Major Armstrong to order 
 him back. Arnold saw the subaltern in chase and, 
 divining his errand, put spurs to his horse and left 
 him far behind. Placing himself at the head of 
 the three regiments of Learned 's brigade, who re- 
 ceived their old commander with deafening cheers, 
 he led them against the British centre, with the 
 desperation of a madman. He rushed into the 
 thickest of the fight, or rode along the lines with 
 rapid and erratic movements, brandishing his sword 
 over his head and delivering his orders everywhere 
 in person. For half an hour Armstrong followed 
 him; but Arnold's course was so varied and peril- 
 ous that he gave up the chase. 
 
 The Germans bravely resisted the assault of Ar- 
 nold's troops; but when he dashed among them 
 at the head of his men, they broke and fled in 
 dismay. The battle was general all along their 
 lines. Arnold and Morgan were the ruling spirits 
 of the Americans, while Fraser was the spirit of 
 
BVJtaOYNE'S CAMPAIGN. 
 
 24S 
 
 ■ 4_. 
 
 inspiration among the British. Arnold saw this 
 and, dashing up to Morgan's side, said: 
 
 " General Eraser stands between us and victory. 
 You have marksmen in 
 your corps who could -^'^^S' 
 
 pick him off. Why 
 don't they doit?" 
 
 At this suggestion, 
 Morgan wheeled his 
 horse about and, dash- 
 ing back to 
 where stood 
 Timothy 
 Murphy, an ~ ^ 
 Irish sharpshooter, and 
 a dozen of his compan- 
 ions, the general said : 
 
 " That gallant officer is General 
 Fraser. I admire and honor him ; but 
 it is necessary he should die. Victory 
 for the enemy depends on him. Take 
 your stations in that clump of bushes 
 and do your duty. " 
 
 " I will bring him down in five min- 
 utes, " Tim Murphy answered. 
 
 He climbed into a sapling and, with 
 his unerring double-barrelled rifle, waited until 
 General Fraser next came riding down the line. 
 
 He CliEUBED 
 INTO A SAP- 
 LING. 
 
346 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 when a bullet from his gun mortally wounded the 
 gallant officer. 
 
 His fall produced a panic from which the British 
 never fully rallied. The battle was lost, and they 
 retreated, but were followed up, and, on the I7th 
 of October, all that was left of the brilliant army 
 of Burgoyne surrendered to General Gates, the 
 man least deserving the honor of victory. 
 
 He remained in his camp during the battle, and 
 good authority has stated that' he was intoxicated. 
 There can be no doubt that Gates was both cowardly 
 and incompetent. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 BRANDYWINE. 
 
 Albert Stevens and Simon Tapley were still 
 with Washington's army. They had been assigned 
 to a new regiment. Since their last adventure near 
 Morristown, they had been content to let the 
 cavalry do the scouting duty, while they remained 
 in camp. 
 
 " I don't like this way o' doin' , Albert, " growled 
 Simon. " This runnin' all about the country from 
 Dan to Beersheba. "Why don't they come on and 
 fight?" 
 
 " Wei!, Simon, I think you will have your desire 
 gratified, " Albert answered. " I heard that Howe 
 had entered the Delaware and landed his army. 
 They are coming to Philadelphia. " 
 
 " Zounds ! they will get enough of it afore they 
 reach the town, " answered Simon. 
 
 The British had landed from the Chesapeake, at 
 
 the head of Elk River, as was known to all the 
 
 army. Washington had come out of Philadelphia 
 
 to meet the enemy and defend the national capital. 
 
 347 
 
248 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " We will have marcliing orders in less than 
 twenty-four hours, " declared Albert. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " I heard one of Washington's aids talking with 
 our colonel. The old general means fight. " 
 
 " Egad, I hope he will ! But, Albert, what will 
 they do with Jake's brother August, and Joseph 
 Jager, if they catch 'em? They have joined our 
 army, and if the British capture 'em, won't they 
 hang 'em?" 
 
 " They will never permit themselves to be cap- 
 tured. " 
 
 " Well, there are two sour-kraut eaters who'll 
 do Johnny Bull more harm than good by coming 
 over. " 
 
 "I hope so." , 
 
 The above conversation was on the 2d of Sep- 
 tember. On the morning of the third, they were 
 ordered into line at dawn of day, with three days' 
 rations and forty rounds of cartridges. 
 
 " That looks as if we were goin' to have a spell 
 o' work, " remarked Simon. 
 
 " There is Jake, his brother and Joe Jager. " 
 
 " How kin them Dutch fight with us, when they 
 won't understand a word the captain says?" 
 
 " They will do as we do. " 
 
 The roll was called and talking ceased. The 
 division of Maxwell wheeled into the road and 
 
BRANDYWINE. 249 
 
 marclied toward Pencander. All day they were 
 on the inarch or in line. Near sunset, they were 
 drawn up in an ambuscade. 
 
 Albert said : 
 
 " Simon, I hear drums. " 
 
 " You'd be deaf if you didn't." 
 
 " They are coming. " 
 
 " I am sartain on it, an', gawl dam 'em, I'll give 
 'em one clap o' thunder." 
 
 Silence was commanded, and they waited the 
 advance of the enemy. The head of the column 
 soon appeared, and a terrible skirmish ensued. 
 The British artillery drove them from their posi- 
 tion with a loss of forty killed and wounded. 
 
 The Americans retreated, much to the disgust 
 of Simon, who declared if Mr. Brown of Eugby 
 heard of this scandalous conduct on his part, he 
 would make him the butt of ridicule. 
 
 Albert's regiment fell back to the west bank of 
 Brandywine Creek where they went into camp. 
 For several days there was constant skirmishing 
 in front, as is always the case when two armies 
 are approaching. The soldiers had grown accus- 
 tomed to this, and Albert, at his camp-fire at night, 
 wrote a letter to his mother and another to Bstella 
 at Rugby, while the pickets' shots could be heard 
 across the creek. Among other things he wrote to 
 his mother, he stated : 
 
250 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Father is still on board the old Jersey prison- 
 ship. I wish you could see him. I have heard 
 many terrible stories of that horrible prison. They 
 say thousands of people are penned up in its walls, 
 and that the living are hardly able to bury the 
 dead. The cruelty of their jailers must be terri- 
 ble. I do not know' that the British would let you 
 through the lines, or that you could get to see 
 father, but I wish you would try. 
 
 " I told you in my last letter how strangely Jake 
 Steckel met his brother at Trenton. August 
 Steckel and another captured Hessian have joined 
 our company and make excellent soldiers. I again 
 met that mysterious British officer who is so in- 
 terested in Stella,. I believe there is some mys- 
 tery between him and Simon, as well as between 
 him and Stella. This war is full of strange mys- 
 tery. Pray for me. Even as I write, I can hear 
 the guns of the enemy. A terrible conflict is lia- 
 ble to ensue at any moment. " 
 
 This letter was written on the 10th of Septem- 
 ber, and at midnight a post boy carried it from the 
 camp. Albert lay down, wrapped in his blanket, 
 at the root of an old oak tree, and soon fell asleep. 
 
 The night was more quiet than usual. After 
 midnight not another shot was fired by the pickets ; 
 but at early dawn Simon awoke Albert by seizing 
 his shoulder and shaking him. 
 
BRANDYWINE. 251 
 
 " Git up, Albert. By zounds, we're goin' tew 
 have a frolic afore the day is over, or I don't 
 know what I'm talkin' about." 
 
 Albert rose and found the entire camp in a 
 bustle. The confusion of buckling on belts and 
 arranging straps, examining flints and loading 
 guns, or testing the points of bayonets both excited 
 and bewildered the new recruits. Nothing visible 
 caused thjs turmoil and hasty preparation. There 
 never was a calmer morn than September 11th, 1777. 
 The light blue clouds like ringlets rolled about the 
 heavens. The sky seemed but a sea of gold, while 
 the orange peep of early dawn was like the blush 
 on a lady's cheek. The sunbeams dancing on tlie 
 water might remind one of a sleeping infant, and 
 where the glittering dew appeared, it was beauty 
 smiling through her tears. All nature seemed at 
 peace. 
 
 Only those long lines of armed warriors indi- 
 cated war and death. 
 
 Suddenly a horseman dashed down the ranks on 
 a fiery steed. 
 
 " That's Count Pulaski, the young Pole who 
 has joined us," said Albert to Simon, " and yonder 
 is Marquis de Lafayette. " 
 
 "Who are Pulaski and Lafayette? I'd rather 
 see a redcoat now, for my finger is just a-itchin' 
 tew pull a trigger. " 
 
252 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Never fear, you will soon have a chance, " re- 
 marked a soldier in the rear rank. 
 
 At this moment they saw the signal rise. They 
 heard the thunder of artillery, and the command 
 was given to march. 
 
 At daybreak, on the morning of September 11th, 
 1777, Comwallis, with one column of the British 
 army, moved along the Lancaster road, which for 
 several miles ran nearly parallel with the Brandy- 
 wine. General Howe was also with this division. 
 Knyphausen and his command moved forward at 
 nine o'clock. From behind the walls of the grave- 
 yard of the Kennit meeting-house, and also behind 
 houses, trees and clumps of bushes, parties of 
 militia kept up an annoying fire upon the advanc- 
 ing enemy. Knyphausen, however, pushed for- 
 ward to Chad's Ford. 
 
 Albert, who was with Maxwell's division, saw 
 a horseman dashing down the hill, his voice sound- 
 ing like a trumpet. 
 
 "Fly to the ford! oh, fly!" he shouted with 
 every breath. In a few moments. Maxwell's line 
 was advancing and took a position where he met 
 the advance sent by Knyphausen about ten o'clock, 
 and a severe engagement ensued. Maxwell re- 
 treated to the verge of the stream, where he was 
 reinforced. Turning on his pursuers, he made a 
 furious charge. Unable to cope with Maxwell in 
 
BRANDYWINE. 358 
 
 open battle, without bringing a larger force into 
 action, Knypbausen sent a detacbment througb the 
 woods to make an attack upon his flank. Per- 
 ceiving this movement, Maxwell retreated across 
 the stream, leaving the whole west bank of the 
 Brandywine in possession of the enemy. The 
 German general now brought forward his artillery, 
 and for some time there was an artillery duel be- 
 tween his cannoneers and Proctor. Howe had in- 
 structed Knyphausen to merely attract the atten- 
 tion of the Americans by feigned efforts to cross 
 the ford, until Cornwallis should cross above and 
 gain the right and rear of the patriots. "When this 
 was accomplished, he was to push across Chad's 
 Ford, and the two divisions of the royal army would 
 make a simultaneous attack. Captains Porterfield 
 and Waggoner, having secured a footing on the 
 western side. General Maxwell recrossed the stream 
 with a considerable force, drove the enemy from 
 the ground, killed about thirty of them, and seized 
 a quantity of entrenching tools, with which they 
 were constructing a battery; but Knyphausen, 
 sending an overwhelming force against the Ameri- 
 cans, drove them over to the east side of the river. 
 The right wing of the Americans was commanded 
 by General Sullivan, who was ordered to guard the 
 fords as high up as Buffington's, just above the 
 forks of Brandywine. He sent scouting parties 
 
254 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 out in various directions and was soon infornied 
 first that the enemy were marching to Trimble's, 
 then to Taylor's and Jeffries' Ford. These reports 
 were forwarded to Washington, who had ordered 
 an advance, when there came a denial that there 
 was an enemy approaching either ford. 
 
 While Washington was thus kept in suspense, 
 Cornwallis advanced and gained his coveted posi- 
 tion. Washington had actually sent an order to 
 Sullivan to cross at the ford above and attack 
 Cornwallis, while he should pass over and assail 
 Knyphausen. Cornwallis, having made a wide 
 circuit, crossed the Brandywine far up the stream, 
 and was upon the hill near the Birmingham meet- 
 ing-house, not far from Sullivan's right, before 
 that officer was aware of his approach. Sullivan 
 was amazed at the sudden appearance of the foe ; 
 but, sending a messenger notifj-ing Washington of 
 his danger, he boldly advanced against the enemy. 
 Before he could form his troops in lines of battle, 
 the rested Britons attacked him, and a terrible 
 conflict ensued. For a while it was doubtful, but 
 finally the right wing of the Americans, commanded 
 by General De Barre, gave way; then the left 
 under Sullivan. The centre, commanded by Stir- 
 ling, remained for a while firm, when it, too, gave 
 way and fled in confusion. Lafayette, who was 
 with this corps, fighting on foot as a volunteer, 
 
BRANDYWINE. 255 
 
 ■was badly wounded in the leg and taken from the 
 field. 
 
 On receiving intelligence of the approach of the 
 British, Washington, with Greene's division of 
 Virginians and Pennsylvanians, pushed forward to 
 the support of Sullivan, leaving General Wayne 
 at Chad's Ford to oppose the passage of Knyp- 
 hausen. When the first cannon-peals from the 
 Birmingham meeting-house rolled over the country, 
 Greene pressed forward to the support of the right 
 wing. His first brigade, under General Weedon, 
 took the lead, and so rapid was their march, that 
 they traveled four miles in forty minutes. Between 
 Dilworth and the meeting-house they met the 
 flying Americans, closely pursued by the British. 
 Greene, by a skilful movement, opened his ranks 
 and received the flying fugitives, then closing them 
 again, he covered their retreat and checked the 
 enemy by a vigorous fire of musketry, artillery 
 and a charge with the bayonet. 
 
 Never in the annals of war has there been a 
 more skilful movement made than was that of 
 General Greene.* It has been said by eye-wit- 
 
 *The author's grandfather, Abraham Musiok, was a^ 
 young soldier under Stirling at the battle of Brandywine. 
 The following is his account handed down as family tradi- 
 tion: "As the enemy advanced on us, we were told to 
 bring on the engagement and that support would soon 
 come. I loaded my musket ancl flred at the enemy, who 
 
356 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 iiesses that his lines were as well dressed as if on 
 parade and not a soldier shrunk or left his ranks 
 while they advanced a line of bristling steel on the 
 enemy. At a narrow defile about a mile from the 
 meeting-house, in the direction of Chester, flanked 
 on either side by woods, he changed his front, 
 faced the enemy, and kept them at bay while the 
 retreating party rested and formed in his rear. 
 Greene defended this pass with great skill and 
 bravery until twilight, when the pursuers encamped 
 for the night. In this defence the brigades of 
 Weedon and Muhlenberg were greatly distin- 
 guished, particularly the tenth Virginia regiment, 
 under Colonel Stevens, and a Pennsylvania regi- 
 ment, under Colonel Stewart. 
 
 The plan of the enemy was to attack the Ameri- 
 cans front and rear at the same time, by Cornwallis 
 
 continued to advance, until I discovered that my cai-tridges 
 were almost exhausted. I did not hear any order to retreat. 
 In fact, there was so much noise I could not hear anything, 
 and my whole attention was given to the enemy in front. 
 At last, glancing on my left, I discovered that every man 
 there had run, and that the enemy were about to get be- 
 hind me. Then I turned and ran as fast as I could. I had 
 not gone far before I met our regulars coming, their lines 
 in perfect order, and bayonets fixed. They parted for me 
 to pass through, closed and advanced. I ran to the top of 
 a hill and paused to look back, and oh ! such a scene as met 
 my eyes ! I can compare it to nothing save a red blaze of 
 cornstalks. Muskets and cannon were blazing and the 
 soldiers plunging their bayonets into the redcoats. " 
 
BRANDYWINE. 257 
 
 gaining the right flank of the patriots, and Knyp- 
 hausen crossing the Brandy wine at Chad's Ford. 
 The firing of heavy guns on the American right 
 was to be the signal for the German general to ford 
 the stream. When the firing commenced at the 
 Birmingham meeting-house, Knyphausen observed 
 the departure of Greene's division and the conse- 
 quent weakening of the defence of the passage of 
 the river. He immediately made a proper dispo- 
 sition of his troops for crossing. "Wayne was on 
 the alert, and the moment Knyphausen's forces 
 moved forward, he opened upon him a heavy fire 
 of artillery from his intrenchments and the battery 
 near Chad's house. Although in no condition to 
 oppose nearly half the British army, he stood firm 
 at first, and gallantly confronted the heavy and 
 steadily progressing columns; but, on receiving 
 intelligence of the defeat of Sullivan at Birming- 
 ham meeting-house, and discovering that a con- 
 siderable force of the enemy, who had penetrated 
 the woods, were coming out upon his flank, "Wayne 
 ordered a retreat. This was accomplished in great 
 disorder, leaving the artillery and munitions of 
 war in the hands of Knyphausen. They retreated 
 in broken columns and confused fragments behind 
 the division of General Greene, then gallantly de- 
 fending the pass near Dilworth, and joined the 
 other defeated troops. The approach of night 
 17 
 
258 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 ended the whole conflict. The Americans retreated 
 to Chester that night, where they rendezvoused, 
 and next day marched toward Philadelphia and 
 encamped near Germantown. General Armstrong, 
 who was stationed at Pyle's Ford, had no opportu- 
 nity to engage in the action. The British remained 
 on the field near Dil worth, Howe taking up his 
 quarters at Gilpin's a few miles from Chad's Ford. 
 Washington has been severely criticised for risk- 
 ing a battle at Brandy wine with a force so inferior 
 to the enemy. The effective force of the British 
 was not less than seventeen thousand, while the 
 Americans did not exceed eleven thousand men, 
 many of whom were raw militia, who had never 
 before been under fire. Washington was aware of 
 the expectations of congress and the whole country, 
 and wisely coiisidered that a defeat in battle would 
 be less depressing on the minds of the soldiers and 
 the people, than permitting the enemy to march 
 without opposition to the capture of Philadelphia, 
 then the political metropolis of America. Influ- 
 enced by these considerations, he resolved to fight 
 the enemy; and had not conflicting intelligence 
 perplexed and thwarted him in his plans, very 
 probably he would have won a signal victory. 
 The result was disastrous to the Americans. Their 
 loss in killed and wounded was something near 
 twelve hundred. 
 
BBANDYWINE. 259 
 
 Congress was not dispirited over the defeat. 
 Expecting to be again compelled to fly from Phila- 
 delphia, they reinvested Washington with a por- 
 tion of the power with which they had clothed him 
 nine months before. They authorized him to 
 direct General Putnam to send him fifteen hundred 
 troops from the Hudson highlands and to summon 
 continentals and militia from Pennsylvania, Mary- 
 land and Virginia. "Washington himself was not 
 dispirited. After allowing his troops one day's 
 rest, he recrossed the Schuylkill and offered Howe 
 battle. He met the enemy on the Lancaster road, 
 about twenty miles from Philadelphia, and was 
 about to engage them, when a storm of lightning, 
 wind and rain prevented anything but sharp 
 skirmishing. The rain fell in torrents all night, 
 and before dawn Howe withdrew and pushed on 
 toward Philadelphia. Perceiving this, Washing- 
 ton crossed the Schuylkill at Parker's Ford, hoping 
 to confront Howe at the crossing of the river be- 
 low ; but the British eluded the Americans by a 
 deceptive movement and, crossing the Schuylkill 
 between Morristown and Valley Forge, pushed on 
 to Philadelphia and took possession of the city. 
 Howe stationed the main division of his army at 
 Germantown, and Washington encamped near 
 Skippack Creek, about twenty miles from Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
260 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 • 
 
 During the night's retreat, General Wayne was 
 attacked at the Paoli Tavern by General Grey with 
 a strong detachment, and in the desperate fight 
 that ensued in the darkness lost nearly three hun- 
 dred men, his cannon and small arms. 
 
 As usual, the friends of Gates in congress blamed 
 Washington for these losses and for his later move- 
 ments. Again John Adams, whose fault-finding 
 pen was seldom idle, wrote concerning his crossing 
 to the eastern side of the Schuylkill : 
 
 " It is a very injudicious manoeuvre. If he had 
 sent one brigade of his regular troops to have 
 headed the militia, he might have cut to pieces 
 Howe's army in attempting to cross any of the 
 fords. Howe will not attempt it. He will wait 
 for his fleet in the Delaware Eiver. Heaven, 
 grant us one great soul ! One leading mind would 
 extricate the best cause from that ruin which seems 
 to await it. " 
 
 Heaven had granted that great soul ; but Adams, 
 like other short-sighted mortals, did not know it. 
 We seldom know a great man when we see him. 
 In fact, we seldom appreciate a great mind until it 
 has passed away from earth. It usually requires 
 a future age to discover the greatness of the present. 
 Those who saw Washington, a plain, dignified, 
 but unassuming man, did not dream that he was 
 the master mind of America. Man is but a grown- 
 
BRANDYWINE. 201 
 
 up child and prefers the bright, tin toy to the 
 golden nugget. When Howe crossed the Schuyl- 
 kill and took possession of Philadelphia, congress 
 again fled from the city. After being seated a 
 few hours at Lancaster, they crossed the Susque- 
 hanna Eiverto York, putting that stream between 
 themselves and the enemy. They remained there 
 until the British evacuated Philadelphia the fol- 
 lowing summer. 
 
 After the battle of Brandywine, Lord Howe 
 took his ships around to the mouth of the Dela- 
 ware, to co-operate with his brother in the attempt 
 to capture Philadelphia. In the river were found 
 many obstructions in the form of ch&uaux-de-frise 
 (sunken crates of stone with heavy spears of tim- 
 ber pointed with iron to pierce the vessels) . There 
 were two forts near to protect them. Fort Mercer 
 on the Jersey shore, and Fort Mifflin on Mud 
 Island, near the mouth of the Schuylkill. Al- 
 though General Howe was in possession of Phila- 
 delphia an open water communication was essential. 
 
 While General Howe of the army was attempt- 
 ing to co-operate with him, Washington determined 
 to atack the British at Germantown. 
 
 During the night of October 3, 1777, the Ameri- 
 can army made a forced march of fourteen miles to 
 Germantown. They tried to reach Chestnut Hill 
 before daylight; but the roughness of the roads 
 
263 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 prevented, and it was near sunrise when they 
 emerged from the woods on that eminence. The 
 whole country was enveloped in thick fog. They 
 were unperceived until the- British outposts were 
 surprised and fell hack before a storm of grape and 
 musket balls. The cannon startled Cornwallis at 
 Philadelphia. Howe was roused from peaceful 
 slumbers and, mounting his horse, dashed out to 
 meet his flying battalions. He hastened to his 
 camp, and formed his troops for action. Musgrave 
 sent a part of his regiment to support thei retreat- 
 ing battalions and, with six companies, took refuge 
 in Chew's strong -house, barricaded it and made 
 of it a castle. From upper windows he delivered 
 such fearful volleys of musketry upon Weedon's 
 brigade in pursuit of the fugitives as to check 
 therii. Maxwell's artillerists brought cannon to 
 bear upon the building, but its strong walls i-esisted 
 the heavy round shot. An attempt to burn it 
 proved unavailing. The Americans became con- 
 fused in the fog and frequently fired on each other. 
 For a short- time a severe battle raged in the very 
 heart of Germantown ; but the Americans retreated 
 with a loss of six hundred men killed, wounded 
 and missing, while the loss of the enemy was fully 
 eight hundrfed. 
 
 On the 22d of October an abortive attempt was 
 made to capture Fort Mercer, which was com- 
 
BRANDYWINE. 263 
 
 manded by Colonel Greene. Next day an attack 
 was made by the war-ships Augusta and Merlin on 
 Fort Mifflin ; but both vessels were destroyed in 
 the attack. 
 
 It now being known that Burgoyne had sur- 
 rendered, the public thought it the duty of Gates 
 to send a part of his army to assist Washington in 
 reducing Howe to Burgoyne 's condition; but this 
 patriotic course might thwart the ambitious schemes 
 of the commander in the north and his friends, 
 who seemed willing to have the sun of Washing- 
 ton's renown eclipsed by disaster, that Gates' more 
 feeble orb might appear to be the brighter luminary. 
 Washington directed Gates to forward heavy rein- 
 forcements immediately ; but the latter, under false 
 pretences, held them back. Amazed at this posi- 
 tive disobedience, so nearly resembling the treason 
 of Lee, the commander-in-chief sent his ever trusty 
 aid. Colonel Alexander Hamilton, to acquaint 
 Gates in person with the urgent necessity of im- 
 mediately forwarding troops. 
 
 Still Gates hesitated. Hamilton discovered the 
 reason, and he used such plain language toward 
 the conspirator that Gates, startled, sent large rein- 
 forcements down the Hudson immediately. Ham- 
 ilton followed soon afterward, and was amazed to 
 find these troops detained by General Putnam be- 
 low the Highlands. At the instigation of Gates, 
 
264 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 the veteran, believing lie miglit win personal glory- 
 by the expulsion of the British from New York 
 City, had actually advanced with his army as far 
 down as White Plains, on the foolish errand. 
 The average .American, who is inclined to respect 
 and honor the name of " Old Put, " pauses at this 
 part of our country's history and shakes his head 
 in doubt. Acting on the advice of Governor Clin- 
 ton, Hamilton spoke authoritively in the name of 
 Washington and arrested the wild expedition. 
 
 These delays, however, were fatal to the well- 
 laid plans of Washington for capturing or expel- 
 ling the British army. At the same time the Gates 
 faction in congress had caused legislation in that 
 body which was calculated to dishonor the com- 
 mander-in.-chief and restrain his military operations. 
 They forbade him to detach more than twenty -five 
 hundred men from the northern army without first 
 consulting General Gates and Governor Clinton, 
 thus making him subservient to his inferiors in 
 rank. The Adamses, Gerry of Massachusetts and 
 Marchant of Ehode Island actually voted for a 
 resolution forbidding Washington to detach any 
 troops from that department excepting by consent 
 of Gates and Clinton. • Congress also ordered Gates 
 to " regain the forts and passes on the Hudson, " 
 which Washington had already deprived the British 
 of by pressing Howe so closely that he ordered Sir 
 
BRANDYWINE. 365 
 
 Clinton to abandon them and send reinforcements 
 to the Delaware. This afforded Gates an excuse 
 for keeping back the troops which had been sent 
 down the Hudson. 
 
 Fort Mercer and Fort Mifflin were both captured 
 after long sieges and the loss of many lives. The 
 American troops in New Jersey crossed over and 
 joined Washington at Whitemarsh. 
 
 Winter was on, and the American army was ill 
 prepared for cold weather. Many of the soldiers 
 had nothing but summer clothing, and many were 
 actually barefooted. 
 
 Albert Stevens and his friends Simon, August, 
 Jacob and Joe Jager were better provided with 
 clothing. Albert's mother had sent him shoes, 
 stockings and clothes, and Simon and the Germans 
 were not scrupulous about taking the clothes from 
 the Britons who fell under their rifles in the many 
 skirmishes. Simon wore a British colonel's trou- 
 sers and the coat and boots of a Hessian major. 
 
 "Zounds! d' yew think I'd freeze when there 
 is such pickin' in the neighborhood?" he said to 
 Albert, who offered him some rebuke about rob- 
 bing the slain. 
 
 The winter of 1777 came early and tarried long. 
 December was ushered in by violent snow-storms. 
 On the 4th of December, Albert and Simon were 
 sitting under three boards, which they had placed 
 
266 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 slanting on a pole between two forks. A small 
 fire burned under this mean shelter. The snow 
 was falling, and the night was intensely cold. A 
 bleak north wind whistled among the trees. The 
 American army under the commander-in-chief did 
 not exceed seven thousand men. 
 
 Suddenly, above the roaring storm, the shiver- 
 ing soldiers heard the sharp rattle of musketry. 
 A man came galloping down the camp crying: 
 
 "Fall in line!" 
 
 " By gosh, here's a fight!" Simon cried, and he 
 snatched his gun with his benumbed hands and 
 began to load. 
 
 Albert, though almost frozen, followed his ex- 
 ample. It was not long before great columns of 
 red -coats were advancing. 
 
 Washington, mounted on his great white horse, 
 galloped down the line uttering cheering words to 
 his half -frozen soldiers. 
 
 A volley of musket-balls, the roar of cannon 
 and hiss of grape-shot. 
 
 " Forward ! " cried an officer. 
 
 Albert's line advanced, and they were into it. 
 Darkness — tempest — the wild battle, — certainly 
 nothing could be more terrible. In places they 
 came to hand-to-hand struggles almost without 
 realizing it. .One of their earthworks was taken, 
 the cannon seized, but only for an instant, and then 
 
BBANDYWINE. 367 
 
 with wild shouts the Americans charged the enemy 
 and drove them back. 
 
 It was in this terrible charge that Simon sud- 
 denly uttered a sharp cry and began to sink. 
 "Gawl darn 'em, comrade, I am gone!" he cried. 
 
 Albert paused and half stooped to raise the 
 bleeding soldier from the ground, when he felt a 
 sharp pain in his side. He grew faint and sick — 
 the world seemed swimming about him, and he 
 sank bleeding and senseless in the snow 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE HOBROES OF VALLEY FORGE. 
 
 Valley Forge ! What patriot lias not heard 
 of that fated spot? On that terrible altar, how 
 many brave patriots were sacrificed to the cause of 
 liberty the world will never know. The march, 
 the battle, the charge and death were nothing com- 
 pared to the freezing and starving at Valley Forge. 
 
 It was December 11th, 1777, seven days after the 
 fight at Edge Hill, in which the British were re- 
 pulsed, that the march began. Albert Stevens re- 
 covered consciousness soon after the fight and 
 found himself in a wagon which formed a sort of 
 temporary hospital. He was very weak from loss 
 of blood, and his garments were frozen before his 
 wounds could be dressed. On the day they broke 
 camp his fainting soul was revived by having Si- 
 mon placed at his side. Simon's wound was less 
 severe than Albert's, and the surgeon who exam- 
 ined them said both might recover. 
 
 Albert was weak, feverish and fretful. When 
 he slept his dreams were terrible. Plenty of straw 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FORGE. 369 
 
 had been placed in the covered wagon and four 
 more wounded men were placed in the wagon with 
 them. 
 
 "Where are wegoin'?" Simon asked, raising 
 himself on his elbow so as to look out from under 
 the wagon sheet. 
 
 " To Valley Forge ! " was the answer. 
 
 Never, perhaps, did human eyes gaze on such a 
 scene of misery. There was a regiment of old 
 continentals, their thin rags flapping about in the 
 breeze. Simon saw two men marching barefooted 
 in the snow and actually leaving crimson footprints 
 behind. He saw a man without a coat, wearing a 
 horse-blanket wrapped about him. 
 
 One poor fellow hobbled along with a crutch. 
 A miserable half-starved dog was following the 
 army. All were cold, shivering and freezing. 
 
 It was bitter cold. The sky had become ob- 
 scured, and a thick, frozen mist filled the air, 
 penetrating the light garments of the Americans, 
 which stiffened and froze upon their benumbed 
 limbs. Soon after they started, a sharp north 
 wind began to blow, and it grew colder and colder. 
 The air felt spare • and hard to breathe, and the 
 very vapor the soldiers exhaled froze on their lips 
 and hung in ever-increasing icicles from their 
 beards. 
 
 At noon, as by a last effort, the sun struggled 
 
270 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 through the mist a moment, cast its pale rays upon 
 the long columns of -wretched, shivering men, and 
 then disappeared as if never to shine again upon 
 those assembled thousands. Darker and darker 
 grew the clouds, spreading in one even and solid 
 mass from horizon to horizon, like a leaden vault 
 under which swept the wind in frozen blasts, 
 moaning through the dismal forests and rattling 
 the dead leaves on the sleety ground. The snow 
 began to fall. Faster and faster it fell, driven into 
 the faces of. the shivering Americans by the storm, 
 blinding their sight and making the gloomy dark- 
 ness still darker. Thicker, thicker it fell, effacing 
 every sign of the faintly traced roads which crossed 
 the country, confusing and hiding all objects, and 
 spreading as an immense winding-sheet over the 
 face of the earth, while the dark sky hung as a 
 pall above. On the right, on the left, on every 
 side were the even, snowy ground and the narrow 
 horizon of ever-falling snow. All sound was 
 hushed. Even the heavy tread of advancing 
 thousands fell noiselessly in the soft yielding mass, 
 and the immense columns, half hidden under the 
 thick shroud which settled upon them, seemed as 
 an atom lost in immensity. 
 
 Still they marched on, and on, pressing close 
 together for support and shelter from the blasting 
 wind, and following the heads of their columns, 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FORGE. 271 
 
 going they knew not wliither. On, on, sometimes 
 wading through the deep drift, sometimes stum- 
 bling in some hidden ditch or ravine, or slipping 
 on the snow-covered ice — on, on, ever on. 
 
 One poor fellow, whose stiffened limbs and tot- 
 tering form had given warning of exhaustion, 
 slipped and fell and was unable to rise. A com- 
 rade but little better than himself ran to his aid, 
 and tried to lift him, when both stumbled and fell 
 together. There they struggled in the snow until 
 both perished. These martyrs and this suffering 
 were for the liberties we now enjoy. 
 
 Night came — a dark and blustery night — with 
 ever-thickening snow. No word was given to 
 halt, and each column "staggered on at random 
 heading toward Valley Forge. 
 
 Albert Stevens lay in the wagon too faint and 
 weak even to gaze out on the terrible scene. Si- 
 mon was at his side. Another man, who had been 
 groaning on the opposite side of Albert, suddenly 
 became silent. 
 
 " Simon, he is very still, " the young soldier 
 said. 
 
 Simon, who was the least wounded of any, 
 raised on his elbow and, bending over Albert, felt 
 of the stranger's face and cried : 
 
 "Egad, he's dead!" 
 
 " Dead ! " gasped Albert, and he felt a terrible 
 
272 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 chill at his heart. He tried to speak ; but weak- 
 ness and horror overcame him and he fainted. 
 
 " By zounds, I thought yew had passed away!" 
 These were the first words Albert heard. He felt 
 too weak to move or speak, but half opening his 
 heavy eyes, he saw bending over him the honest 
 face of his friend Simon, all abeam with joy. 
 
 "Here, take a suck," he added, applying the 
 neck of a bottle to his lips. " Drink away, there 
 is plenty of it, they say. " It was rich old peach 
 and ran as life through his almost empty veins. 
 
 " "Where are we?" murmured Albert faintly. 
 
 " Why, on mother earth, egad ! " answered Si- 
 mon, striking the ground with his foot. " With 
 a bed o' straw, like a hoss, and roof made of a 
 broken wagon cover. There, take another drink 
 and wake up. " 
 
 " And the storm — and Valley Forge?" 
 
 "We've got both," and Simon pointed from 
 under the low roof on which the snow was falling. 
 Beyond was a horrible darkness, broken occasion- 
 ally by a faint glow of light here and there, where 
 a party of soldiers were attempting to build a 
 bivouac fire in the raging storm. Several of these 
 desperate half-frozen men had built prodigious 
 bonfires, which lighted up the multitudes in the 
 valley, here rushing forward in regular column, 
 there pitching tents and kindling bivouac fires; 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FORGE. 275 
 
 then, again, in disordered gangs, lying, sitting, 
 standing, in all tlie imaginable postures ; some dead, 
 some wounded, some in search of their friends or 
 separated from their regiments in the darkness and 
 storm ; and here and there, long trains of artillery 
 and baggage wagons pouring into the valley, and 
 ambulance wagons hurrying here and there loaded 
 with the wounded. 
 
 " How did we get here, Simon?" Albert asked. 
 " Where is our wagon?" 
 
 " They pitched you out for dead to make room 
 for the rest, and as I still felt a flutter at your 
 heart, I stayed with you. Come, shall we play the 
 dead, or try to get in that wagon, and be hauled 
 fo some house?" he added pointing to an approach- 
 ing wagon. 
 
 " Get in, " Albert faintly answered, trying to sit 
 up. Simon hailed the wagon, and in a few mo- 
 ments they were seated on the straw, and hurried off 
 with the remainder of the wounded. 
 
 They were taken to an old church standing on 
 a bleak hill, which was to serve as a temporary 
 hospital. It was a large, square, prison-like build- 
 ing, half fortified, and partly in ruins. The wagon 
 in which Albert and his companion lay forced its 
 way into the large churchyard, already encumbered 
 with all kinds of vehicles, and stopped before the 
 great front door. Here a warm altercation took 
 13 
 
274 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 place between the officer who had the wounded in 
 charge, and some one at the door, whom they 
 heard exclaim : 
 
 "It's impossible! I tell you, impossible; we 
 already have two hundred wounded in the house ; 
 we have no beds ; no surgeons; go further!" 
 
 Still their conductor insisted, and the wagon 
 remained obstructing the way. The dissension 
 suddenly ceased. A new voice was heard utter- 
 ing a few orders; a head peeped in upon the 
 wounded, and the new-comer, who was Dr. James 
 Thacher, as kind a man as ever lived, said: 
 
 " Take these poor fellows out to the chapel. " 
 
 " Hold tight to me and don't let them separate 
 us, " Albert whispered to Simon. At that moment 
 he was seized by the feet and shoulders and an 
 effort made to lift him out. 
 
 " "What the d — 1 is he clinging to?" growled a 
 voice. 
 
 "We are comrades; don't separate us!" en- 
 treated Albert, still clinging to his friend. 
 
 "Well, well, we'll try; only let go," said a 
 gruff but kind voice; then added, "There, some of 
 you catch hold of the other, and keep close be- 
 hind us." They hurried them through a square 
 vestibule, then suddenly turned into a room. For 
 a moment the glare of light dazzled them. The 
 9,ir was oppressively warm, and was filled with the 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FORQE. 275 
 
 sickening smell of curdling and putrefying blood 
 and matter. The powerful disinfectants which 
 now render a crowded hospital pure and healthful 
 were, a hundred years ago, unknown. It was a 
 long, narrow room, with high vaulted ceiling and 
 an altar, or pulpit, at the further end. The floor 
 was thickly strewn with straw, and on the straw, 
 lying side by side in compact rows, with just space 
 enough at the head and foot for the surgeons to 
 circulate, were the wounded. Their bearers paused 
 looking round for some vacant space to set them 
 down. 
 
 " I fear that we can't put you side by side, 
 comrades," said the same man who had already 
 addressed Albert, and whom, by his uniform, he 
 knew to be a corporal of a Virginia regiment. 
 " Set this one down here, " added he, speaking to 
 his men, " and the other forward. " 
 
 They laid Albert down, and he caught a last 
 glimpse of poor Simon's sad face as they bore 
 them away. " Good-by !" said he in a tone which 
 went to Albert's heart. The poor boy had borne 
 up bravely through all his trials, but at this he 
 broke down and wept. Then, his head began to 
 turn; there was a hum in his ears, and he felt 
 very faint. He must have lost consciousness for 
 a moment, for the next he knew, the kind, round 
 face of the corporal was looking down upon him, 
 and he heai'd a voice Say : 
 
376 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " It seems to be on his mind, and I don't like 
 to deny the poor boy's last whim; come, lift him." 
 The motion aroused Albert. 
 
 "What is it?" he asked. 
 
 " Nothing, nothing ; we have found room for 
 you near your friend, be quiet." 
 
 " Is he much worse?" murmured Albert, with 
 a painful, indistinct sense of the words he had just 
 heard. The corporal made no answer, but gave a 
 sad, significant look to one of his men, and in a 
 moment Albert was by the side of Simon. 
 
 " How dew you feel?" asked Simon, raising 
 himself and looking anxiously into Albert's pale 
 face. 
 
 " Sleepy, " answered Albert, reassured by his 
 friend's looks and voice. " What's the matter?" 
 and his eyes half closed. 
 
 " Come, keep up ; open your eyes, " said Simon. 
 " There's the surgeon. " 
 
 Albert looked up and saw, as through a haze, 
 the tall, slight figure of the surgeon-major, sur- 
 rounded by his staff, approaching where they lay. 
 He moved slowly, sometimes stopping and bend- 
 ing to the right or left to take a closer look at 
 some wound and give some instructions to his 
 assistants. The very sight made Albert shudder. 
 This was the fourth time since he was wounded 
 that he had fallen into new hands, and had to go 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FOROE. 377 
 
 through the cruel operation of having his wound 
 probed. 
 
 " For heaven's sake," murmured Albert, " don't 
 let them torment me!" but much the assistant 
 minded him. 
 
 "Here, Major," he called, pointing toward 
 Albert. 
 
 Albert evidently looked pretty low, for no sooner 
 did the major see him, than he left his neighbors 
 to the care of his assistants and stepped forward 
 and bent over the youth. 
 
 " What's the matter with this man?" he asked. 
 
 " Nothing, Major, " he stammered, " a scratch 
 here." 
 
 But it was all to no purpose. In a moment he 
 had his side exposed, and in went his cruel probe 
 to the very bottom of the raw, quivering wound. 
 " Weakness from loss of blood, " said he rising. 
 " You'll be up in a week. " Then, turning to one 
 of his aids, he added : 
 
 " Bind up that wound and a dose of No. 4, " 
 and passed on to the next. 
 
 "It's nothing, Doctor," said Albert's neighbor, 
 rising half up, and speaking in a rather weak but 
 clear voice. " I feel almost well ; see to those that 
 need you. " 
 
 He was a tall, handsome young fellow, almost 
 a boy, with the epaulets of a lieutenant, and two 
 
278 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 medals on his breast. From his uniform, it was 
 evident that he was a member of a Virginia regi- 
 ment. 
 
 "Where is it, lieutenant?" asked the inexor- 
 able surgeon, with a quick look into the handsome 
 young face. 
 
 " Here, " answered the young man, baring his 
 arm. The major gave one look at the trifling 
 wound ; then, sliding his hand down to the wrist, 
 he said : " You must keep quiet, young man, and 
 try to be calm. " He gave some orders to one of 
 his assistants and passed on. 
 
 Just then Albert's eyes chanced to meet the 
 young lieutenant's, and the latter smilingly re- 
 marked, " I would not have got off quite so well, if 
 he had known of the little leaden bullet I have 
 here," and he pressed his hand to his side. 
 '' Zounds ! the brigands, they almost tore the life 
 out of me, trying to cut it out. " 
 
 Soon the dose of No. 4 produced the due effect, 
 and Albert slept long and soundly. 
 
 When he awoke the sun was shining brightly in 
 through the tall, narrow windows. Simon still 
 lay dozing on his left, and on his right sat the 
 young cavalry officer, supported in the arms of a 
 friend who had just entered. It was the'r voices 
 that awoke Albert. 
 
 " I heard that you had been brought here, and 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FORGE. 279 
 
 rode right up, " said the new-comer, looking ear- 
 nestly at his friend. "I scarcely hoped to find 
 you so strong. "When was the shot taken out?" 
 
 " Hang the shot ! " exclaimed the young man, in 
 a weak, excited voice. " When did you leave our 
 regiment?" 
 
 " On the march to Valley Forge, " answered the 
 visitor, looking with some anxiety into the flushed 
 and excited face. " But you suffer?" 
 
 " N"ot in the least ; I almost feel as if I could 
 walk ; shall I try ? " and he made an effort as if Jo rise. 
 
 "No, Ernest, no! for heaven's sake, be quiet!" 
 cried the other, " or I'll leave you at once, without 
 letting you have the news I bring — upon my word 
 I will." 
 
 " News ! come, out with it. " 
 
 " Yes, good news ; I dashed off in front to meet 
 you first. " 
 
 " I am promoted?" and his eye kindled. 
 
 " Of course you are, Captain Drummond. " 
 
 " Captain ! I captain before you ! " exclaimed the 
 young man, seizing his friend's hand; " I am too 
 young, Eobert, I am too yoUng. " 
 
 " Bah ! the Hessians and British didn't think so 
 the other day ; but I bring you something more, " 
 added he, drawing a letter from his breast. " There 
 has been a courier from Virginia, and you are one 
 of the happy few. " 
 
280 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Oh, Eobert, give it to me !" He made a grasp 
 at the letter and, holding it up to the light in his 
 trembling hand, gazed at the superscription, writ- 
 ten in a slight, rather unsteady feminine hand, 
 and murmured : 
 
 " Mother! oh, it is from mother!" 
 
 The seal was broken eagerly, and yet with rev- 
 erence, the letter opened, and from its folds there 
 fell two small locks of women's hair, one light 
 brown, the other much darker and streaked with 
 silver-gray. The blood rose burning to Ernest's 
 pale cheek, as he clasped the cherished treasures 
 in his poor, fevered hand, and he murmured: 
 "Emily! Mother!" 
 
 Again and again, the eager eye ran over the 
 closely written pages which came from home. At 
 last he stopped, folded the letter up slowly, replac- 
 ing the two locks of hair in it, with a tender, 
 almost religious care, and then lay back exhausted 
 in his friend's arms. 
 
 " They are all well, Eobert, all well, thank God, 
 and I feel so happy. " He paused for some mo- 
 ments and then resumed, " They received my last 
 letter and write in good spirits, but " — and his voice 
 faltered — " dear mother's hair was black when I 
 
 left, and now " his voice broke, and he covered 
 
 his face with his hands, then exclaimed, " Oh, 
 Eobert, if mother knew I was here — poor mother!" 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FORGE. 281 
 
 Eobert spoke encouragingly of their return to 
 Virginia, of his mother's joy and of the glory he 
 had won. 
 
 " They say that, now that Philadelphia has been 
 captured by the British we shall soon march back 
 to Virginia. . This is my first campaign, Eobert, 
 and it will be my last. I never was made for a 
 soldier. I shall go home ; yes, thank God, I shall 
 go home. " 
 
 Oh, the joy, the light in that young face, as he 
 dwelt on the word home, home I 
 
 " You go home! you not made for a soldier! 
 Come, come, Ernest." 
 
 " Ko, Eobert, no ; of myself I never would have 
 left home, never would have caused my poor 
 mother tears in her old age. She had striven long 
 and hard, Eobert, to keep me at home, but Emily 
 is a soldier's child, and one day, as the volunteers 
 were pairading in our town, I saw a look in her 
 eye which set my soul on fire ; I felt that I must 
 go ; nothing could hold me then, and I did go. " 
 
 " And well it was for you. Captain Ernest 
 Drummond. A Captain at twenty; who knows 
 but at twenty -five " 
 
 " I have been fortunate, Eobert, more so than 
 many a better man ; and success is a great joy at 
 the time — but all that blood - " and he seemed to 
 shudder. " In action one has no time for thought, 
 
282 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 the shouts, the roar, the smoke and smell of powder 
 confuse and madden you; but after, when it's all 
 over — you smile, Eobert — well, it's as I tell you; 
 I was never bom for a soldier," and there was an 
 expression of horror, almost of dread, in his face. 
 
 Just then the surgeon approached. He took 
 Ernest's hand, and gazed long and earnestly into 
 his eyes: 
 
 " You have been talking too much and getting 
 excited," he said. "How long has this gentle- 
 man been here ? " Then turning sharply on Robert, 
 he said, almost angrily : 
 
 " You might have known better, sir. Look at 
 that young man's eyes. Your staying here was 
 against the rules and against common sense!" and 
 without even noticing the other's angry look, he 
 turned his back upon him. 
 
 " Major, " said Ernest Drummond, slowly, " I 
 deceived you last night; this scratch is not my 
 only wound. " 
 
 The surgeon almost stamped his foot. " If you 
 were well, sir, I would tell you what I think of 
 your conduct. What is it — a shot?" 
 
 " I was wrong, " said the young man, laying his 
 hand on his side; " yes, it is a shot, here." 
 
 " You trifled with what was not yours to trifle 
 with — your life. " 
 
 Nothing more was spoken. Albert watched the 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FORGE. 283 
 
 surgeon's face as he probed and examined the 
 wound — the anxious searching look, first as if in 
 dreadful doubt, and then the dark cloud settling 
 on his brow. 
 
 Ernest bore the operation of probing without a 
 groan, without a quiver, then asked : 
 
 " Doctor, do you feel it?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Are you going to cut it out?" 
 
 The surgeon looked anxiously in his face, and 
 plunging his probe to the very depth of the wound, 
 asked : 
 
 "Do I hurt you?" 
 
 Not a nerve moved as he answered : 
 
 "No." 
 
 Slowly the surgeon withdrew his instrument 
 from the wound. Albert saw his features contract 
 and his mouth close as if to repress the emotions 
 which struggled within. He looked down, but 
 did not speak. Again the question was asked : 
 
 " Are you going to cut it out, major?" 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " Not now — when?" 
 
 There was no answer. 
 
 " Can it remain?" There was a quiver of awak- 
 ening doubt in the voice, and he added, " It does 
 not pain me, not in the least. I have scarcely felt 
 it since yesterday morning. " Just then there was 
 
284 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 a broken, stifled sob behind him. He turned. 
 Robert's face was buried in his hands, and his 
 frame was trembling with emotion. 
 
 Ernest turned to the surgeon. His face was 
 very pale now ; but there was scarcely a quiver in 
 his voice as he said, "Doctor, tell me the truth, 
 the whole truth — must I die?" 
 
 The surgeon was silent. 
 
 " But I feel no pain — I have felt better ever 
 since yesterday. " 
 
 " It is always so, when " 
 
 " When what? I have a right to know. " 
 
 " When mortification sets in. " 
 
 Ernest's eyes fell. For some moments he was 
 silent, and then he asked, " When will it be?" 
 
 " To-night — before morning. " 
 
 " Thank you, " and he buried his face in his 
 hands, then again raised his head and asked : " If 
 you had known last night, could I have lived?" 
 
 " No ; it was too late. " 
 
 There was an expression of relief in his face. 
 Again he said, " Thank you, " and shook hands 
 with the surgeon, who left him with his friend. 
 
 Albert's wound was then being dressed, and he 
 could not follow their conversation. He heard the 
 words "paper — letter — five o'clock," and then 
 Eobert rose, vainly struggling to repress the torrent 
 of his grief, and walked slowly away. 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FORGE. 285 
 
 Soon writing materials were brought, and Ernest 
 Drummond began to write. Again and again he 
 commenced and traced a few trembling lines, then 
 paused, tore up the sheet and began anew. So, 
 with many a long interval, he strove, sometimes 
 apparently bowed down with emotion, sometimes 
 throwing himself back exhausted and lying quite 
 still, with his eyes closed and his face buried 
 in his hands, perhaps unconscious, perhaps in 
 thought. Then again he would rouse up said, 
 with a nervous, fevered hand, resume his task. 
 
 At last two letters were written. He folded, 
 but did not seal them ; then, as if relieved of an 
 immense weight, he threw himself down, and 
 seemed to sleep. 
 
 For nearly two hours Albert lay there, close by 
 his side, and listened to that slow, oppressed 
 breathing, and thought of the sleeper, and of the 
 two letters, and of those who were to read them 
 far, far away. Then he, too, fell into a half doze 
 and knew no more, until suddenly young Drum- 
 mond sprang up, almost to his feet. His limbs 
 trembled, his features were convulsed, and inco- 
 herent words broke from his lips : 
 
 " No ! no ! — that old man ! — no ! — that blood 
 on his brain ! — no, never ! " He checked himself, 
 looked round in a bewildered way, then sank back 
 on his couch of straw. His eyes met Albert's. 
 
286 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 "I Startled you," lie said, with a ghastly smile, 
 while his face was still convulsed with horror. 
 
 " Only for a moment, " Albert answered. 
 
 " I had a dreadful dream. Thank God, perhaps 
 it will be the last!" He looked at his watch and 
 then murmured, " Nearly five, Eobert will soon 
 come. " 
 
 Ten minutes more, and his friend was by his 
 side. Ernest was quite calm now, and there was 
 a smile on his face as he welcomed his friend. 
 " Come, Eobert, be firm for my sake. I am quite 
 resigned now, and, I trust, quite ready." His 
 friend took his hand, but did not speak. " Have 
 you my commission?" 
 
 " Yes, here it is," said Eobert, the words chok- 
 ing in his throat. 
 
 Ernest took it and glanced it over with a smile. 
 "In the old ninth — well, it matters little now." 
 He folded the paper slowly and laid it on his knee. 
 Then he took his two letters. 
 
 " Get me scissors. " 
 
 Eobert brought them to him. He cut a lock of 
 his hair, put half in each letter and, handing one 
 to his friend, said: 
 
 " This is for my mother, Eobert. See her and 
 tell her that I died as a man, that I died happy, 
 trusting in God and thinking of her. " Then he 
 slowly detached two medals from his breast, gave 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FORGE. 287 
 
 them a last look, wrapped them in the captain's 
 brevet and added : 
 
 " Hand these to Emily. " His voice faltered, 
 but he went on, " It was for her sake I prized 
 them so much — ^give them to her with this letter, 
 and tell her I loved her and was true to the last. " 
 He paused, seeming to collect his thoughts. 
 
 " These papers you will burn, " pointing to the 
 crumpled and half -written letters. " This watch 
 you will keep for my sake ; and this, " laying his 
 thin, wasted hand on the letter from his mother, 
 " you will leave on my heart. " Again he paused, 
 gasping for breath, for he was rapidly growing 
 weaker, then added, " That's all-^yes, I think 
 that's all. Oh, how I long for rest!" He fell 
 back on his pallet and lay for nearly an hour, 
 seeming to sleep; then again he started up in a 
 paroxysm similar to the first, only not quite so 
 violent, crying out in terror: 
 
 " That blood ! — that blood on his hair ! — no ! 
 no!" Then he turned to his friend and said im- 
 ploringly: "Don't let me sleep! Oh! how hard, 
 how terrible it is to die!" and for several minutes 
 he tossed and raved, uttering incoherent words, 
 among which always recurred, " That old man ! — 
 that blood upon my hands! no! no!" Then 
 suddenly he cried, in a wild, hysterical manner: 
 
 " It was when I was shot — I sprang over the 
 
288 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 wall, and tLere, alone, leaning upon a gun, witli 
 his men lying in heaps at his feet I found him — 
 he was unarmed — his head was bare, and his long 
 white locks flying in the breeze — he asked no 
 quarter — death was in my side and rage in my 
 heart — I saw but blood — I cut him down, and we 
 fell side by side. There he lay, gazing full in my 
 face — the old man — the blood flowed from his 
 frightful wound, and down his face, and through 
 his long, white hair. Oh, murderer! — murderer! 
 — I am a murderer!" and the unfortunate young 
 man fell back in a swoon. 
 
 Albert, horrified, lost consciousness, and next 
 morning when he awoke, the place was occupied 
 by a stranger. Poor Ernest Drummond had passed 
 away. 
 
 The horrors of Valley Forge have never been 
 told and never can be. The miserable death of 
 Ernest Drummond is but one out of hundreds 
 which Valley Forge furnished. The cold, the 
 hunger, the wounds, the freezing, sickness and 
 misery endured by those who were fighting for 
 liberties and rights, in these days of ease and peace 
 seem fabulous. Valley Forge was really the turn- 
 ing point in the Eevolution. Out of great tribula- 
 tion there issued ' forth an army of veterans more 
 firm in their resolution, and invincible. From 
 Valley Forge canie an army that always conquered 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FORGE. 289 
 
 wlien there was anything like equality in num- 
 bers. 
 
 Washington set the men to work, as soon as the 
 storm was over, at cutting trees and building huts 
 and barracks. At last, quarters better than earth, 
 and sky were prepared, and, as the winter ad- 
 vanced, they were more comfortable. The forests 
 furnished abundant fuel, and, when rations were 
 low, foraging parties were sent for provisions. 
 These often met with parties of the enemy, and 
 severe battles were fought. 
 
 Never did the glorious character of the immortal 
 Washington shine forth in greater splendor than in 
 the midst of the horrors of 1777 and 1778. He 
 visited the miserable hospitals, where the dead and 
 dying lay. He cheered the poor, sick soldiers, 
 and often his eyes were dimmed with tears at the 
 sufferings of others. 
 
 Albert Stevens and Simon never forgot his visit 
 
 to them, while they lay wounded in the old church. 
 
 His kind, fatherly face seemed to cheer them and 
 
 do them more good than all the nostrums which 
 
 the doctors gave them. He sat a long while at 
 
 Albert's side and held his thin, pale hand in his 
 
 own and talked of that father enduring the horrors 
 
 of old Jersey prison ship. He had so much to 
 
 say of the gallant and noble colonel. 
 
 " You will soon be well, Albert, " the commander 
 19 
 
390 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 whispered, " and I will see that the son of my old 
 friend is not forgotten. " 
 
 A few days later Albert received a lieutenant's 
 commission. 
 
 While at Valley Forge, there occurred that 
 episode in American history known as " Conway's 
 Cabal," a conspiracy to ruin the reputation of 
 Washington and to make Gates the commander-in- 
 chief of the armies. The conspirators labored in 
 secret, by means of forged and anonymous letters 
 and slanderous reports, to weaken the public con- 
 fidence in Washington as a leader. Failing to 
 effect their object by these means (for he was every 
 day rising higher in public esteem), it was deter- 
 mined to abridge his influence and extend that of 
 Gates, by creating a new board of war, with the 
 latter as president. This was effected late in No- 
 vember, 1777. The board was invested with large 
 powers and, by delegated authority, assumed the 
 control of military affairs, which properly belonged 
 to the province of the commander-in-chief. Con- 
 gress intended to make Gates the master-spirit of 
 the war, for, by a resolution, that body instructed 
 their president to inform the general of his appoint- 
 ment to an office, " upon the right execution of 
 which, the success of the American cause does 
 eminently depend, " and that it was the " intention 
 of congress to continue his rank as major-general 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FORGE. 391 
 
 in the army, and that he officiate at the board, or 
 in the field, as occasion may require. " His parti- 
 sans in congress hastened to assure him that he 
 would soon be virtually commander-in-chief. 
 
 About the middle of October, Washington wrote 
 a letter to Eichard Henry Lee, in which he spoke 
 plainly concerning Brigadier-General Conway, a 
 French officer of Irish lineage, who, it was rumored, 
 was about to be appointed by the congress a major- 
 general in the continental army. In his letter, the 
 general stated : 
 
 " It will be as unfortunate a measure as ever 
 was adopted. I may add, and I think with truth, 
 that it will give a fatal blow to the existence of the 
 army. Upon so interesting a subject I must speak 
 plainly. The duty I owe my country, the ardent 
 desire I have to promote its true interests, and 
 justice to individuals require this of me. General 
 Conway's merit, then, as an officer and his impor- 
 tance in the army, exist more in his own imagina- 
 tion than in reality ; for it is a maxim with him to 
 leave no service untold, nor to want anything 
 which is to be obtained by importunity. His 
 promotion to major-general could not but prove 
 disastrous, from the fact that he is the youngest 
 brigadier in the army, and his exaltation over all 
 the eldest would create dangerous dissatisfaction. 
 In a word the. service is so difficult, and every 
 
292 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 necessary so expensive, that almost all of our offi- 
 cers are tired out. Do not, therefore, aSord them 
 good pretexts for retiring. No day passes over 
 my head without applications for leave to resign. 
 "Within the last six days, I am certain twenty com- 
 missions at least have been tendered to. me. I 
 have undergone more than most men are aware of, 
 to harmonize so many discordant parts ; but it will 
 be impossible for me to be of any further service, 
 if such insuperable difficulties are thrown in my 
 way." 
 
 When Conway learned of Washington's opposi- 
 tion to his promotion, his malice knew no bounds. 
 His tongue and pen were given up to the slander 
 of his chief and for the promotion of Gates. 
 Strange as it may seem, Conway induced quite a 
 following to his belief. The opposition to Wash- 
 ington was strong, and the malice and hatred of 
 some followed him to his grave. Conway wrote 
 to Gates : 
 
 " Heaven has been determined to save your 
 country, or a weak general and bad counsellors 
 would have ruined it. " 
 
 Colonel Joseph Eeed wrote to Gates : 
 
 " This army, notwithstanding the efforts of our 
 amiable chief, has, as yet, gathered no laurels. " 
 
 Mr. Lovel of Massachusetts, among other things, 
 wrote to Gates : 
 
THE HORRORS OF VALLEY FORGE. 293 
 
 "... How different your conduct and your 
 fortune ! This army will be totally lost, unless you 
 come down and collect the virtuous band who wish 
 to fight under your banner. We want you in differ- 
 ent places. We want you most near Germantown 
 (in Washington's place) . Good God, what a situ- 
 ation we are in ! How different from what might 
 have been justly expected!" 
 
 Dr. Benjamin Eush, in an anonymous letter to 
 Patrick Henry, after declaring that the army at 
 Valley Forge had no general at its head, said : 
 
 " A Gates, a Lee, or a Conway would in a few 
 weeks render them an irresistible body of men. 
 Some of the contents of this letter ought to be 
 made public, in order to awaken, enlighten and 
 alarm our country. " 
 
 Henry sent the letter to Washington. Conway 
 refused to apologize to Washington. The incensed 
 brigadier offered his resignation. The Gates fac- 
 tion in congress soon procured his appointment to 
 the office of inspector-general, with the rank of 
 major-general, and made him independent of the 
 commander-in-chief. Though it was the intention 
 to spur Washington to a resignation, yet the be- 
 loved patriot bore all with patience. From the 
 snows and horrors of Valley Forge, he wrote : 
 
 " My enemies take an ungenerous advantage of 
 me. They know the delicacy of my situation, 
 
294 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 and that motives of policy deprive me of tlie de- 
 fence I might otherwise make against these insidi- 
 ous attacks. They know I cannot combat their 
 insinuations, however injurious, without disclos- 
 ing secrets which it is of the utmost moment to 
 conceal. " 
 
 As yet, though the Declaration of Independence 
 had been made, the colonies were not a firm, stable 
 government, and lacked the proper heads, which 
 caused much of the trouble with the officers of the 
 army. Congress did everything, and congress was 
 divided. The Articles of Confederation and Per- 
 petual Union adopted November 15th, 1777, giving 
 to the confederacy the title of the United States of 
 America, gave but a weak government at best. 
 The States were jealous of each other, and their 
 confederation, but a rope of sand, was liable to 
 tumble to pieces; yet each State dreaded centrali- 
 zation of power and a federal government. Late in 
 the winter, Baron Steuben came to Valley Forge 
 and proceeded to properly drill and discipline the 
 troops. The soldiers were now better clothed and 
 fed and were thoroughly drilled. The baron in- 
 spected every musket and bayonet and expressed 
 his approval or disapprobation of their condition. 
 The result of his work was soon evident. The 
 soldiers became veterans. Yalley Forge had hard- 
 ened them, and they were filled with the glory of 
 
THE HORBORS OF VALLEY FORGE. 295 
 
 their just cause. They needed only discipline to 
 be invincible, 
 
 While Sir Henry Clinton, who bad succeeded 
 Howe as commander-in-chief of the British army 
 in America, was weakening the mental and physi- 
 cal faculties of bis troops by dissipation and such 
 silly amusements as tbe Mischianza, the patriot 
 army at Valley Forge was every day gathering 
 strengtb out of misery. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MONMOUTH. 
 
 William Pitt, Earl of Chatham and friend of 
 America, still hoped for reconciliation. He heard 
 the groans from Valley Forge and the prison ships ; 
 and in parliament, while still hoping for reconcili- 
 ation, he said : 
 
 " You cannot — I venture to say it — you cannot 
 conquer America. What is your present condi- 
 tion there? We do not know the worst; but we 
 know that in three campaigns we have done nothing 
 and have suffered much. . . . You may swell 
 every expense and every effort still more extrava- 
 gantly; file and accumulate every assistance you 
 can buy or borrow ; traffic and barter with every 
 little pitiful German prince, that sells and sends 
 his subjects to the shambles of a foreign prince; 
 your efforts are forever vain and impotent-^doubly 
 so from this mercenary aid on which you rely ; for 
 it irritates to an incurable resentment the minds of 
 your enemies — to overrun them with the mercenary 
 sons of rapine and plunder, devoting them and 
 396 
 
MONMOUTH. 297 
 
 their possessions to tlie rapacity of hireling cruelty. 
 If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, 
 while a foreign troop was landed in my country, 
 I never would lay down my arms — never — never 
 — never!" 
 
 The British army at Philadelphia had spent a 
 winter in the splendid quarters, comfortable and 
 in the indulgence of every pleasure dear to regular 
 officers. They got up an entertainment which they 
 called the Mischianza, and the foolish pageant had 
 just ended, when orders came to Philadelphia for 
 the troops to evacuate that city, and for the fleet 
 to leave the Delaware Eiver. The French monarch 
 had as good as declared war against England, and 
 the British government saw the danger that threat- 
 ened their land and naval forces, should a French 
 fleet blockade the Delaware, a circumstance which 
 speedily occurred. At the middle of April, Ad- 
 miral the Count D'Estaing, a major-general in the 
 French service, sailed from Toulon with twelve 
 ships-of-the-line and three frigates and, after a 
 rough voyage of ninety days, anchored in the Dela- 
 ware. Fortunately for Lord Howe's fleet, it had 
 left those waters a few days before and was safely 
 anchored in the broad bay, off the mouth of the 
 Earitan Eiver. The order for the evacuation of 
 Philadelphia and its execution produced widespread 
 consternation and distress in that city, lately so 
 
298 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 gay with scarlet uniforms, martial music and ban- 
 ners, dashing young officers and a brilliant display 
 of the pastimes of half-b&rbarous nations five hun- 
 dred years before. About three thousand of the 
 most tenderly -reared of the inhabitants left their 
 homes, their property and their cherished associa- 
 tions and fled for refuge from the indignation of 
 their whig neighbors, whom they had outraged in 
 many ways. 
 
 Meanwhile, the condition at Valley Forge, of 
 Washington's army, which the British despised 
 and ridiculed in plays by amateur performances in 
 a theatre in Philadelphia, was greatly improved in 
 every respect. By the middle of May there were 
 fifteen thousand troops fit for duty. Congress had 
 just ratified a treaty with France and so gave great 
 encouragement to the American people. The 
 warmth of the approaching summer diffused physi- 
 cal comfort, life and vigor throughout the camp; 
 and the fact, when known, that the British had 
 been ordered to leave Philadelphia and the adjacent 
 waters, inspired the soldiers with joy and hope. 
 
 Before the opening of the campaign, congress 
 ordered an oath of allegiance to be administered to 
 all the officers of the army at Valley Forge. On 
 May 12th, 1778, it was administered by the com- 
 mander-in-chief to the general officers. In so 
 doing, several of them placed their hands on the 
 
MONMOUTH. 299 
 
 Bible at tlie same time, and so took the oath jointly. 
 When "Washington began to pronounce the oath, 
 General Charles Lee, who had been exchanged for 
 General Prescott, captured on Ehode Island, with- 
 drew his hand. 
 
 " I demand an explanation for your strange con- 
 duct, " said Washington. 
 
 " As to King George, I am ready enough to ab- 
 solve myself from all allegiance to him; but I 
 have some scruples about the Prince of Wales. " 
 
 His odd reply produced a smile ; but in the light 
 of to-day one may clearly see the reason. , Lee 
 was then playing a desperate game of treason, and 
 probably had some conscientious scruples about 
 taking an oath which he intended to violate ; but 
 he finally did take the oath. 
 
 Albert Stevens and Simon Tapley were fully 
 i-ecovered by the first of May and rejoined their 
 regiment. Their German friends, Jacob and 
 August Steckel and Joseph Jager, warmly wel- 
 comed them back once more. 
 
 " Ve need you so ver much, " said Jacob. " Mine 
 brudder and mineself , ve go out and ve shoots um 
 and ve sticks um mit de bayonet efery day, und 
 dey was goin' to leave Philadelphia. " 
 
 " How do you know,. Jacob?" asked Albert. 
 
 " I vos in der city mit mine brudder. " 
 
 "What!" 
 
300 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Yah, dot vos zo. Vile you vos sick mit de 
 hospital, mine brudder und mineself , und mineself 
 Tind mine brudder, ve go to dot place near Yarmon 
 Town, and ve see two Hessians, vot rides horse- 
 back. Ve take 'em, and ve put on their clothes, 
 and ve rides into Philadelphia. " 
 
 " Why, Jake, that was a great risk!" 
 
 " Yah, dot vos so. " 
 
 " What did you do with the two Hessians you 
 captured?" 
 
 " Yah — py sheemany, ve dakes 'em to de wood, 
 und ve hangs 'um." 
 
 " Jake, that was horrible 1" 
 
 " Yah, py sheemany, dot vas so. Und den ve 
 goes into Philadelphia, and ve be tdoken for Hes- 
 sians, und ven de British speak mit us, ve not 
 know vot dey vas dalking about, und ve keep 
 silent. Den ve hear sometimes dem dalking and 
 dey say dey vas goin' oud of de city. Yust as ve 
 vas comin' out mit de town, ve meets mit Captain 
 Herman Yost, vot pe mine brudder's enemy, und 
 he know him. " 
 
 " How did you escape?" asked Albert. 
 
 "Den dar vas zome shootin', und ve shoots 
 two redcoats und Herman Yost deat und rides 
 avay. " 
 
 " Jake, do you know if you had been captured 
 you would have been hanged?" 
 
MONMOUTH. 301 
 
 "Yah, dot vas zo, py sheemany!" the German 
 answered coolly and carelessly. 
 
 Albert entered on Ma dnties as lieutenant of the 
 company. Though promoted to the rank of a 
 commissioned officer, he did not forget his old 
 friends. He and Simon were often together and 
 talked over home scenes and Lexington. Albert 
 learned a secret which he had never even suspected. 
 Simon was in love with Mary Stevens of Lexing- 
 ton. They were betrothed, and the garrulous 
 Yankee hoped to live to the end of the war, that 
 he might make Mary his wife. He had supported 
 one of her brothers from the field when wounded 
 and carried the dead body of another from the 
 cannon's mouth. 
 
 Simon was patriotic, but not ambitious. He 
 was illiterate and never held the position of an 
 officer; but he was possessed of a world of com- 
 mon sense and keen judgment. When alone, he 
 and Albert were on an equality ; when with others, 
 like a good soldier, he respected his friend's 
 rank. 
 
 On the evening of the 17th of June, Albert's 
 regiment, which had been attached to Maxwell's 
 brigade, received marching orders. 
 
 " I don't keer how soon we meet 'em agin, " Simon 
 declared. " I'm on my feet agin, an' I'll gin 'em 
 another clap o' thunder afore I give up. " 
 
303 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Simon, you are not going to give tip at all, 
 are you?" 
 
 " No ; but I do wisli I was back for one night at 
 Eugby Tavern, where I could hear Mr. Brown 
 talk politics over his bowl o' punch. " 
 
 " Those good old days will come no more, " said 
 Albert. " I often dream of dear old Rugby with 
 its quaint gables and strange, old-fashioned chim- 
 neys, its diamond-paned windows, with the sweet 
 face of little Stella looking out at me." 
 
 "What are you talkin' about?" cried a coarse 
 female voice, and, turning about, Albert saw a 
 stout, young, red-headed, freckle-faced woman, 
 whose strong Hibernian features, more than her 
 dialect, indicated her nativity. She was bare- 
 headed ^nd had a bucket of water in her hand. 
 " What are you talkin' about home for, leftenant? 
 This be no time to think of home, when the Brit- 
 ishers be leavin' Philadelphia. " 
 
 "Thank you, Molly," Albert answered. "If 
 we all had our wives and sisters with us, perhaps 
 we would not think much of home ; but few women 
 are suited to the army as you are. " 
 
 " True ye speaks, leftenant. I'd like to see the 
 man az can ram home a charge or swab a gun better 
 as mesilf, ef I do say it; but I must be goin', for 
 it's soon we'll all be on the march after the red- 
 coats, I'm thinkin'." 
 
MONMOUTH. 303 
 
 The stout Irisli woman, who was none other 
 than the famous Molly Pitcher, went away to her 
 husband with the bucket of water. Albert's regi- 
 ment formed and marched away. Camp at Yalley 
 Forge, where there had been so much of sorrow 
 and misery, was broken. Many a gallant hero 
 still sleeps in the fated valley. 
 
 On the 18th of June, Clinton, with about seven- 
 teen thousand men, left Philadelphia and crossed 
 the Delaware. Washington sent Arnold, whose 
 wound kept him from active duty, with a detach- 
 ment to occupy Philadelphia. The remainder of 
 the American army crossed the Delaware above 
 Trenton and pursued the retreating British. 
 
 Lee, who had been restored to command, was 
 the oldest major-general, and his baleful influence 
 was soon felt. He was in the advance and began 
 plotting to ruin the army. Arnold was no greater 
 traitor than Lee, who endeavored to thwart every 
 measure that promised success. He so persistently 
 opposed all interference with Clinton's march across 
 New Jersey, that even the soldiers began to doubt 
 his patriotism to their cause. "When, at last, he 
 was requested to lead the advance in an attack on 
 the enemy, he at first declined. 
 
 " I cannot accept the honor, " he said. " The 
 plan is defective and will surely fail. " He had a 
 habit of grumbling with the inferior officers and 
 
304 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 often declared, " "We have no head to this army. 
 The plans are miserably laid and are sure to fail. 
 Nothing could evince poorer management than the 
 plans of attack. "We shall be defeated and the 
 army destroyed. " 
 
 Such counsel was not calculated to inspire the 
 subalterns with confidence. By some means his 
 constant predictions of failure spread through the 
 ranks, and Simon Tapley sagely remarked : 
 
 " "Wall, if we are not defeated, it won't be the 
 fault o' General Lee. " 
 
 Clinton had intended to march to New Bruns- 
 wick and there embark his army on the Earitan; 
 but, finding "Washington in his path, he turned, 
 at Allentown, toward Monmouth Court-House, 
 with a determination to make his way to Sandy 
 Hook and thence by water to New York. "Wash- 
 ington, following him on a parallel line, prepared 
 to strike him whenever a good opportunity should 
 offer ; while Clinton wished to avoid battle if pos- 
 sible, for he was heavily encumbered with baggage- 
 wagons and a host of camp followers, making a 
 line of march about twelve miles long. On the 
 evening of the 27th of June, he encamped near 
 Monmouth Court-House, where Washington re- 
 solved to strike him when he should move the next 
 morning, for it was important to prevent his gaining 
 the advantageous position of Middletown Heights. 
 
MONMOUTH. 305 
 
 Washington ordered Lee, who was in command 
 of the advanced corps, to consult with his general 
 officers and form a plan of attack. Lafayette, 
 Wayne and Maxwell were his brigadiers, and, 
 when Lee met with them, he refused to arrange a 
 plan or give any order. The morning of the 28th, 
 a hot and severe Sabbath, dawned, and Washing- 
 ton ordered Lee to fall on the enemy's rear. 
 
 Albert Stevens knew an attack was expected, 
 and as the superior officers of the company were 
 on the sick list the command devolved on him. 
 He had his men in line at early dawn, and they 
 took their place in the regiment. There they 
 stood while the sun climbed into the sky. Simon 
 took off his hat, wiped his face and said : 
 
 " We're goin' tew have a scorchin' hot day." 
 
 The soldiers were drawn up at the side of the 
 road in the shade of some large oak trees. Every- 
 body wondered why they received no orders to 
 move. Lee was so dilatory he gave the enemy 
 time to prepare for battle. At last the order to 
 advance came and Albert discovered that there 
 was no concert of action. Lafayette, Wayne and 
 Maxwell, who suspected Lee, sent a messenger to 
 request the presence of Washington immediately. 
 
 As Albert's brigade was advancing over the hill 
 toward the enemy, they heard the roar of battle 
 suddenly burst forth on their left. Wayne's bri- 
 30 
 
306 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 gade had attacked with great vigor. Every soldier 
 suddenly felt that they would have a chance to 
 humhle and crush the proud Britons ; but before 
 Maxwell's lines came into action, an order came to 
 fall back. The same order was given to Lafayette. 
 This was too much for Simon Tapley. He had 
 fed himself on the hopes that he would have a 
 chance to take vengeance on the enemy, and the 
 order to retreat was heartrending. His natural 
 disposition now asserted itself, and he cried : 
 
 "It's gawl darned mean to disappoint a feller, 
 when he is about to lick the British!" 
 
 Albert saw General Lee quite close to his Sam- 
 pany at this moment. Lafayette had just galloped 
 up to him on a horse reeking with sweat and asked 
 permission to gain the rear of a division of the 
 enemy. To this, Lee sternly answered : 
 
 " Sir, 3'ou do not know British soldiers. We 
 cannot stand against them. We shall certainly be 
 driven back at first, and we must be cautious. " 
 
 The marquis replied : 
 
 " It may be so, general ; but 'British soldiers 
 have been beaten, and they may be again. At any 
 rate, I am disposed to make the trial. " 
 
 Lee yielded a little at first, even ordered him 
 to fall on the enemy's flank; but he weakened 
 Wayne's support and then ordered all to fall back, 
 so a general retreat began. 
 
MONMOUTH. 307 
 
 Across tlie hill, along a road, over a fence, 
 Albert and tis company went. The cheers of the 
 victorious British in their rear were galling to the 
 patriots. By this time the sun was full up in the 
 sky. Simon's prophecy that it was going to be a 
 scorching hot day was fulfilled. It was so in- 
 tensely hot, that the soldiers, who were now routed 
 and fled before the enemy, panted for breath, while 
 the perspiration streamed from their faces. Many 
 died of sunstroke. 
 
 " "What in thunder are we runnin' fur?" roared 
 Simon. "We can lick 'em! "We can beat 'em!" 
 
 Thousands of others were uttering the same cry ; 
 but what can the poor rank and file soldier do 
 against his commander? He is a machine and 
 must be a slave to the stern dictates of discipline. 
 
 Occasionally a whizzing cannon-ball, or a shriek- 
 ing shell accelerated the movements of the Ameri- 
 cans. Eanks were broken and the army had 
 become little better than a mob. The victory 
 which had been promised in the morning had been 
 changed to rout. 
 
 Suddenly Simon, who' had been loading and 
 firing as he ran, looked before him and cried : 
 
 "Look who comes! There's a white hoss, and 
 Old George is on him!" 
 
 A dozen horsemen came spurring at full speed 
 across the plain. Albert, who had stopped to 
 
308 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 slake his thirst at a brooklet, rose just as they 
 galloped up to the retreating columns. The fore- 
 most was mounted on a large white horse, his blue 
 dress coat was unbuttoned, the lace and ruffles 
 soiled with dust, his yellow vest grim and gray. 
 "Waving his sword above his head, he was shouting : 
 
 " Halt ! halt ! what means this disorderly retreat? 
 Eeinforcements are coming!. About face, and at 
 them!" He raved, he stormed, and uttered his 
 words so rapidly, that the soldiers could not under- 
 stand what he said. Lee, who was at the head of 
 the retreat, looked quite crestfallen. Simon, who 
 was near the enraged General "Washington, sud- 
 denly cried: 
 
 "There — there! by jemany, the gineral swore! 
 I heard him cuss, and I'm darned ef I blame him!" 
 
 The British lines were seen advancing steadily 
 over the broken ground. "Washington galloped 
 down toward them, and, for a moment, it seemed 
 as if he was going to hurl himself against them. 
 He snapped his pistol and, wheeling his horse 
 about, ordered a battery of two guns to take post 
 on an eminence and open on the enemy. It did 
 so, and the advance was checked. In fact, the 
 appearance of "Washington electrified the whole 
 army. His name thrilled every Soldier, and the 
 companies and regiments began to form of them- 
 selves. "Washington, dashing up to Lee, exclaimed : 
 
MONMOUTH. 309 
 
 " Sir, I desire to know what is the reason, and 
 whence came this disorder and confusion?" 
 
 To which Lee sharply retorted : 
 
 " You know the attack was contrary to my ad- 
 vice and opinion. " 
 
 " You should not have undertaken the command 
 unless you intended to carry it through, " replied 
 Washington. 
 
 Washington was a wonder. He was everywhere 
 at the same moment, bringing order out of confu- 
 sion. The soldiers wildly cheered, and Simon, 
 mounting a broken wall, took off his hat and, 
 waving it in the air, shouted : 
 
 " Now we'll beat 'em ! Huzza for General Wash- 
 ington 1 By zounds, he's the man, ef he did cuss !" 
 
 "Get down, Simon!" cried Albert. 
 
 Simon obeyed. He had hardly taken his place 
 in the ranks, when a heavy cannon-shot struck the 
 very part of the wall on which he had stood and 
 knocked it down. Everywhere ranks were re-form- 
 ing, batteries were taking positions, and Wayne's 
 brigade was soon hotly engaged. Oswald's bat- 
 tery kept up such a continuous fire of balls, shell, 
 grape and canister that the enemy were thrown 
 into confusion. While the British grenadiers 
 were pouring their destructive volleys upon the 
 broken ranks of the Americans, the voice of Wash- 
 ington seemed omnipotent with the inspiration of 
 
310 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 courage. It was a voice of faiti. to tlie despairing 
 soldiers. Fearlessly he rode, bareheaded, in the 
 face of the storm of lead and iron hail, and gave 
 his orders with consummate coolness. The whole 
 patriot army, which half an hour before seemed on 
 the verge of destruction, panic-stricken and without 
 order, was soon drawn up in battle array, pre- 
 pared to meet the enemy, with a bold and well- 
 arranged front. When this was effected, "Washing- 
 ton rode back to Lee, and, pointing to the rallied 
 troops, said: 
 
 " Will you, sir, command in that place?" 
 
 " I will, " Lee answered. 
 
 " Then, " said Washington, " I expect you to 
 check the enemy immediately. " 
 
 " Your command shall be obeyed, " Lee replied, 
 " and I will not be first to leave the field. " 
 
 Back to the main army Washington then flew to 
 arrange the order of battle. 
 
 The conflict now grew desperate; when once a 
 retreating army makes a stand and resolves to hold 
 it, it becomes ten times more stubborn and difficult 
 to rout than at first. 
 
 Albert's company had taken a position near a 
 fence and was partially protected by a grove of 
 trees. From this point they poured in withering 
 volleys on the enemy, which caused the heads of 
 their columns to reel. Suddenly a battery came 
 
MONMOUTH. 311 
 
 thundering up and took position on tlie left of the 
 company. A woman was sitting on one of the 
 gun-carriages, her head bare, and her fiery red 
 hair gleaming in the sunlight. She leaped off as 
 the gun came to a halt and cried : 
 
 " Now, boys, swing her about and give 'em 
 thedivil!" 
 
 "It's Molly Pitcher, " said Simon, as he rammed 
 a charge into his gun. 
 
 She was covered with dust, her neck bare and 
 sun-browned, her sleeves rolled up above her 
 elbows, and her face streaked with perspiration 
 and dirt. 
 
 " Molly, we want water, " said her husband, who 
 seized the rammer and drove the swab into the gun. 
 
 " I'll bring it to yez, " she cried, seizing a bucket 
 and running down tlje hill to a spring. The whis- 
 tling balls and shrieking shells which flew about 
 her head, clipping off the leaves and shivering the 
 branches, were unheeded by this stout young camp 
 follower. She was not over twenty-two years of 
 age, a native of the Emerald Isle, and brave as any 
 man. Albert's company was detached to support 
 the battery to which Molly belonged. About it 
 the battle raged fiercest, for they were often com- 
 pelled to defend it with the bayonet. 
 
 Molly Pitcher had been to the spring for a bucket 
 of water and was hastening up the hill, the perspi- 
 
812 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 ration standing out in great beads from her fore- 
 head and trickling down her sun-browned face. 
 She saw her husband, who stepped forward to 
 swab the gun, stagger back and fall. She ran to 
 him and cried : 
 
 " They have murdered him ! They have mur- 
 dered him!" 
 
 " That is the fifth man killed at this gun, " said 
 the captain. " Withdraw the piece. " 
 
 "Why?" cried Molly. 
 
 " There is no one to man it. " 
 
 " I will man it, " she cried. Then, with a glance 
 at her husband, who lay bleeding at her feet, she 
 added: " I will avenge himl I wiU avenge him!" 
 
 She seized the rammer, swabbed the gun and 
 rammed home the charge. The cannon was sighted 
 and fired. Thus she stood at her post throughout 
 the terrible battle. Men were struck so close to 
 her that the blood actually spurted on her face. 
 At last swabbing material was exhausted. She 
 took off her apron. That did not last long, and 
 her skirts followed ; all went to feed the rapacious 
 maw of that murderous gun. Still the dark mouth 
 demanded more and the flannel blouse and shirt of 
 the artillerist who assisted her went also to feed 
 the dark throat of the gun. * 
 
 *The above account is partly from the story handed 
 down by the author's grandfather. 
 
SHE SEIZED THE RAMMER AND SWABBED THE GUN. 
 
MONMOUTH. 313 
 
 It was in one of the many charges that day, that 
 Albert's regiment drove a large force of British 
 behind a stone wall. The young lieutenant leaped 
 the wall and gave chase to an officer who had com- 
 manded the British. The officer fled into a thicket, 
 stumbled over a stone and fell. In a moment he 
 leaped at him with drawn sword. Three Britons 
 with fixed bayonets sprang between him and the 
 officer. 
 
 " Hold on , Albert ! hold on, lef tenant I by zounds, 
 I'll fix 'im!" cried Simon. The officer had re- 
 gained his feet by this time. He had lost his hat, 
 was panting with exertion and scarce able to speak. 
 One glimpse of that face, and Albert recognized 
 him as the Briton of Eugby Tavern. Seizing 
 Simon's bayonet, he cried: 
 
 " Hold ! don't strike that man !" 
 
 The officer, panting, said: 
 
 " It's you — is it — I did not know it was " 
 
 " This is the man Aunt Anne told me not to 
 harm for Stella's sake, and he must not be harmed. " 
 
 " Oh, yas, I know him. He is the consarned 
 redcoat that I walloped at Eugby Tavern, the 
 flunkey as knocked down Stella's mother an' 
 caused her death. Plague take him, I'd like tew 
 run this bayonet clear through him. " 
 
 The officer, having partially regained his breath, 
 said: 
 
314 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Simon Tapley, you, least of all men, ought to 
 harm me. " 
 
 Albert was mystified and amazed at the strange 
 remark. The tide of battle was rolling that way, 
 and there was no time to waste. 
 
 "Go!" he cried to the officer and the three 
 valiant men who had determined to die with him. 
 "Fly for your lives!" They disappeared among 
 some bushes, and in a moment Albert and Simon 
 were with their regimeiit. 
 
 The young lieutenant was astonished to find the 
 sun setting. 
 
 It was almost dark ; twilight was spreading her 
 sober gray mantle over the scene. It was so dark 
 that the flash of fire could be seen from their mus- 
 kets. The enemy had fallen back everywhere, 
 and, in an hour longer, there is no doubt that the 
 British army would have been put to utter rout. 
 
 When night came, the Americans encamped in 
 sight of the British, expecting to renew the con- 
 flict at daylight; but when morning came, lo! the 
 Britons were gone. They had stolen away during 
 the night and hurried to New York.* 
 
 * General Lee was tried for insubordination and disobedi- 
 ence and suspended for a year. He never after served in 
 the American army and died in poverty and obscurity in 
 Philadelphia, Octobers, 1788. 
 
OHAPTEE XV. 
 
 WYOMING AND CHERRY VALLEY. 
 
 After the first shock of war along the old Con- 
 cord road, Rugby Tavern was at peace. The tap- 
 room was still a favorite resort for Mr. Brown and 
 those of his friends who had not gone off with the 
 army, for Mr. Brown's army experience ended 
 with the evacuation of Boston. Almost any even- 
 ing, Brown, Buker, Niles and others could be seen 
 in the tap-room with bowls of punch, discussing 
 military movements and the new political changes 
 the country was undergoing. 
 
 "We are losing some of our best blood," Mr. 
 Brown declared, " and some pesky poor blood too. " 
 
 " That man Washington, who fit the Hessians 
 at Trenton last winter, is going to bring us out all 
 right, " declared Mr. Niles. 
 
 " I don't know. I believe we'd better have 
 Gates at the head. John Adams says so, and 
 whatever John Adams says is so," declared Mr. 
 Brown. 
 
 " But congress is in such a wrangle, " put in Mr. 
 Buker. " They can't agree onnothin' !" 
 31S 
 
316 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " That's so! I tell you, tlie country is goin' to 
 the dogs," avowed Mr. Brown, bringing Ms fist 
 down upon the table with a force that made the 
 punch bowls dance. 
 
 Mr. Buker, lighting his pipe, smoked a few 
 moments in silence, while his eyes were upturned 
 to the blackened rafters. At last he said : 
 
 " Did you hear tell as how Jean is goin' away?" 
 
 " Goin' away!" everybody asked in amazement. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " Why it seems that he had a father, a Mr. 
 George Stevens, who was English bom, but had 
 lived most of his life in Acadia, until he was ban- 
 ished by the British. Well, this George Stevens 
 and Elmer Stevens had a father named Eobert 
 Stevens, who got monstrous rich from a old feller 
 way back a hundred years ago named Sir Albert 
 St. Croix givin' him a fortune he had made as a 
 pirate. St. Croix was a sailor and a pirate ; but 
 he took a fancy to Jean's grandfather and gave 
 him everything he had, which was millions and 
 millions o' treasure. Well, Eobert had only two 
 sons, George an' Elmer, and he left it to 'em; but 
 they and their family managed to run through 
 with a good deal of it. Jean's father bought him 
 two or three thousand acres o' land in a place 
 called the Wyoming valley in Pennsylvania. He 
 
WYOMING AND CHERRY VALLEY. 317 
 
 says lie has heard there is an opening there to do 
 right well, and he's goin'." 
 
 Every one was amazed at this, and Jean was 
 called in and interrogated. Was he going? Yes, 
 he was going ; he was even then making arrange- 
 ments to go by a circuitous route, so as to avoid 
 the British, to inspect his inheritance. When 
 would he start? Within two days at most. 
 
 Jean assured his customers, however, that he 
 had made arrangements for Rugby Tavern to con- 
 tinue open. He was going on a tour of inspection, 
 and, even if he went with his family to Wyoming 
 valley, he would not close the tavern. At the ap- 
 pointed time, he took his departure, and when the 
 Rugby Club assembled as usual, they found a tall, 
 lean, awkward boy ready to attend to their wants. 
 
 It was the fifth day since Jean's departure, and 
 Mr. Brown, who had imbibed rather freely, had 
 risen to a point of order and was haranguing the 
 other members on the evils of the day as seen by 
 John Adams. 
 
 "Why, my friends, look at Washington!" he 
 declared, "look at 'im! What is he? I repeat, 
 what is he?" and here Mr. Brown made an inde- 
 scribable gesture with his right arm, which Niles 
 called " killing a snake. " He was cheered by 
 the anti- Washington faction of the club ; but the 
 others were silent. The anti-Washington faction 
 
318 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 was strongest in the club, and the cries of " Hear! 
 hear ! " encouraged Mr. Brown to proceed. " Fame 
 is dear to the heart of every man. Poetic fame 
 is the desire o' some weak souls. " This was a 
 drive at Mr. Dugger, an old bachelor, who had 
 been accused of writing verses about the widow 
 Prime. As Dugger was a Washingtonian the 
 thrust had much malice in it. " Some like mili- 
 tary fame and expect to gain it by running before 
 the enenay, by bein' chased from Long Island to 
 Philadelphia." (Cheers and cries of "Correct!") 
 "Is that the way to fight?" (Cheers and loud 
 cries of " No !") " "Who but a Gates can gather up 
 
 our scattered, routed forces and — and — and " 
 
 Mr. Brown paused to think up the right word. 
 He would have given a sixpence then for a con- 
 solidation, a cementation, organization, or some 
 big, high-sounding term ; but he could not think 
 of a suitable term, and he had to be content with 
 something more commonplace. However, he gave 
 out the thought that Gates would rally the scattered 
 continentals about him and lead them on to victory. 
 (Vehement cheering.) Then the enthusiastic Mr. 
 Brown mounted a stool and, gracefully waving his 
 right hand in the air, while he whipped his left 
 under the tails of his coat, poured out a torrent of 
 abuse on General Washington and his admirers. 
 (Cheers and cries of " Good!") 
 
WYOMIN& AND CHERRY VALLEY. 3191 
 
 Mr. Dugger rose to a point of order and asked 
 if the speaker alluded to him. (Cries of " Order!" 
 "Sit down!" "Yes!" "Goon!") 
 
 Mr. Brown had no idea of stopping. He waited 
 a moment for the indignation and efEects of his 
 punch to partially subside, and then, with a down- 
 ward sawing of the air with his hand, he burst 
 forth with that ever-memorable sentence, which 
 was never forgotten by the Eugbyites : 
 
 " I say, gentlemen — I declare — I repeat — I — I 
 — I — I recapitulate — I — I — I — that is, if there is 
 one soul so small as to conceive a — a — a — an ad- 
 miration for General Washington, let him — that 
 is — let him — I repeat, let him " How this fa- 
 mous sentence would have concluded, the world 
 will never know; for, at this moment, Mr. Brown, 
 in the overflow of his enthusiasm, got too near the 
 edge of his stool. It tipped over, he lost his bal- 
 ance and fell with a crash to the floor. His friends 
 sprang forward and assisted him to rise. Fortu- 
 nately he was not much injured. The tall, lean 
 boy had just entered to learn the cause of the dis- 
 turbance, when a stranger arrived at the door. He 
 dismounted from his horse and, tossing the rein 
 over a post, entered. 
 
 The honorable Mr. Brown had scarcely time to 
 recover from the confusion which followed his mis- 
 hap, when the stranger, a mm somewhat past 
 
320 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 middle age, witli hair well streaked with gray, 
 entered. Tlie appearance of the stranger of course ■ 
 put an end to the discussion on the part of the 
 Eugbyites. Strangers were uncommon in these, 
 troublesome days, for but few travelled. 
 
 " Is this Eugby Tavern?" he asked on entering. 
 
 " It is, " declared Mr. Brown, panting frantically 
 to regain the breath which had been jolted from his 
 body. The stranger sat down before the fireplace, 
 in which a few sticks were feebly burning, for it 
 was yet early spring, and Eugby kept fires of 
 evenings. He did not remove his hat or gray 
 cloak, but sat silently gazing into the glowing 
 embers. 
 
 " Where do you come from?" asked Mr. Brown. 
 
 "Below." 
 
 "New York?" 
 
 The stranger shook his head and, after a mo- 
 ment's silence, asked: 
 
 " Is Jean Baptiste Stevens in?" 
 
 " No, " answered Mr. Brown. " He went five 
 days ago to Wyoming valley. " 
 
 The stranger started. " Why has he gone 
 there?" he asked. " Has he taken his family?" 
 
 No ; his family still remained at Eugby. Could 
 the stranger see Mrs. Stevens? His business was 
 of the utmost importance. No one ki^ew, he might 
 ask. The tall, lean boy took a note to Adrianne 
 
WYOMING AND CHERRY VALLEY. 321 
 
 whicla the stranger had hastily pencilled. She 
 consented to receive him in her own apartment. 
 The traveller entered with his hat in his hand and, 
 bowing, stood meekly before the lady of Eugby. 
 She rose and, closing the door, asked : 
 
 " Why have you returned?" 
 
 " Because I could not stay away, madame. You 
 know — you must know me. " 
 
 " I have seen you before. Once I saved your 
 life ; but should it be known you are here, I could 
 not prevent your being hung for a spy. " 
 
 " I am no spy, I swear it, " he answered quickly. 
 " It is purely a personal matter that brings me 
 here, as^ Heaven is my witness. I have a strong 
 attraction — you know, perhaps, what it is. " 
 
 For a moment Adrianne gazed in silence on the 
 face, which bore marks of sadness. His eyes could 
 not meet hers, and they dropped to the floor. 
 
 " You betrayed the dearest friend of my child- 
 hood, " she began. " You killed her, but she died 
 in my arms blessing your name and with a prayer 
 for your forgiveness on her lips " 
 
 "Oh, no more — pray no more, good woman! 
 God pity me, the most miserable of men!" he in- 
 terrupted, sinking into the chair and burying his 
 face in his hands. Adrianne had a kind heart, 
 and a tear of pity stole down each cheek. After 
 a few moments, he raised his head and asked : 
 21 
 
332 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Can I see the child?" 
 
 " Would you do her harm?" 
 
 " Heaven knows I would not!" 
 
 Adrianne went to another apartment and re- 
 turned with a beautiful girl about fourteen years 
 of age. It was Albert's little friend Estella. The 
 stranger arose, took a step toward her and gasped : 
 
 " Her very image ! My punishment is greater 
 than I can bear!" Then he again covered his face 
 with his hands. After a moment, he regained his 
 self-possession and, seizing the wondering child in 
 his arms, said: 
 
 " Stella — ^little Stella, don't think me a bad 
 man ! I have been very wicked ; but now I am 
 changed, oh, so changed!" 
 
 "Who are you?" she asked, her eyes round 
 with wonder. 
 
 " Have you not told her?" he appealed to Mrs. 
 Stevens. 
 
 "No." 
 
 " She will learn in due time. I hope when you 
 have heard all and know how I have suffered, you 
 will forgive me. " Imprinting a kiss on the cheek 
 of the astonished child, he turned to Mrs. Stevens 
 and asked : 
 
 " Do you really go to the valley of the Wyo- 
 ming?" 
 
 " In a few weeks we will. " 
 
WYOMING AND CHERRY VALLEY. 
 
 82a 
 
 He paused and leaned against the mantel for a 
 few moments. 
 
 " There is danger there. If the Indians should 
 
 " Hkb ttery image ! ' 
 
 rise up against the whites, it would be terrible; 
 but I may be near to help you. " 
 
324 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 The mysterious stranger that same night took 
 his departure. A few weeks later, Jean Bap- 
 tiste Stevens returned filled with enthusiasm for 
 the new country in the Wyoming valley. It was 
 peaceful and quiet, and no one could believe that 
 the war, which raged all about it, would ever 
 reach that peaceful vale. 
 
 Appearances, however, are deceitful. Scarce 
 had Jean Stevens, his wife and little Stella be- 
 come settled in their new home, when a thrill of 
 dread convulsed all the valley. The Tories and 
 Indians were threatening it with destruction. 
 British agents were inciting the Indians to an up- 
 rising. The British agent for colonial affairs had 
 sent scalping knives to the savages. Among the 
 Tory leaders in northern and western New York 
 were John Butler and his son Walter N. Butler, 
 who were far more cruel to the whigs than the 
 savages. John Butler was a colonel in the British 
 service; and, in the spring of 1778, he induced 
 the Seneca warriors in western New York to consent 
 to follow him into Pennsylvania. He had been 
 joined by a party of Tories from the Wyoming 
 valley, who gave him a correct account of that 
 region ; and, on the last day of June, he appeared 
 at the head of the plain with more than a thousand 
 Tories and Indians. They captured the upper- 
 most fort, and Butler made the fortified house of 
 
WYOMING AND CHERRY VALLEY. 325 
 
 Wintermoot, a Tory of the valley, his headquar- 
 ters. The whole military to oppose the invasion 
 was composed of a small company of regulars and 
 a few militia. "When the alarm was given, the 
 whole population flew to arms. Grandfathers, 
 sons and boys and even women seized weapons and 
 joined the soldiery. Colonel Zebulon Butler, an 
 officer of the continental army, happened to be at 
 home, and, by common consent, he was made 
 commander-in-chief. Fort Forty, a short distance 
 above Wilkes Barre, was the place of general ren- 
 dezvous, and in it were gathered the women and 
 children of the valley. Zebulon Butler, some bis- 
 torians have asserted, was a cousin of the Tory 
 John Butler; but the statement is incorrect. A 
 careful research has proven that he was not a rela- 
 tive of John Butler at all. 
 
 As stated, Jean Baptiste was scarcely located in 
 the valley, when the alarming intelligence came 
 of the invasion by Butler. With his wife and 
 adopted daughter, Jean fled to Fort Forty, where a 
 motley group of soldiers greeted them. An old 
 cannon was mounted on the east redoubt, and they 
 saw near it a boy, not over thirteen, with a gun 
 much longer than himself, talking with a woman, 
 who had a cartouch box slung over her shoulder 
 and a musket in her hand. An old grandfather 
 sat on a box with his rifle at his side. There were 
 
336 INDEPENDENCE. / 
 
 a few soldiers and some militia ; but, taken alto- 
 gether, they were feeble defenders. 
 
 Jean, of course, was enrolled in one of the com- 
 panies. He had always been a man of peace and 
 knew so little of war that he could scarcely handle 
 a musket. He actually had to be taught to load 
 and fire. 
 
 On the 3d of July, Colonel Zebulon Butler de- 
 termined to surprise the inyaders at Wintermoot's. 
 The vigilant leader of the motley host, informed 
 of the movement, was ready to receive the assail- 
 ants. The Tories formed the left wing of the in- 
 vaders resting on the liver. The Indians, led by 
 Gi-en-gwa-tah, a Seneca chief, composed the right, 
 that extended to a swamp at the foot of the moun- 
 tain. They were first struck by the patriots, and 
 a general battle ensued. It raged vehemently for 
 half an hour,- when, just as the enemy were giving 
 way, some one cried : 
 
 " Eetreat ! fly for your lives ! " 
 
 The raw soldiers, who had done such excellent 
 service, were now thrown into confusion. A panic 
 followed. 
 
 Jean Stevens, who had fought with great valor 
 and rendered effective service, fled with the others. 
 No sooner had the flight began than there sprang 
 up on every side hideously painted savages, whose 
 fierce war screeches seemed to freeze the blood. 
 
WYOMING AND CHERRY VALLEY. 387 
 
 The air was full of flying bullets and missiles, and 
 men fell on every side. 
 
 They pursued the fugitives, and their flight 
 was lined with dead bodies. In less than an hour 
 after the battle had begun, two hundred and 
 twenty -five scalps had been taken by the Indians 
 and Tories. The yells of the victorious Indians 
 reached Fort Forty. Colonel Butler reached 
 Wilkes Barre in safety. Jean Stevens fled toward 
 Fort Forty. 
 
 He was pursued by a tall, powerful Indian who 
 had almost overtaken him. The Fort was only a 
 hundred paces ahead ; but he saw that the savage 
 must inevitably overhaul him. He resorted to a, 
 strategy which saved him. Suddenly dropping 
 on his hands and knees, the Indian, unable to 
 slacken his speed, tumbled right over him and fell 
 sprawling on the ground, alighting on his head. 
 The Indian was stunned and, before he could rise, 
 Jean brained him with his gun and gained the 
 fort. 
 
 Here all was confusion. But few were as lucky 
 as he. Colonel Dennison, who had just arrived, 
 prepared to defend the women and children as best 
 he could. All night long, the valley was ablaze 
 with burning houses and blazing camp-fires. The 
 Indians spent the night in the diabolical pastime 
 of torturing white prisoners to death. 
 
328 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " What will we do, Jean? What will become of 
 us?" asked his wife. 
 
 " We can die, " he answered. 
 
 " Yes, but it is so horrible to be murdered by 
 the Indians. " 
 
 There were many Tory acquaintances among the 
 enemy. Each of these had some old grudge to 
 satisfy. Fortunately for Jean, he had not been 
 long enough in the valley to have any acquaint- 
 ances, consequently there were no personal ene- 
 mies. 
 
 "What are you going to do, colonel?" Jean 
 asked Colonel Dennison. 
 
 "I fear we cannot successfully resist," the 
 colonel answered. 
 
 " Would you dare surrender?" 
 
 " There are white men like ourselves among 
 them. They command, and we may expect 
 mercy. " 
 
 " Mercy from the Indians?" 
 
 " Not Indians, but whites. " 
 
 Somehow, Jean felt his heart sink within him 
 at the thought of surrender. The night was a 
 night of horror. All through the night they could 
 hear the wild hoots and yells of savages, mingled 
 with the shrieks of some victim. Occasionally, 
 from the woods, a poor fellow was started up by 
 some prowling band of savages from his hiding- 
 
WYOMING AND CHERRY VALLEY. 329 
 
 place. Then came the wild yells, the flashes and 
 shots and shrieks of agony. 
 
 One by one, the victims were hunted, killed and 
 scalped. A terrible silence had fallen on the scene 
 when morning came. 
 
 When day dawned, a party of Tories was seen 
 advancing with a flag of truce. They came to the 
 gate of the fort and demanded its surrender. The 
 colonel asked what terms they would receive. 
 
 "Your lives and personal property shall be 
 spared," said the officer with the flag. 
 
 " On that solemn assurance, we will consider the 
 subject. " 
 
 The Colonel then turned to consult with some 
 of the principal men in the fort. 
 
 " I don't care for their assurances, " said a mid- 
 dle-aged man. " I have no confidence in any 
 promise the Tories make. " 
 
 Eesistance, however, was useless. To rouse the 
 anger of the Indians would be sure to bring de- 
 struction on the heads of all when the fort should 
 be taken. So, hoping for mercy, they surrendered. 
 John Butler, the white fiend who led the Tories, 
 signed the articles of capitulation and, in a few 
 hours, quitted the valley, leaving the whites in the 
 hands of the Indians. They turned upon the 
 helpless captives and made the plains an absolute 
 desolation. Scarcely a house was left uncon- 
 
330 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 sumed; not a cornfield that was not destroyed; 
 and every life in tlie power of the Indians taken. 
 The inhabitants, who had fled during the previ- 
 ous night, were slaughtered, or narrowly escaped. 
 Many of them perished in the great swamps on the 
 Pocono Mountains, ever since known as " The 
 Shades of Death. " It is not our intention to de- 
 tail the horrors of Wyoming. Those dark inci- 
 dents reflect not only on the character of the 
 detestable Tories, but the king and ministry of 
 England. Lord George Germain, the British sec- 
 retary for the colonies, praised the savages for their 
 '' prowess and humanity, " and resolved to direct 
 a succession of similar raids upon the frontiers, 
 and even to devastate older settlements. A mem- 
 ber of the bench of bishops in the house of lords 
 revealed the fact, in a speech, that there was an 
 article in the extraordinaries of the army for scalp- 
 ing knives. 
 
 Settlements in the Mohawk and Schoharie were 
 also great sufferers from Indian and Tory raids, 
 during 1778. The Johnsons were anxious to re- 
 cover their property and influence in the Mohawk 
 country, and Brant, their natural ally by blood 
 relationship and interest joined them. Their spies 
 and scouts were out in every direction. At a 
 point on the upper waters of the Susquehannah, 
 Brant organized scalping parties and sent them out 
 
WYOMING AND CHERRY VALLEY. 331 
 
 to attack border settlements. They swooped down 
 upon isolated families and small hamlets, sweeping 
 them out of existence. Springfield and Cobbles- 
 kill were destroyed. In July, a severe skirmish 
 occurred on the upper waters of the Cobbleskill, 
 between five hundred Indians and a few militia 
 and regulars. These marauders kept the dwellers 
 in that region in continual alarm all the summer 
 and autumn of 1778, and, finally, at near the mid- 
 dle of November, during a heavy storm of sleet, 
 a band of Indians and Tories under Brant and 
 Walter N. Butler, a nefarious scoundrel and mur- 
 derer, fell upon Cherry Valley and murdered, 
 plundered and destroyed without stint. Butler 
 was the arch-fiend on the occasion and would listen 
 to no appeals from Brant for mercy for their vic- 
 tims. Thirty-two of the inhabitants, mostly women 
 and children, were murdered with sixteen soldiers 
 of the Garrison. About forty men, women and 
 children were led away captives, marching down 
 the valley that night through the cold storm, hud- 
 dled together, half-naked, with no shelter but the 
 leafless trees and no resting-place save the wet 
 ground. 
 
 In the western wilderness, Major George Eogers 
 Clarke, an active young Virginian, then living in 
 Kentucky was doing excellent work in the Terri- 
 tory of Indiana and Ohio. His men were all 
 
333 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 frontiersmen, unerring shots witli tlie rifle and 
 skilled in all the arts of Indian warfare. He 
 reached Vincennes and, after a siege of fourteen 
 hours. Colonel Hamilton, the British commandant, 
 and his garrison surrendered. 
 
 We have wandered too far already from our 
 subject. Let us now return to the Wyoming 
 valley, where we left Jean Stevens, his wife and 
 Estella at the time of the surrender. 
 
 Jean had no faith in Butler's respecting the 
 terms of the surrender. 
 
 " He will break it in an hour, " he said to his 
 wife. 
 
 Once more she asked the question, " What shall 
 we do?" 
 
 "We must fly!" 
 
 "How can we?" 
 
 " Take the first opportunity that offers, " said 
 Jean. " Watch and wait!" 
 
 The foi:t surrendered and, when the people were 
 marched out, Jean said to Adrianne and Estella : 
 
 " Keep close to me. " 
 
 They were taken out on the plain near the fort. 
 
 The Indians could be seen scattering in every 
 direction over the valley. The houses were soon 
 in flames. Little Estella, who stood trembling at 
 Jean's side, whispered: 
 
 " Our house is burning. " 
 
WYOMING AND CHEBRY VALLEY. 333 
 
 " Yes, child, we have no home now. " 
 
 "What will we do?" 
 
 " We are all prisoners. I cannot tell what they 
 will do with us." 
 
 Speechless with terror, the child clung to his 
 arm. Butler and some of his officers, after hold- 
 ing a conference with the Indians, mounted their 
 horses and galloped away. 
 
 " Adrianne, " whispered Jean, " do you see them 
 going away?" 
 
 " Yes, what does it mean?" 
 
 " It means we will all be dead in an hour. " 
 
 " God have mercy on my soul. " 
 
 Jean's usually sluggish faculties were active 
 now. They were to the north and east of the 
 main party. Not more than a fourth of a mile 
 away was a heavy body of timber. If they could 
 reach that, they might be safe. 
 
 " Adrianne, can you run? " he asked in a whisper. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Do you see that wood?" 
 
 "I do." 
 
 " If we can reach it, we are safe. " 
 
 " Let us try. " 
 
 " At the right moment we will, " he answered. 
 
 Then he spoke a few hurried words to Estella. 
 Others saw the coveted wood and, fearing the final 
 result, resolved to try to break away and run to it. 
 
334 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 They had not long to wait for the signal to fly. 
 A wild whoop rose from the west end of the line. 
 A chorus of shrieks rose on the air. 
 
 " Let go o' her, you red devil!" he heard a man 
 shout. 
 
 There followed shrieks, blows and groans and a 
 scene too sickening to describe. Then Jean cried : 
 
 " Run ! run for your lives !" 
 
 The three took to their heels and ran toward the 
 woods. An Indian suddenly started up before 
 them; but Jean knocked him senseless with a 
 stone, seized his gun and cried: 
 
 "Fly for your lives!" 
 
 Three Indian warriors left the seene of murder 
 to follow ; but Jean pointed the gun first at one 
 and then at another, causing each in turn to fall 
 back. In this way, they gained the wood. 
 They fled all day and at night crept into a hollow 
 tree. 
 
 Next morning, they started toward the moun- 
 tains and fell in with seven others. They travelled 
 slowly that day, for Bstella's feet were bruised 
 and sore. Jean was carrying her on his back, 
 when they were suddenly attacked near the great 
 swantip where so many perished. In the flight 
 along a narrow edge which wound around the base 
 of a hill, Jean fell, and the little maid rolled down 
 
WYOMING AND CHERRY VALLEY. 335 
 
 the mountain side among some bushes, where she 
 was captured by the Indians, while Jean, his wife 
 and a few others miraculously escaped. 
 
 Jean and Adrianne returned to Rugby; but 
 poor little Estella's fate was to them unknown. 
 
 The child was frightened almost to death. The 
 party which captured her were seven in number, 
 four Indians and three Tories. She was taken to 
 the valley about nine miles above Fort Forty, and 
 there among some trees the Tories and Indians 
 encamped for the night. 
 
 Some jerked venison meat was given to the 
 prisoner for supper, and she lay down on a blanket 
 which a young warrior gave her for a bed. De- 
 spite the horrors she had recently witnessed, fatigue 
 and loss of sleep overcame her, and she was soon 
 unconscious. She had not slept long, when she 
 was suddenly awakened by the loud, angry voices 
 of men quarrelling, and she started up to find a 
 dozen mounted British soldiers surrounding the 
 camp. 
 
 " I have ridden day and night from Monmouth 
 to save her, " said one whose voice sounded strangely 
 familiar. " Yield her up peacefully, or we will 
 slay you to a man. " 
 
 The officer held a holster pistol in his hand, and 
 was very stern. The Indians and Tories yielded 
 
336 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 without a struggle, and tlien the man, dismounting, 
 came to the prisoner. There was a kind fatherly 
 smile on his face, as he said : 
 
 " Little one, you are saved ! " 
 
 By the aid of the camp-fire, Estella recognized 
 him as the stranger she had met at Rugby. 
 
CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 SIR ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 
 
 After tlie capture of Burgoyne and the defeat 
 of the British at Monmouth, the war shifted to the 
 south, .though there was some fighting and skir- 
 mishing in all the States. General Sullivan be- 
 sieged the English in Newport, August 15, 1778. 
 Count D'Bstaing, who was to have supported him, 
 having suffered severe loss in an engagement with 
 the English fleet, withdrew to Boston for repairs, 
 and Sullivan retired. The British left their works 
 to attack him, but were repulsed. On December 
 29th, the British took Savannah and in 1779 they 
 overran Georgia and part of South Carolinia. On 
 March 3, 1779, an American force under Ashe 
 was surprised by Prevost's brigade and lost 1,600 
 men. The campaign opened early in the year, 
 and during March the British arms were in the 
 main successful. 
 
 On March 2d, Verplanck's Point, on the Hud- 
 son Eiver, surrendered to the British. Norfolk and 
 Portsmouth were taken and partially burned by 
 33 337 
 
338 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 the British. Stony Point on the Hudson was 
 evacuated by the Americans and immediately 
 occupied by the British on the tenth. On the 
 12th of March, the English forces met their first 
 repulse. Prevost made an attempt on Charleston, 
 but failed. 
 
 For several weeks, there was a lull in hostilities. 
 There were plenty of insignificant skirmishes, but 
 no serious conflict. 
 
 On June 6, 1779, an event transpired calcu- 
 lated to fill Americans with hope. Spain declared 
 war against Great Britain. Although Spain was 
 not positively friendly to the United States, and did 
 not become her ally, as did France, yet this dec- 
 laration of war gave the English government 
 another enemy against whom they must direct 
 their armies. On the twentieth of this month, 
 General Lincoln of the American army attacked 
 General Prevost, at Stone Eiver, and, although he 
 was repulsed, Prevost was so severely handled, 
 that he retired from Georgia. 
 
 On the 4th of July, Governor Tryon made a 
 descent on Connecticut, destroyed the shipping at 
 New Haven, and burned Fairfield, Norwalk and 
 Greenwich. While he was continuing his terrible 
 work, General Wayne, one dark night, effected a 
 complete surprise at Stony Point. He killed sixty 
 of the enemy, made five hundred and fifty prison- 
 
SIR ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 339 
 
 ers, with a loss not exceeding one hundred. This 
 and other stirring events near New York recalled 
 Tryon from Connecticut and put an end to his 
 ravages in that State. 
 
 It was during Tryon's raid, that General Putnam 
 had his most thrilling adventure. Putnam was at 
 Greenwich on the borders of the Connecticut. His 
 scouts discovered the enemy, and on the morning 
 of the 26th he had his little band drawn up in line 
 of battle, with a two-gun battery to meet them. 
 When he perceived their overwhelming numbers, 
 Putnam ordered a retreat, which became a rout. 
 The soldiers fled to the adjacent swamps, while 
 the general, putting spurs to his horse, sped toward 
 Stamford, pursued by several British dragoons. 
 Near a meeting-house was a very steep hill, around 
 the brow of which the road swept in a broad curve. 
 Up the acclivity, some stone steps had been con- 
 structed to allow the people beyond a nearer way 
 to the meeting-house. When Putnam reached the 
 turn in the road at the brow of the hill, the dra- 
 goons were so near that he was compelled to either 
 dash down the declivity or surrender. He did the 
 former and, pursuing a zigzag course, thundered 
 down the dangerous steps, while pistol balls of the 
 dragoons whizzed past his head, he flinging back 
 curses and defiance. This is regarded as one of 
 the most romantic episodes in history. 
 
340 
 
 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 July 19tli, Major Lee ("Light-horse Harry") 
 captured the British garrison at Paulus Hook, New 
 Jersey, killing thirty and capturing 
 /. one hundred and sixty. 
 
 The massacre in the Wyoming 
 and Cherry valleys had excited the 
 indignation of 
 "Washington , and 
 General Sullivan 
 was sent with an 
 army, August 29, 
 1780, to punish 
 the Indians and 
 Tories. Near El- 
 mira, in New York 
 State, he met them 
 and, after a severe 
 f_, battle, utterly de- 
 feated and routed 
 them. The Sene- 
 cas, Cuyugas and 
 Mohawks were the 
 greatest sufferers. 
 More than forty of 
 their towns were 
 destroyed. This expedition was for a long time 
 known as the " Crusade in the Forest. " 
 
 The historian must not forget to make mention 
 
 FniNAM THUNDERED DOWN TEB 
 DANGEROUS STEPS. 
 
SIB ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 341 
 
 of some of the naval exploits of this period. Chief 
 among the American naval officers was Paul Jones, 
 whom the English regarded more as a terrible pirate 
 than an officer of any government. Paul Jones 
 was a second Francis Drake, and " singed the beard 
 of the king" by entering his own waters and har- 
 bors, capturing prizes and destroying ships by 
 scores. He was born of humble parentage at Ar- 
 bigland, Scotland, near the mouth of the river 
 Nith, July 6, 1747. His real name was John 
 Paul, the name Jones being added in later life for 
 some reason. His career of furious sea-fights 
 would form a thrilling narrative, but they are too 
 bloody to be enjoyable. On September 24, 1779, 
 he engaged seven English vessels off the coast of 
 Scotland and captured two of them. He was our 
 commodore ; but as his feats have nothing to do 
 with this story, we will pass them hurriedly by. 
 
 The saddest and most disastrous event of the 
 entire year was the combined assault of the French 
 and American forces on Savannah. Had the ad- 
 vice of Colonel Laurens been taken and the attack 
 made in time, the city might have been taken; 
 but too long time was given the Britons to fortify. 
 With hosts of runaway negroes, the British pro- 
 ceeded to entrench themselves, and day and night 
 while Count D'Eataing waited for the English to 
 make up their minds what they would do, the 
 
343 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 work -went on. The crack of whips and yell of 
 negroes being lashed to their work could be heard 
 in the French and American camp. When the 
 assault was made, the French and Americans were 
 repulsed with a loss of one thousand men. Among 
 the slain was Count Pulaski, the gallant Pole. 
 Sergeant Jasper the hero of Fort Moultrie also re- 
 ceived his death wound here. 
 
 The year 1780 opened with still more vigorous 
 efiEorts in the south. The war department of Great 
 Britain seemed to feel that this point of America 
 was more vulnerable than the north. They still 
 held New York, and sent a large force in January 
 to capture Charleston, South Carolinia, and over- 
 run that State. On February 11, 1780, the Brit- 
 ish troops landed on St. John's Island, and the fleet 
 blockaded Charleston. On May 6th, Fort Moul- 
 trie, being invested by sea and land, surrendered. 
 General Lincoln, in command at Charleston, find- 
 ing supplies cut off and knowing he could not suc- 
 cessfully resist, surrendered the city. Colonel 
 Tarleton, on the 29th of May, surprised the Ameri- 
 cans at Waxhaws under Buford, utterly defeated 
 them and cruelly murdered the soldiers. Andrew 
 Jackson, then but a boy, witnessed the fight and 
 massacre. South Carolinia was now practically 
 a royal province, for all opposition for the present 
 was overcome. 
 
SIR ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 343 
 
 Not a ray of light dawned on the cause of the 
 infant republic until June. On the 23d of that 
 month, Generals Clinton and Knyphausen with 
 six thousand British and Hessians advanced to 
 Springfield and burned the town. General Greene, 
 with fifteen hundred men, met them and, after a 
 sharp fight, he checked the advance of the enemy, 
 and they retired to Staten Island. From this time 
 on, the cause of America grew brighter. Count 
 de Rochambeau, with a fleet and six thousand 
 French troops, arrived at Newport, R. I., and pro- 
 ceeded to blockade the British, on the 10th of July. 
 August 6th, the same year, Colonel Sumter made 
 a splendid fight; at Hanging Rock, South Carolinia, 
 and would have won a victory had not his men 
 stopped to plunder the enemies. 
 
 To aid the southern patriots, "Washington had 
 sent the Baron de Kalb, with Maryland and Dela- 
 ware troops, to help Lincoln at Charleston. He 
 was a brave, but slow-moving French ofiicer, sixty 
 years of age, commissioned by congress, in Sep- 
 tember, 1777, a major-general. He was still in 
 Virginia raising a force to go to the aid of Lin- 
 coln, when news of the surrender of Charleston 
 reached him. He did not reach North Carolinia 
 until late in June. Washington desired to have 
 General Greene succeed Lincoln as commander 
 in the South; but congress, yielding to the im- 
 
344 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 portunities of the friends of Gates, procured his 
 appointment to that difficult position. He was 
 authorized to act independently and report directly 
 to congress. The gratified commander joined De 
 Kalb on the 26th of July. 
 
 The prospect to a military man was anything 
 but flattering. The patriots were disheartened by 
 an unbroken series of reverses. The army was 
 poorly equipped and provided for, without money, 
 the climate unhealthy. Yet the boastful Gates, 
 about whom there shone a halo of false glory as 
 the conqueror of Burgoyne, saw nothing but an 
 easy victory before him. What were Comwallis 
 and Eawdon to a man of his genius? 
 
 Among the troops who had been transferred 
 from the northern to the southern field was Albert 
 Stevens' regiment. After the battle of Monmouth, 
 they had for a long time been inactive, then came 
 an order for the regiment to go to Philadelphia. 
 
 While lying here, Albert got a leave of absence 
 and went to his home in Boston. There he learned 
 of the removal of Jean Stevens to the Wyoming, 
 the massacre and the loss of Estella. Jean and 
 his wife had, after many thrilling adventures and 
 untold sufferings, escaped and returned to Eugby, 
 determined to spend their lives there. Albert paid 
 them a visit, and almost his fifst question was about 
 Estella. The good people sadly shook their heads. 
 
SIR ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 345 
 
 " What was her fate?" he asked. 
 
 " Alas, I know not!" Jean answered. 
 
 "Was she slain?" 
 
 " No doubt she was, " he answered. " Or, per- 
 chance, worse, a captive. " 
 
 " If she be a captive — ^if she lives, I will rescue 
 her, " Albert declared. 
 
 One day, while at home in Boston, a ship landed 
 at the long wharf. It was soon learned that it 
 brought paroled prisoners from the British lines. 
 Albert Stevens went down to the wharf and stood 
 gazing at the wretched, weak, emaciated creatures, 
 clothed in rags, as they feebly came from the ship. 
 
 One tall man, whose sallow face was almost hid- 
 den by matted iron-gray beard, came ashore. His 
 tottering, feeble gait denoted fever and famine. 
 
 "Don't you know me?" he asked Albert, in a 
 voice scarce above a whisper. 
 
 "No." 
 
 "What— Albert!" 
 
 "Father! my God! can it be you?" cried the 
 boy. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 In a moment the son had the wretched-looking 
 being in his arms, while tears fell on his tattered, 
 miserable clothing. People stopped to gaze on the 
 prisoner. 
 
 One of the most brutal acts of the British during 
 
346 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 the ■war of the revolution was the confinemeBt of the 
 poor prisoners in the old Jersey prison ship. Ac- 
 cording to Colonel Stevens' statement to his son, 
 there were as many as one thousand crowded into 
 the old hulk at one time. 
 
 " Often have I awakened at morning to find the 
 man who slept next me dead. One night I particu- 
 larly rememher a poor fellow named Scott lay at 
 my side. He had the fatal fever which swept ofE 
 so many. For two or three days he was delirious, 
 but on this evening he became rational. 
 
 " 'I am going to die this very night, ' he said in 
 a faint whisper. Then he lay a long time silent. 
 At last he whispered, 'Oh, mother and Grace, if 
 I could only see you before I go ; but no — no — 
 all is darkness. ' He ceased speaking, and I sup- 
 posed him asleep. I tried to put my hand on his 
 wrist, but I was chained to the wall. Next morn- 
 ing he was dead. 
 
 " When I first became an inmate of this abode 
 of suffering, despair and death, there were about 
 four hundred prisoners on board; but in a short 
 time they amounted to twelve hundred, and, in 
 proportion to our numbers, the mortality increased. 
 
 " All the most deadly diseases were pressed into 
 the service of the King of Terrors ; but his prime 
 ministers were dysentery, small-pox and yellow 
 fever. There were two hospital ships near to the 
 
SIR ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 347 
 
 old Jersey ; but these were soon so crowded witb. 
 the sick, that they could receive no more. The 
 consequence was that the diseased and the healthy 
 were mingled together in the main ship. In a 
 short time, we had two hundred or more sick and 
 dying, lodged in the forepart of the lower gun- 
 deck, where all the prisoners were confined at 
 night. Utter derangement was a common symp- 
 tom of yellow fever, and to increase the horror of 
 the darkness that shrouded us (for we were allowed 
 no light between decks), the voice of warning 
 could be heard : 
 
 " ' Take heed to yourselves ! There is a madman 
 stalking through the ship with a knife in his hand ! ' 
 Sometimes a sick man would become deranged in 
 the night and, attempting to rise in the darkness, 
 would stumble over the bodies which everywhere 
 covered the deck, until some one would rise, grap- 
 ple with him, trip him up and lay him flat on his 
 back on the deck. While so many were sick with 
 raging fever, there was a loud cry for water; but 
 none could be had, except on the upper deck, and 
 but one was allowed to ascend at a time. The 
 suffering, then, from the rage of thirst during the 
 night was very great ; nor was it at all times safe 
 to attempt to go up. Provoked by the continual 
 cry for leave to ascend, when there was already 
 one on deck, the sentry would push them back 
 
348 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 •with his bayonet. By one of these thrusts, which 
 was more spiteful and violent than common, I had 
 a narrow escape with my life. In the morning, 
 the hatches were thrown open, and we were allowed 
 to ascend, all at once, and remain on the upper 
 deck during the day. The first object that met 
 our view in the morning was an appalling spectacle 
 — a boat loaded with dead bodies, on the way to 
 the Long Island shore, where they were slightly 
 covered with sand. I used sometimes to stand and 
 count the number of times the shovel was filled 
 with sand to cover the dead body ; and certain I 
 am that a few high tides, or torrents of rain, must 
 have disinterred them. " 
 
 Why need to prolong Colonel Stevens' story of 
 the horrors of the old prison ship? It was one of 
 the dread evils of war, and the full narration of it 
 would only engender hatred and thoughts that 
 were better forgotten. Colonel Stevens came home 
 a mere shadow of his former self. 
 
 Albert's leave xA absence expired, and he 
 boarded a sloop-of-war and sailed to Philadelphia. 
 Here he joined his regiment, which marched south 
 as an escort of General Horatio Gates, who was 
 going to accomplish such wonders in the new field. 
 Albert was quickly disgusted with his boasting, 
 and was not long in deciding that he was a coarse, 
 drunken, overrated, conceited man. 
 
SIR ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 349 
 
 Simon Tapley declared: 
 
 " Ef he ain't a coward, I don't know one. I 
 bet he runs at first fight. " 
 
 " But he captured Burgoyne. " 
 
 "Don't believe he did. He got the name; but 
 if all were known, you'd find Schuyler had Bur- 
 goyne down and tied, when Gates came up, and 
 then I suspect Arnold and Morgan did the rest. " 
 
 They joined De Kalb. The brave old French- 
 man, with his hair streaked with gray, was a kind, 
 fatherly man, and Albert was delighted when his 
 regiment was placed under his special command. 
 
 " Albert, we've got a general as won't run," de- 
 clared Simon. 
 
 " You mean the Baron de Kalb?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " He is a brave man. " 
 
 " He will make Oomwallis wish he was in Eng- 
 land." 
 
 " Lee did not think so, " Albert answered. 
 
 It was reported that while Gates was on his way 
 from the northern states, while passing through 
 Fredericksburg, he met General Charles Lee, who 
 asked him where he was going. 
 
 " Why, to take Cornwallis, " Gates answered. 
 
 " I am afraid, " quoth Lee, " you will find him 
 a tough piece of English beef. " 
 
 "Tough, sir," replied Gates; "tough! then, 
 
350 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 begad, I'll tender him. I'll make piloo of Mm, 
 sir, in three hours after I set eyes upon him. " 
 
 " Aye ? will you indeed ? " retufned Lee. " Well, 
 then send for me, and I will go and" help you to 
 eat him. " 
 
 Gates smiled his supercilious smile, and, bid- 
 ding Lee adieu, rode off. Lee bawled after him, 
 " Take care. Gates ! take care ; or your northern 
 laurels will degenerate into southern willows." 
 
 Meanwhile the British under Eawdon were lying 
 at Camden. When it was discovered that a 
 gathering storm was about to burst on the royal 
 troops, Cornwallis was hastened to join him. 
 
 There lived three miles from Camden a widow 
 named Stevens. Her husband had perished early 
 in the conflict for freedom. He was a descendant 
 of the same branch of the Stevens family that 
 Albert was, though the relationship was so far re- 
 moved that it could hardly be traced. The widow 
 Stevens was noted for her kindness and charity. 
 
 The day Cornwallis joined Eawdon, on the 14th 
 of August, the same day Gates reached Clermont, 
 Mrs. Stevens was at her beautiful country mansion 
 built in the elegance of old southern homes. Her 
 plantations were large and slaves many. 
 
 She was sitting on the great piazza talking with 
 a slave, who had just been to Camden. 
 
 " Golly, Missus, dar am gwine to be a awful 
 
SIR ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 351 
 
 battle soon. Gineral Lawd Rawdon am at Cam- 
 den, an' Gineral Lawd Cawnwallis, him am comin' 
 already. Den de 'Merioans am comin' down to 
 fight 'em. Dey say we am all gwine to be killed, 
 an' I specks it am so, Missus. " 
 
 The doleful prophecy of the negro was cut short 
 by the roll of carriage wheels. He turned and 
 saw a carriage driven furiously up to the front 
 gate. 
 
 " Some one is coming, Cato. " 
 
 "Yes, Missus." 
 
 " Go and see who it is. " 
 
 As Cato ambled away toward the gate, the door 
 of the carriage was thrown open, and an English 
 officer sprang out. He assisted a girl about fifteen 
 years of age to alight. The bright uniform and 
 epaulets of the officer indicated that he held some 
 high rank. Mrs. Stevens rose from her chair on 
 the piazza, astounded at the appearance of the 
 officer and child. 
 
 "Does Mrs. Stevens live in that mansion?" 
 asked the officer of Cato. 
 
 "Yes, Massa, dat am her; dat am her," he 
 answered, pointing to the widow on the piazza. 
 
 Without another word, the officer came direct to 
 the lady, leading the child by the hand. 
 
 " Mrs. Stevens, I have been recommended to 
 come to you, " said the officer with a bow, " and 
 
352 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 leave this child until the trouble which threatens 
 our army is over. " 
 
 " You are a British officer!" said the widow. 
 
 " True, and you are a Whig ; but from what I 
 have heard of you, I have no hesitancy in leaving 
 this child, who is dearer to me than any other 
 being on earth, with you." 
 
 " You are tired, you have travelled a long dis- 
 tance, come in, " said the widow. They accompa- 
 nied her to the old-fashioned kitchen, where the 
 hospitable table was spread with an excellent repast 
 for the foe of her country. When they had dined, 
 the officer asked: " I can leave her with you?" 
 
 The child raised her eyes to the widow. She 
 was a beautiful maiden. " I cannot refuse shelter 
 even to an enemy, " said Mrs. Stevens, " and much 
 less would I refuse hospitality to this child. " 
 
 The officer, who seemed greatly agitated, went 
 to the piazza. Turning to the widow who had 
 followed him, he said in a low voice — husky with 
 emotion : 
 
 " Madam, you know that war is uncertain. A 
 crisis is coming, I may survive it, and I may not. 
 She is very dear to me. I am of a wealthy and, 
 aristocratic old English family. I entrust her to 
 you. Should I never return, she will be your re- 
 ward; should I survive, you shall be liberally 
 paid," 
 
SIR ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 353 
 
 " I ask no pay, " the widow answered. " I will 
 do my duty, and God will reward me!" 
 
 Then the major, for such was his rank, spoke a 
 few words aside with the maiden, pressed a kiss 
 on the face of the affrighted girl, and hurried 
 away. 
 
 " Is he your father?" asked Mrs. Stevens. 
 
 The child shook her head and began to weep. 
 
 Gates was boasting of his coming victory over 
 Eawdon, and was preparing to advance to the 
 attack. He foolishly weakened his force on the 
 27th of July by ordering Marion and Horry with 
 their forces to hasten on to the Santee Eiver and 
 destroy every scow, boat or canoe, that would assist 
 an Englishman in his flight to Charleston. Marion 
 was a warm friend of General Baron de Kalb, and 
 he and Horry hastened to assure the Baron of their 
 regret at parting with him. 
 
 " It is with equal regret, my dear sirs, that I 
 part with you," the Baron answered, with a sigh, 
 "because I feel a presentiment that we part to 
 meet no more. " 
 
 " I hope for better things, " Marion answered. 
 
 " Oh, no, it is impossible, " he answered. " War 
 
 is a kind of game and has its fixed rules, whereby, 
 
 when we are well acquainted with them, we can 
 
 pretty correctly tell how the trial will go. To- 
 
 23 
 
354 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 morrow, it seems, tlie die is to be cast, and, in my 
 judgment, without — tlie least chance on our side. 
 The militia will, I suppose, as usual, play the hack 
 game, that is, get out of the scrape as fast as their 
 legs can carry them; but that, you know, won't 
 do for me. I am an old soldier and cannot run ; 
 and I believe I have with me some brave fellows, 
 who will stand by me to the last. So that, when 
 you hear of our battle, you will probably hear that 
 your old friend De Kalb is at rest. " 
 
 General Francis Marion, like Washington, was 
 one of the most tender-hearted men living, and 
 when he and Horry bade De Kalb farewell, 
 Marion's eyes were full of tears, and he could not 
 speak. De Kalb, taking his hand in his own, 
 with a firm tone and animated look, said : 
 
 " No, no, gentlemen ; no emotion for me, but 
 rather congratulation. I am happy. To die is 
 the unreversible decree of Him who made us. 
 Then what joy to be able to meet his decree with- 
 out dismay ! This, thank God, is my case. The 
 happiness of man is my wish. That happiness I 
 deem inconsistent with slavery, and to avert so 
 great an evil from an innocent people, I will gladly 
 meet the British to-morrow at any odds whatever. " 
 
 As Marion rode off, he exclaimed : " Oh, what 
 a difference does education make between man and 
 man ! Enlightened by her sacred ray, see here is 
 
SIR ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 355 
 
 the native of a distant country, come to fight for 
 our liberty and happiness, while many of our 
 people, for lack of education, are actually aiding the 
 British to heap chains and curses upon themselves 
 and children. " 
 
 It was on the morning of August 15th, 1780, that 
 Marion and Horry left the army in a good position, 
 at Eugeley's mills, twelve miles from Camden. At 
 ten o'clock that night. Gates determined on a bril- 
 liant stroke and gave orders to march to surprise 
 the enemy. The British had at the same time 
 commenced their march to surprise the Americans. 
 About two o'clock in the morning the advance of 
 both armies met and a sharp fire of musketry broke 
 the silence. Each army halted as if by mutual 
 consent, willing to leave the matter to be decided 
 by daylight. 
 
 A council of war was called, in which De Kalb 
 advised Gates to fall back to Eugeley's Mills, 
 where they could occupy more advantageous 
 grounds. Gates not only rejected the wise plan of 
 De Kalb, but made some allusions to the cowardice 
 that prompted it, to which the aged general re- 
 sponded : 
 
 " Well, sir, a few hours, perhaps, wiU let us see 
 who are the brave. " 
 
 Colonel Peter Horry, one of the few officers of 
 the Revolution who wielded the pen, made a very 
 
356 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 strong hint that Gates was intoxicated on that 
 night ; and his boastful manner more resembles the 
 reckless bravado of a drunken ruffian than the 
 daring of a bold , but careful officer. 
 
 " I wonder where we shall dine to-morrow?" re- 
 marked one of the officers, as, in the dark, they sat 
 on their sleepy horses waiting for the day. 
 
 "Dine, sir!" replied the confident Gates, ''why 
 at Camden, sir, to be sure. Begad! I would not 
 give a pinch of snuff, sir, to be insured a beefsteak 
 to-morrow in Camden, and Lord Cornwallis at my 
 table." 
 
 There was an ominous silence until the gray 
 dawn began to streak the eastern horizon, and then 
 the frightened militia began to discover reddening 
 all over like crimson the long extended lines of the 
 British army. At first, faint whispers ran along 
 the American lines : 
 
 " There they are I They are forming ! They 
 come ! " 
 
 With rolling drums and thundering cannon, the 
 British advanced. The American artillery an- 
 swered the fire, and for a brief interval the woods 
 were ablaze with flame. The militia, under Colonels 
 Williams and Stevens, advanced to the attack. 
 They had been given bayonets only the day before 
 and told to rely mainly oh them, but, when it 
 came to use them, they knew not how. When 
 
SIB ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 357 
 
 the veterans of the British army, led by Webster, 
 made a charge, the militia broke and fled in the 
 utmost precipitation, Gates' wheeled his horse about 
 and started after them. 
 
 " Where are you going?" Albert heard De Kalb 
 ask. 
 
 " To bring the rascals back. " 
 
 That was the last seen of Gates on the Camden 
 battle-field. The cowardly, worthless, drunken 
 reprobate never halted until he reached Charlotte, 
 eighty miles from the field of battle. Horry says, 
 " I remember it was the common talk in those 
 days, that he killed three horses in his flight." 
 This is the man Adams would have supersede 
 Washington. 
 
 The brave old De Kalb was left with a handful 
 of continentals to try the fortune of the day. 
 Never did Spartans fight more bravely. Though 
 outnumbered almost three to one, they sustained 
 the combined attack of the enemy for more than 
 one hour. With equal fury, cannon and muskets 
 were used on both sides, until contending legions 
 were mixed and intermingled. Then abandoning 
 the slower and uncertain mode of slaughter, '' with 
 rage-blackened faces and fiery eyeballs, they plunge 
 forward on each other, to the swifter vengeance of 
 the bayonet. * Far and wide the woods resound 
 
 * Weems' " Marion, " page 105. 
 
358 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 witk the clang of steel, while the red, refeking 
 weapons, like stings of infernal serpents, are seen 
 piercing the bodies of the combatants. Some, on 
 receiving the fatal stab, let drop their useless arms, 
 and, with dying fingers, clasped the hostile steel 
 that's cold in their bowels. Others, faintly crying 
 out, ' God, I am slain ! ' sink pale, quivering to 
 the ground, while the vital current gushed in hiss- 
 ing streams from their bursted bosoms. Officers, 
 as well as men, now mingle in the uproaring strife, 
 and, snatching the weapons of the slain, swell the 
 horrid carnage. Glorying in his continentals, the 
 brave De Kalb towers before them, like a pillar of 
 fire. His burning face is like a red star, guiding 
 their destructive course ; his voice, as the horn that 
 kindles the young pack in the chase of blood. A 
 British grenadier, of giant size, rushes on him with 
 a fixed bayonet. De Kalb parries the furious blow 
 and plunges his sword into the Briton's breast; 
 then, seizing his fallen arms, he deals death around 
 him on the crowding foe. Loud rise the shouts of 
 the Americans ; but louder still the shouts of the 
 more numerous enemy. The battle burns anew 
 along the fierce conflicting line. Thete, the distant 
 Oomwallis pushes on his fresh regiments, like red 
 clouds, bursting in thunder on the Americans; and 
 here, condensing his diminished legions De Kalh 
 still maintains the unequal contest ; but, alas ! what 
 
SIR ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 359 
 
 can valor do against equal valor, aided by such fear- 
 ful odds ? The sons of freedom bleed on every side. 
 With grief, their gallant leader marks the fall of his 
 heroes, soon himself to fall. For, as with a face 
 all inflamed in the fight, he bends forward animat- 
 ing his men, he receives eleven wounds. Fainting 
 with loss of blood, he falls to the ground. Several 
 brave men, Britons and Americans, were killed over 
 him, as they furiously strove to destroy or to de- 
 fend. In the midst of the clashing bayonets, his 
 only surviving aid. Monsieur Du Buyson, ran to 
 him and, stretching his arms over the fallen hero, 
 called out : 
 
 " 'Save the Baron de Kalb!' The British offi- 
 cers interposed, and prevented his immediate de- 
 struction. 
 
 " It has been said that Lord Comwallis was so 
 struck with the bravery of De Kalb, that he gen- 
 erously superintended, while his wounds were 
 dressed, by his own surgeons. It has also been 
 said, that he appointed him to be buried with the 
 honors of war. British officers have been often 
 known to do such noble deeds; but that Lord 
 Comwallis was capable of acting so honorably, is 
 doubtful. 
 
 " De Kalb died as he had lived, the unconquered 
 friend of liberty, for, being kindly condoled with 
 by a British officer for his misfortune, he replied. 
 
860 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 'I thaiak you sir, for your generous sympathy; 
 but I die the death I have always prayed for, — 
 the death of a soldier fighting for the rights of 
 man,' 
 
 " His last moments were spent in dictating a 
 letter to a friend concerning his continentals, of 
 whom he said, he had no words that could suffi- 
 ciently express his love and his admiration of their 
 valor. He survived the action but a few hours 
 and was buried in the plains of Camden, near 
 which his last battle was fought. " 
 
 Albert Stevens and his badly decimated com- 
 pany were fighting near the gallant De Kalb when 
 that hero fell. They were cut off from the others 
 and formed a hollow square to cut their way 
 through, when they found themselves surrounded 
 by a cordon of British bayonets and were forced 
 to surrender. 
 
 Again Albert and Simon were prisoners of war. 
 Albert had little to fear for himself or Simon ; but 
 August Steckel and Joe Jager were captives. 
 Should it be known they were deserting Hessians, 
 no doubt they would be hung; but Jake, his 
 brother and German friend seemed perfectly -un- 
 concerned. They lit their pipes and smoked in 
 silence. 
 
 Albert and a part of his company were taken to 
 an old deserted plantation in the plain of Camden 
 
SIR ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 861 
 
 where they were confined. Here the youthful 
 officer learned that the American loss was about 
 one thousand killed, wounded and prisoners, while 
 the British loss was not half as many. 
 
 When night came, Albert wrapped himself in a 
 military cloak and, sitting in a corner of the great, 
 empty old house, prepared to sleep as best he could, 
 with the horrible recollections of recent events on 
 his mind. At last his eyes closed, overcome with 
 fatigue, and he slept the refreshing sleep of youth 
 and innocence. 
 
 Albert's slumber was blessed after such horrors. 
 He and Estella were roaming the sunny hills about 
 Lexington hand in hand, children as they had 
 been. 
 
 A heavy hand was laid on his shoulder, and one 
 of his guards said : 
 
 "Wake up!" 
 
 Albert opened his eyes. 
 
 " Come with me. " 
 
 He rose to his feet and followed the British sol- 
 dier to another room. A pair of candles were 
 burning on the mantel, "and he saw a British officer 
 with iron -gray hair sitting at a table. The room 
 was partially furnished. In one corner was a tall 
 Dutch clock, which marked the hour of two. 
 
 " Sit down," said the officer pointing to a vacant 
 chair. Then he asked the sentry to retire, which 
 
362 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 he did, closing the door after him. When they 
 were alone, he turned to Albert and said ; 
 
 '■ I presume you are Lieutenant Albert Stevens. " 
 
 " I am, and, if I mistake not, you are the officer, 
 whom I have before met. " 
 
 " I am. I have sent for you to offer you your 
 liberty. " 
 
 " On parole?" 
 
 " No ; absolute freedom. I cannot offer a parole 
 under the circumstances ; but a man escaping be- 
 fore the captives have been numbered will not be 
 missed. You and the man Simon can go across 
 the field to the wood and swamp beyond. Marion 
 and Sumter are in the country, and you will find 
 the woods alive with Whigs ; you can go. " 
 
 " Major, " said Albert, for by his uniform he 
 discovered his rank, " I thank you for your kind- 
 ness ; but you must let three more escape before 
 we can consent. " 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 Albert could not tell why, for he feared the 
 Hessians would be hung ; but he urged the officer 
 to permit the three Germans to go with them. 
 
 " You ask too much, " said he, '" I can release 
 two ; but I dare not five. " 
 
 " I am sorry to say that neither Simon Tapley 
 nor myself will accept your kind ofEer. " 
 
 The major was amazed, irritated and angry. 
 
SIR ARTHUR AT CAMDEN. 363 
 
 He sent for Simon and laid the matter before him ; 
 but Simon was as stubborn and determined as 
 Albert, and declared: 
 
 " Ef the leftenant stays, I'll stay, too, ef I hang 
 for it." 
 
 The major rose and walked the floor for a few 
 moments, and then said : 
 
 " You are hard on me, yes, you are very hard 
 on me; but — but I must consent. You can all 
 go." 
 
 In less than an hour the five patriots found 
 themselves in the forest bordering on the swamp 
 making their way toward the Santee. They were 
 unarmed and on foot, but Simon and Jake, who 
 were excellent foragers, brought in food for the 
 five, and one night they did not scruple to borrow 
 horses without leave from a rich old Tory. Mount- 
 ing, the five rode with all speed to the Santee 
 river, hoping there to find Marion or Sumter. 
 
CHAPTER XVn. 
 
 THE TRAITOB. 
 
 The chronicler of events in American history 
 at this point reaches the darkest period in the 
 struggle for independence. The world has always 
 been willing to put up with the foibles of a brave 
 man, so long as he is true to his trust ; but no age 
 nor race has ever been known to bear with a traitor, 
 no matter what his good qiialities might have been 
 in the past. Benedict Arnold is the one person 
 whom time has not yet forgiven. As the ages roll 
 on, the Americans come to have a kindlier feeling 
 for the Hessians, they even have more respect for 
 Cornwallis and Rawdon, and the cruel and blood- 
 thirsty Tarleton is covered with a mantle of charity ; 
 but for Benedict Arnold, no pen has yet been 
 found bold enough to indite a line in his defence, 
 and no voice has dared to utter a word that might 
 wipe away the stain which forever blackens his 
 name and posterity. All his good actions are lost 
 sight of in the magnitude of his unpardonable 
 offence. 
 
 Yet there were causes which led to Arnold's 
 
 364 
 
THE TRAITOR. 365 
 
 treason. They may not be regarded as palliating 
 circumstances; but he had his wrongs, and his 
 treason partook as much of revenge as a desire 
 for gain. In February, 1777, Congress appointed 
 five additional major-generals. According to the 
 usual practice in reference to promotions, Arnold 
 would have been entitled to this honor ; but those 
 promoted were all 'his juniors, and one of them, 
 General Lincoln, was taken from the militia. To 
 one like Arnold, ambitious of military glory, such 
 a neglect could not be otherwise than deeply 
 wounding. In anticipation of his mortified feel- 
 ings, Washington addressed a kind and soothing 
 letter to him, virtually expressing his disapproval 
 of the course of procedure and advising Arnold to 
 demean himself with the dignity of a soldier, in 
 the hope that justice would soon be done to him 
 and others, who were similarly neglected. 
 
 The Gates and Conway faction in congress 
 headed by John Adams, carried the war against 
 \yashington so bitterly, that their vengeance fell 
 even on his friends. Such was true in the case of 
 General Schuyler, and no doubt the supposed 
 friendship of Washington for Arnold caused his 
 neglect by congress, for a soldier as dashing as 
 Arnold had hosts of friends in the army and among 
 the people. Washington addressed a letter of 
 inquiry to his friends in congress in regard to 
 
366 
 
 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Arnold's neglect. To this eame the answer, that, 
 as each State claimed a mimber of general officers, 
 proportioned to the troops it furnished, and as 
 Connecticut already had two, there existed no va- 
 cancy for another. There was at least plausibility 
 in the reason; but it seems 
 not to have satisfied Wash- 
 ington; much less could it 
 be expected to satisfy so sen- 
 sitive and ambitious a man as 
 Arnold. This disappointment 
 was probably among the 
 causes .which soured the 
 mind of the latter, and laid 
 the foundation of those cor- 
 rodings of the heart, which, 
 in after times, led to the 
 utter ruin of his reputation and came so near to 
 effecting the ruin of his country. 
 
 This, however, was by no means the only ground 
 of Arnold's complaint. Construing the neglect of 
 congress an implied censure of his military conduct 
 in past times — and perhaps the inference was 
 not entirely without foundation^Arnold resolved 
 to demand of congress an examination into his 
 conduct. With this object in view, he proceeded 
 to headquarters to solicit of Washington permission 
 to proceed to Philadelphia. 
 
 Benedict Arnold. 
 
THE TRAITOR. 367 
 
 It was at this time that the infamous General 
 Tryon was laying waste to Connecticut with a 
 force of British and Tories numbering about two 
 thousand. Arnold heard of this invasion, and, 
 for the time, honorably foregoing the object of his 
 journey, and -roused by that high military spirit, 
 which in no small degree characterized him, he 
 immediately turned his course northward, for the 
 purpose of aiding in repelling the foe. 
 
 A militia force of five hundred had been has- 
 tily collected by Generals "Wooster and Silliman. 
 These, together with about one hundred continental 
 troops, Arnold overtook near Eeading, on their 
 march toward Danbury. At Bethel, information 
 was obtained that the town had been fired and the 
 public stores destroyed. Next morning, the forces 
 were divided. General Wooster with two hundred 
 men falling in the rear of the enemy, while Arnold 
 and Silliman, with the remainder increased to five 
 hundred, by a rapid march took post at Ridgefield. 
 
 About eleven o'clock in the forenoon. General 
 Wooster overtook the enemy and gallantly assailed 
 them. 
 
 " Come on,- my boys ! never mind such random 
 shots!" he cried. 
 
 At this instant a ball pierced his side and he 
 fell dying from his horse. 
 
 Arnold, with the others, having gained the north 
 
368 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 end of the long street at Ridgefield, barricaded the 
 road witli carts and wagons, logs and hay and 
 whatsoever could be put in it to resist the force. 
 
 The enemy at three o'clock in the afternoon 
 appeared and made a furious attack. The Ameri- 
 cans, finding that they were going to be flanked, 
 fled. Arnold was the last man to quit the field. 
 He was still at the barricade, when some British 
 and Tories climbed upon the rocks, and a whole 
 platoon fired at him and killed his horse. The 
 animal fell on his foot, and he tried in vain to 
 extricate himself. 
 
 Perceiving the leader prostrate and the Ameri- 
 cans flying, a Tory named Coon, from New Fair- 
 field, rushed toward the general with fixed bayonet. 
 He saw a prospective capture and chance for pro- 
 motion before him. 
 
 "Surrender! You are my prisoner!" cried the 
 Tory. 
 
 Arnold, who in the mean while had succeeded 
 in liberating his foot, leaped to his feet with a 
 pistol in his hand : 
 
 " Not yet, " he answered, firing at the head of 
 Coon. The Tory dropped his musket, sank to his 
 knees and rolled over on his face, a bullet through 
 his brain. Arnold bounded away to a thick 
 swamp, followed by volleys of bullets. He rallied 
 the Americans and continued to annoy the enemy 
 
THE TRAITOR. 36» 
 
 in their progress. Being reinforced next day, he 
 hung upon their flanks and rear, throughout the 
 whole march to their ships, attacking them at 
 every assailable point. In a skirmish near Campo, 
 just before the British embarked, his horse was 
 shot through the neck. 
 
 The heroic conduct of Arnold — perilling his life 
 as a volunteer, even while smarting under a sense 
 of wrong — was duly appreciated wherever his ex- 
 ploits were told. Congress, sensible of the merit 
 of the achievement, immediately promoted him to 
 the rank of Major-General ; but, instead of ante- 
 dating his commission, that he might take rank 
 with those who had been raised above him, they 
 left him still subordinate to them. This was as 
 unfortunate as it was inconsistent. Arnold felt 
 the neglect with a deep sensibility, and imagined 
 that he saw in it an undeniable proof that the 
 charge of ingratitude which he had brought against 
 his country was well founded. 
 
 His complaints were referred to the board of 
 war, and the charges of his accusers examined. 
 The board declared that they were satisfied with 
 the character and conduct of General Arnold, and 
 their report was confirmed by congress. They 
 even presented him with a fine horse, richly ca- 
 parisoned, in token of their appreciation of his 
 gallant conduct in resisting the British and Tories 
 24 
 
370 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 under Tryon. Had they added to this an equality 
 of rank with the generals who had been elevated 
 over his head, Arnold would have been satisfied ; 
 but his personal enemies neglected this duty, and 
 Arnold was more chagrined than flattered, more 
 soured than pacified. 
 
 Added to this, Arnold was mortified and exas- 
 perated that his accounts were not fully and 
 promptly allowed by a committee appointed to 
 audit them. This they could not justly do with- 
 out much qualification, for Arnold lacked the 
 neatness and accuracy of a good business man. 
 They were numerous and large, many debts in- 
 curred were without authority, and vouchers were 
 wanting. The consequence was a general suspicion 
 that Arnold intended to enrich himself, or grat- 
 ify his personal extravagance at public expense. 
 Many an officer has since been cashiered for a simi- 
 lar offence. He bitterly felt his treatment by 
 Gates at Stillwater. An investigation into Ar- 
 nold's conduct resulted in a reprimand. Washing- 
 ton, on whom this duty fell, made the reprimand 
 as light as possible, and yet it fell heavy on the 
 excitable spirit of Arnold. A burning for revenge 
 rankled in his bosom, and he nursed his wrath and 
 resentment, until, by degrees, he had worked him- 
 self up to a pitch of frenzy and resolved to betray 
 his country. 
 
THE TRAITOR. 371 
 
 After being wounded at Stillwater, he was as- 
 signed duty at Philadelphia. Here he became 
 enamoured of Miss Shippen, the daughter of Mr. 
 Edward Shippen, a man of distinguished rank and 
 influence. His love was returned and they were 
 married, the wedding being one of the most nota- 
 ble events of the season. As it may interest some 
 of our readers to know how a bride and groom of 
 a hundred years ago looked, we will pause to give 
 a description of Lady and General Arnold. 
 
 The lady's locks were combed upward over an 
 immense cushion, which sat like an incubus on 
 her head, plastered with pomatum and then 
 sprinkled over with white powder. The height 
 of this tower was nearly, if not quite, a foot, with 
 a single white rosebud lying on top. Over her 
 neck and bosom was folded a lace handkerchief, 
 fastened in front by a bosom -pin containing her 
 grandfather's miniature set in virgin gold. Her 
 airy form was braced up in a satin dress, the 
 sleeves as tight as the natural skin of the arm, 
 with a waist formed by a bodice, worn outside, 
 from whence the skirt flowed ofE, and distended at 
 the top by an ample loop. Shoes of white kid, 
 with peaked toes and heels with two or three 
 inches elevation, inclosed her small feet and glit- 
 tered with spangles as the little pedal members 
 peeped out from beneath her skirts. 
 
372 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 The general's hair was sleeked back and plenti- 
 fully befloured, while his queue projected like the 
 handle of a skillet behind his head. His coat was 
 a sky blue, lined with yellow ; his long vest of 
 white satin, embroidered with gold lace; his 
 breeches of the same material, tied at the knee with 
 blue ribbons ; white silk stockings and pumps with 
 laces and ties of the same hue ; lace ruffles clus- 
 tered around his wrist, and a portentous frill, 
 worked in correspondence, and bearing the minia- 
 ture of his beloved, finished his genteel appear- 
 ance. 
 
 Mrs. Arnold's father was a leading loyalist, and 
 she was intimately acquainted with Sir "William 
 Howe, Major Andre, and other British officers. 
 This alliance brought Arnold into the society of 
 persons in sympathy with the royal cause, who 
 were ready to foster his prejudices and justify his 
 complaints. 
 
 How and when he matured his dark plan no one 
 knows ; but it seems to have been evolved from his 
 own breast rather than suggested by another. His 
 wife, according to history, seems to have known 
 nothing of it. 
 
 To accomplish his plan, it was necessary that he 
 should be appointed to the command of West 
 Point, the fortress Wayne had captured on the 
 Hudson. With consummate art he accomplished 
 
TEE TRAITOR. 379 
 
 his purpose, making a tool of his best friend 
 Washington, whom he designed to betray. He 
 represented that his wound unfitted him for active 
 duty and that he desired a post to guard. The 
 duty was assigned him. 
 
 The general's wife had been corresponding with 
 Major Andre before and after her marriage. 
 Acquainted with this correspondence Arnold took 
 the opportunity presented by it to address, un- 
 known to his wife, letters to Sir Henry Clinton, 
 through Andre, over the signature of Qustavus, 
 and Andre replied under the assumed name of 
 John Anderson. This correspondence had been 
 carried on for months before Arnold's appointment 
 to West Point. For a time Clinton was at a loss 
 to imagine the real character behind the curtain ; 
 but at last, he became convinced that it could be 
 no other than Arnold himself. Hitherto, that 
 general had treated Gustavus with cautious indiffer- 
 ence ; but no sooner was Arnold promoted to the 
 command of West Point, than Clinton was ready 
 to enter into negotiations with him for the surrender 
 of that fortress into the hands of the British, and 
 at almost any price Arnold might name. 
 
 A personal interview between Arnold and Andre 
 was necessary ; but it was late in September before 
 it could be obtained. Washington, accompanied 
 by Lafayette and Hamilton, crossed the Hudson at 
 
374 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Verplanck's Point (where he was joined by Ar- 
 nold), on his way to Hartford to have his first 
 personal conference with Rochamheau. They 
 were at Arnold's headquarters on the 18th of Sep- 
 tember and Arnold ascertained the time when they 
 might be expected at West Point, on their return, 
 and resolved to bring the plot to a point ready for 
 the final act before then He immediately in- 
 formed Clinton, and urged him to send Andre up 
 the river to the British war sloop the VuUure 
 lying just above Teller's Point (now Oroton's), to 
 which a boat with a flag of truce had been sent to 
 convey the major to a selected place of meeting. 
 Between midnight and dawn, Clinton embarked 
 troops on the Hudson pretending they were for the 
 Chesapeake. ' These he intended to lead in person 
 against the Highland Forts. 
 
 The morning of the 20th, Andre left Dobb's 
 Ferry for the Vulture; and on the second night of 
 his arrival, the flag appeared, borne by Joshua 
 Smith, a resident of Haverstraw. Clinton had 
 been very careful to instruct Andre not to change 
 his dress nor take any papers with him ; so with 
 a long surtout over his regimentals, he went ashore, 
 and met Arnold in the bushes at the foot of Tom 
 Mountain, near Haverstraw, by the light of the 
 waning moon. Dawn was approaching before the 
 interview was ended, and the conspirators mounted 
 
THE TRAITOR. 375 
 
 horses provided by Arnold and rode to the house 
 of Smith before daybreak. 
 
 At sunrise, some American artillery was brought 
 to bear upon the Vulture and, after a few shots, 
 she was compelled to hoist anchor and drop down 
 the river out of sight. 
 
 The conference at the Smith house lasted several 
 hours. It was agreed that Arnold should so dis- 
 tribute his forces as to render West Point an easy 
 capture, and as Sir Henry Clinton ascended the 
 river, was to only make a show of resistance, and 
 surrender the post in time for the commander to 
 fall upon and capture the commander-in-chief. 
 
 Andre, with Arnold's written statement of the 
 conditions of the Highland forts in his boot, and 
 a pass for John Anderson from Arnold in his 
 pocket, " to the White Plains and beyond, " changed 
 his scarlet coat for one of Mr. Smith's, and set out 
 on horseback to return. He crossed the river at 
 King's Ferry and set out at dawn for the east side 
 of the Hudson. 
 
 The major reached the vicinity of Tarry town, 
 sixteen miles above the strong British post at 
 King's bridge; and was riding in fancied security 
 up the gentle hill from Sleepy Hollow. So far, 
 everything had gone well. The secret was known 
 to no patriot. He even thought of the glory his 
 exploit would win, and of the fair maiden in old 
 
376 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 England to whom he was betrothed. Suddenly 
 the horse he was riding pricked up its ears and 
 shied a little, which called his attention to three 
 young men seated under a large tree playing cards. 
 They were John Paulding, Isaac Van Wart, and 
 David Williams, three young militia-men, who 
 belonged to a party of seven sent into the neigh- 
 borhood to capture " cowboys, " or British cattle 
 thieves, or arrest any suspicious characters on the 
 highway. 
 
 Paulding, on seeing Andre, seized his rifle, 
 cpcked it and sprang into the road, his companions 
 following his example. They wore no uniform 
 and it was utterly impossible to tell whether they 
 were Tories or militia. Andre supposed they were 
 either the former or " cowboys, " and said : 
 
 " Gentlemen, I hope you belong to our party." 
 
 Those apparently ignorant country boys were 
 too shrewd for the cunning major, and Paulding 
 cautiously asked: 
 
 "Which party?" 
 
 " The lower party. " 
 
 Paulding, designing to mislead him still further, 
 answered : 
 
 "We do." 
 
 Andre then feeling that he was safe at last 
 among friends, and that the horrors of this terrible 
 adventure were over, joyfully declared : 
 
TBE TRAITOR. 877 
 
 " Gentlemen, I am a Britisli officer, out in the 
 country on particular business, and hope you will 
 not detain me a minute. Here, you can see by 
 my watch that I am an officer, " and he exhibited 
 an excellent gold watch on which was engraved the 
 Lion, Unicorn, and Crown. 
 
 " Dismount, " said Paulding, sternly, " you have 
 made a mistake, " and he levelled his rifle at the 
 major's head. 
 
 " My God ! I must do something to get along !" 
 groaned Andre, and he showed them Arnold's 
 pass, adding, " Gentlemen, you had best let me go, 
 or you will bring yourselves into trouble, for your 
 stopping will detain the general's business. " 
 
 " Where are you going?" asked Paulding. 
 
 " To Dobb's Ferry to meet a person there from 
 whom I expect important intelligence for Arnold. " 
 
 Paulding shook his head inexorably. A few 
 moments before, Arnold's pass might have sufficed ; 
 but it would not now. The major had dismounted 
 and stood timidly holding his horse's rein. Pauld- 
 ing courteously said : 
 
 " I hope you'll not be offended ; we do not in- 
 tend to take anything from you ! There are many 
 bad people on the road, and you, perhaps, are one 
 of them. Have you any letters?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 They took him into the bushes and searched 
 
378 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 him. Andre was dressed in a blue surtout, a 
 claret-colored body-coat trimmed with lace; nan- 
 keen ■waistcoat and breeches ; flannel underclothes, 
 round hat, thread stockings, and boots. They 
 stripped him to his shirt, but found no papers on 
 him, and were about to let him go, when David 
 Williams suggested that he might have something 
 in his boots. He was commanded to take them 
 off, an order which he reluctantly obeyed, and the 
 tell-tale papers of Arnold were found between his 
 stockings and feet. 
 
 " This is a spy ! " cried Paulding, poring over 
 the papers. Andre offered them his watch and all 
 the money about his person and to send them a 
 large amount if they would let him go. 
 
 " Not for ten thousand guineas, " said Paulding ; 
 and the three young men conducted their prisoner 
 to Lieutenant -Colonel Jameson at North Castle. 
 Jameson was stupid enough to determine to send 
 the prisoner to Arnold ; but Major Tallmadge next 
 in rank remonstrated so warmly that he consented 
 to confine the captive until he should receive orders 
 from Arnold or Washington. He was so foolish 
 however as to write a letter to Arnold informing 
 him of the arrest of the prisoner. 
 
 That night the prisoner wrote to Washington, 
 franjily announcing his name and rank, and giving 
 a truthful account of the whole affair. He gave 
 
THE TRAITOR. 379 
 
 the letter to Tallmadge to read, who was aston- 
 ished to find the captive was Major Andre, adju- 
 tant-general of the British army. He was finally 
 taken to the headquarters of the army at Tappan. 
 
 Meanwhile, Washington was on his return from 
 Hartford. On the morning of September 25th, 
 1780, he and his attendants left Fishkill before 
 dawn and rode on with speed toward the Robinson 
 house to breakfast with General and Mrs. Arnold. 
 
 When near there. General Washington said to 
 his companions: 
 
 " I want to turn down a lane here to look at a 
 battery on the brink of the river. Go to the house 
 and inform the general of my arrival. I will soon 
 join you. " 
 
 They went on, and while at the table before 
 Washington's arrival, a messenger entered with a 
 letter for General Arnold. It was the mischievous 
 letter from Jameson, which told him of Andre's 
 arrest. Arnold's presence of mind did not forsake 
 him. He rose coolly, with a smile, saying: 
 
 " Gentlemen, you must excuse me, for business 
 of importance demands my presence at West Point 
 immediately. " 
 
 He ran to his wife's chamber, and sent for her. 
 There he briefly told her all — told her in hurried 
 words how his name was blasted and his life de- 
 pended on his reaching the British lines. 
 
380 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Horror-stricken, the poor young creature 
 swooned and sank helpless upon the floor. Arnold 
 dared not call for help; but kissing, with lips 
 blasted by words of guilt and treason, his boy then 
 sweetly sleeping, he rushed from the room, 
 mounted a horse belonging to one of his guests and 
 hastened to the river along a byway yet known as 
 Arnold's Path. 
 
 There he found his barge and six oarsmen, and, 
 leaping in, he bade them push out into the middle 
 of the river and pull for Teller's Point, offering 
 them liberal bribes if they used all speed. Ar- 
 nold, the brave and daring patriot, was a pitiful 
 coward now. Treason, disgrace and guilt always 
 make one a coward. He reached the Vulture, 
 where he turned over his faithful oarsmen as pris- 
 oners and went to New York, where Sir Henry 
 Clinton ordered the oarsmen to be released, Ar- 
 nold received a commission as colonel in the British 
 army but he was detested even by the British. 
 From this time on, Arnold seemed to become a 
 fiend incarnate. His hatred of Americans was 
 fearful, and wherever he went, he left blackened 
 ruins behind him. 
 
 Washington arrived at Eobinson's house just 
 after Arnold had left it; but no one save the 
 horror-stricken wife knew of the flight of the 
 traitor. Supposing he was at West Point, Wash- 
 
THE TRAITOR. 881 
 
 ington crossed over the river and did not return 
 until noon. On Ms return he was met near the 
 landing-place by Alexander Hamilton, into whose 
 hand the messenger had placed the proofs of Ar- 
 nold's treason — the papers taken from Andre's 
 boots, and the major's letter to Washington. 
 
 The commander-in-chief was stunned by the 
 blow. The poor wife of a man whom he had 
 loved and admired was in a precarious condition 
 — his friend a traitor, flying to the enemy, — ^it all 
 seemed like a terrible dream, and, as General 
 Washington pressed his hand to his brow, he 
 groaned : 
 
 "Oh, God! can it be true?" 
 
 But his duty was clear. Friendship and sym- 
 pathy could not swerve him from the path. He 
 made every effort to capture the traitor and, when 
 Andre was tried and convicted of being a spy, 
 offered to exchange him for Arnold ; but this Sir 
 Henry Clinton would not do. Major Andre was 
 tried by fourteen general officers, most of them 
 foreigners, and convicted as a spy. He was hanged 
 as such. Sentimentalists have made much over 
 the trial and execution of Andre. His excellent 
 family, his education, and the exalted position he 
 held in the army, they think should have saved 
 him; but Andre was captured in the American 
 lines with papers and plans of important works. 
 
382 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 and if ever there was a spy he was one. His edu- 
 cation, birth and family should have kept him 
 from entering into the business of a spy. If the 
 law condemns a spy to death, he should have 
 suffered the penalty of the law even though he had 
 been the Prince of Wales, whose life is no dearer 
 to him than the poorest peasant over whom he 
 rules. Too much is thought of the lives of the 
 rich and great, and not enough of the poor and 
 lowly. A hundred common soldiers may be hung 
 and not a murmur be heard. 
 
 Again critics, filled with fulsome adulation and 
 praise of Andre, blame Washington for not respect- 
 ing his wish to have him shot instead of hung. 
 Military laws are inexorable. Military law said 
 that the spy should be hung; but there was no 
 law for shooting him. To hang was lawful; to 
 shoot would have been murder. 
 
CHAPTBE XVIII. 
 
 HOPE AND DESPAIR. 
 
 Albert Stevens and his friends had a wild 
 ride through the woods and swamps of South 
 Carolinia. They were often discovered by parties 
 of Tories; then there was a rapid flight, a shower 
 of balls, and for hours they lay hidden in the jun- 
 gles and swamps. One morning they came to the 
 Santee, where could be seen a number of men de- 
 stroying the scows and boats of the rice-growers. 
 These were Marion's men sent by the foolish Gates 
 to prevent the British retreat. They had just de- 
 stroyed a scow, and were putting a finishing touch 
 to a boat, when an elderly gentleman, evidently a 
 rice planter, came galloping down to the river 
 under whip and spur, yelling at the top of his 
 lungs : 
 
 "Hold! hold! for God's sake, hold!" Then, 
 dashing up with his face aflame with rage and in- 
 dignation, his eyes starting from their sockets, as 
 he contemplated the ruin done to his boats, he 
 roared out, " Why, what — ^what — what are you 
 about here?" 
 
 383 
 
384 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " We are only t-t-t-trying to k-k-kidnap the 
 Britisli, uncle, " one stammered. 
 
 "Kidnap the d — ^1!" thundered the planter. 
 Looking about and seeing how completely they 
 had shivered his fine new boat and scow, he ripped 
 out again. " Well ! here is a pretty spot of work ! 
 a pretty spot of work ! A brand new scow and 
 boat, that cost me, only last Spring, threehundred 
 dollars, every farthing of it ! and here now all cut 
 to smash! ruined! not worth a chew of tobacco! 
 Why! did mortal flesh ever see 4he like of this? 
 Breaking up our boats! Why! how are we to 
 harvest our rice?" 
 
 " U-u-u-uncle, you b-b-better think less about 
 harvesting your rice and m-m-more of catching 
 the muskrats!" answered the stuttering young 
 man, whom Albert rightly guessed was a relative 
 of the angry planter. 
 
 The old planter, evidently overflowing with rage 
 and astonishment, exclaimed : 
 
 " Why, certainly the d — 1 is in the young man ! 
 catch the British ! Why, have you not heard that 
 the British are carrying everything before them ; 
 have broke up our army, cut the regulars to pieces, 
 scattered the militia, and chased General Gates to 
 Jericho, and to the d — 1 for what I care?" 
 
 " God forbid ! " exclaimed a man whom Albert 
 recognized as General Marion, 
 
HOPE AND DESPAIR. 385 
 
 " Nay, it is past praying for, " returned the 
 elderly gentleman, whom they afterward learned 
 was Colonel E. Horry, a rich planter and the uncle 
 of the stuttering young man, who was none other 
 than Peter Horry, a partisan officer and aiuthor, 
 who afterward became a brigadier general. The 
 old man continued, " If you had any interest in 
 Heaven you ought to have made your prayer 
 sooner. It is too late now. " 
 
 "Great God!" groaned Marion; "and so our 
 army is lost?" 
 
 " Yes, " continued the planter ; " lost, as sure as 
 a gun ; and that is not all ; for De Kalb is killed, 
 Sumter surprised and cut to pieces, and Charles- 
 ton is illuminated every night for joy. " 
 
 Marion, Horry and the few provincials about 
 them were silent. The planter looked about over 
 their men, about thirty in number, armed only 
 with rifles and pistols, and asked: 
 
 " Where are your troops?" 
 
 " These are all we have, " Marion answered. 
 With a whistle the old man exclaimed : 
 
 " Mad ! — mad ! — the young fellows are mad as 
 March hares! Well, I'll tell you what, you 
 may go about on the river, chopping the planters' 
 boats at this rate; but I wouldn't be in your 
 coats or your jackets, though they were stiff with 
 gold." 
 
 25 
 
386 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " What do you mean?" Marion asked. 
 X " Why, I mean that, if you are not all of you 
 knocked on the head in three hours, it ■will be a 
 wonder. " 
 
 " Aye ! W-w-w-what makes you think so, un- 
 cle?" asked Peter Horry. 
 
 " You know my old waiting-man Tom, don't 
 you?" answered the planter. 
 
 " T-t-to be sure I do. I have known T-T-Tom 
 ever since I was a boy, and I should be con- 
 founded sorry to hear Tom prophesy any harm 
 of me ; for I have always taken him to be a very 
 true man of his word. " 
 
 "Yes, I'll warrant him," said the planter; "for, 
 though Tom is a negro and as black as old Nick, 
 I would as soon take Tom's word as that of any 
 white man in Carolinia. Well, Tom, you know, 
 has a wife at Mr. Grant's, as rank a Tory as we 
 have hereabouts. On coming home this morning, 
 he shook his head and said he was mighty 'fraid 
 you and Colonel Marion were in a bad box; for 
 he got it from one of the black waiters in the 
 house, who overheard the talk, that there are three 
 companies of Tories now moulding their bullets 
 and making ready to cut you off. " 
 
 Albert at this juncture discovered himself and 
 his friends to Marion and was welcomed. He was 
 fresh from the scene of disaster and gave Marion 
 
HOPE AND DESPAIR. 387 
 
 sufficient information to confirm all the planter 
 had told. 
 
 " That drunken egotist was not fit to command 
 the army of the South," declared Marion. 
 
 But they were in peril. Already preparations 
 were being made to cut them off. They retired 
 to the swamp, where for days they lived on roots 
 and wild fruit. Albert and his friends were thus 
 thrown into the company of the famous Swamp 
 Fox. A few days later Marion struck his first 
 blow. "With but thirty men, he suddenly dashed 
 upon a party of British, ninety in number, killed 
 three and released two hundred prisoners captured 
 at Camden. Marion, almost alone, held the field 
 from the 16th of August to October; but British 
 and Tory cruelty roused the people of South Caro- 
 linia, and the closing event of the year 1780 was 
 the signal victory at King's Mountain. Com- 
 wallis marched his army to Charlotte, in North 
 Carolinia, early in September, and from that point 
 sent out detachments to execute his cruel orders. 
 While Tarleton and his legions were operating 
 eastward of the Catawba, Major Patrick Ferguson 
 was sent to embody the Tories among the moun- 
 tains west of the Broad Eiver. Many profligate 
 and unworthy men joined his standard, and at the 
 beginning of October he encamped among the 
 gravelly, wooded hills of King's Mountain, about 
 
388 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 two miles soutli of the North Carolinia border. 
 The patriots west of the Alleghany ranges had 
 suffered but little as yet from the British, and the/ 
 determined not to do so. They lived independent 
 lives. Their mines furnished their own lead. 
 From their saltpetre beds they made their own 
 powder, and every man was a hunter and crack 
 shot with the rifle. Shooting matches were their 
 chief amusements, and when they heard that Fer- 
 guson was advancing, they determined to stop 
 him. Nine hundred of their best horsemen rode 
 all one moonlight night and, on the afternoon of 
 the next day, came near Ferguson's camp, now 
 swelled to over eleven hundred and mostly Tories. 
 The Whigs were organized in regiments under 
 Colonels Shelby, Sevier, Campbell, Cleveland, Mc- 
 Dowell and Williams, and were chiefly Virginians 
 and North Carolinians. 
 
 The Whigs dismounted and, forming themselves 
 in four columns, advanced to within a quarter of 
 a mile of Ferguson's camp, without being discov- 
 ered. Shelby and Campbell's command, forming 
 the right and left centres of the force, pushed up 
 the hill and made the first attack. The British 
 flew to arms and charged with bayonets ; but the 
 rifles continued cracking incessantly, and the 
 ground was quickly strewn with dead and dying. 
 Those backwoods marksmen seldom missed. 
 
HOPE AND DESPAIR. 389 
 
 Flanking parties fell on Ferguson's left and rear 
 and drove him into a hollow, where he fell dead 
 •from a rifle-bullet on the border of a clear moun- 
 tain brook. The British and Tories now surren- 
 dered. Their entire loss was eleven hundred and 
 five, of whom four hundred and fifty -six were 
 killed or wounded. The Americans lost twenty- 
 eight killed and sixty wounded. 
 
 This was the last important conflict of the year 
 and was calculated to rouse the hopes of the 
 patriots. 
 
 The year 1780 closed with alternating hope and 
 despair. King's Mountain was to Cornwallis what 
 Bennington was to Burgoyne, the beginning of the 
 end. He was forced to abandon a good part of 
 North Carolinia, while Marion, with whom Albert 
 and his friends still remained, made foray after 
 foray against the enemy and became the dread of 
 the British. 
 
 Albert was with Marion on Snow's Island, when 
 the British officer came to the haunt of the Swamp 
 Fox concerning the exchange of prisoners. When 
 they sat down to the meal of roasted sweet pota- 
 toes, he heard the officer say : 
 
 " Surely, general, this cannot be your ordinary 
 fare?" 
 
 " I suppose, " replied Marion, " it is not equal 
 to the British officers' style of dining. " 
 
390 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 "No, indeed," quoth the officer, "and tliis, I 
 imagine, is one of your accidental Lent dinners, a 
 sort of a banyan. In general, no doubt, you live 
 a great deal better?" 
 
 " Eather worse, " answered Marion ; " for often 
 we don't get enough of this." 
 
 "Heavens!" rejoined the officer. "But, proba- 
 bly, what you lose in meal you make up in innalt. 
 Though stinted in provisions, you draw noble 
 pay?" 
 
 "Not a cent, sir," Marion answered, "not a 
 cent." 
 
 " Heavens and earth ! then you must be in a 
 bad box. I don't see, general, how you can 
 stand it; " 
 
 " Why, sir, " replied Marion, with a smile of 
 self -approbation, "these things depend on feeling. " 
 
 The Englishman thought it would not be an 
 easy matter to reconcile his feelings to a soldier's 
 life, when it was all fighting and no pay and no 
 provisions but potatoes. To this, Marion answered : 
 
 " Why, sir, the heart is all ; and, when that is 
 much interested a man can do anything. Many a 
 youth would think it hard to indent himself a 
 slave for fourteen years ; but let him be over head 
 and ears in love, and with such a beauteous sweet- 
 heart as Eachel, and he will think no more of 
 fourteen years' service, than young Jacob did. 
 
HOPE AND DESPAIR. 391 
 
 Well, now, tbis is exactly my case. I am in love; 
 and my sweetheart is Liberty. Be that heavenly 
 nymph my companion, and these wilds and woods 
 shall have charms beyond London and Paris in 
 slavery. To have no proud monarch driving over 
 me with his gilt coaches ; nor his host of excisemen 
 and tax-gatherers insulting and robbing me ; but 
 to be my own master, my own prince and sover- 
 eign, gloriously preserving my national dignity 
 and pursuing my true happiness, planting my 
 vineyards' and eating their luscious fruits, sowing 
 my fields and reaping the golden grain, and seeing 
 millions of brothers all around me, equally free 
 and happy as myself, this, sir, is what I long 
 for." 
 
 The officer was so affected by the brief lecture 
 from Marion, that he declared he could not fight 
 men engaged in such a cause, and he threw up his 
 commission and retired from the service. 
 
 Among the acquaintances Albert found among 
 General Marion's men, was that of Sergeant Mac- 
 Donald, of whom reference was made in Chapter 
 IV. The redheaded Scotchman soon became very 
 fond of the young lieutenant, especially when he 
 learned that he had served under the glorious 
 General Washington. 
 
 " Zounds, my friend, you have led a wild life, 
 as well as I!" said MacDonald, when he heard 
 
398 ^ INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Albert tell of Hs father and tlie uiiknown fate of 
 Estella Mead. 
 
 While Marion was encamped in the neighbor- 
 hood of Georgetown, he one day ordered Captain 
 Withers to take MacDonald, with four volunteers, 
 and go to the enemies' lines to see what they were 
 doing. Albert Stevens and Simon Tapley with 
 August Steckel and his brother Jake comprised 
 the other four. They had approached to within a 
 mile of the town, when the six young madcaps 
 met an old Tory, a sort of a half-witted fellow, 
 whom neither side regarded as dangerous, and who 
 therefore was suffered to go whither he pleased. 
 He had been to town and was going home in his 
 old cart. The old man knew Withers jrery well, 
 and as soon as he was near enough to recognize 
 him, he bawled out : 
 
 "God's mercy. Master Withers! why, where 
 are you going this course?" 
 
 " Going, old daddy ! why to the devil, perhaps, " 
 answered Withers with a laugh. 
 
 "Well, faith! that's like enough, captain," said 
 the old man, " especially if you keep on this tack 
 much longer ; but, before you go any further, sup- 
 pose you take a pull with me of this," holding 
 up a stout tickler of brandy. " Mayhap you may 
 not get such good liquor as this where you are 
 going." 
 
HOPE AND DESPAIR. 393 
 
 He could not have offered the madcaps anything 
 more agreeable. 
 
 " With all my heart, daddy, " answered Withers, 
 and he turned up the tickler, took a good big 
 dram and passed it to MacDonald, who also 
 drank, and " Tom drank it, and Dick drank it, 
 and Harry drank it, and so they all drank it." 
 And they talked and drank dram after dram, 
 until the tickler was drained to the bottom. The 
 brandy flew to their heads and began to work 
 wonders, and each man felt himself a host. Mac- 
 Donald, with his face as red as a comet, reined 
 up Selim and, drawing his claymore, began to 
 pitch and prance about, cutting and slashing the 
 empty air, as if he had a score of enemies before 
 him, and ever and anon roaring out : 
 
 " Huzzah, boys! charge!" while the others, 
 reining up their horses, flourished their swords. 
 
 "Where the plague are you going to charge?" 
 asked the old Tory. 
 
 " Why, into Georgetown, right off!" they roared, 
 flourishing their sabres over their heads. 
 
 " Well, you had better have a care, boys, how 
 you charge there, for I'll be blamed if you don't 
 get yourselves into business pretty quick. The 
 town is chuck full of redcoats. " 
 
 "Redcoats!" roared Withers, Simon and Mac- 
 Donald. "Bedcoats! egad, that's just what we 
 
394 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 want. Charge, boys ! charge I Huzzah — ^the red- 
 coats be d — d!" 
 
 Then, clapping spurs to their steeds, off went 
 these six young madcaps, huzzahing and flourish- 
 ing their swords and charging at full tilt, into 
 a British garrison town of three hundred men. 
 They were all just drunk enough to be totally 
 reckless of consequences, save Albert who had not 
 touched a drop of the brandy, though he was as 
 daring as any. 
 
 The enemy supposed the yelling and shouting 
 horsemen the advance of Marion's whole force 
 and flew with all speed to their redoubt ; the long 
 roll sounded, and they loaded their guns. There 
 were several redcoats on the street, and seven of 
 these were overtaken and cut down by the troopers ; 
 MacDonald and Simon Tapley slaying two each. 
 One of the slain was a sergeant-major, a stout and 
 greasy fellow, who strove hard to waddle away 
 with his bacon ; but Selim was too quick for him, 
 and MacDonald, with a back-handed stroke of his 
 claymore, sent him rolling in the dust, his skull 
 cleft in twain. 
 
 Having cleared the streets, the young troopers 
 galloped up to the house of a Whig, asked the 
 news and called for some cider. 
 
 Albert Stevens, who had been as completely 
 carried away by the exciting event as his half -tipsy 
 
HOPE AND DESPAIR. 395 
 
 companions, suddenly turned his eyes to the win- 
 dow of a Tory's house and saw a face looking at 
 him. One glance, then a shout of amazement and 
 joy escaped his lips. 
 
 The victim of Wyoming had materialized in 
 sunny Oarolinia, and he cried : 
 
 "Stella! Stella! alive, thank God!" 
 
 The report of a musket and whiz of a ball did 
 not deter him. He dashed toward the house. 
 
 The British, having discovered that they had 
 been put to flight by but half a dozen Americans, 
 had begun to rally and were firing shots from be- 
 hind houses at them, though keeping at a respect- 
 ful distance. 
 
 "Come, boys, fly!" said Withers, sobered by 
 the firing. 
 
 " Stella, is it you?" cried Albert, riding as near 
 to the house as he could for a stone fence. 
 
 The maid extended her head and shoulders from 
 the upper window of the house and cried : 
 
 "Fly! fly for your life! Don't you see the 
 British returning?" 
 
 " Yes, gawl darn 'em, come on !" said Simon. • 
 
 " Zounds, lef tenant, are you mad?" cried Mac- 
 Donald. 
 
 Albert dismounted and was about to scale the 
 wall, when MacDonald dexterously brought Selim 
 alongside the young man and, bending over in 
 
396 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 the saddle, wound one strong arm about his waist 
 and, with a defiant shout at the enemy, galloped 
 away, carrying the frantic Albert with him, while 
 Simon brought up the rear leading his horse. A 
 hundred shots were fired at them ; but not a man 
 was touched. 
 
 This mad frolic mortified the British comman- 
 dant at Georgetown more than a defeat would have 
 done. 
 
 " That half a dozen young rebels should thus 
 dash in among us in open daylight, " he said, " and 
 fall to cutting and slashing the king's troops at 
 this rate, and after all to gallop away without the 
 least harm to hair or hide! 'Tis high time we 
 turn our bayonets into pitchforks and go to fod- 
 dering the cows!" 
 
 On October 30lh, 1780, General Nathaniel 
 Greene was appointed to succeed Gates in command 
 of the troops in the southern States. Congress, see- 
 ing the folly of making the southern department 
 independent, gave Greene all the power which they 
 had conferred upon their favorite, but " subject 
 to the control of the commander-in-chief. " This 
 unity of the military forces had a most salutary 
 effect. Leaving Steuben in command in Virginia 
 to forward troops, Greene hastened to Charlotte. 
 
 The year of 1780 closed with the lamp of liberty 
 burning steady and bright. There was much dis- 
 
HOPE AND DESPAIR. 397 
 
 satisfaction among the troops and among the people 
 of the South, who felt that they were being aban- 
 doned to the ravages of the British. Had Com- 
 wallis used milder means and become a pacifier 
 instead of a cruel tyrant, it is probable that, under 
 the circumstances, he could have held the South 
 two or three years longer, as only a few brave 
 hearts like Marion and Sumter, loyal to liberty, 
 were making any defence against the hordes of 
 Britons and Tories. Fortunately for the cause 
 of the North American Eepublic, Cornwallis had 
 not the disposition or judgment to reconcile. He 
 was a soldier, not a ruler or a diplomat. He was 
 naturally cruel and knew no means but oppression 
 for ruling. Submission by oppression only, was 
 his motto. 
 
 In January, 1781, the complaints of the Penn- 
 sylvania troops rose to a mutiny. General Wayne, 
 who was a great favorite among his men, tried to 
 quell it. The troops determined to march to 
 Philadelphia in a body to demand of congress the 
 just pay due them. Wayne drew his pistol and 
 galloped before the angry soldiers threatening them ; 
 but, finding it impossible to quell the mutiny, he 
 decided to go with them to congress and demand 
 their right. Through the wisdom and moderation 
 of Washington and Wayne, the matter was ad- 
 justed satisfactorily. Sir Henry Clinton sent an 
 
398 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 agent among the mutineers, witli promises of pay 
 and bounty if they would enlist under the banner 
 of King George III. ; but the mutineers were pa- 
 triotic. They seized the agent and turned him 
 over to be hung for a spy. Early in this year, 
 Arnold the traitor began to display his evil designs 
 against the Americans. He landed in Virginia, 
 in January, 1781, and laid waste to the country. 
 His hatred seemed to know no bounds, and his 
 savage disposition burst in all its fury on the weak 
 and helpless. His brilliant career, however, was 
 at an end. He was despised by all men, and no 
 respectable British officer would associate with 
 him. He asked a young American whom he had 
 captured : 
 
 " What would the Americans do with me, if 
 they should capture me?" 
 
 " We would bury your leg wounded at Bemis 
 Heights with the honors of war, and hang the rest 
 of your body. " 
 
 General Greene was no sooner in the South, 
 than he prepared, with his characteristic energy, 
 to pursue and fight the enemy as occasion might 
 require. He arranged his army in two divisions 
 and, with the main force, took post at Cheraw, 
 east of the Pedee River, and sent General Daniel 
 Morgan, the hero of Saratoga, with about a thou- 
 sand men to occupy the country near the junction 
 
HOPE AND DESPAIR. 399 
 
 of the Broad and Pacolet rivers in western South. 
 Carolinia. Comwallis, wlio was preparing for 
 another invasion into North Carolinia, suddenly 
 found himself placed between two foes. Unwilling 
 to leave Morgan in his rear, he sent Tarleton to 
 capture or disperse his troops. Morgan fell back 
 before the superior force of the enemy, crossing 
 rivers and small streams and wading through tan- 
 gled marshes, to Thickety Mountains in Spartans- 
 burg District near the North Carolinia line, where 
 he halted at a place called The Cowpens, so called 
 because owners of cattle " rounded them up" there 
 to salt and brand thenj. Morgan was encamped 
 on a plain covered by a pine forest, and was there 
 overtaken by Tarleton. Like a brave soldier, he 
 determined to fight. He arranged about four hun- 
 dred of his best men in line of battle on a bit of 
 rising ground. The Maryland light infantry under 
 Lieutenant-Colonel John Eager Howard composed 
 the centre, and Virginia riflemen formed the wings. 
 Eighty dragoons, led by Lieutenant- Colonel Wil- 
 liam Washington, were placed out of sight as a 
 reserve, and about four hundred Carolinians and 
 Georgians under Pickens were in the advance to 
 defend the approaches to the camp. North Caro- 
 linia and Georgia sharpshooters acted as skirmishers 
 on each flank. 
 
 At eight o'clock on the morning of January 17, 
 
400 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 1781, Tarleton, witli his entire force of eleven 
 hundred foot and horse, furiously assailed the 
 Americans. Morgan, by a skilful movement, 
 feigned a retreat, when the impetuosity of the 
 enemy broke their own ranks. Quick as thought 
 he wheeled about and attacked them so vigorously 
 that the British wavered. At this moment How- 
 ard charged the British lines so furiously with 
 the bayonet, that he broke their ranks and sent 
 them flying in confusion. Then Colonel William 
 Washington's cavalry came thundering down like 
 an avalanche on the British cavalry. The enemy 
 was completely routed and fled, pursued for twenty 
 miles by the victorious Americans. 
 
 In the flight, Washington singled out Tarleton 
 and, pressing spurs, pursued him so furiously, 
 that he got far in advance of the main body of his 
 dragoons, when Tarleton and two of his aids, at 
 the head of the troop of the I7th regiment of dra- 
 goons, turned upon him. An officer on Tarleton's 
 right raised his sword to strike the impetuous Wash- 
 ington, when a sergeant of cavalry fired his holster 
 and wounded the assailant's sword arm. An officer 
 on Tarleton's left was about to -strike at the same 
 moment, when Washington's little bugler, who had 
 kept close behind his beloved colonel, too small to 
 wield a sword, wounded the assailant with a pistol - 
 ball. All the while Tarleton and Washington 
 
HOPE AND DESPAIR. 401 
 
 were engaged in a terrible sabre combat. The 
 most thrilling hand-to-hand combat is a sabre-fight 
 on horseback. The sabre of Washington cut two 
 of the fingers from Tarleton's right hand. He 
 dropped his sabre, fired his pistol at "Washington, 
 wounding him in the knee and, wheeling his horse 
 about, escaped. 
 
 When Cornwallis and his army were at Halifax, 
 on their way to Virginia, Tarleton was at the 
 house of an American. In the presence of Mrs. 
 Wilie Jones, Tarleton, in alluding to Colonel 
 Washington, spoke of him as an illiterate fellow, 
 hardly able to write his name. 
 
 "Ah! Colonel," said Mrs. Wilie Jones, "you 
 ought to know better, for you bear on your person 
 proof that he knows very well how to make his mark. " 
 
 At another time, Tarleton, who was speaking 
 sarcastically of Colonel Washington in the pres- 
 ence of Mrs. Ashe, said with a sneer: 
 
 " I would be happy to see Colonel Washington. " 
 Mrs. Ashe instantly replied : 
 
 " If you had looked behind you. Colonel Tarle- 
 ton, at the battle of the Cowpens, you would have 
 enjoyed that pleasure. " 
 
 Tarleton was so enraged at this keen retort, that 
 he would have struck the lady, had he not been 
 restrained by a superior ofiicer. 
 
 In the battle of the Cowpens, the British lost 
 2G 
 
402 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 about six hundred men witli all their baggage and 
 artillery, and the Americans lost but eighty. 
 
 Greene made an aggressive campaign from the 
 first. He assembled all the forces, militia and 
 regulars he could command and prepared to strike 
 the enemy at as early a date as possible. On 
 February 15th, 1781, he engaged Cornwallis at 
 Guilford Court House. For a long time, the two 
 generals skirmished, feeling for each other's 
 strength, and then came to a close engagement 
 with cannon and musketry. Greene's troops were 
 mostly raw militia, who broke and fled ; but the 
 retreat was conducted in so masterly a way by the 
 American officers, that it could not be called a 
 rout. The Americans lost four hundred men in 
 the engagement and Cornwallis five hundred. It 
 was admitted in parliament that, with so heavy 
 a loss, Cornwallis' victory was too dearly bought. 
 The British were more wary after this, though 
 their depredating bands of Tories killed stock, 
 robbed and murdered indiscriminately. 
 
 On April 25th, Greene attacked Lord Eawdon 
 at Hobkirk's Hill. The Americans were driven 
 from the field with a loss of about two hundred 
 and fifty. The enemy lost about as many. 
 
 May 10th, Lord Eawdon evacuated Camden, 
 South Carolinia, and, between that and the 21st, 
 Marion and Sumter captured several small British 
 
ENCOUNTER BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND TARLETON. 
 
HOPE AND DESPAIR. 403 
 
 posts, killing and capturing more than eight hun- 
 dred men. General Pickens captured Augusta, 
 Georgia, while Lafayette was making many suc- 
 cessful moves on the military checker-board in 
 Virginia. "With an inferior force, he held the 
 enemy in check, though avoiding a battle. 
 
 At sea, the American vessels were eminently 
 successful. The American frigate Alliance cap- 
 tured two British sloops of war. 
 
 On July 6th, Cornwallis, after a sharp skirmish 
 with Lafayette, at Jamestown, retired to Ports- 
 mouth, Virginia. The British troops under Corn- 
 wallis and Arnold had in three months destroyed 
 ten millions of dollars' worth of property. Corn- 
 wallis remained at Portsmouth until about the 1st 
 of August, when he took post with eight thousand 
 men at Yorktown, which he proceeded to fortify, 
 in order to make his last grand stand. 
 
 Meanwhile, the characters of our story were 
 operating in the South alternately with Marion, 
 Sumter and Light-Horse Harry Lee. They were 
 with Marion and Lee when they besieged Fort 
 Motte on the Congaree. 
 
 Since the dash into Georgetown, Albert had not 
 seen nor heard of Estella Mead, and he sometimes 
 thought he must have been mistaken, or mad. 
 Was that face but a vision of his disordered brain, 
 or did she live ? 
 
404 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Fort Motte was the elegant home of Eebecca 
 Motte on the Congaree Eiver. She was an ardent 
 Whig, and the British drove her from her house 
 and proceeded to fortify it with an embankment 
 all around it. There were one hundred and sixty- 
 five men in the fort when Marion and Lee, with 
 only one cannon, a six-pounder, laid siege to it. 
 Marion told the widow that they must burn her 
 house in order to drive the British out. 
 
 " Good! good! do it if you can, burn the house 
 if they won't surrender!" she said. 
 
 Marion asked Lee if he had an archer in his 
 command who could handle a bow and arrow. He 
 had. A b'ow and arrow was brought. The first 
 bow was too weak, but the widow sent her daughter 
 to bring an East India bow presented to Mrs. 
 Motte 's brother. Miles Brewtan, by an East India 
 sea-captain. 
 
 Nathan Savage, the archer, was as good a shot 
 as any Indian. They fastened turpentine torches, 
 — tow and cotton dipped in turpentine — and set 
 them blazing, when Nathan discharged them like 
 comets at the house. They stuck in the roof, 
 which soon ignited. When the British ran out to 
 extinguish the fire, the sharpshooters and cannon 
 drove them back, and they soon surrendered. 
 
 Albert was with Sumter, when Emily Geiger 
 rode away from Greene's camp to carry a letter to 
 
HOPE AND DESPAIR. 405 
 
 Sumter. On her perilous ride, slie was arrested 
 in the forest by Peter Simon and another Tory. 
 They took Emily to a house, where she was searched 
 hy a woman and her daughter; but being left a 
 few moments alone, Emily ate Greene's letter piece 
 by piece. Her captors were very civil to her, and 
 Peter Simon, the youngest of them, offered to 
 escort her to her friends when they found nothing 
 suspicious about her ; but she thanked him and 
 went on to Sumter's camp, where Albert Stevens 
 heard her tell her thrilling adventure and deliver 
 Greene's message verbally. She told Albert that 
 at the house of one of the Tories she had seen a 
 young maid fifteen or sixteen years of age, whose 
 description so nearly resembled Estella that he be- 
 gan to hope again that it was not a dream. 
 
 Emily Geiger, after the war, became the neigh- 
 bor and friend of her captors. Her daughter mar- 
 ried the son of Peter Simon, the tall, bashful Tory 
 who captured Emily for a spy. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE SWORD OF COBNWALLIS. 
 
 Albert Stevens, Simon and the three Ger- 
 mans were still with Marion when he joined Greene 
 early in September. Greene resolved to attack 
 the combined forces of Stewart and Cruger, who, 
 abandoning Fort Ninety-six, had fled eastward to 
 Eutaw Springs, near the Santee. 
 
 It was now September, 1781. Early in the 
 month, Arnold had been ravaging Connecticut, 
 capturing forts Trumbull and Griswold and burning 
 New London. This was the only considerable 
 operation in the North. 
 
 On the 8th of September, Greene came upon the 
 army of Stewart and Cruger at Eutaw Springs, 
 almost before they knew it. At eight o'clock, 
 heavy skirmishing began, and soon the battle raged. 
 It was in the wild charge, when the victorious 
 Americans were sweeping through the camp, that 
 Albert, in the lead, saw a British officer assisting 
 a young maiden into a carriage. Carnage reigned 
 all about them, and he was amazed to find a maid 
 406 
 
THE SWORD OF CORNWALLIS. 407 
 
 of fifteen or sixteen thus exposed. The maiden, 
 recognizing him, cried : 
 
 "Albert— fly!" 
 
 "Estella! Estella!" he joyfully shouted, mak- 
 ing frantic efforts to leap toward her. 
 
 A dozen soldiers with fixed bayonets sprang be- 
 tween him and the carriage ; but what were those 
 bristling points of steel to him? His flashing 
 sabre flew right and left, and they swayed like 
 wind-riven reeds beneath his tremendous strokes. 
 A bayonet, loosed from its muzzle, spun humming 
 point down into the earth, and the soldier raised 
 the stock of his musket and felled the young 
 captain. 
 
 " Drive on ! drive for life, " cried the British 
 officer to the driver, as he sprang into the carriage 
 with the half -fainting girl in his arms, and closed 
 the door. The carriage rolled away. The tide of 
 battle swept on, and Simon and MacDonald picked 
 up the insensible Albert and bent all their energies 
 to restoring him, while nearly all the soldiers scat- 
 tered over the camp in search of plunder. 
 
 Albert Stevens had just begun to show signs of 
 recovering, when suddenly the air resounded with 
 wild cheers, and the British, pouring in a wither- 
 ing volley, charged right into their ranks, sweep- 
 ing everything before them. Albert was carried 
 away and hurried to the rear. The Americans 
 
408 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 retreated, leaving the enemy in possession of the 
 field ; but the British sustained a loss of about 
 eight hundred, and during the night, destroying 
 their extra arms, they stole away. 
 
 Albert was not seriously injured by the blow 
 from the musket, and next morning was fully 
 recovered. He set off at once with Simon in pur- 
 suit of the carriage. 
 
 They easily traced the vehicle. It did not 
 follow the retreating army, but went directly 
 across to Virginia. 
 
 In the vicinity of Jamestown they learned that 
 a man and young lady had come there in a coach 
 and sailed in a sloop during the night for York- 
 town on the York River. His informant was an 
 old negro man, who concluded with : 
 
 " Now, Massa, I kin show ye wha' dat saim 
 carriage am, wot brung de gineral an' gal." 
 
 " Let me see it, " said Albert. 
 
 The negro took him to the stable of an old 
 public house on the banks of a river and showed 
 him a carriage. It was the same in which he had 
 seen Bstella borne away. 
 
 Albert Stevens was sorely puzzled. Estella 
 Mead was supposed to have perished in the Wyo- 
 ming massacre ; but she had strangely appeared in 
 the South, first at Georgetown, then in the British 
 camp at Eutaw Springs. Where had she been all 
 
THE SWORD OF CORNWALLIS. 409i 
 
 these months and years? "Who was that officer 
 whom he saw placing her in the carriage and 
 hastening her away? His back was toward him 
 and he had not a glimpse of his face. 
 
 Albert in his perplexity appealed to Simon, but 
 the Yankee shook his head and said: 
 
 " Consam my pictur' ef I kin see through it, 
 any way, only yer befuddled, — kinder mixed up 
 in your brain like. " 
 
 " No, Simon, I saw her. I not only saw her 
 but heard her ; she called me by name and bade 
 me fly. " 
 
 " Well, by zounds ! it's all a mixed-up affair and 
 I give it up, " declared Simon. 
 
 While in the neighborhood, Albert visited the 
 ruins of old Jamestown, which marks the site of 
 the first permanent English settlement in Virginia. 
 It is a place of historic interest to every American. 
 It was of special interest to Albert Stevens, for his 
 noble ancestor Philip Stevens had come here in 
 1607 to lay the foundation of a nation which he 
 was now fighting to free. 
 
 He had only time to glance at the solitary ruin 
 of the old church and few gravestones, all that 
 was left after Bacon's rebellion, and then with 
 Simon he hastened on to Yorktown. 
 
 It was Lafayette who first conceived the brilliant 
 stroke of hemming up Cornwallis at Yorktown and 
 
410 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 making hitn a captive. Washington was contem- 
 plating an attack on Clinton in New York; but 
 Clinton had been reinforced by three thousand 
 troops from England, and as De Grasse, the 
 French officer on whom Washington depended to 
 aid him in besieging New York, could not be in- 
 duced to leave the West Indies, he turned his 
 attention to Virginia. He learned however that 
 De Grasse would sail for the Chesapeake at the 
 close of August with a powerful naval armament 
 and more than three thousand troops. When 
 Washington had made ample preparations for 
 marching into Virginia, to prevent any interference 
 from Sir Henry Clinton he wrote deceptive letters 
 to be intercepted, by which the British general 
 was made to believe that his enemy still contem- 
 plated an attack upon New York. So satisfied 
 was he that such was Washington's designs, that 
 for nearly ten days after the allied armies had 
 crossed the Hudson (August 23d and 24th) and 
 were marching through New Jersey, he believed the 
 movement was only a feint to cover a sudden de- 
 scent upon the city in overwhelming force. He 
 was not convinced until the 2d of September that 
 Washington was massing his forces against Corn- 
 wallis. 
 
 The allied armies encamped at Chester in Penn- 
 sylvania on the 5th of September. Here Washing- 
 
THE SWORD OF QORNWALLIS. 411 
 
 ton received the joyful news tliat De Grasse with 
 his ships and land forces had entered Chesapeake 
 Bay. De Grasse had moored the most of his ves- 
 sels in Lynn Haven Bay, barred the York River 
 against reinforcements for Cornwallis, and landed 
 three thousand troops, under the Marquis de St. 
 Simon, on the peninsula, near old Jamestown. 
 De Barras had sailed from Newport with a fleet 
 conveying ten transports laden with ordnance for 
 the siege of Yorktown. 
 
 Clinton tried by threatening New Jersey and 
 the forts on the Hudson Highlands to recall Wash- 
 ington from Cornwallis. He even sent Arnold to 
 fresh and more terrible depredations; but Wash- 
 ington was too clear-headed to be recalled. He 
 saw a chance to end the war at one brilliant stroke, 
 and he resolved to do it at once. Cornwallis saw 
 with no little alarm the allied armies of America 
 and France slowly but surely environing him. 
 On the 17th of September, realizing that he was 
 caught in a trap, he appealed to Clinton for help. 
 " This place is in no state of defence, " he wrote. 
 " If you cannot relieve me very soon, you must be 
 prepared for the worst. " The last division of the 
 allied armies reached Williamsburg on the 25th of 
 September, and three days later marched about 
 twelve thousand strong to begin the siege of York- 
 town, twelve miles distant, driving in the British 
 
412 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 outposts on tte way. Taking possession of en- 
 trenchments, they advanced to protect the diggers 
 and builders of redoubts. 
 
 It was tbe 26th day of September, when Albert 
 and Simon reached Williamsburg. Here a great 
 surprise was in store for them. Albert's father, 
 Colonel Noah Stevens, having regained his health, 
 had been restored to his rank. He had brought 
 along many recruits with him. There were Mr. 
 Brown, of Rugby fame, Mr. Niles, Mr. Nathan 
 Buker, Mr. Jonathan Stevens and his son, who 
 had been wounded at Long Island; Mr. Dugger 
 and others. 
 
 Even Mr. Jean Stevens was a member of the 
 regiment. Simon declared : 
 
 " By zounds, it dew seem as if all Rugby has 
 turned out to finish up this seven years' frolic ! " 
 
 "Right ye are, Simon," declared Mr. Brown, 
 who had grown a little more plethoric. " Right 
 ye are ; all Rugby has turned out. I was in at 
 the beginnin' and I'm goin' tew see the end. You 
 know I was at Bunker Hill and Lexington. " 
 
 " Yes, I saw you at Bunker Hill jist as the 
 British bayonets began to glisten over the ram- 
 parts, " remarked Simon with a sly wink at Albert. 
 
 " Sit down, Simon, you talk too much!" cried 
 Mr. Brown, striking the ground firmly with his 
 musket. It was evident that Mr. Brown did not 
 
THE SWORD bF CORNWALLIS. 413 
 
 care to discuss the manner in whicli he had taken 
 his departure from Bunker Hill. 
 
 Albert told his father and Jean Stevens that 
 Estella Mead still lived, that he had seen her twicp 
 and had traced her to the York Eiver. 
 
 " You must be mad, Albert!" 
 
 " I am not; I saw her first in Georgetown, and 
 next in the very heat of battle at Eutaw Springs- 
 My eyes were not deceived. She called me by 
 name." 
 
 "Who was she with?" 
 
 " A British officer. " 
 
 " Do you know him ? " 
 
 " I did not see his face, his back was to me. " 
 
 Jean Stevens was both delighted and distressed 
 at the intelligence. If it were Estella, why was 
 she there? How had she escaped from the massa- 
 cre at Wyoming? 
 
 The matter was still unsettled in their minds, 
 when the advance began. They slowly drove the 
 Britons from redoubt to redoubt. Tarleton and 
 his legion once sallied out, but were driven back 
 by Lauzun's cavalry, who took Tarleton 's horse 
 and came near capturing its owner. In the be- 
 sieging line, the French troops occupied the left, 
 the West India troops of St. Simon on the extreme 
 flank. The Americans were on the right, and the 
 French artillery, with the quarters of the two 
 
414 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 commanders, occupied the centre. The American 
 artillery under General Knox were on the right. 
 De Grasse remained in Lynn Haven Bay to beat 
 off any British fleet that might attempt to relieve 
 Comwallis. 
 
 During the night of the 6th of October, the 
 heavy ordnance had been brought from the ves- 
 sels, and trenches were begun at a distance of six 
 hundred. yards from the British works. It was a 
 dark and stormy night, and the Americans were 
 unperceived until the first parallel was completed. 
 On the afternoon of the 9th, several batteries and 
 redoubts were completed, and a general discharge 
 of heavy guns was begun by the Americans on the 
 right. All night long cannon thundered, and the 
 roar of artillery was increased early next morning 
 when the French on the left opened several bat- 
 teries. At evening, October 10th, the French 
 hurled red-hot cannon-balls at the British vessels 
 in the river. The Charon^ a 4:4-gun ship, and 
 three heavy transports were consumed. The 
 whole night was a scene of terrible grandeur. The 
 blazing ships, the parabolas of screaming fire, the 
 bursting shells in mid-air, with the blinding flash 
 and deafening roar of cannon, all contributed to 
 make up a scene as terrible as it was grand. 
 
 All night long, Albert Stevens, from the nearest 
 redoubt, watched the enemies' camp, often sighing; 
 
THE SWORD OF CORNWALLIS. 415 
 
 " She is there ! — she is there and exposed to 
 those fearful shells. " 
 
 On the next night, the 11th of October, the 
 Americans and French began a second parallel 
 within three hundred yards of the English out-^ 
 works. They were not discovered until daylight, 
 when the heavy guns of the enemy were brought 
 to bear upon them and began to scatter the dirt, 
 sand and gravel in every direction. Simon, who 
 was at work on the second parallel, declared it re- 
 minded him of Bunker Hill. It took several days 
 to complete this second parallel. Two redoubts 
 which commanded the trenches were breached by 
 the cannon-balls of the Americans, and on the 14th 
 it was determined to carry them by storm. The 
 one on the right, near the York Eiver, was garri- 
 soned by forty-five men ; the one on the left was 
 manned by about one hundred and twenty men. 
 The capture of the former was entrusted to Ameri- 
 cans led by Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Hamil- 
 ton, and that of the latter to French grenadiers led 
 by Count Deuxponts. 
 
 Albert volunteered to accompany the French. 
 It was a cold, damp autumnal day with a mist or 
 fine rain driving in their faces, and almost extin- 
 guishing the bivouac fires, which smoked and 
 fizzed upon the muddy ground. 
 
 At the roll of drums whigh was tbe signal for 
 
416 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 the assaulting forces to fall in line, Albert stag- 
 gered to his feet and gazed around upon the thou- 
 sands of poor shivering wretches, who rubbed and 
 stretched their benumbed limbs, and shook their 
 damp clothes which clung to their shivering forms. 
 AH about him was a scene of animation. Long 
 lines of earthworks stretched away on every side. 
 The river, the enemies' works, the heavy cannon 
 booming like signal guns of death, the volumes of 
 smoke which hung heavy in the air added to the 
 striking scene. 
 
 Another roll of drums, and the men began fall- 
 ing into lines. Then there was a stir toward the 
 headquarters, and George Washington himself ac- 
 companied by Eochambeau, surrounded by their 
 stajBEs, dashed along the line, kindling a flame of 
 enthusiasm, causing the whole mass to quiver 
 with an electric thrill, and the vast plain to ring 
 with a spontaneous shout which spread and swelled, 
 and rolled from hill to hill until the very sky 
 seemed to rend with the shout. And then, amid 
 it all, scores of cannon thundered forth the signal 
 peal, and Count Deuxponts rushed to the head of 
 their line calling out : 
 
 "JEkavant/" 
 
 On they went through the dense smoke which 
 obscured the plain, those behind pressing eagerly 
 forward on the men b^for^ them. Albert, who 
 
THE SWORD OF CORNWALLIS. 417 
 
 was about the centre, could see nothing but the 
 quickly receding forests of bayonets vanishing in 
 the smoke. All were silent with emotion and 
 suspense, except when a stray shot came tearing 
 through their ranks, marking its bloody path with 
 groans and shrieks of agony, or when the shouts 
 and cries of those who fought and fell in the van 
 rose even above the roar of artillery, causing the 
 Frenchmen to start and some exclamation of 
 anxious excitement to escape from their panting 
 breasts. 
 
 On they dashed, forced onward by the resistless 
 crowd behind, as the waves of a raging sea swept 
 before the storm — the cries, the groans, the deaf- 
 ening roar grew louder and approached; bullets 
 and shells came crashing thicker and thicker 
 through their ranks, strewing the gory ground with 
 mutilated forms, who writhed and shrieked and 
 clung in despair to the cruel feet which trampled 
 them to death. They closed their eyes to their 
 imploring gaze, shouted to drown their cries, 
 rushed on, on, blindly, madly on, over the strug- 
 gling mass. 
 
 Then came a pause, then a dash forward and 
 wild cries of " Vive le Boil " Suddenly there 
 was an explosion, so terrible as to check Albert's 
 breath and upset all power of thought. The 
 ground seemed to tremble and rock; he felt con - 
 87 
 
418 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 scious of being swept rapidly forward, as if by a 
 raging resistless wave, he saw men hurled strug- 
 gling to the ground, and was forced over the quiv- 
 ering mass. He now saw the breastworks and 
 grenadiers in scarlet uniforms bending with lowered 
 bayonets over their entrenchments; then came 
 another convulsion, which swept him back in a 
 sheet of flame, and with another surging swell he 
 was swept over the crumbling works, he felt a 
 heavy mass struggling on the point of his bayonet ; 
 then he knew no more for an hour, when he waked 
 up to learn that both redoubts were taken. 
 
 Cornwallis was in a desperate situation. He 
 was environed by a superior force, and his works 
 were crumbling. He knew that when the second 
 parallel of the besiegers was completed, his post 
 would be untenable. He resolved to make an 
 effort to escape by abandoning his baggage and 
 sick, crossing the river with his troops to Glouces- 
 ter, cutting up or dispersing the allies who were 
 imprisoning the British garrison there, and by 
 rapid marches gaining the forks of the Rappahan- 
 nock and Potomac, and, forcing his way through 
 Maryland and Pennsylvania, to join Clinton in 
 New York. Boats for the voyage across the river 
 were prepared; but the plan was frustrated by a 
 furious storm of wind and rain and only a few 
 troops were ferried over. These were afterward 
 
/ 
 
THE SWORD OF CORNWALLIS. 419 
 
 brought back. The Earl Corn-wallis lost hope. 
 The bombardment of his lines was very severe and 
 destructive, and on the 17th he proposed to sur- 
 render. The following day Lieutenant -Colonel 
 Laurens and Viscount de Noailles, as commis- 
 sioners oh the part of the allies, met Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Dundas and Major Eoss of the British 
 army and dra'fted terms of a capitulation. The 
 terms were similar to those demanded of Lincoln 
 at Charleston. All the troops were to be prisoners 
 of war, and all public property was to be surren- 
 dered. All slaves and plunder found in the pos- 
 session of the British might be reclaimed by their 
 owners ; otherwise private property was to be re- 
 spected. 
 
 The Tories were to be abandoned to the mercies 
 of their countrymen. These were the general 
 conditions of the surrender; but Cornwallis, by 
 the packet which carried the dispatches to Clinton, 
 managed to send away persons who were most ob- 
 noxious to the Americans. 
 
 "Late in the afternoon of the 19th of October, 
 1781, the surrender of Cornwallis and his army 
 took place. The allied troops were drawn up in 
 two columns. Washington on his white charger 
 was at the head of the Americans, and Eocham- 
 beau on a powerful bay horse at the head of the 
 French columns. A vast concourse of people 
 
430 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 from the STirrounding country were spectators of 
 the impressive scene. Cornwallis, feigning sick- 
 ness, sent General O'Hara with his sword as his 
 representative. That officer led the vanquished 
 troops out of their entrenchments with their colors 
 cased and marched them between the victorious 
 columns. "When he arrived at their head, he ap- 
 proached Washington to hand him the earl's sword ; 
 but the commander-in-chief directed him to General 
 Lincoln as his representative. It was a proud 
 moment for Lincoln. Only the year before, he 
 had been compelled to make a humiliating sur- 
 render to the British troops at Charleston. He 
 led the subdued army to the field where they were 
 to lay down their arms, and there received from 
 O'Hara the sword of Cornwallis, which he polite- 
 ly returned, to be given back to the earl. The 
 standards, twenty-eight in number, were given up, 
 and the royal army laid down their arms. 
 
 " The whole number of troops sun-endered was 
 about seven thousand. To these must be added 
 two thousand sailors, eighteen hundred negroes, 
 and fifteen hundred Tories, making the total num- 
 ber of prisoners over twelve thousand. Besides 
 these, the British lost in killed, wounded and miss- 
 ing during the siege, about five hundred and fifty 
 men ; the loss of the Americans was about three 
 hundred. The spoils of the victory were nearly 
 
THE SWORD OF CORNWALLIS. 421 
 
 eight thousand muskets, seventy -five brass and 
 one hundred and sixty iron cannon and a large 
 quantity of munitions of war and stores. To 
 accomplish this great victory, the French had pro- 
 vided thirty-seven ships-of-the-line and seven 
 thousand troops, of which five thousand five 
 hundred were regulars. " * 
 
 Albert Stevens had partially recovered from his 
 wound received in carrying the redoubt, and was 
 on the field with the thousands of others to witness 
 the scene. Simon Tapley, Colonel Noah Stevens, 
 Mr. Brown, Niles, Buker and others from Lexing- 
 ton, who had witnessed the opening scene of the 
 great seven-years drama, were present to witness 
 the closing act. As the long lines of thousands 
 of redcoats knelt to lay down their arms, Simon 
 remarked : 
 
 " Gineral Cornwallis ain't Gineral Cornwallis 
 any more. Gineral .Washington has shelled all 
 the corn off o' him, and now he's Gineral Corn- 
 cob." 
 
 "Oh, Simon, you talk too much!" exclaimed a 
 voice behind the Yankee, and looking in the direc- 
 tion of the sound, he beheld the plethoric face of 
 Mr. Brown. Despite the solemnity of the impres- 
 sive scene, broad smiles appeared on all faces of 
 
 *LosBing'8 "Field Book of the Revolution," vol. ii., 
 page 534. 
 
433 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 those near-by and some of the younger men could 
 not repress a titter. 
 
 Albert saw a familiar face among the British 
 officers. It was the major who had befriended 
 him. As soon as an opportunity was afforded he 
 went to the major, took his hand and said : 
 
 " I am glad to know, major, that you are not 
 wounded or slain ; but this is no time for congratu- 
 lations. " 
 
 " No, not for me. We are defeated, and this- 
 will end the war. Now that it is all over, I don't 
 know that I am sorry you are the victors. You 
 have nobly earned your independence. " 
 
 " Major, pardon me for speaking of personal 
 matters. Do you know aught of Stella Mead?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Is she well— safe?" 
 
 "She is." 
 
 " I suspected you were her abductor " 
 
 "You are mistaken, young man; I was her 
 savior. I am the last man on earth to harm a hair 
 of that child's head." 
 
 " Major, I have long ago guessed your secret, 
 and, believe me when I say, I pity as well as 
 blame you. Will you give up Stella to me? 
 Will you let her return to Bugby? We all love 
 her so much. " 
 
 " I will bring her myself. As I remarked, this 
 
THE SWORD OF COBNWALLIS. 423 
 
 surrender will end tte war. The fine bubble 
 wbich King George and Lord North have blown 
 has bursted in a shower of ruin on their own heads. 
 Believe me, Estella is safe, and as soon as I am 
 paroled, if permitted to remain in America, I shall 
 resign my commission and bring her to Eugby, 
 where I hope to see you all. Is the young man 
 Simon Tapley living?" 
 
 "He is." 
 
 " Will he return to Rugby?" 
 
 " Certainly. " 
 
 " I will meet you all there. " 
 
 " One word, Major. When did she leave York- 
 town?" 
 
 " On that stormy night Cornwallis attempted to 
 escape. Adieu, my best friend, until we meet at 
 Rugby." 
 
 Then he shook Albert's hand, and they parted. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Before going to the reunion of friends at Eugby, 
 where strange developments and explained mys- 
 teries await the reader, it will be better to take a 
 brief view of the history of the country, which has 
 become a component part of this story. 
 
 The British major was correct in his prediction 
 that Cornwallis' surrender had put an end to the 
 war. The glorious news was received with loud 
 acclamations of joy all over the land. A courier 
 hastened to Philadelphia with the intelligence. 
 When congress received the joyful news, instead of 
 adjourning to some liquor saloon to celebrate the 
 great event, they went as a body to the Dutch 
 Lutheran Church, " and returned thanks to Al- 
 mighty God for crowning the allied armies of the 
 United States and France with success. " 
 
 In England, the news was received with great 
 depression. Lord North opened his arms, ex- 
 claiming wildly, as he paced up and down the 
 apartment a few minutes : 
 434 
 
Cj 
 
 l/l' 
 
 j;^:: 
 
 iV'n E N N E S sie Ei!'*'aa- H CAROL I N 
 
 
 JTH 
 PAftSLIN 
 
 GEORGIA 
 
 VTT" 
 
 G U 
 
 M Z 
 
 r o 
 1 c o 
 
 ^UNITED STATES 
 
 IN THE YEAR 1800 
 
 DRAWN FOR 
 
 ' independence' 
 
CONCLUSION. 425 
 
 "Oh God, it is all over!" 
 
 The stubborn king was amazed and greatly dis- 
 turbed; but he soon recovered his calmness and 
 wrote, in view of propositions in the parliament to 
 give up the contest: 
 
 " No difficulties can get me to consent to the get- 
 ting of peace at the expense of a separation from 
 America. " 
 
 But the opposition in parliament now pressed 
 measures for peace more vigorously, and on the 
 20th of March, 1782, Lord North, who, under 
 the inspiration of the king, had misled the nation 
 for twelve years, retired from the office, and he 
 and his fellow-ministers were succeeded by the 
 friends of peace. The stubborn king held out for 
 a while longer, but was compelled to yield to the 
 inexorable logic of events. Parliament forced him 
 to give his sanction to ending the war at once ; and 
 early in May, Sir Guy Carleton arrived in New 
 York bearing propositions for reconciliation. 
 
 Washington, on leaving Yorktown, hastened to 
 the bedside of his stepson Mr. Custis, who was 
 dying of camp fever at Eltham. He was dead 
 when the general reached the house. Washington 
 adopted his children, Eleanor Parke and George 
 Washington Parke Custis, the former but three 
 years, the latter but six months old. 
 
 There was some skirmishing, but no regular bat- 
 
486 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 tie after the capture of Yorktown. There was a 
 skirmish at Oombahee Ferry between the Ameri- 
 cans and British, in which the Americans were 
 successful. In this skirmish, Colonel John Laurens 
 was slain. His blood was almost the last spilled 
 in the struggle for independence. The last life 
 sacrifice was that of Captain Wilmot, who was 
 killed in a skirmish at Stono Ferry, in September 
 following. 
 
 One by one, the British were giving up their 
 strongholds in the South. Hostilities were sus- 
 pended pending the actions of the peace commit- 
 tees. On July 11th, 1782, Savannah was evacuated 
 and all Georgia abandoned by the British. On the 
 14th of December following, Charleston was evac- 
 uated. 
 
 Congress appointed John Adams of Massachu- 
 setts, John Jay of New York, Dr. Franklin of 
 Pennsylvania and Henry Laurens of South Car- 
 olinia, in September, 1782, to make peace with 
 England. This committee met Mr. Oswald in Paris 
 without the knowledge of the French government. 
 This was in violation of the spirit of the terms of 
 a,lliance, by which it was understood (and the com- 
 missioners had been so instructed) that no treaty 
 should be signed by either party to the alliance 
 without the knowledge of the other. This after- 
 ward caused trouble with France, and a feeling of 
 
CONCLUSION. 437 
 
 coolness has existed' ever since. The American 
 commissioners have been censured for bad faith 
 with their French allies ; but outside of Lafayette, 
 Be Kalb and a few others, who acted on their own 
 account, the support of France was from selfish 
 motives. The Americans wanted independence, 
 and to remain allies of France might have made 
 them in time subjects of that country. It is 
 quite evident that Dr. Franklin's wisdom and fore- 
 thought was brought to bear upon all these ques- 
 tions before he acted. 
 
 There was internal trouble in the army, which 
 the wisdom and popularity of Washington quelled. 
 New York was the last place evacuated. November 
 25th, 1783, was the day fixed for the evacuation. 
 As the British army retired, Washington entered 
 the city from Harlem. Mrs. Day, a stout Whig, 
 early on the morning of the 25th, ran up an Amer- 
 ican flag. A British officer, William Cunningham, 
 the infamous provost marshal of the army, swore 
 that the rebel rag should not float while he was in 
 the city, and he attempted to tear it down. Mrs. 
 Day assaulted him with her scrub-broom, knocking 
 off his hat and wig and beating him from the 
 premises. Her flag was not lowered. This has 
 been humorously called, " The last battle of the 
 Ee volution. " 
 
 Before the British left Fort George on the Bat- 
 
438 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 tery, they nailed their colors to the top of the flag- 
 staff, knocked off the cleats, and " slushed" the 
 pole from top to bottom to prevent its being 
 climbed. When Knox took possession of the 
 fort, a sailor boy of sixteen, named John Yan 
 Arsdale, climbed the flag-staff by nailing on cleats, 
 tore down the British flag, and, in the presence of 
 the shouting multitude and cheering soldiers, un- 
 furled from' the top of the staff the American stars 
 and stripes, so the British sailed away with Amer- 
 ican colors flying.* 
 
 The Americans were in possession of their coun- 
 try, but as yet they had no stable form of govern- 
 ment. The articles of confederation were a part- 
 nership of States, not a government. Some wanted 
 a monarchy with Washington on the throne ; but 
 this he declined. The army was disbanded, and 
 Washington resigned his commissiou to congress, 
 took a tender farewell of his officers and soldiers 
 and retired to his much-neglected estates at Mount 
 Vernon on the Potomac. 
 
 The Americans were free, but not independent. 
 
 * Ninety-nine years later, November 25th, 1883, the au- 
 thor saw David Van Arsdale, the youngest son of John Van 
 Arsdale, then an aged man, run up the American flag at 
 the ninety -ninth celebration of Evacuation Day in New 
 York. He was to repeat this at the Centennial Evacuation 
 Day, 1883, but died a few weeks before that event. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 421 
 
 The British sailed awat with American colors FLTiira. 
 
 As yet, they were only a few petty governments, 
 altliougli their seal claimed them to be an " E Pluri- 
 bus Unum." The States were jealous of their 
 
430 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 riglits and opposed a centralized power. The 
 Federalists, led by "Washington, saw in the doc- 
 trine of State sovereignty, so ardently advanced 
 by some, future disasters — disasters which did 
 overtake us in 1861. The weakness of the Con- 
 federation League was apparent to many of the 
 wisest statesmen of that time. A convention of 
 which George Washington was president was called 
 at Philadelphia to draft a constitution. The dis- 
 cussions on the constitution at the framing of it, 
 involved many of the serious political questions 
 of the day. Questions of commerce, of the rights 
 of States, the questions of slavery, industries, and 
 tariff were all involved, and there were many able 
 speeches made and articles written, from which 
 statesmen to this day draw their inspiration. Al- 
 though the convention met in May, 1787, it was 
 not until September, that the constitution begun 
 to assume shape. At last, after much acrimonious 
 debate, the document was reported by the conven- 
 tion and, after some changes, was submitted to the 
 people to be adopted by States. The delegates 
 of that convention were men of tried patriotism, 
 and the event has proved their wise and discrimi- 
 nating foresight. The system of government they 
 planned is their most eloquent eulogy. The 
 severe tests to which the expansion of the nation 
 and the conflicts of sections and interests have sub- 
 
CONCLUSION. 431 
 
 j'ected it have served only tlie more fully to reveal 
 how perfectly they comprehended the principles of 
 a republican government, and their singular skill 
 in arrangement. They combined the utmost vigor 
 with the greatest security of rights. They them- 
 selves were not aware how profound was the wis- 
 dom, how complete the adaptation of its provisions. 
 They signed it with many misgivings, on Septem- 
 ber 17th, 1787, after four months' diligent labor. It 
 was then presented to the people for ratification. 
 They were cautious and prudent in those days, and 
 could not appreciate, as we do now, the great value 
 of the work which had been accomplished. Time 
 was required to bring out its excellences and show 
 how few and comparatively unimportant were its 
 defects. It was examined with careful attention 
 and finally adopted as follows : 
 
 By convention of Delaware — December 7th, 
 1787. 
 
 By convention of Pennsylvania — December 12th, 
 1787. 
 
 By convention of New Jersey — December 18th, 
 1787. 
 
 By convention of Georgia — January 2d, 1788-. 
 
 By convention of Connecticut — January 9th, 
 1788. 
 
 By convention of Massachusetts — February 6th, 
 1788. 
 
433 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 By convention of Maryland — April 28tli, 1788. 
 
 By convention of Soutli Carolinia — May 3d, 
 1788. 
 
 By convention of New Hampshire — June 21st, 
 1788. 
 
 By convention of Virginia — June 26tli, 1788. 
 
 By convention of New York — July 26tli, 1788. 
 
 By convention of North Carolinia — November 
 21st, 1789. 
 
 By convention of Ehode Island — May 29th, 
 1790. 
 
 Washington, having refused a throne, was unani- 
 mously elected first president of the -United States. 
 Although the new government went into effect on 
 the 4th of March, he was not, owing to the delays 
 of congress, inaugurated until September 30, 1789. 
 His administration of two terms was marked with 
 ttiore wisdom than any that has succeeded it. 
 Early in the history of the nation, by treaties with 
 the Indians, large cessions of land were obtained, 
 (ffhich were sold to emigrants wishing homes, caus- 
 ing a large outpouring of people into the country 
 west of the Alleghanies. 
 
 The finances of the country were very low. 
 !rhe total population of the country, when it first 
 entered on its career as an independent nation, 
 hras, exclusive of the Indians, 3,929,827. Of this 
 aumber, 757,365 persons were of African descent, 
 
CONCLUSION. 433 
 
 697,879 being born slaves. The number of 
 Indians was at that time unknown. The first 
 tariff measures were the levying of duties on cer- 
 tain articles imported into the United States until 
 1796, also the imposing of higher duties on foreign 
 than on " American bottoms" (American vessels). 
 Washington was his own successor. His eight 
 years of administration were stormy. A new 
 national planet was cooling down, and the boiling 
 and hissing of discontents was continuous. 
 
 The Indians on the frontier became annoying to 
 the settlers and General Wayne was sent with a 
 force to subdue them. They were utterly defeated 
 and humbled. All the departments of the govern- 
 ment were fully established and in running order 
 before Washington retired. 
 
 He was tendered a third term, but declined and 
 retired to his , country seat at Mount Vernon. 
 Washington is the only president who has declined 
 a third term, though the rule he established has 
 never been and never will be broken, so long as 
 true patriotism inspires the American people. 
 
 During Adams' administration, a war cloud 
 suddenly swept over the horizon of the young re- 
 public. Preparations for war against France were 
 made, and Washington was commissioned com- 
 mander-in-chief of the American armies. The 
 infant republic had neither army or navy, and be- 
 
434 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 fore one could be properly orgaijized everything 
 was adjusted. 
 
 A nation was thus formed and started on a 
 career of prosperity at the dawn of the 19th century, 
 which has been the astonishment and dread of the 
 old monarchies of Europe. The eighteenth cen- 
 tury carried out with it the greatest of great men of 
 the New World. On December 13th, 1799, Wash- 
 ington was exposed to a storm of sleet and took 
 cold. At three o'clock in the morning of the 14th, 
 he awoke and found himself a victim of a severe 
 attack of membranous croup. At dawn, the fam- 
 ily physician. Dr. Craik, was summoned. As he 
 grew worse during the day, two other physicians 
 were called in consultation ; but it was evident that 
 the beloved patriot could not last many hours. 
 Toward evening he said to Dr. Craik : 
 
 " Doctor, I die hard ; but I am not afraid to 
 go. I believed from my first attack that I should 
 not survive it; my breath cannot last long." 
 Eelatives were sent for, but did not arrive in time 
 to hear his last words. At six o'clock in the 
 evening he said to his secretary Mr. Lear, as the 
 latter raised him up in bed: " I feel myself going; 
 I thank you for your attentions ; but I pray you 
 take no more trouble about me. Let me go off 
 quietly. I cannot last long." Four hours later 
 he tried to speak to Mr. Lear several times but 
 
CONCLUSION. 435 
 
 failed. At last he murmured, " I am just going. 
 Have me decently buried, and don't let my body 
 be put into tbe vault in less than three days after 
 I am dead." Unable to speak, Mr. Lear bowed 
 bis head. "Washington whispered, " Do you un- 
 derstand?" 
 
 " Yes, " answered Mr. Lear. 
 
 " ' Tis well, " said the dying hero. These were 
 the last words ot our glorious Washington. A 
 few more gasps for breath, and his soul, as spotless 
 as a saint's, had quitted the frail tenement of clay 
 and winged its flight to the portals of everlasting 
 glory, while the weeping widow murmured : 
 
 "Is he gone? 'Tis well; all's now over; I 
 shall soon follow him ; I have no more trials to pass 
 through. " 
 
 Sons of Columbia, have you ever made that pil- 
 grimage which every freedom -loving American 
 should make to Mount Vernon? If you have not, 
 though you be a citizen of Maine or California, if 
 you can afford to do so, make that pilgrimage, and 
 see the dear old home of our beloved patriot on 
 the Potomac. Stand in the dear old room where 
 he died, look out on the noble river, gaze upon 
 the bed where he breathed his last, and then say 
 with him, " 'Tis well. " You will leave that sacred 
 spot of liberty with your patriotism renewed, and 
 a clearer and deeper conviction of the duties of an 
 
436 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 American citizen. The contentions of small brawl- 
 ing politicians and party fealty will pass away and, 
 like Patrick Henry of old, you will be proud to 
 exclaim : " I am an American. " 
 
 John Adams was elected as a Federalist. The 
 Federal and Eepublican parties were the first parties 
 of the new republic. The Federal party believed 
 in a strong, centralized power. The Republicans, 
 honestly fearing a tendency toward monarchy, 
 wished to limit the powers of the federal govern- 
 ment, especially that they might not infringe on 
 the rights of the States which made up the nation. 
 Thomas Jefferson was the great leader of the Re- 
 publicans (now Democratic party), as was Hamil- 
 ton the leader of the Federalists. 
 
 In 1790, a permanent location of the seat of 
 national government was decided upon at the head 
 of sloop navigation on the Potomac River, within 
 a territory ten miles square lying on each side of 
 the river, ceded by Maryland and Virginia and 
 named, in honor of the discoverer of America, 
 " The District of Columbia. " In 1791 , the capital 
 of the United States, the city of Washington, was 
 laid out by a French engineer, and work was com- 
 menced a few years later on the capitol building ; 
 but the eighteenth century was not destined to see 
 the seat of government removed from Philadelphia. 
 Not until the year 1800 was this done. 
 
CONCLUSION. 437 
 
 Having traced tlie history of the great republic 
 down to the very dawn of the nineteenth century, 
 before closing this volume, let us invite the reader 
 once more to Eugby Tavern. 
 
 The old house withstood the ravages of the long, 
 seven-years war remarkably well. There were 
 three bullet-marks in the front gable, shots fired 
 by enraged- Britons on their retreat from Concord. 
 The old house was a trifle grayer, and the rafters 
 a bit blacker with age, otherwise, there was but 
 little change since the night on which the Eugby 
 Club was disturbed by the appearance of the coach 
 with King Greorge's agents. 
 
 A bleak December wind was whirling the snow 
 about the quaint old gables. The pigeons were 
 gone to their roosts in the barn. A roaring fire 
 crackled and sparkled in the great fireplace, and 
 Albert Stevens, Mr. Brown, Mr. Buker, Mr. Niles, 
 Mr. Stevens, Colonel Noah Stevens, Simon Tapley, 
 Jake and his brother and many more friends intro- 
 duced in the beginning of this story were assem- 
 bled in the tap -room. 
 
 Everybody seemed happy. Jake was happy, 
 because August's wife and children would come 
 by the next ship to make their home in America. 
 Jean Stevens was happy, for he was assured that 
 his foster daughter was well and would soon be 
 with them, after years of mysterious absence. Al- 
 
488 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 bert was happy, because lie would soon see Bstella 
 again, and Simon was happy, because Miss Mary 
 Stevens of Lexington had promised to become his 
 wife. Mr. Brown was happy to be at Rugby once 
 more, and all were happy that the war was over 
 and independence gained. 
 
 " Now, my friends, " said Mr. Brown, sipping his 
 punch, " it occurs to me that, after all, the war 
 never would have been put down but for the Rugby 
 Club." Here Mr. Brown took another sip and 
 looked very important. " Whether future genera- 
 tions will admit it or not, I cannot say; but 
 Rugby bore the brunt in this war. Who first dis- 
 cussed these vital questions? Was it the conti- 
 nental congress? Was it in the legislature?" 
 Here he stopped long enough to take another sip 
 of punch. " Who did it, I say?" 
 
 " You drank more punch over it than anybody 
 else, " said Simon. 
 
 "Sit down, Simon, you talk too much!" cried 
 Mr. Brown, his brow growing dark. " If it hadn't 
 been for me denouncing the Stamp Act and Bos- 
 ton Port Bill as I did, where would we be? Yes, 
 sir, I'd like to know where we would be?" and 
 Mr. Brown brought his fist down with an emphatic 
 whack on his knees, as he exclaimed, " The coun- 
 try would have gone to the dogs!" 
 
 " You need have no fear of it going to the dogs 
 
CONCLUSION. 43ft 
 
 now, Mr. Brown, " put in Albert. " General Wash- 
 ington will soon be at the bead of affairs as our 
 first president, and then we will all be safe. " 
 
 " I don't know," and Mr. Brown shook his head 
 ruefully. " I never took much stock in that fel- 
 low "Washington. John Adams is the man to save 
 the country, just as Gates did at Bemis Heights. " 
 
 " Yes, Gates saved himself at Camden, for I was 
 there, " put in Simon. 
 
 " Simon, I tell you, you talk too much. " 
 
 At this moment, the tall boy who acted as a 
 general porter at the tavern came in, accom- 
 panied by a gust of wind which threatened to put 
 out every light in the room, and having gained his 
 breath, he cried : 
 
 " The kerridge hez come ! " 
 
 All was confusion. In a moment everybody 
 was on his feet, and everybody ran out. Mr. 
 Brown forgot to drain his bowl and went bare- 
 headed into the storm. He did not really under- 
 stand what impulse forced him out, where every- 
 body was talking. Mrs. Adrianne Stevens was 
 among them. The door of the carriage was opened 
 and a young woman about eighteen leaped to the 
 ground. Then there was confusion. Shrieks of 
 joy, embraces, sobs and tears of happiness', such as 
 only mark the reuniting of long separated loved 
 ones. 
 
440 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 High above all the tumult and storm, the voicei 
 of Simon was heard trying : 
 
 "By zounds, Albert's got his sweetheart!" 
 
 "Simon, you talk too much!" declared Mr. 
 Brown, and the happy group, laughing, crying and 
 talking went into the house. Estella was almost 
 smothered with caresses and bewildered with ques- 
 tions. Where had she been all these years? How 
 had she escaped the massacre at the Wyoming 
 Valley? Of course all the questions were an- 
 swered, and a strange, wild story of adventures 
 she had to tell. 
 
 Major Whimple or Sir Arthur Whimple, was as 
 the reader has probably surmised, Estella's father. 
 In Nova Scotia he met her mother, a beautiful 
 French girl. Sir Arthur confessed that he was a 
 wild, reckless young man, and that he set about 
 deceiving the fair Acadian maid into a pretended 
 marriage; but, as is sometimes the case in pre- 
 tended marriages, this turned out to be a real one. 
 Sir Arthur's friend, who was to furnish a false 
 priest, procured a genuine clergyman of the 
 Church of England, and when Sir Arthur, who 
 had excellent matrimonial prospects in England, 
 learned that he had been tricked into a real 
 marriage with the French maiden, his rage knew 
 no bounds. He deserted her and went to Eng- 
 land, where he was selected as one of the king's 
 
CONCLUSION. 441 
 
 agents. In his confession to Albert and his father, 
 he said : 
 
 " I never felt the pangs of remorse until after I 
 hurled my poor wife from me • on that night. I 
 never knew she had a child, until I saw Stella on 
 the day we marched to Concord. Since then I 
 have suffered the torments of the damned. " Then 
 he told how he had rescued her from the Indians, 
 how he had taken her with him to the South and 
 had ever kept her near him during the war. 
 
 " The happiness of my daughter shall be my 
 aim in all the future, " the major declared. " I am 
 no longer an Englishman. America is my adopted 
 land." 
 
 They all forgave the man whose early life had 
 been no worse than many other young English lords. 
 One day the major called on Mr. Jonathan Stevens 
 at his farm-house and asked: 
 
 " I have been told that you reared Simon 
 Tapley." 
 
 " Yes, sir, I brought him from Salem when but 
 a child. " 
 
 " Do you know his parents?" 
 
 " Ann Tapley was his mother. " 
 
 "And his father?" 
 
 " No one knew him. Some scamp of an English 
 sailor, I believe, whose vessel was anchored in 
 Salem." 
 
442 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 " Did her father keep the Sea Lion near the 
 old wharf?" 
 
 " Yes, he did. I never knew much about old 
 Joe Tapley. He was a drunken fellow, and Ann 
 was a bold maid. Simon is not one bit like her, 
 save as brave as a lion. " 
 
 " Not like her ! Are not his features exact 
 models of his mother?" 
 
 " Yes, yes ; but his morals. " 
 
 " Were Ann's morals bad?" 
 
 " Well, she was never married, though she 
 claimed to be. " 
 
 "Mr. Stevens, she believed she was," said the 
 major in deep humiliation. " I must make an- 
 other humiliating confession. It was I who de- 
 ceived poor Ann Tapley. She was another of my 
 victims. " 
 
 " Great heaven! then Simon is ". 
 
 "My son." 
 
 " And Stella's half-brother." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 An awkward silence followed. The major re- 
 peated that he had led a wild life. His parents 
 were rich, and he, being an only child, was spoiled. 
 He had early in life been a midshipman on board 
 an English warship, and while at Salem formed 
 the acquaintance of Ann Tapley, a poor, ignorant 
 girl, not beautiful, but attractive by her quaint 
 
CONCLUSION. 44a 
 
 expressions and wit. He deceived lier into a false 
 marriage and deserted her. 
 
 " Does Simon know this?" asked Mr. Stevens. 
 
 "No, sir." 
 
 " Do you wish him to know it?" 
 
 The major shook his head. 
 I " Let him believe his father was an honest sailor 
 lost at sea, " he answered, " and not such a misera- 
 ble wretch as I. " 
 
 If Simon Tapley ever knew his true parentage, 
 he never told any one. Next year he married 
 Mary Stevens and moved to the Ohio Yalley, 
 which was rapidly iilling up with emigrants. 
 
 In January, 1782, Albert Stevens and Estella 
 Whimple were married in the old Eugby Tavern. 
 Albert passed three or four years in Boston and 
 then removed to the great West, which was attract- 
 ing so much immigration. While still living at 
 Boston, Jake and his Hessian brother, August, 
 with his wife and children, came to see them, and 
 Albert was quite sure he had never seen a happier 
 family than these honest Gei'mans. 
 
 Eugby Tavern has long since fallen into ruins. 
 The old elm tree near it still remains, while the 
 descendants of the people who met there are to-day 
 scattered all over this great Eepublic. 
 
 THE END. 
 
HISTOEIOAL IITDEX. 
 
 PAGK 
 
 Adams', Samuel, advice against taxation 34 
 
 Adams', Samuel, circular letter 41 
 
 Adams', John, resolution for Independence 130 
 
 Adams, John, seconds Lee's resolution 131 
 
 Adams', John, opposition to Washington and favor- 
 ing of Gates 236 
 
 Adams', John, administration 433 
 
 Americans do not wish to rebel _. 41 
 
 American army in New York 160 
 
 American troops in Brooklyn 170 
 
 American army on Long Island 178 
 
 American army withdrawn from Long Island 183 
 
 American army driven to Harlem Plains 188 
 
 American retreat through New Jersey 202 
 
 Americans crossing the Delaware 205 
 
 American army at Morristown 313 
 
 Andre, Major, pays Arnold a visit 374 
 
 Andre arrested by three militiamen 37S 
 
 Andre writes to Washington and confesses all 378 
 
 Andre hung for a spy 381 
 
 Arnold in command at Philadelphia 223 
 
 Arnold at Stillwater 238 
 
 Arnold's furious charge 241 
 
 Arnold's grievances 365 
 
 Arnold determines to demand an investigation 867 
 
 Arnold at Ridgefleld 367 
 
 445 
 
446 HISTORICAL INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Arnold kills Coon the Tory 368 
 
 Arnold made a major-general 369 
 
 Arnold's finances in trouble 370 
 
 Arnold reprimanded 370 
 
 Arnold's marriage to Miss Shippen 871 
 
 Arnold plans treason — removed to West Point 372 
 
 Arnold and Andre the British spy 375 
 
 Arnold's escape 880 
 
 Arnold's depredations on Americans. . . ^ 398 
 
 Arnold ravaging Connecticut 406 
 
 Articles of confederation, weakness of 294 
 
 Attack on Trenton- 206 
 
 Augusta, Ga. .captured by Gen. Pickens 403 
 
 Barr, Colonel, friend of the Americans 36 
 
 Barton, Lieutenant-Col. , captures Prescott 215 
 
 Battle of Lexington 75 
 
 Battle of Bunker's Hill 114 
 
 Battle of Long Island ; 180 
 
 Battle of Trenton 206 
 
 Battle of Princeton 309 
 
 Battle of Bennington 235 
 
 Battle of Stillwater, 1st, on Bemis Heights 237 
 
 Battle of Stillwater, 3d, on Bemis Heights 243 
 
 Battle of Brandywine 253 
 
 Battle of Germantown 263 
 
 Battle of Monmouth 306 
 
 Battle of Wintermoots 336 
 
 Battle of Camden 357 
 
 Battle of King Mountain 387 
 
 Battle of Cowpens 399 
 
 Battle of Guilford Court House 403 
 
 Battle of Hobkirk HiU 403 
 
 Battle of Eutaw. Springs 404 
 
 Baum deceived at Bennington 235 
 
 Bennington, Baum sent to capture 238 
 
HISTORICAL INDEX. 447 
 
 PAOi: 
 
 Board of Trade proposes to annul the colonial charters. 39 
 
 Board of war created 390 
 
 Boston massacre 49 
 
 Boston harbor closed 67 
 
 Boston, continentals assembling at 108. 
 
 Boston evacuated 124 
 
 Boston left in charge of Ward 160 
 
 Brant, Joseph, Mohawk chief 214 
 
 Breed's Hillfortified 107 
 
 Breyman defeated at Bennington 236 
 
 British troops sent to Boston 45 
 
 British land at head of Elk Eiver 34'5 
 
 British evacuate Boston 134 
 
 British in New York Harbor 162 
 
 British landing on Long Island. 17S 
 
 British going into winter quarters 199 
 
 British plans for 1777 21? 
 
 Burgoyne begins his march in northern New York. . . 237 
 
 Burgoyne on the Hudson 337 
 
 Burgoyne's council of war 34S 
 
 Burgoyne's surrender 24( 
 
 Bute, Earl of K 
 
 Bute, character of ; his resignation 3] 
 
 Butler, John, the tory 33! 
 
 Camden, battle of 35' 
 
 Canada refuses to join the colonies for independence ; 
 
 the reason 13: 
 
 Catharine of Russia's reply to George III 13! 
 
 Chad's Ford, Wayne's defence of 25' 
 
 Charleston surrendered to the British 34i 
 
 Chatham, Earl of (William Pitt) resigns 4J 
 
 Cherry Valley massacre 33; 
 
 Chester, Americans at 351 
 
 Clinton leaves Philadelphia 30i 
 
 Concord, fight at 'i'l 
 
448 HISTORICAL INDEX. 
 
 Clinton tries to draw Washington from Yorktown . . 411 
 
 Connecticut troops dismissed 122 
 
 Continental Congress, forming of 44 
 
 Continental army organized 123 
 
 Constitutional convention 430 
 
 Constitution adopted 431 
 
 Conway's cabal 290 
 
 Copps Hill, battery on 119 
 
 Cornwallis pursuing Washington across New Jersey. . 197 
 
 Comwallis crosses Brandywine 354 
 
 Cornwallis' magnanimity to De Kalb 859 
 
 Cornwallis finds himself in danger 399 
 
 Cornwallis' skirmish with Lafayette 403 
 
 Comwallis arrives at Yorktown 403 
 
 Cornwallis appeals to Clinton 411 
 
 Comwallis' desperate situation 418 
 
 Comwallis, surrender of 419 
 
 Craik, Dr. , Washington's physician -. 434 
 
 " Daughters of Liberty, " society of patriotic girls 4^ 
 
 Day, Mrs., beats Provost Marshal Cunningham with 
 
 a broom 427 
 
 De Barre's division gives way 254 
 
 Declaration of Independence committee 132 
 
 Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 134 
 
 Declaration of Independence, the record 135 
 
 D'Estaing at Newport 337 
 
 De Kalb sent to America 40 
 
 De Ealb comes to defend American liberties 223 
 
 De Kalb, death of 359 
 
 District of Columbia 436 
 
 Duty on stamped paper proposed 33 
 
 England sues for peace 425 
 
 English secure Hessians, or Qermans, to fight in Amer- 
 ica .- 141 
 
 English troops in New York Harbor ', 162 
 
HISTORICAL INDEX. 449 
 
 PAGE 
 
 English troops landed on Staten Island 170 
 
 Forts Washington and Lee constructed 190 
 
 Forts Washington and Lee captured 195 
 
 Forts Mercer and MiflBin captured 365 
 
 Fort Forty • 335 
 
 Fort Motte, siege of 404 
 
 Franklin, Dr. , sent to England in the interest of the 
 
 American colonies 3E 
 
 Franklin, William, last royal governor of New Jer- 
 sey 13C 
 
 Eraser, General, attacks the retreating Americans . . . 231 
 
 Eraser, General, death of i 24E 
 
 Frederick the Great of Prussia, opinion of the military 
 
 ability of Washington 21£ 
 
 Gates appointed to supersede Schuyler 23( 
 
 Gates' ill treatment of Arnold and Morgan 341 
 
 Gates refuses to send reinforcements to Washington. . 36? 
 
 Gates, president of new board of war 29( 
 
 Gates succeeds Lincoln 344 
 
 Gates on his way south meets Lee 34£ 
 
 Gates foolishly weakens his force 355 
 
 Gates' boast 35f 
 
 Gates' cowardice 351 
 
 Geiger, Emily, captured by Tories 40J 
 
 German troops in War of the Revolution 141 
 
 Gi-en-gwa-toh, Seneca chief 33( 
 
 Gibbon, historian, desires to see the Russian soldiers. 13! 
 
 Gibbon on Lafayette 824 
 
 George III. on throne of England ! 
 
 George III., at Kew Palace at time of his father's 
 
 death 1( 
 
 Greorge III. ' s speech to parliament on taxation 3! 
 
 George III. applies to Russia for troops 14( 
 
 George III. refuses to commission officers to kidnap 
 
 troops 141 
 
450 HISTORICAL INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Grant's reply to Rail's request for reinforcements 300 
 
 Greene, General, struck down with a feyer on eve of 
 
 battle on Long Island 171 
 
 Greene's skillful movement at Brandy wine 255 
 
 Greene appointed to succeed Gates 396 
 
 Greene in the South 398 
 
 Greene's masterly retreat at Guilford Court House ... 402 
 
 Hale, Captain Nathan, executed for a spy 189 
 
 Hamilton, Alexander 163 
 
 Hancock's, John, sloop Liberty seized 41 
 
 Hanging Bock, Sumter's fight at 343 
 
 Harcourt captures Gen. Lee at Mrs. White's 198 
 
 Henry, Patrick, in Virginia house of burgesses 37 
 
 Henry's, Patrick, speech 41 
 
 Hessians, how secured 140 
 
 Hessians impressed 153 
 
 Hessians at Trenton captured 307 
 
 Highlanders in the South 84 
 
 Holland's response to George HI 140 
 
 Howe still hopes for reconciliation 165 
 
 Howe and the Peace Committee at Col. Billop's house. 186 
 
 Hudson, British war vessels on 164 
 
 Hunt's, Abraham, house, Ball at 205 
 
 Independence, when first thought of 128 
 
 Independence, securing colonies to vote for 133 
 
 Independence bell 166 
 
 Indians urged by British to attack American settlers. 213 
 Jackson, Andrew, witnesses massacre of Buford's 
 
 command 343 
 
 Jasper, Sergeant, saving flap 126 
 
 Jasper, Sergeant, death of 343 
 
 Jay, Adams and Franklin appointed to treat with Eng- 
 land 436 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas, author of Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence 132 
 
HISTORICAL INDEX. 451 
 
 PAGB 
 
 I prison-ship, horrors of 346 
 
 Jones, Paul, exploits at sea 341 
 
 King Mountain, battle of 387 
 
 Kosciusko 323 
 
 Knyphausen repulsed 253 
 
 Lafayette, the friend of America 333 
 
 Lafayette, how received by Congress 335 
 
 Lafayette wounded at Brandy wine 355 
 
 Lafayette suggests shutting Comwallis up in York- 
 town 409 
 
 Langdon's, President, prayer 106 
 
 Laurens advises an immediate attack on Savannah . . 341 
 
 Last battle of the Revolution 437 
 
 Lear at Washington's death-bed 434 
 
 Lee, Richard Henry, offers a resolution for Indepen- 
 dence in Congress 131 
 
 Lee, General, captured at Mrs. White's 198 
 
 Lee's objection to the oath at VaUey Forge 299 
 
 Lee's treachery 303 
 
 Lee's retreat 306 
 
 Lexington, gathering at 71 
 
 Lexington, battle of 75 
 
 Liberty pole, fight over, in New York 39 
 
 Lincoln surrenders Charleston 343 
 
 Lively, British war-ship that fired on redoubt at 
 
 Breed's Hill 108 
 
 MacDonald, Flora 85 
 
 MacDonald defeated at Cross Creek 86 
 
 MacDonald, Scotch, and Peter Horry 8T 
 
 MacDonald's trick on the old Tory (Selim) 89 
 
 MacDonald's charge 91 
 
 M'Conky's Ferry, Americans marching to 303 
 
 Manners, Captain, sent to watch the enemy 107 
 
 Marion, Gen. Francis and De Kalb 354 
 
 Marion and Horry destroying boats 383 
 
452 HISTORICAL INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Marion learns of Gates' defeat 386 
 
 Marion's band alarms the British 387 
 
 Marion feasting the British officer on sweet potatoes. . 389 
 
 Massacre of the Wyoming 327 
 
 Massachusetts assembly on power of England to tax 
 
 colonies 32 
 
 Mawhood, General, in command at Princeton 209 
 
 Maxwell advances to meet British at Pencander 248 
 
 Meoklenberg Declaration of Independence 83 
 
 Meigs, Colonel, expedition at Sag Harbor 214 
 
 Mercer, General, wounded at Princeton 210 
 
 Mercer, General, dies at Thomas Clarke's house 211 
 
 Morgan's riflemen at Stillwater 222 
 
 Morristown, Washington in winter quarters at 312 
 
 Morristown, Washington breaking camp at 222 
 
 Monmouth, Clinton, encamps at 304 
 
 Moultrie, siege of 126 
 
 Mount Vernon 435 
 
 Murphy, Timothy, sharpshooter that killed Fraser 245 
 
 Negro sent to warn British by a Tory 183 
 
 New York, evacuation of ,. 427 
 
 North, Lord, given Pitt's place in ministry 45 
 
 North, Lord, on hearing of surrender of Comwallis. . 424 
 
 North Carolinia patriots 83 
 
 Oath at Valley Forge 398 
 
 Opinion of Frederick the Great of Washington 212 
 
 Opposition the revenue officers met 38 
 
 Otis', James, speech on writs of resistance 30 
 
 Paine's, Thomas, " Common Sense" 48 
 
 Parker's, Capt. John, company meeting at Lexington. 71 
 Paulding, John, one of the militiamen who arrested 
 
 Andre 376 
 
 Paulus Hook, British batteries at 164 
 
 Perth Amboy, British troops at 191 
 
 Pitt, William, restored to the ministry 39 
 
HISTORICAL INDEX. 453 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Pitt's, William, Earl of Chatham, speech on America. 396 
 
 Pitcaim and the minutemen at Lexington 74 
 
 Pitcaim killed by a negro, Salem, at Breed's Hill 118 
 
 Philadelphia, British in 297 
 
 Pitcher, Molly 303 
 
 Pitcher, Molly (Captain Molly) , at Monmouth 312 
 
 Pocono Mountains, " The Shades of Death" 330 
 
 Population of the United States after the war 432 
 
 Potts, Stacy, the Quaker at whose house Rail died 207 
 
 Prescott, Colonel, mustering men at Cambridge 106 
 
 Prescott, General, capture of 315 
 
 Putnam and Warren at Bunker Hill 110 
 
 Putnam's obstructions to British ships 170 
 
 Putnam sent to command at Long Island 172 
 
 Putnam's diversion in favor of Washington at Tren- 
 ton . . ^02 
 
 Putnam detains forces at Highlands 263 
 
 Putnam's dangerous ride down stone steps 339 
 
 Pulaski, Polish general 223 
 
 Pulaski, Count, death of 342 
 
 Question of title by which Washington should be ad- 
 dressed 165 
 
 Rail, Colonel, the Hessian, at Trenton 200 
 
 Rail at cards and wine when attacked 205 
 
 Rail mortally wounded 206 
 
 Rail, death of, at Stacy Pott's house 208 
 
 Rawdon, Lord, abandons Camden 402 
 
 Reed and Brown's interview 165 
 
 Redoubts captured at Yorktown 418 
 
 Revere, Paul, on Boston Common 69 
 
 Rochambeau with fleet at Newport, R. 1 343 
 
 Salem, negro who killed Pitcaim 118 
 
 St. Clair's retreat from Crown Point 229 
 
 Savage, Nathan, who sent burning arrows into Mrs. 
 
 Motte's house 404 
 
454 HISTORICAL INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Savannah, Georgia, taken by British 337 
 
 Savannah, Americans repulsed at-. 342 
 
 Schuyler, General, collecting army to meet Burgoy ne . . 323 
 
 Schuyler strengthening forts 233 
 
 Schuyler retreats to Stillwater 233 
 
 Selim, MacDonald's famous horse 89 
 
 Signal light in church tower 70 
 
 Seal of the United States, device for 136 
 
 Springfield burned by British and Hessians 343 
 
 Stamp tax proposed 33 
 
 Stamp act passed, Feb. 37, 1765 36 
 
 Stark, Colonel, hero of Bennington 334 
 
 Steuben, Baron. 223 
 
 Stony Point, British defeated at 338 
 
 Sugar Act, the 36 
 
 Sullivan sent to take Greene ''s place on Long Island. . 171 
 
 Sullivan takes command of Lee's army 198 
 
 Sullivan surprised by Cornwallis 354 
 
 Tarleton's butchery of Buford's command 342 
 
 Tarleton wounded by Col. Wm. Washington at Cow- 
 
 pens ; . 400 
 
 Tarleton angry at Mrs. Willie Jones 401 
 
 Tea, paints and glass taxed 40 
 
 Tea destroyed in Boston Harbor 51 
 
 Townsend, Charles, on taxing colonies 33 
 
 Tory guiding British to Bedford Pass 179 
 
 Tiyon, Governor, and North Carolinia Regulators. ... 44 
 
 Tryon, Governor of New York, abdicates 135 
 
 Tryon, Governor, in Connecticut 338 
 
 Union of colonies 133 
 
 Valley Forge, march to 268 
 
 Valley Forge, army at 373 
 
 Valley Forge, condition of the army 298 
 
 Van Arsdale, young sailor who tore down British flag 
 
 and nailed on stars and stripes in New York. 428 
 
HISTORICAL INDEX. 455 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Van Wart, Isaac, one of the three who arrested Andre. 376 
 
 Vealtown, Lee's troops at 198 
 
 Verplanck's Point captured by British 337 
 
 Ward, General, left in charge of Boston 160 
 
 Warren, General, at Bunker Hill 110 
 
 Warren, General, death of 118 
 
 Washington appointed commander-in-chief of the 
 
 continental armies 119 
 
 Washington's arrival at Cambridge 120 
 
 Washington besieges Boston 133 
 
 Washington, attempt to poison 161 
 
 Washington's headquarters at Richmond Hill 163 
 
 Washington and Patterson interview 166 
 
 Washington's fatherly care for young soldiers 167 
 
 Washington's plan to win Hessian soldiers 174 
 
 Washington retires from New Jersey 199 
 
 Washington plans the capture of Trenton 203 
 
 Washington's army crossing the Delaware 205 
 
 Washington's skilful movement on Princeton 209 
 
 Washington's victory at Princeton 211 
 
 Washington's proclamation opposed by the New Jer- 
 sey legislature ■. 218 
 
 Washington's army and generals 222 
 
 Washington and Lafayette 236 
 
 Washington deceived by a false report at Brandy- 
 wine 254 
 
 Washington attempts to intercept the enemy at the 
 
 Schuylkill 359 
 
 Washington's army attacked at Edge Hill 365 
 
 Washington, efforts to defame 391 
 
 Washington checks retreat at Monmouth 308 
 
 Washington visits Arnold at West Point 373 
 
 Washington returns to West Point 379 
 
 Washington's brilliant movement on Yorktown 410 
 
 Washington refuses a crown 438 
 
456 HISTORICAL INDHX. 
 
 PAOE 
 
 Washington elected president 432 
 
 Washington's administration 433 
 
 Washington, death of 434 
 
 Washington, Col. Wm. , wounds Tarleton at Cowpens. 400 
 
 Washington City laid out 436 
 
 Williams, David, one of the three militiamen who 
 
 arrested Andre .' 376 
 
 Wooster, General, death of 367 
 
 Writs of assistance asked for in the collection of rev- 
 enue 39 
 
 Writs of assistance granted 31 
 
 Yorktown, Comwallis at 403 
 
 Yorktown invested by the allied armies of France and 
 
 America '. 411 
 
 Yorktown, siege of, begins 414 
 
OHEOl^OLOGT. 
 
 1764. St. Louis, Mo., settled by the French. 
 
 West Florida extended to the mouth of the Yazoo, 
 — June 6. 
 
 English debt vastly increased by French and In- 
 dian War. 
 
 1765. Stamp Act passed by Parliament,— March 23. 
 
 1766. Stamp Act ebpealbd,— March 19. 
 
 1767. Bill mposma a tax on glass, paper, etc., passed, 
 
 —June 29. 
 1770. The Boston Massacre,— March 5. 
 
 All duties except on tea repealed by Parliament, 
 —April 13. 
 
 1773. "Boston Tea Party, "—Three cargoes of tea de- 
 
 stroyed, — Dec. 16. 
 
 1774. Boston Port Bill enacted,— March 35. 
 
 Green Mountain Bors' Rebellion, led by Ethan 
 
 Allen. 
 FmsT Continental Congress met at Philadelphia, 
 
 —Sept. 5. 
 Declaration of Eights passed by Congress,— Oct. 
 
 14. 
 
 1775. Battle OP Lexington, Mass.,— First blood of the 
 
 Revolution, — April 19. 
 Allen and Arnold capture Ticondbroga, N.Y., 
 
 —May 10. 
 Continental Congress met at Philadelphia,— 
 
 May 10. 
 Americans capture Crown Point,N.Y.,— May 12. 
 457 
 
458 CHRONOLOOY. 
 
 A Declakation of Independence at Charlotte, 
 
 Mecklenburg County, N.C.,— MaySO. (Thisis 
 
 known in history as the " Mecklenburg Dec- 
 laration.") 
 Howe, Clinton, and Bueqcyne arrived at Boston, 
 
 —May 25. 
 WASmNOTON elected commander-in-chief, — June 
 
 15. 
 Battle of Bunker Hill, —Death of Gen. Joseph 
 
 Warren, — June 17. 
 Montreal surrendered to Montgomery, — Nov. 12. 
 Battle of Quebec, — Death of Montgomery,- Dec. 
 
 31. 
 1776. Norfolk destroyed by Lord Dunmore, — Jan. 1. 
 
 Boston evacuated by British troops,— March 18. 
 Resolution of Independence offered by Richard 
 
 Henry Lee, — Jane 7. 
 Clinton attacked Col. Moultrie at Sullivan's 
 
 Island, South Carolina, — June 28. 
 Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia, — 
 
 July 4. (Thonias JeSerson supposed to be the 
 
 author. ) 
 Battle of Long Island, N. Y., Putnam against 
 
 Howe,— Aug. 27. 
 New York City abandoned by the Americans,— 
 
 . Sept. 15. 
 Battle op White Plains,— Americans defeated, 
 
 —Oct. 28. 
 Fort Washington captured by General Howe,— 
 
 Nov. 16. 
 Fort Lee captured by Comwallis, —Nov. 20. 
 Washington's retreat through New Jersey,— 
 
 December. 
 General Lee captured in New York by British 
 
 scouts, — Dec. 13. 
 Battle op Trenton, N. J., — Washington captures 
 
 1,000 Hessians,— Dec. 26. 
 
OHRONOLOaV. 459 
 
 1777. Battle op Princeton, N. J.,— Comwaliis lost 
 1,000 men, —Jan. 3. 
 
 Teton's first expedition against Connecticut, — 
 Danbury, Conn., burned, — April. 
 
 Battle of RiDaEFiELD, Conn.,— Arnold's bravery, 
 Wooster's death, — April 27. 
 
 Meios' Expedition against the British at Sag Har- 
 bor, Long Island,— May 23. 
 
 National flag with thirteen stars and stripes 
 adopted by Congress, — June 4. 
 
 Lafayette, De Kalb and party arrive at George- 
 town, S. C. , — June 15. 
 
 TlCONDEEOQA abandoned by the Americans, — 
 July e. 
 
 Battle of Hubbardton, Vt.,— Americans de- 
 feated, — July 7. 
 
 Fort Schuyler besieged by St. Leger,— August. 
 
 Battle of Oriskany, N. Y. , —Death of Gen. Her- 
 kimer, — Aug. 6. 
 
 Battle of Bennington, Vt., — Americans success- 
 ful,— Aug. 16. 
 
 Battle of Brandtwine or Chad's Ford, Pa.,— 
 Washington and Howe, — Sept. 11. 
 
 First Battle of Stillwater or Bemis' Heights, 
 —Sept. 19. 
 
 Battle of Paoli, Pa. , —Midnight defeat of Wayne, 
 —Sept. 21. 
 
 Philadelphia entered by British under Howe,— 
 Sept. 26. 
 
 Battle or Germantown, Pa., — Washington lost 
 1,000 men,— Oct. 4. 
 
 Forts Cunton and Montgomery, posts in New 
 York Highlands, captured, — Oct. 6. 
 
 Second Battle of Stillwater, or Saratoga, — 
 American victory, — Oct. 7. 
 
 Surrender of Burgoyne to Gates, near Saratoga, 
 N. Y.,— Oct. 17. 
 
460 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Hessians Repulsed at Ft. Meecer, N. J.,— Oct. 
 
 32. 
 Articles of Confederation adopted by Congress, 
 
 —Nov. 15. 
 Fort Mifflin abandoned by Americans, — Nov. 16. 
 Valley Forge, Pa., — ^American army encamped 
 
 at,— Dec. 19. 
 
 1778. Independence of the United States acknowl- 
 
 jedged by France, — Jan. 16. 
 Treaty of Alliance with France signed at Paris, 
 
 —Feb. 6. 
 Ohio settled at Marietta by a colony under 
 
 Rufus Putnam, — April 7. 
 British Peace Commission arrived at Philadelphia, 
 
 —May 31. 
 Philadelphia evacuated by Clinton, successor of 
 
 Howe, — June 18. 
 Battle of Monmouth, N.J.,— Clinton retreated to 
 
 New York,— June 28. 
 Wyoming Massacre, Pa. , by Tories and Indians, 
 
 —July 3. 
 Articles of Confederation adopted by Congress, 
 
 —July 9. 
 Battle of Rhode Island near Quaker Hi 11, — Aug. 
 
 29. 
 Cherry Valley Massacre, N. Y., by Butler and 
 
 Brandt, — Nov. 11. 
 Battle of Savannah, — City captured by the 
 
 British,— Dec. 29. 
 
 1779. SUNBURY captured by the British, —last American 
 
 post in Georgia, — Jan. 6. 
 Battle of Kettle Creek, Ga. , — Defeat and death 
 
 of Col. Boyd (British),— Feb. 14. 
 Battle of Brier Creek, Ga., — Prevost defeated 
 
 Ashe,— March 3. 
 Stony Point and Verplanck's Point, N. Y., 
 
 captured by the British, — June 1. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 461 
 
 Spain dbclaeed war against Great Britain,— 
 June 16. 
 
 Stone Ferry, S.C, Americans repulsed, — June 30. 
 
 Teyon's expedition against Connecticut, — New 
 Hayen plundered, — July. 
 
 Stony Point, N. Y., captured by Wayne, — July 
 16. 
 
 Battle of Penobscot, Me., — Americans defeated 
 by British fleet, — July 35. 
 
 British Surprised at Paulus Hook (now Jersey 
 City) by Lee,— Aug. 19. 
 
 Sullivan's expedition against the Indians in New 
 York, — August. 
 
 Battle of Chemung Creek, near Elmira, N. Y., 
 —Aug. 39. 
 
 Savannah besieged by French and Indians, — 
 September and October. 
 
 John Paul Jones captured two frigates off the 
 northeastern coast of England, — Sept. 33. 
 
 D ' ESTAING AND LINCOLN repulsed at Savannah, Ga. , 
 —Oct. 9. 
 1780. Clinton AND Arbuthnot besieged Charleston, S.C, 
 —March 19. 
 
 Battle of Monk's Corner, S. C.,— Tarleton de- 
 feated Americans, — April 14. 
 
 Surrender of Charleston, S.C, to British by 
 Lincoln, — May 13. 
 
 Tarleton massacred 400 Americans at the Wax- 
 haws, S. C— May 39. 
 
 Battle of Springfield, N. J.,— Knyphausen and 
 Greene, — June 33. 
 
 Admiral De Ternay and Eochambeau arrived at 
 Newport, R. I., with 6,000 men,— July 10. 
 
 Battle of Eocky Mount, S. C,— American re- 
 pulse, — July 30. 
 
 Battle of Hanging Eock, S. C,— Sumter de- 
 feated by British, — Aug. 6. 
 
462 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Battle of Camden, on Sanders Creek,— Gates 
 lost 1,000 men,— Aug. 16. 
 
 Battle of Fishing Creek, S. C.,— Sumter de- 
 feated by Tarleton, — Aug. 18. 
 
 Arnold attempted to betray West Point to Clinton, 
 —Sept. 22. 
 
 Andr4 hung as a spy at Tappan, N. Y.,— Oct. 2. 
 
 Battle of King's Mountain, N. C.,— Britisli de- 
 feated, Ferguson killed,— Oct. 7. 
 
 Battle of Fishdam Ford, S. C. , —Sumter defeated 
 British,— Nov. 12. 
 
 Battle of Blackstocks, S. C.,— Sumter defeated 
 Tarleton,— Nov. 20. 
 1781. Revolt op American Troops at Morristown, 
 N. J.,— Jan. 1. 
 
 Battle of Cowpens,— Tarleton defeated by Mor- 
 gan, — Jan. 17. 
 
 Arnold's depredations at Richmond and other 
 points in Virginia, — January. 
 
 Retreat of Morgan and Greene through North 
 Carolina and Virginia pursued by Comwallis, 
 —Feb. 3-14. 
 
 Ratification of the Articles of Confederation 
 by the States announced, — March 1. 
 
 New York cession to the General Government of 
 territory between Lake Erie and the Cumber- 
 land Mountains, — March 1. 
 
 Battle of Guilford Court House, N. C. ,— March 
 15. 
 
 Battle of Hobkirk Hill,— Greene defeated by 
 Rawdon, — April 25. 
 
 Battle of Fort Ninety-Six,- Greene repulsed,— 
 June 18. 
 
 Col. Isaac Hayne hung by the British at Charles- 
 ton, S. C, — Aug. 4. 
 
 Arnold's expedition to Connecticut, to divert 
 attention of Washington. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 463 
 
 Battle of Fort Griswold,— New London, Conn., 
 
 burned by Arnold, — Sept. 6. 
 Battle op Eutaw Springs, S. C.,— Greene closed 
 
 the campaign in the Carolinas. 
 SlEQE OP Yorktown by Washington and Count de 
 
 Grasse, — October. 
 Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Va. , with 
 
 7,000 men, —Oct. 19. 
 
 1782. Preliminary Articles of Peace signed at Paris, 
 
 —Nov. 30. 
 
 1783. Florida re-ceded to Spain by Great Britain, — Jan. 
 
 20. 
 
 Cessation op Hostilities proclaimed by the 
 American army, — April 11. 
 
 Definitive Treaty of Peace signed at Paris, — 
 Sept. 3. 
 
 Washington resigned his commission at An- 
 napolis, Md., — Dec. 38. 
 
 Fitch unsuccessfully applied steam to naviga- 
 tion on the Hudson (he predicted its use in the 
 future) . 
 
 1784. Virginia cession of territory to the General Gov- 
 
 ernment, — March 1. 
 Virginia Reserve between Little Miami and 
 Scioto Rivers. 
 
 1786. Shay's Rebellion in Massachusetts,— War debt 
 
 troubles. 
 
 1787. Territory northwest of the Ohio River formed 
 
 by Congress, — July 33. 
 Constitution agreed upon by convention at 
 Philadelphia,— Sept. 17. 
 
 1788. Constitution ratified by requisite number of 
 
 States. 
 
 1789. First Congress under Constitution met at New 
 
 York, — March 4. 
 Washington inaugurated President, —April 30. 
 
 1790. North Carolina cession of ten-itory,- Feb. 35. 
 
464 CHBONOLOQY. 
 
 Teeeitort south op Ohio formed,— May 26. 
 __ DiSTKiCT OF Columbia located and bounded,— July 
 16. 
 
 Harmer defeated by Little Turtle at Maumee 
 Ford, now Fort Wayne, Ind.,— Oct. 83. 
 
 First ten amendments to Constitution pro- 
 claimed in force, — Dec. 15. 
 
 1791. Vermont admitted in the Union,— March 4. 
 United States Bank established in Philadelphia, 
 
 —Feb. 25. 
 St. Clair defeated by the Indians in Ohio,— 
 Nov. 4. 
 
 1792. Kentucky admitted to the Union,— June 1. 
 
 1793. Washington began second term as President,— - 
 
 March 4. 
 
 1794. Wayne's campaign against Indians in Ohio. 
 Whiskey insurrection in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Jay's Treaty with Great Britain, London,— 
 Nov. 19. 
 
 1795. Wayne's Treaty with Indians in Ohio,— Aug. 3. 
 Treaty of peace with Algiers,— Nov. 28. 
 
 1796. Tennessee admitted to the Union, — June 1. 
 
 1797. John Adams inaugurated President,— March 4. 
 
 1798. Eleventh Amendment to Constitution declared in 
 
 force, — Jan. 8. 
 Mississippi Territory formed,— April 7. 
 Washington accepted an appointment as Gen- 
 
 eral-in-chief, — July 13. 
 
 1799. Washington died at Mount Vernon, Va., aged 67 
 
 years, — Dec. 14. 
 
THE 
 
 COLUMBIM HI8T0RICJ1L NOVELS. 
 
 A Complete History of Our Country, from the Time of Columbus 
 
 down to the present Day, in the form of Twelve Complete 
 
 Stories. By John R. Musick. Uniform Size and 
 
 Style ; 8vo, Half Morocco, One Hundred 
 
 Half -Tone Plates, Maps of the Period, 
 
 and numerous Pen and Ink 
 
 Drawings, by F. A. Carter. 
 
 Price, per vol., $2.50. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 II. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 III. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 X. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 XII. 
 
 TITL-ES : 
 
 Columbia : A Story of the Discovery of America. 
 Estevan : A Story of the Spanish Conquests. 
 St. Augustine : A Story of the Huguenots. 
 Pocahontas : A Story of Virginia. 
 The Pilgrims: A Story of Massachusetts. 
 A Century Too Soon: A Story of Bacon's Rebellion. 
 The Witch of Salem ; or, Credulity Run Mad. 
 Braddock : A Story of the French and Indian Wars. 
 Independence : A Story of the American Revolution. 
 Sustained Honor: A Story of the War of 1812. 
 Humbled Pride : A Story of the Mexican War. 
 Union : A Story of the Great Rebellion and of Events 
 down to the Present Day. 
 
 The Historical Divisions are : ist. Age of Discovery ; 2d. 
 Conquest ; 3d. Bigotry ; 4th. Colonization ; 5th. Reason ; 6th. 
 Tyranny ; 7th. Superstition ; 8th. Contention of Powers for 
 Supremacy ; gth. Independence ; loth. Liberty Established ; 
 nth. Supremacy Abroad; 12th. Union. 
 
 FUNK & WAGNALLS COHPANY, Publishers, 
 
 18 and 20 Astor Place, New York. 
 
 LONDON: TORONTO, CAN.: 
 
 44 Fleet Street. 11 Richmond St., W.