Newspapers / Rutherfordton Tribune (Rutherfordton, N.C.) / Feb. 6, 1901, edition 1 / Page 4
Part of Rutherfordton Tribune (Rutherfordton, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
CAPTIVE. By JOSEPH A. ALTSHELES, a.. th.fr -4 Soldier v) Manhattan," "The Sun u) Saratoga,' Etc 1000, by Joseph A. Altskeler.l fCopyrlzht CHAPTER IX. SEK. IN A DREAM. Wo were young and vigorous. The girl v.-jw tall, straight, almost as strong es I, iiui mils after milo dropped behind uh. The air had the crisp, fresh coolness of a South Carolina winter, like a north ern day in autumn. The sun, climbing steadily toward tho heavens, shoue in full splendor and in an atmosphere a3 pvro as thiit over the sea. We could see far to tho ri;ht and to the left and be fore ui, but we eaw neither men no hcrsos, just the rolliiig hills and valleys and the straggling forests. "So much the better," I said to Julia, "for tho lonelier the country is tho less obstacle there will be to onr flight. Morgan is retreating toward the Broad river, and as we surely have passed around Tarleiou by this time we ought to overtake him by night. I hope ha will have iilentv to eat, for I think that you and I will miss our dinner." "Do you know," said she, " I begin to hope that Tarleton will not ovortake Moig:;u at all? It would be an awful ki-mio. and nerhans some of the rebele are good men after all." . "Ptrhaps." "Couldn't U.i war be ended in soma way without mere years of fighting by. Bome sort of compromiser fauppose eacn side rbould give up a little." "We might make the proposition, you and 1, to congress and the king." "Don't iest. I'm iu earnest." "Thou I'm afraid there's no chance for a com. -r..mise, and there hasn't been for Jour cr years. Either we go frea i ! I. 1 1 A. 1 or we ao not. ou iMigiign iikb 10 uua&i of your cour.1. 3 and tenacity, and wa inako tho same 1 oast of ourselves. It La to be fought out to the end, win oi Iopo." "1 um sorry." She spoke truthfully, for she looked her saduess, but the wind soon blew it away, brirging back the sparkle to her eyes and the rose flush to her cheeks. Wo stepped about noontime to rest, and Old P t made use of tho opportunity ta hunt l.ir green gras3, stopping at times t-. l'K k benevolently at us and to indi cate th::t his stato of mind was content W were both hungry, but we had n .thing Utter to do than to watch Old Put lriLMti for his dinner, which he did very industriously until I called to him aud i" id him it was time to start. Julia again refused to mount the burse, and we strolled ou together. I felt sufo now, and, coming to a cabin whosa owner had been bold enough to remain and guard his own, I offered to trade him the fine British coat I wore for any coai. of his own, however old, provided it would hold together on my shoulders. Ho produced tho coat and made the trade. Ly which he wl3 a great gainer, and asked me no questions, differing th. rein from the country people of the northern regions through which I had campaigned so long. Moreover, he look ed very curiously at the tall girl witb me. "Yon are American," he said to me Just before we started. "Yea" "The lady looks English." "She is English." "It is very strange. " "Yon are right. It is strange. " Such were my thoughts as wa walked away. The mau who seemed to live there alone, half hunter, half farmer, Btood in his cabin door and watched us until wo passed put of sight I prevailed upon the girl to ride for awhile, but after an hour on horseback Ehe dismounted again, saying that she preferred to walk. About the middle oi th afternoon wo met a farmer who con tinued luy belief that Morgan had pass ed on toward the Broad river, though ho knew nothing of Tarleton. An hour later as wo were passing through thick woods some oue cried out to us to halt 1 almost sprang np in my astonishment, and the girl uttered a little cry of fright, for neither of us supposed any one to be near, having 6ceu nothing and heard uotmng, ana uid ttit. 1 suppose, was tired or dreaming. "Stop, " I said to Julia. "It may be mends. Two men on horseback came from a position among the dense trees. They were drossed in rough homespun gray and lookod Uke Americans, the two facts together inducing the belief that they vera militia scouts of Morgan's. "An American and his lady," said tne roremost to ma You are a soldier, are you uotr "Yes," I replied. And on the way to Morgan, too, I take it. Keep straight to the northwest, i -n i , . . tuju vuu v.iu overiaKe mm. vve are good patriots too." "Thank you, " I said. "Morgan seems to kfcop a good watch. I hope that we will overtake him before nightfall. " He had ridden very close to me. "1 don't think it, my fine fellow, " he said. " We will take good care of both you and te lady, for we are Tarle ton 's scouts, not Morgan's." I saw then that the appearance and manner of tho men had deceived me, but no thought of surrender to them en tered my mind. I snatched at my pistol. Tho man, who was as wary as a pan ther, saw tho movement, and, drawing his own weapon, we fired almost at the k. uo time. I saw him reel in his sad dle, but not fall, and I was conscious nt u thrill of pain in my head, followed by a heavy, crushing sensation, as if 1 had been struck by a hammer. I stag gered, falling to the ground upon my hands and knees. Consciousness left me entirely for a few minutes and then came back dimly, just enough for me to dream and to creat9 events for my sefi. In this dream I saw a girl with tawny gold hair and bluu eyes raise a pistol and tiro at the second man, who had drawn a cavalry saber. Tho man, shout ing with pain, dropped his saber, clap ped his other hand to his shoulder and galloped after his comrade, whose horse, frightened by the shots, was running away with him. Both disappeared in the wood, and tho girl, who stood for a minute ..or two watching, the empty vi:tol in her hand, seemed to feel sure that they would not come back, for she rushed to the wounded man on the ground and raised his head in her arms. 1 watched her with a curious inter est, this bland girl who had been bo bitter of speech and yet so much the master of herself, Tha man had risen ti his knees once, but had fallen back from weakness. His eyes closed almost, his face became very white, and mere was blood on his hair. She raised his head aud kissed his face, once, twice and more, and begged mm noc to cue. "Live! Live for yourself and ior me, Philip, for I love you, my hero! sLe said, and a great bay horse stood loos ing and listening. Then she flew to a little brook she saw flowing tnrougn tne wood, and bringing water in ner cap poured it upon the man's face, while the horse nodded approval. nen sub washed the blood out of his hair and bound up the wound with something white. "No, Put, I will never leave him," she said, "I will never leave him, for he has saved me from death and worse, aud I love him I tell you I love him!" whereupon the great horse nodded his approval with extreme vigor. I came to myself, and I was sorry that the dream was over. It had been pleas ant, very pleasant, and I was willin; to dream on. I had a headache, but when I put my hand to the spot which ached I knew that the wound was net serious; that it was nothing but a trifle. A bul let, clipping under the skin, had glanced along my skull and passed on, inflictinr a slight concussion, like a heavy blow from a man's fist, bat that was all. I had seen 20 men who had suffered simi lar wounds in battle and were as good as ever tka next day. "You are not going to die, are you, Mr. Marcel?" tearfully asked the most modest and demure of blond English maidens, standing before me. "My intentions are the precise oppo site," I replied. "I have so much to live for." It is curious how rapidly the feelings develop under the stress of great hard ships and danger. The day and a half that I had been with her were equal to a year and a half of ordinary time. "Would you bring me a little of that cool water to drink in your cap?" I asked. "I see that the cap is wet al ready, and it won't hurt it." She brought the water, and I drank. It was as cold as ico and as refreshing as nectar as it ran down my throat. I have seen men lying on the battlefield begging for water as if it were the one j great gift of heaven to man. I felt twice the man that I was a minute before. The girl was strangely quiet, even shy, and more than ever I felt as if it were my chief duty to pro tect her. "No, Julia," I said; "this rebel against the king means to live. So far from dying, I haven't had anything more than a knockdown which has left a sore spot on my head and a little ache inside it, but i can travel as well as ever. Here, Old Put is waiting for you. Get up and ride. " But she declined with indignation. "I will not do that, " she said. "Yon may be a rebel in fact, I know you are but you shall not walk while you are wounded. You must ride. " As I was still a little dizzy I yielded at last, though I did not like to do it, and rode for a couple of hours. Then, feeling as strong as ever, I dismounted and made Julia take her turn on horse back. But at the end of an hour she, too, dismounted, aud we walked on together, as before, not talking much, but happy. The sun was again retreating before the night, and the western skies were aflame. The light fell full upon the girl's face, and her beauty, splendid and glowing before, was tender and spiritual now. "We shall.be in Morgan'o camp soon, Julia," I said, "and I will have to re sign my prisoner." "1 shall consider myself your prisoner until I am retaken by the English, "he said. I did not reply, but I was willing to accept my responsibilities. Old Put, who was walking slowly behind us after his custom, raised his head and neighed. It was not a whinny, but a loud, sonorous neigh that could be heard afar. It was full of meaning too. And a quarter of a mile ahead of us on one of the open ridges I saw the cause a troop of a dozen horsemen riding toward us ut a half gallop. Old Put neighed again, long, loud and promptly. "Ought wo not to escape into the wood?" exclaimed Julia in alarm. "There is time yet Those troopers may be English." She did not seem to notice the strange ness of a suggestion from her that she hide from the English, but I was con fident. "They are not English," I said. "They are Americans. Old Put knows his friends. Trust, him. " In truth, the horse uttered his loud and joyous neigh a third time, and I had not the slightest apprehension, for It was impossible to deceive Old Put when he was wide awake. The horsemen saw us and quickened their pace to a gallop. As they ap proached I could recognize the Conti nental buff aud blue, and, telling Julia that it was all right, we walked grave ly on to meet them. Old Put, his dem onstrations of joy made, followed after with equal sobriety. They were dashing riders, those men, and their curiosity must have been aroused by the sight of the girl, for they came on at the long, swinging gallop of tne goes cavalryman and quickly in closed us. Good evening, colonel,"! said to tho leader, saluting. "1 am happy to see you again aud to join your com mand." It was Colonel William Washington, ino aisiant cousin oi our great com mander m chief, one of the finest cav airy commanders of cur time, a fine. open faced man of about 30. Why, Marcel Piiil Marcell" he cried in surprise "Is it you?" "Yes, it is I, colonel" "And the lady?" ' Tho lady is my prisoner, colonel. an .fcngiisn spy I "Did she give you that wound on your head?" "I Eaid a lady, colonel." Every hat came off, and there was admiration as well as respect in the bow that each trooper mada "The lady carried the news of our most important movements." I said "and 1 was compelled to hold her a prisoner. " "You have done well, Mr. Marcel." said my colonel. I thought so too. Perhaps I had done better than I thought "Now that 1 have brought the pris oner in." I said, "1 will have to resign her into your hands, colonel. " "It will be but for a brief space, for the camp of Morgan is only three miles back. There are some American women there who will take care ef her. " "But I wish to remind you of one thing, colonel." "What is thai?" "A lady cannot be shot or hanged as a spy, even though she be a spy. " He laughed the deep, hearty laugh that 1 like to hear from a man. "Have no fear," he said. "We are Americans. " Then he laughed again that deep, res onant laugh which I like. "I will send two men back with you and the prisoner, but I am on a scout to find Tarleton and ascertain when ho is likely to attack us." "Do we mean to make a stand?" 1 asked. For the third time he laughed. "Why, boy," he said, "you don't expect Morgan, who was with Arnold. the hero of Saratoga, to run away, do you? He only wanted a little time to drill his men aud get his grip on them, and now ne 8 ready to welcome Tarleton to the fray. " "Then you will have Tarleton by morning," 1 said, and I explained all that I had heard or learned otherwise in my flight with the prisoner, to which he listened with an interest that indi cated its importance and made me feel mine. "Good! Good, Marcel!" he exclaimed more than once. "This is precisely what wo wanted to know. And so Mr. Tarleton is hot on our heels and will attack in tho morning? Well, Philip Marcel. I think you will see tomorrow as pretty a little battle as was ever fought on this continent, and neither Colonel Tarleton nor I uor any other can tell yet what the result will be. " Julia was standing by me, and her old spirit suddenly flamed up. "I can," she said, "and I only hope that instead of falling in the battle you will be taken a prisoner, fur tomorrow night your army will not exist. " "Miss Howard," said Colonel Wash ington, bowing I had given her name "we have more admiration for the ladies than confidence in their military predictions. " CHAPTER X. IS morgan's camp. Then we proceeded to the encamp ment, and Colonel Washington himself went with us, his plans being changed by my news. My head was buzzing with excitement. We were going to fight Tarleton at last, though with all the odds against us, numbers, discipline and arms, while Tarleton himself had won his reputation as the ablest and most successful cavalry commander in the British service. We might again experience the disgrace and disaster of Camden, but Morgan was no Gates, aud perhaps, on the other hand, we might equal tho explott of the wild borderers at King's Mountain, though it was a little too much to hope for that. But still we would fight, and to a young man it alwaya seems better to figbA than to run. "Old comrade, " I said to my horse, "we fight the enemy tomorrow!" He nodded joyously and then looked gravely at the bandage around my head. "It is nothing, '' 1 said. "I will take it off tonight. My head is well " He nodded again, as if all his trou bles were over The wife of Captain Dunn of the South Carolina militia was iu the camp, a lady whom 1 knew, my distant kins woman, and Julia was given into her charga "Tako good care of her, Cousin An na, ' 1 said. " Remember tnatshe is my prisoner " "Your prisoner, is she?" she replied enigmatically "But remember, Philip, that the captor often becomes the cap tiva ' "Cousin Anna, " I said indignantly. " hope you are not going to preach our defeat by Tarleton on the very eve of battle. It will have a discouraging ef fect" "1 said nothing about the battla Go and attend to ycur work, Philip 1 will take care of the girl. " To Julia 1 said: "We fight tomorrow, and I may not see you again. Then I bent down and kissed her lips. She replied very simply and earnestly : "May you live through it, Philipl" Cousin Anna's back was turned, and she did not see or hear. I turned away and began to examine the camp and this field, destined to be the scene of a memorable battle which was itself the opening of one of tho greatest most skillful and successful campaigns ever conducted on the soil of our continent We were on a long slope, consisting of several hills rising above each other like the seats of an amphitheater, though at a much greater elevation, as the slope was so slight that it offered no impediment to the gallop of a horse. Tho men were gathering up old rails. which they were using for the camp fires, and I noticed many old tracks of the feet of animals. To my question one of tho men said: Wo are going to fight where the cows pastured. Don't you know that this army is camped on tho cow pens of a very worthy man named Hannah? And these rails are the last that are left ci his pens. " Behind us flowed the wide, deep and unfordable Broad river, retreat thus be ing cut off in case of defeat. I asked the meaning cf this strange military ma neuver which meant either victory or destruction, and again the explanation was ready : "More than half of our men are mili tia, and you can never tell whether militia will run like rabbits or fight like devils. All early signs fail, and General Morgan says it's cheaper to have the river behind us and make 'em fight than to station regulars in the rear to shoot down the cowards. " Presently I saw General Morgan him self passing among the men and prepar ing for the expected attack m tne morn ing. This was one of our real heroes, a fighter and leader and no politician, a man whom the great Washington es teemed and loved to reward. I had seen him at Saratoga and elsewhere, and his figure as well as his name always drew attention. Over six feet high and built in proportion, with a weight of 200 pounds, and a large, fine, open face, he was a type of the true American, the best of all men in mind and body. There was plenty of provender in the camp, and I gave Old Put the first solid meal that had come to him in several days. I wanted him to be in good trim for the morrow, for he and I were to take cur proper piace with Washing ton's cavalry, to which we belonged, onlv a handful of men, but able and true and capable of doing great things in the nick of time. There had been some question about the bandage on my head, which I wore as a precaution against taking cold in the scalp wound, but I showed that it was only a trifle, and Colonel Washington rightfully re marked that such a slight wound .-.-' : only increase a riiau's efficie!-..-.-v.: . battlefield. Then he presem: J tup. with a fine saber, which I ne li-.-d b. 1 y, i.nn told me to lie d..vu oi- jr -..-.-J - m. gO tO Slccip, but 1 "Oi --.i J :' then, and with th- :;v- f nial armies 1 roan'.l uLcut th.- eiiCAi'.y- ment. The campfires ;:;:'. sro in ibe cold January darkness iho u;u sat around them, talking and playing cards with old greasy cards or singing the songs of the hills and the woods. Some of the soldiers were asleep on their blankets or the bare ground, for we were always a ragged and unhoused army at the best, and only a few of the officers had tents. A shsrp breeze came from across the river, and the flames bent to it, their light flickering over wiid, brown faces that knew only the open air, wind, rain, hail cr whatever came. Most of them still carried their curved and carved powderhorns end their bullet pouches, inseparable companions, over their shoulders, and their long, slender barreled rifles, so unlike the British muskets, lay at their sides. Smoke rose from the fires and blew in the faces of the men, deepening the brown and giving them another shade of the Indian A curse mingled now and then with the singing and ihe talk of the card players, and from the bor ders of the camp came the stamp of the horses and an occasional neigh In the darkness, half lighted by the riding fires, the camp became a camp cf wild men, whose taces the wavering light molded into whatever grotesque images it chose. We were but a little army, only 900 strong, but many of us had come great distances and from places wide apart An arc of 1,000 miles would scarce cover all our homes There were the militia. South Carolinians and Georgians, raw troops, whom one can never trust ; then the little remnant of tho brigade that De Kalb had led on the fatal day of Camden, splendid soldiers whose line the whole Britis'i army eouJd not break, the survivors now eager to avpnge the disgrace their brethren suffered on that day; then the stanch Virginia troops, that we knew would never fail, and near them our two or three score of cavalry men uder Washington a little army. I say again, but led by such leaders as Morgan, Washington. Howard and Pickens! Down the slopes the sentinels were on watch, but there was no fear of a surprise, for the scouts were just bringing in word that Tarleton could not come before daylight, and then, owing to tho slope aud the open ground, his approach would be seen for a great distance. The new men talked the most some about the coming battla eagerly, volu bly, others about things the farthest from it but in the same eager, voluble, unreal tone. The veterans were silent mostly, and already witb the calm and hardihood of long usage were seeking the rest and sleep which they knew they would need. A tall, thin man, with a wild face, whom I took to be one of the preachers at the great revival meetings so common on the bordu. rose in the midst of the camp and be gan to speak Some listened, and some went on with the talking and card play ing. I could hear the rustle of the paste board as the cards were shuffled. He svas a nghtmg preacner, for ho cxhnrte.f them to strike with all their stre, -t ; in the coming battle and if thry t 3io to die like Christian Yr- prayed to God for the sr ,- ,C ,--. rms, then stepped or-.:, r ;.:.. r itnmp cn which he bad ii - .. ippeared from my si?rV. iu i: .;hr m tho front line of the '.:. jlina militia the next day. I sought my own piaco in our troop ind lay down npon one half of my blanket, with the other half above me. Did Put gnawed at some fodder beside me. "Wake me up in the morning when you see tho first red gleam of the Brit ish coats, old comrade," I said, and, knowing that he would do it. I closed aiy eyes. But sleep would not come just yet, and I opened my eyes again to see that the fires were sinking and the darkness was coming down nearer to the earth. Half the men were asleep already; the others were quiet, seeking sleep, and the steady breathing of near 1,000 men in a close space made a strange, whis tling noise like that of the wind. A flaring blaze would throw a streak of light across a sleeping soldier, showing only a head or a leg or an arm, as if the man had been disjointed. I would hear the faint rattle of a sentry's fire lock and the heavy hoof of a horse as he crowded his comrades for toom. An officer in dingy uniform would stalk across the field to see that all was right, and over us all the wind moaned and the darkness gathered close up tc the edge of the dying fires. Weakness over powered my excited brain and nerves. and I slept iulv whispered: 'Don't you hear that faint rumbling Phil? That's the nooi Deais ui to retreat lest they 6hould" be flanked. Again the British cheer boomed out when they saw the re?julars giving ground, for now they were sure that victory was theirs, though more hardly vron than they had thought But the retreat of the regulai a was only a feint and to give time for the militiamen be hind them to como again into action General Morgan .galloped toward us, waving his sword to Washington, and every one of us knew that our moment tad coma " Forward 1" was the single command cf our leader, and tho reins and the sa bers swung free as we swept in a semi circle around the line of our friend and then at tho enemy. At the sam moment the regulars, ceasing to yield, charged the astonished foe and poured in a volley at close range, while the militiamen threw themselves in a solid mass upon the British flank. Yv'o of the cavalry were but 80 strong, with oO more mounted volunteers be hind us under Major McCall, but we were a compact body of strong horses and strong horsemen, with shortened rifles and flashing sabers, and we were driven straight at the heart of the ene my like the cold edge of a chiseL V e slashed into the British, already reeling from the shock of the Continen tals iuid the militiamen, and they crumpled up before us like dry paper Deiore a fire. Our rifles were fmntied. and the sabers were doing the silent bus , . ..ry. " , , bilence there !' called the colonel. No one spoke again; but bending my ear forward, 1 could hear the far drum of the horses' hoofs, and I knew that the English army was coming. Old Put raised his head and snuffed the air. A red gleam appeared upon the horizon and broadened rapidly A thrill and a deep murmur ran the length and breadth of our army. "Oh, if those militirmen will only stand until the general ? ids them re tire !" groaned the colonel. That he believed they would not! knew, since it is a hard thing for new men to stand the rush of a seasoned army superior in nt. M.bers and equip ment. The sun was just swinging clear of the earth and betokened a brilliant morning, yet it was cold with the raw damp that often creeps into a South Carolina winter, and 1 for one wished that the men could see a little more of tho day and loosen their muscles a little better before they fought. The whole British army now appear ed in the plain, cavalry, infantry and fieldpieces in a great red squara I could plainly see the officers giving their orders, and I knew that the attack would come in a few minutes. "Eleven hundred of them and DO raw troops." said Colonel Washington. "We ruore deadly work. Amid all the wild know that exactly from our scouts, i think our cavalry will have something to do today " One officer, in the gayest of uniforms, I took to be the barbarian Tarleton, the British leader whom we hated most of all. for, with all his soldierly qualities. he was a barbarian, as most or his brother British officers themselves say. 1 wanted to seo the faces of those fanner boys down there on the slope who were to receive the first and fiercest rush of the enemy and to check it I knew that many of them were white to the eyes, but their backs were toward me, and I could not sea "They don't appear to move," whis pered Patterson. "Their line looks as firm as if it were made ofiron. " "Like untempered iron, I rj-css," 1 replied- "break like gluss at tho first shot. " A bugle sounded in tho front of the British lines, and its notes, loud and mellow, came to us, but from our ranks i rose onlv the heavy breathing and the I shuffling of men and horses. The trumpet call was followed by a cheer froia mere than a thouKu.rt throats, aud then the British rushed upon us. The brass fieldpieces on their Sanks opened with the thunder that be tokens tho artillery, and mingled with their roar were the rattle of the small arms, the throb of the drums aud the clamorous hoof beats of their numerous cavalry. The face cf their red line blazed witb fire, their red uniforms glowing through it like a bloody gleam, while the pol ished bayonets flashed in front. "They are firing too soon and coming too fast" said Colonel Washington. "By God, lock at those militiamen! They are standing like the Massachu setts farmers at Bunker Hill." It was so. The raw line of plow boys never wavered. It bent nowhere and was still as straight and strong as aa iron bar. Tho plowboys knelt down, f.f. i. as the British cheer rose and the - ' line flaming in front swept nearer, ..j' went the long barreled border rifles, i" fancied that I could hour Pickens' I naidT "Ask your at her. She smuea una "It is true. sir. daucnter. He- looked rdldPut was tahding by. andhe nod ded his head in approval. He had liked her from the first . "Your daughter is to be my wJe, x continued, with emphasis, "and you are to live with us and like na These were resounding boasts Tor young soldier to make, but they au came true after Yorktown. THE KSD. . w H. HESTERS din of the shoutina and the musketry and the blur of the smoke and tho flame 1 knew little that I hack, hack, and 1 was glad of it I could hear steel gritting on bona and the smell of leather and smoke and blood arose, but thd smoke was still in my eyes, and I could only see enough ti strike and keep on striking We i irsemeu. 130 strong, were still a solid. CHAPTER XL THE BATTLE. I was awakened in the morning by the shoving of Old Put's cold nose, which said as plain as speech, "Rise, my master, and prepare for the ene my. " Most of the other men were up, and the can.p cooks had breakfast ready, bread, meat and coffee. I threw off ray blanket and began to eat with the oth ers. It was the misty region between night and day, but the scouts had come in, telling us that the British would 6oon be at hand, and by the time the brcakfaEt hid been dispatched the rim of the sun appeared in the east, and the day was coming. Then the general formed the line of battle, and each of us took his appointed place. On the first rise of the slope stood the South Carolina and Georgia militia, the raw troops, in a line about a sixth of a mile long, mder the command of the iron nerved Pickens. They were ex pected to give way before the charge of the enemy, but Pickens was ordered to hold them in line until they could de liver at least two volleys with the pre cision in tring which all these tanner boys possessed. Then they were to retire behind the veteran regulars, under How ard, who were on the second slope 150 yards in their rear. An equal distance behind the second rise sat we cavalry men on our horses, commanded to pull on our reins and wait the moment upon which the fate of the battle should turn. Thus stood our little army, awaiting the rush of the battle which, as I have said, was to be one of the most impor tant and decisive of our war. I stroked Old Put's neck and bade him be cooL but he was as calm as I and needed no such encouragement. The man on my left, Dick Patterson, a Marylander, sud- couimand to fire, but I did not, and then all tho rifles along a line a sixth of a mile long were fired so clos to gether that the discharge was like the explosion of the greatest cannon in all the world. The smoke rose in a thick black cloud. which a moment later floated a dozen feet above the earth and revealed the British squares, shattered and stepped, the ground in fiont cf tb"ni reel with the fallen, the officers shouting and re forming their lines, while our own plow lads, still as steady as the bills, were reloading their rifles with 6wift and 6teady hands. We cavalrymen raised a great shout of approval, which the regulars on tho rise in front of us took up and repeated. A Hecond volley was all that we had asked from the militiamen, and it was sure now Even as our cheer was echo ing it was delivered with all the cool ness and deadlv Drecision of the first Again the British line reeled and stop ped, but they were veterans, led by the fiery Tarleton, and they came ou a third time, only to meet the third of those deadly volleys, which 6wept down their front lines and blocked the way witb their own dead and dying. "The battlo is won already, " shouted Colonel Washington, "and it's tho farmer boys of South Carolina and Georgia who have won it !" Never did veteran troops 6how more gallantry and tenacity than those same farmer boys on that day. Two volleys were all that were asked cf them, yet not merely once or twice, but many times, they poured in their deadly vol leys at close range, again and again hurling back the British veterans, who doubled them in number and were sup ported by artillery and many cavalry, while we old soldiers in the two lines behind stood silent, not a gun or a sa ber raised, and watched their valor. They retired at last, not broken, but in perfect order and at the command of Pickens, that we who stood behind them might have the chance to do cur part of the day's work. The smoke hung low in clouds and half hid either army, British and Amer ican. A brilliant sun above pierced through it in places and gleamed on clumps of men. some fallen, some still fighting. Shrieks and groans strove for a place with the curses and shouts. Again rose the British cheer from the throats of all those who stood, for, the militiamen retiring before them they thought it was a battle won, and they charged with fresh courage and vigor, pouring forward in a red ava lanche. But the regulars, the steady old Continentals, who now confronted mem. received them with another vol ley, and more infantrymen fell down in tho withered grass, more riderless horses galloped away. The battle had rolled a step nearer to us, hut we cavalrymen, who formed the third hna were still silent and sat with tight reins, while directly in front of us rose a huge bank of flame and smoke in which friend and enemy struggled and fought Even Old PGt, with his iron nerves, fretted and pulled on the reins. The long line of the British overlap ped the Continentals, whom they cut numbered three to one. and the general, whose gigantic figure I could see through the haze of smoke, ordered them ; compact body. & Song g!eamlng line like a sword blada thrust through the mar row of tho er;r:ry. We bad cut onr way directly to the brt of the English army, and tneir broken squares were falling r.rcLr.er as our line of steel lashed and t :ra The red army reeled abort ever tee Khiprs liko a man who has lost pc-7;tr trr. r Li3 limbs. I struck at a troopf r mi my left, but he disap- i pcared, and a second trroper on ny ' right raised his saber to cut ma down, j I Lad no tlre to Vnd off the blow, and in one swift instant I expected to take my place with tho fallen, but a long muscular brown neck shct cut. two rows of powerful white teeth inclosed the man's sword arm, and he screamed aloud in pain and fright. "Do you surrender?" 1 cried. " Yes, yes. for God's rake, tako him off!" he nhouted "I can fight a man. but not a ii an and a wild devil of a hor.e at the suae time!" "Lt t him go," I said to Old Put. and, the horse unclasping his teeth, tho map gave up his sword. The 6nioke wa3 lifting and clearing away somewhat, and the fire of tho rifles had declined from a tt?:dy crackle to jets and s-pnrts. A dr sen of tha mili tiamen had seized cne c f tl:e I rats field pieces of the British, and Howard's Con tinentals already ht-ld the other. Every where crit s of "1 surrender, I surrender! Quarter, quarter!" arose from the Erit is!i horse and foot, who were throwing down their nrms to receive from tw that quarter which we willingly save, but which the bloody Tarleton had so often denied to our men I could scarce believe what 1 saw. The who! British sraiy seemed to bo killed, wounded cr taken. The muskets and l?.yonets, the swords acd pistols, rattled as they threw them upon the ground. Wholo companies surrendered bodily. An officer, his gay uniform splashed with mud aid blood, da&hcd past me, lashing his torse at every THE -CHEAPEST STORE arth! Trices cut to a cash basis. CcV and get his prices. A complete stock. New goods arriving every day. Bring me your produce rnd get cash for it. Old Man Clower still on hand. On The Bean HamessShop Opposite Court llouse. Harness, Saeldles, Bridles of All Kinds Always on Hand at Lowest Prices. Will Not be Undersold. llorse Collars, a specially. All work guaranteed. Repairing promptly and neatly done. jump It was Tarletf3 himself, and be hind him cfjue Yv ashington pursuing with all his vigor and lunging at the ftefiug Eeglish leader with a bayonet fastened at a rifle's end. Ke returned after awhile without Tarleton, but there was Mood on his bayonet Tarleton, though wounded in tho hhoukler, escap ed through tire supf-ricr sprcd of his horse, to te taken with Cornwalliti and the others at Yorktown. The general risd his sword anel cried to r.s to stop firing and Etriking, for tho field was won and the battle was ovr, and he epoke truly. Far away showed the red backs of some of the Knglifh fleeing at the full speed of their horses, bet thry were only a few, and almost their entire army lay npon the field, dead and wounded, or stood there onr prisoners. Tho defeat that so many of us feared had proved to be the most brilliant little victory in our his tory, a maste rpiece of tactics and valor, the decisive beginning r.f the great cam paign which won us back the southern colonies, one cf the costliest cf all her battles to England. I have told you how it was now, just as the histories, both English and American, tell it to j ou. All honor and glory to the gallant plow boys of South Carolina and Georgia who received the first shock of the British army and broke it so bravely 1 Of the 1.100 British veterans who attacked na only 200 escaped from the field, aud wo took all their cannon, ba"., amma nitiou and small arns, t-ven of those who escaped, for they threw them away j in their flight Tho killed, vonnd! and taken just equaled tha uomtors cf our entire army, and we had only 12 men dead. CHAPTER XIL LOOKING AHEAD. I returned toward the Broad river, where, under tho lee of a little hill, a tent had held six or seven fricudly women. Julia came out, her faco- still pale, for she had beard all tho crash and tumult or tne Dattie. "It is over, Julia, " 1 said I had hid my bloody sword "and tie British army no longer exists. " "And the victory is yours 1 Yesterday I thought it impossible. " "Your countrymen make the same mistake over and over again, but they pay the prica " We walked toward the field, and we met some men bringing in a gray haired prisoner, a tall, fine looking officer. Julia, crying aloud in her joy, ran for ward and embraced him. He returned the embrace again and again with the greatest tenderness. "Father, said Julia, "we are now prisoners together. " I watched them for a few minutes, and then I stepped forward and said: "Good morning, Major Howard. " He stared at me in the icy way of the Englishman who has been addressed by a stranger. "I do not know you. sir," he said. MMy name is Philip Marcel, and I am your future son-in-law." He was now unable to spoak.. John P. Bean. C. Eskridg fey Before you have any Blacksmith ing done. He does all kinds of repair work. All work executed on short notice and in fust-class style. Uorse and mule shoeing a spesialty. I have a good one horse wagon for sale. The best is always the cheapest. You had better C- Eskridge. THE BOOK STORE. The id ace to buy BOOKS, STATIONERY. SCHOOL SUPPLIES, ETC. A. L. GRAYSON City Barber Shop, W. H. GIBSON, Prop. For white people only.-- The only first-class shop in - town. Call and see me opposite the shoe store. Also Wholesale and Retail dealer m all kinds of tobaccos. J. G. & L. G. REID, DENTISTS. Marion and Rutherfordton ofk guaranteed, reasonable. All Our prices
Rutherfordton Tribune (Rutherfordton, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 6, 1901, edition 1
4
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75