CHAPTER XXIII
_Lieutenant Martin's Lesson_
As they rode along slowly, the general explained his plans. GeneralHowe had pursued him relentlessly through the Jerseys, until he hadcrossed into Pennsylvania, only escaping further pursuit and certaindefeat because he had had the forethought to seize every boat upon theDelaware and its tributaries for miles in every direction, and bringthem with his army to the west bank of the river, so that Howe wasunable to cross. The English general had threatened, however, to waituntil the river was frozen and then cross on the ice, and afterbrushing aside the miserable remains of Washington's army, march on toPhiladelphia and establish himself in the rebel capital. Making thatmost serious of mistakes for a military man of despising his opponents,Howe had scattered his army, for convenience in quartering, in varioussmall detachments along the river. The small American army,supplemented by the Pennsylvania militia, had been placed opposite thedifferent fords from Yardley to New Hope, to hold the enemy in check incase an attempt should be made to force a crossing.
The fortunes of the country were at the lowest ebb. But there was tobe a speedy reversal of conditions, and the world was to learn howdangerous a man was leading the Continental troops. Washington, towhom a retreat was as hateful as it had been necessary, had longmeditated an attack whenever any chance whatever of success mightpresent itself. The necessity for a change was apparent, not merelyfor the material result which would flow from a victory, but for themoral effect as well. The fancied security of the enemy, their exposedpositions, disconnected from each other, and the contempt they felt forhis own troops, were large factors in determining him to strike then;but another factor had still more weight, and that was the fact thatthe time of the enlistment of nearly the whole of his own army expiredwith the end of the year, and whatever was to be done must be donequickly. He therefore conceived the daring and brilliant design ofsuddenly collecting his scattered forces, crossing the river, andfalling upon his unsuspecting enemy at Trenton, where a small brigadeof Hessians, under Colonel Rahl, was stationed.
It would be a piece of unparalleled audacity. To turn, as it were,just before the dissolution of his army, and cross a wide and deepriver full of ice, in the dead of winter, and strike, like the hammerof Thor, upon his unwary foe, rudely disturbing his complacent dreams,was a conception of exceeding brilliancy, and it at once stampedWashington as a military genius of the first order. And with such anarmy to make such an attempt! Said one of the officers of the periodin his memoirs: "An army without cavalry, partially provided withartillery, deficient in transportation for the little they had tocarry; without tents, tools, or camp equipage,--without magazines ofany kind; half clothed, badly armed, debilitated by disease,disheartened by misfortune." But their leader was a Lion, and the Lionwas at last at bay! There was another factor which contributed greatlyto the efficiency of the army, and that was the high quality andoverwhelming number of the American officers.
Orders had been given to the brigades and troops mentioned toconcentrate at McConkey's Ferry, about nine miles above Trenton.Another division under Ewing was to cross a mile below Trenton andseize the bridge and fords across the Assunpink, to check the retreatof the enemy and co-operate with the main attack.
Cadwalader's Pennsylvania militia under Gates were to cross at Bristolor below Burlington, and attack Von Donop at that point, while Putnam,in conjunction with him, was to make a diversion from Philadelphia.The movements were to be simultaneous, and the result it was hopedwould accord with the effort. The main column, and the one upon whichthe most dependence was to be placed, was that which Washington himselfwas to accompany, which was composed of veteran Continentals, to thenumber of twenty-four hundred, with eighteen pieces of artillery.
All this was briefly explained by the general to Seymour and the staff,while they rode slowly along the frozen road. About eight o'clock theyarrived at the ford, near which the troops who had arrived before themnow stood shivering on the high ground by the river. A few fires wereburning in the ravines back of the banks, around which the men tookturns in warming themselves, as they munched their frugal fare from thehaversacks. A large number of boats had been collected for theirtransportation, but the river itself was in a most unpromisingcondition, full of great cakes of ice which the swift current keptchurning and grinding against each other.
The general surveyed the scene in silence, as his staff and the generalofficers gathered about him.
"There is something moving in the river, general," suddenly saidSeymour, pointing, his practised eye detecting a dark object among thecakes of ice. "It is a boat, sir!"
"Ah," replied the general, "you have sharp eyes. Where is it?"
"There, sir, coming nearer every minute; there is a man in it."
"I see now. So there is. Who can it be?"
"Probably it is Lieutenant Martin," remarked General Greene, quietly."You know you sent him back."
"Oh, so I did," replied the general, nodding sternly at therecollection. Meanwhile the man in the boat was skilfully making hisway between the great cakes of ice, which threatened every moment tocrush his frail skiff. He rapidly drew near until he finally jumpedashore, and, having tied his boat, hastened up to where the general saton his horse. He stopped.
"I have been across, general," he said, saluting.
"So I perceive, sir. How did you get across?"
"When I left you, sir, this afternoon," went on the young man, gravely,"I was in such a hurry that I did not wait for anything. I swam it,sir, with my horse."
"Swam it!"
"Yes, sir."
"Very well done, indeed! Was it cold?"
"Not very, sir. At least I was too excited to feel it, and a good hardgallop on the other side soon warmed me up."
"Where did your ride take you?"
"Almost to Trenton, sir."
"And what is the situation there?"
"Very confident, the guard very negligent, the men carousing in thehouses. I examined both roads, and neither of them is well picketed.I should think a surprise would not be very difficult, sir."
"Humph! Where's your horse?"
"He fell dead on the other side just as I got back. I found that leakyskiff, and came over to report, sir."
"You have done well, Mr. Martin, very well indeed! I think you musthave found that man I sent you for!" continued the general, smilinggrimly, while the young soldier blushed with pleasure. "Meanwhile wemust get you another horse. Who has a spare one?"
"May it please your honor," spoke out Bentley, who had attached himselfto Seymour, "he can have mine. I am as much at sea on him as you wouldbe on the royal yard, begging your honor's pardon, and I 'll feelbetter carrying a gun or pulling an oar with the men there than here."
The general laughed.
"There 's your horse, Mr. Martin. Where do you belong, sir?"
"To Colonel Stark's regiment, sir."
"Good! Keep at it as you have begun and you will meet with a betterreception when you call upon me again. Now God grant that fortune mayfavor us. Gentlemen, if the brigades are all up, we will undertake thecrossing. It looks dangerous, but it can be done--it must be done.Who will lead us?"
"I will, sir, with your permission, with my Marblehead fishermen," saidColonel Glover, stepping out.
"Ah, gentlemen, this is our marine regiment. Go on, sir! You shallhave the right of way across the river. I think none will dispute itwith you. Mr. Seymour, as a seaman, perhaps you can render efficientservice, and your boatswain will find here more opportunities for hispeculiar talents than in carrying a musket. General Greene, will youand your staff go over with the first boat to make proper dispositionof the brigades as they arrive? I shall come over after the firstdivision has passed. Then General Sullivan, and lastly our friendGeneral Knox with his artillery. I expect we shall have to wait forhim. Well, we cannot dispense with either him or the guns."
"You won't have to wait any longer than is absolutely necessary
to getthe guns and horses over, general."
"I know that, Knox, I know that. Now, gentlemen, forward! and may Godbless you!"
In a few moments the terrible passage began.
For Love of Country: A Story of Land and Sea in the Days of the Revolution Page 24