With the Swamp Fox: A Story of General Marion's Young Spies

by George Bird Grinnell

  CHAPTER IX.

  THE BATTLE.

  Of the battle, short, sharp and bloody, which followed after we hadgiven the alarm by riding across the plank causeway into Black MingoSwamp, I can set down but little of my own knowledge, because GavinWitherspoon, Percy and myself were with what was called, for the timebeing, the "cavalry," and we saw only that portion of the engagementwhich fell to our share.

  However, I have heard my uncle tell the story again and again in thesewords, and there can be no doubt as to its correctness, however thehistorian of the future may write concerning the action:

  "After the alarm gun sounded, promptness and swift riding became asnecessary as had caution, and the general ordered his men to follow himat a gallop until the force reached the main road, about three hundredyards from where it was known the enemy lay.

  "Here, with the exception of a small number who were to act as cavalry,the entire command dismounted. A body of picked men under CaptainWaties was ordered down the road to attack Dollard's house where theTories had been posted. Two companies under Hugh Horry were sent tothe right, and the cavalry to the left, to support the attack, Marionhimself bringing up the rear.

  "It so happened, however, that the Tories had left the houseimmediately after being alarmed, and were strongly drawn up in a fieldnear at hand.

  "Here it was they encountered Horry's command on the advance, with afire equally severe and unexpected. The effect was that of a surpriseupon the colonists. Horry's troops fell back in confusion, but werepromptly rallied and brought on the charge.

  "Immediately the battle became obstinate and bloody; but the appearanceof the men under Waties, who came up suddenly in the rear of theTories, soon brought it to a close. Finding themselves between twofires, the enemy gave way in all directions to flee for refuge to theneighboring swamp of Black Mingo."

  This is the story of the battle as I have heard my uncle tell it manytimes.

  As for the part which we three comrades played, I can say but little indetail.

  When the advance was ordered we rode forward eagerly, for inactionhad whetted our desire, and once more we gave the renegade sons of thecolony a much needed lesson.

  To me the engagement was not as desperate as either of the others inwhich Percy and I had taken part, for at no time did we of the cavalrycome to a hand-to-hand encounter with those who chose to serve a kingwhose only delight was in oppression; but that it was a real and abloody battle was known full well after we had gained possession ofthe field, for then our officers learned from such prisoners as hadbeen taken, that the enemy outnumbered us two to one, and of all thoseengaged, true colonists as well as false, a full third were killed ordisabled.

  Our loss was great, when one takes into consideration the fact that wemade the attack, and that it was in a certain sense surprising.

  Captain Logan was killed; Captain Mouzon and Lieutenant Scott soseverely wounded that even though their lives were saved it wouldbe impossible for them to do active service again, and more than anhundred people were dead or disabled.

  Among the Tories the execution had been great; Captain Ball was dead,and a full two hundred lay on the ground lifeless, or wounded to suchan extent that retreat was impossible.

  In addition to that, we had among us one hundred and two as prisoners,and they who had a few hours previous believed the Cause of freedom inthe Carolinas was dead, now pleaded eagerly to be allowed to enlist.

  They had no love for country; but were ready as ever to join such forceas appeared to be gaining ascendancy, and this one victory had put theCause on a different footing from what it had been since the day wemade the attack upon the Prince of Wales' regiment at Nelson's Ferry.

  In discussing this engagement afterward, Gavin, Percy and I havedecided, to our own satisfaction at least, that not one among ourleaders had any idea of the good which might result from what waslittle less than a chance encounter when the king's officers believedwe had been whipped into submission.

  We ourselves almost became weary of it as the days passed and this manor that, who had previously declared his allegiance to the king, cameinto camp, begging the privilege to enlist under the banner of GeneralMarion.

  But I am getting ahead of my story, and it is little wonder, for on thenight before the battle at the Black Mingo we had considered ourselvesoutlaws, whose only hope lay in striking one or more severe blowsbefore death should befall us. Then to find that the Cause had suddenlyreceived a new lease of life was so unexpected and happily surprising,that even at this late day I cannot forbear a sense of triumph such asI did not know even on the day peace was declared, when these colonieshad become a free nation--a nation such as I doubt not will one day bea power in the world.

  We laid in this captured camp sufficiently long to give all our friendsopportunity of joining us, and the faint-hearted inhabitants nearabouttime to declare their pretended love for the Cause, before attemptingto continue the lesson to the red-coats which had been so long delayed.

  It was during this time of inaction that we were joined by a young manhardly older than myself, who was destined to make the fourth in ourcomradeship.

  This was none other than Gabriel Marion, the general's nephew, a ladloved by our commander as if he had been a son, and on whom one mightpin his faith, knowing full well it would never be betrayed.

  This Gabriel did not resemble his uncle in feature, else might wenever have come to take him to our hearts as we did. The general worea somber countenance, while the lad was ever smiling, however great thedanger which threatened.

  The general rarely spoke in a jovial tone, while Gabriel never lost anopportunity of uttering a jest.

  Within half an hour after he rode into the captured camp at Shepherd'sFerry the general sent for Percy and myself, and, when we presentedourselves, introduced his nephew much in the following fashion:

  "This lad is as dear to me as a son, and his honor, his courage andpatriotism as near to my heart as my own, therefore do I present him toyou two lads whom I know to be true and faithful to whatsoever you setyour word. Make of him a comrade, and you will please me; hold him tohis duties as you hold each other, and you will benefit him."

  No words could have been more flattering or more pleasing to us, and itcan well be imagined that we were especially careful from this day outto merit the continuance of the same favorable opinion.

  Gabriel was a lad whom all would love immediately after knowing him,and once having formed his acquaintance, he was found to be the sameone day as another,--a true, lovable comrade.

  To him, as a matter of course, we told all that had come to us, sincewe were regularly enrolled as members of his uncle's force, and in sodoing spoke necessarily of Sam Lee.

  Although we held ourselves ever ready to meet any enemies of the Cause,it was that young Tory whom we especially hoped to come across.

  If I have not heretofore set it down strongly, let it be understoodwe had never come to a new neighborhood without a strong hope thathe might be met, and the three of us were resolved to capture him atthe first opportunity whatever the hazard, for in all the Carolinascould be found no more bitter enemy than this same lad who had takensides with the hirelings of the king simply because of his own viciousnature.

  "Without good reason therefore, Sam Lee is, I believe, bent on doingall possible harm to us of Williamsburg, and when we have made himprisoner, holding the scoundrel so close that he cannot escape untilthe Cause be won or hopelessly lost, we shall have accomplished a goodwork," Percy said when I had finished the story regarding that youngTory.

  "How may he, a lad without influence, do so much mischief?" Gabrielasked, and Gavin Witherspoon replied promptly:

  "It is because of being a mere boy that gives him the advantage. Unlessour friends know him for what he is, it would naturally be thought thathe was incapable of harm. I had rather have him in my clutches than anyman short of a major in the British service."

  "What prevents our setting out some day and bringing him into camp
?"Gabriel asked with a merry laugh; but there was no need I should answerthe question, for he knew full well had it been possible we would havehad the Tory within our grasp long before this.

  Just how many days we remained in camp at Shepherd's Ferry I am unableto set down, because there was much to occupy our time, although suchoccupation was not directly connected with the Cause.

  We four comrades were constantly being sent out as scouts, or to urgethat the planters near at hand bring in food, so that one day wentby after another with exceeding swiftness and so much of pleasurableintercourse that it was more like a merry-making than a struggleagainst a mighty king.

  However, the day came when word was whispered round about the camp thatwe were to set out at once for Lynch's Creek, to make an attack uponColonel Harrison and his Tory Legion.

  While we were preparing for the journey, good friends came in withtidings that the renegades were gathering in large force in and aboutSalem and the fork of Black River.

  Here it was, so we were told, that Colonel Tynes of the British servicehad appeared, summoning the people as good subjects of his majesty totake the field against their countrymen, and he brought with him amplesupplies of war materials, provisions, and even of luxuries such as ourpeople had not seen for many a month.

  Eager though we were to be at Harrison's Tories, the tidings of newmuskets with bayonets, broad swords, pistols, saddles, bridles, andof powder and ball which the Britisher had brought with him caused ourmouths to water.

  Had General Marion neglected to take advantage of such opportunityas seemed suddenly to have presented itself, I believe the men of hisbrigade, obedient and faithful as they had been, would have burst intoloud murmurings, for we were sadly in need of equipments.

  Before the day on which this information was brought had come to anend, others who were friendly to the Cause arrived with the definiteinformation that Colonel Tynes was encamped at Tarcote, on the forks ofBlack River, and apparently so secure in mind regarding his positionthat such watchfulness as common prudence would have dictated wasneglected.

  It was just such an advantage as General Marion delighted in; exactlythe kind of work for which we of the brigade were best adapted, andevery man was in a fever to be at the task which was at one and thesame time for the benefit of the Cause and the better equipment ofourselves.

  While the officers deliberated, the rank and file announced whatarticles they most needed, as if it were only necessary to make thestatement in order to have their desires fulfilled, and, in short,there was not one among us but that believed we could have for thechoosing anything in Colonel Tynes' stores.

  Tarleton with his Legion was hot after us, and so every one knew; butthus far we had failed to meet him, and between his force and ours wasthat gallant general of Carolina, my father's kinsman, General Sumterstanding ever ready to interpose lest Tarleton should fall upon GeneralMarion when he was least prepared, and who delighted in leading thatBritish butcher on a wild-goose chase.

  Truly we two, Percy and I, had reason to be proud of the men to whom wewere bound by ties of blood, for the names of Sumter and James stoodhigh, and with good cause, among the defenders of the Carolinas inthose dark days when armed resistance seemed little short of suicide.

  I realize that this task which Percy has insisted I shall perform isbeing done in a halting fashion, because of my speaking overly much,perhaps, of those who remained true during the darkest days known bythe southern colonies; but yet how may it be possible to tell anyportion of the story of the Carolinas without mentioning again andagain the names of those patriots who ventured life and fortune whensuch sacrifice seemed hopeless?

  In the darkness we four comrades were sent forward to reconnoitre.--Page 205.]

  However, just now must be told what we of the Williamsburg districtdid with the overly confident Colonel Tynes, and yet the storymust be brief, because the adventure was no more than an ordinaryoccurrence, where neither glory nor honor is to be won, nor great deedsaccomplished.

  At midnight, eight and forty hours after the news had been brought,General Marion's brigade descended upon Colonel Tynes' camp, and simplyoverran it.

  It seems strange even now that we should have seized upon all thatstore, throwing so many well-armed men into a panic by simply ridingamong them, yet such is the fact.

  When, in the darkness of the night, the brigade came upon theencampment, we four comrades were sent forward to reconnoiter, and trueit is that we failed to find a single sentinel on guard. In some of thecamps men were playing cards, in others they slept, and yet more sataround the camp-fires, drinking and smoking.

  The officers were making merry in a building hard by, and there werenone to oppose our progress.

  The reconnaissance was attended with as little danger as if we fourhad gone out sight-seeing among friends, and when we returned to whereGeneral Marion and my uncle the major, awaited our coming, it was witha story so incredible that for an instant they could hardly believe ourstatements.

  Then the word "Forward" was given, and we, as I have said, overran thatcamp without hindrance.

  Neither Britisher nor Tory so much as discharged a gun; the redcoatand renegade Carolinian alike sought refuge in flight, hoping to gainthe fastness of Tarcote Swamp, and to have cut them down in their panicwould have been like murdering men in cold blood, for how can you takethe life of him who offers no resistance?

  Twenty minutes had not elapsed from the time we made our report, untilthe encampment with all its wealth of British stores was our own, andhere and there came some scurvy Tory crawling and cringing before ourofficers as he begged to be allowed the privilege of enlisting.

  It was not warfare; but simply a foraging expedition among people whowere the same as unarmed.

  Colonel Tynes, two of his captains, and fifty-four British regularswere taken prisoners. We hardly troubled ourselves about the Tories,save that Gavin, Percy, Gabriel and I rode here and there searchingeagerly for Sam Lee, but finding him not.

  When day broke our men overhauled the equipments and the provisionswhich were intended for those who should take up arms against us,and before we gave heed to breaking our fast the old and patchedsaddles were replaced by new ones of English make; our powder-hornsand shot-pouches were filled; we wore breeches and boots that had beenbrought for the benefit of our enemies, and, to a man, were as wellequipped as any force the butcher Tarleton ever headed.

  The prisoners were sent to Kingstree, which town we now believedourselves capable of holding, and in the fourth encampment that hadbeen wrested from the Britishers or their allies, we feasted and mademerry, Gabriel declaring that he was "disappointed in having thusjoined a band of foragers when he expected to see somewhat of warfare."

  And the poor lad did see warfare in its most bitter phase before manydays passed.

  Now that I am come to the closing acts in this life which we knew forso short a time and loved so well, I must hasten over them because ofthe bitterness which comes to me with the memory that has never faded.

  We three comrades--meaning Gavin, Percy and myself--had seen thedarkest days of the struggle, and then suddenly participated in the joywhich came to us when, seemingly without good reason, we were once moretriumphant.

  Gabriel had come at the moment when we were flushed with the excitementof unexpected success, and he saw but little of it, poor lad!

  While we lay at Salem receiving every day new recruits from thosewho had been lukewarm to the Cause, and from the cowards who believedsafety lay only in friendship with the "rebels," word was brought thatLord Cornwallis had begged Colonel Tarleton to "get at" General Marion.

  It was said that the butcher had arisen from a bed of sickness broughtabout by his own excesses, with a vow that he would capture "the scurvySwamp Fox," and that his Legion, which was before Camden, had ordersto meet him on the Wateree River, from which place he would set out tomake a prisoner of our general.

  This information came to us at a time when we were not only ready,
butwilling, to meet the infamous Tarleton, although in his Legion weretwo men, where there was one of ours, and, as my uncle said with a grimsmile, when speaking to Gavin Witherspoon after orders had been givenus to prepare for the march, "we would make Colonel Tarleton's missionas easy of accomplishment as was possible, so far as showing him thewhereabouts of the Swamp Fox was concerned."

  Our horses were in good condition; every man among us eager to measurestrength with this human brute who had devastated the Carolinaswherever he marched, and we hardly drew rein until arriving once moreat Nelson's Ferry, on the Santee River.

  This was the second time we had crossed the entire district ofWilliamsburg with a swiftness such as astounded the British horsemen,and it is little wonder that our general received from them the name inwhich we of his brigade gloried.

  Exactly how strong the Britishers were there was no means of knowing,although one might guess that Tarleton would not come out with lessthan his full legion, which numbered upwards of eleven hundred men; butyet we pressed forward even after having come upon their trail, andknowing how much greater their force was than ours--pressed forwardclose upon their heels until the hour came when it would have beenfolly to continue on, because the horses were winded.

  Then we made camp in the woods, Gabriel Marion complaining bitterlybecause his uncle had called a halt, although the steed the ladbestrode could not have advanced five miles more at an ordinary pace.

  Near the enemy, as we knew ourselves to be, it was necessary to takeevery precaution at this encampment, and we were yet hard at workwhile our steeds were feeding, throwing up such rude shelters as wouldsuffice for the use of the sharp-shooters, when Colonel Richardson, whoserved under General Sumter until wounded and had then retired to hisplantation for a time, came into camp.

  Percy and I were acting as sentinels when he first arrived, and,fearing some treachery, for he was a stranger to us, would haveprevented him from even speaking with one of our officers, had henot referred to his services under our father's brother with suchminuteness of detail that we could not longer remain incredulous.

  I conducted him to where General Marion and Major James sat upon theground amid a clump of bushes discussing plans for the next day's work,and had hardly more than saluted when a great light flashed up on thewestern sky.

  "It is the flames of my dwelling," Colonel Richardson exclaimedbitterly, even before the general and the major had time to welcomehim. "Tarleton's Legion is within five miles, bent now as ever upontheir work of devastation!"

  "And you have fled at such a time?" my uncle, the major, said, in atone very nearly that of reproach.

  "I would willingly have given up my life in defense of those whom Ilove; but that you are in the greatest danger. Hidden with my wifeand children in one of the outbuildings--no other able-bodied man onthe plantation to aid me in a defense which would have been vain--Isaw a lad, whom I believe to be one of the Tory Lees from nearaboutKingstree, ride up and demand audience of Tarleton. So near was thebutcher to me at the moment that I heard plainly the young scoundrel'sspeech, and it was to the effect that General Marion with his brigadelay here at this place. There was no longer any course left me save togive you warning, for as soon as my plantation has been ruined and thebutcher satisfies himself I am not at hand to be hanged, he will makea descent upon you."

  "We have come to give him that opportunity," my uncle, the major, saidproudly, whereat Colonel Richardson showed signs of great alarm.

  "You can easily be surrounded here, and, with a force such as Tarletonhas, must be cut to pieces, however bravely your men may fight. To makea stand would be useless sacrifice of life, and I conjure you, GeneralMarion, that you seek a more advantageous place in which to meet theenemy; but whatsoever may be your decision, I here offer myself asa recruit until you shall have given the British cutthroat a properlesson."