XLVII
ARMS AND THE MAN
In that book he wrote--the book in which he never so much as names thename of Ireton--my Lord Cornwallis's commissary-general, CharlesStedman, damns Colonel Tarleton in a most gentlemanly manner for hisill-success at the Cowpens, and would charge to his account personal thefailure of Cornwallis's plan to crush in detail the patriot Army of theSouth.
Now little as I love, or have cause to love, Sir BanastreTarleton,--they tell me he has been knighted and now wears amajor-general's sword-knot,--'tis but the part of outspoken honestenmity to say that we owed the victory at the Cowpens to no remissnesson the part of the young legion commander who, if he were indeed themost brutal, was also the most active and enterprising of LordCornwallis's field officers.
No, it was no remissness nor lack of bravery on the part of the enemy.'Twas only that the tide had turned. King's Mountain had been fought andwon, and there were to be no more Camdens for us.
In the affair at the cow pastures, which followed hard upon Richard'sand my return from our flying visit to Winnsborough, the very elementsfought for us and against the British. As for instance: Tarleton, withhis famous legion of horse, and infantry enough to make his numbersexceed ours, began his march on the eleventh and was rained on and miredfor four long days before he had crossed the Broad and had come withinscouting distance of us.
Left to himself, Dan Morgan would have locked horns with the enemy atthe fording of the Pacolet; but in the council of war, our colonel andJohn Howard of the Marylanders were for drawing Tarleton still deeperinto the wilderness, and farther from the British main, which was bythis moved up as far as Turkey Creek. So we broke camp hastily and fellback into the hill country; and on the night of the sixteenth took poston the northern slope of a low ridge between two running streams.
For its backbone our force had some three hundred men of the Marylandline and two companies of Virginians. These formed our main, and wereposted on the rising ground with John Howard for their commander. Ahundred and fifty paces in their front, partly screened in the openpine, oak and chestnut wooding of the ground, were Pickens's Caroliniansand the Georgians; militiamen, it is true, but skilled riflemen, andevery man of them burning hot to be avenged on Tarleton's pillagers.
Still farther to the front, disposed as right and left wings ofoutliers, were Yeates and his fellow borderers and some sixty of theGeorgians set to feel the enemy's approach; and in the reserve, postedwell to the rear of the Marylanders and Virginians, was our owncolonel's troop guarding the horses of the dismounted Georgians.
'Twas when we were all set in order to await the sun's rising and theenemy's approach that Dan Morgan rode the lines and harangued us. He wasbetter at giving and taking shrewd blows than at speech-making; but weall knew his mettle well by now, and I think there was never a man of usto laugh at his unwonted grandiloquence and solemn periods. In theharangue the two battle lines had their orders: to be steady; to aimlow; and above all to hold their fire till the enemy was within surekilling distance.
"'Tis a brave old Daniel," said Dick, whilst the general was sawing theair for the benefit of the South Carolinians. "'Twill not be his faultif we fail. But you are older at this business than any of us, Jack;what think you of our chances?"
I laughed, and the laugh was meant to be grim. I knew the temper of theBritish regulars, and how, when well led, they could play the hammer toanybody's anvil.
"Any raw recruit can prophesy before the fact," said I. "We haveTarleton, his legion, the Seventh, a good third of the Seventy-first,and two pieces of artillery in our front. If they do not give a goodaccount of themselves, 'twill be because Tarleton has marched themleg-stiff to overtake us."
Dick fell silent for the moment, and when he spoke again some of DanMorgan's solemnity seemed to have got into his blood.
"I have a sort of coward inpricking that I sha'n't come out of this witha whole skin, Jack; and there's a thing on my mind that mayhap you cantake off. You have had Madge to yourself a dozen times since that daylast autumn when I asked her for the hundredth time to put me out ofmisery. As I have said, she would not hear me through; but she gave me alook as I had struck her with a whip. Can you tell me why?"
The morning breeze heralding the sunrise was whispering to the leaflessbranches overhead, and there was nothing in all Dame Nature's peacefulsetting of the scene to hint at the impending war-clash. Yet the warportent was abroad in all the peaceful morning, and my mood marched withthe lad's when I gave him his answer.
"Truly, I could tell you, Richard; and it is your due to know it from noother lips than mine. Mayhap, a little later, when restitution can gohand in hand with repentance and confession--"
"No, no;" he cut in quickly. "Tell me now, Jack; your 'little later' maybe all too late--for me. Does she love you?--has she said she lovesyou?"
"Nay, dear lad; she despises me well and truly, and has never missed thechance of saying so. Wait but a little longer and I pledge you on thehonor of a gentleman you shall have her for your very own. Will thatcontent you?"
At my assurance his mood changed and in a twinkling he became thedauntless soldier who fights, not to die, but to win and live.
"With that word to keep me I shall not be killed to-day, I promise you,Jack; and that in spite of this damned queasiness that was showing methe burying trench." And then he added softly: "God bless her!"
I could say amen to that most heartily; did it, and would have gone onto add a benison of my own, but at the moment there were sounds ofgalloping horses on our front, and presently three red-coated officers,one of them the redoubtable Colonel Tarleton himself, rode out toreconnoitre us most coolly.
I doubt if he would have been so rash had he known that Yeates and hisborderers were concealed in easy pistol-shot; but the simultaneouscracking of a dozen rifles warned and sent the trio scuttling back tocover.
Dick swore piteously, with the snap-shot skirmishers for a target. "Thefumblers!" he raged. "'Twas the chance of a life-time, and they allmissed like a lot of boys at their first deer stalking!"
"They will have another chance, and that speedily," I ventured; and,truly, the chance did not tarry.
From our view point on the rising ground we could see the enemy formingunder cover of the wood; and as we looked, the two pieces of cannonwere thrust to the front to bellow out the signal for the assault.
'Twas a sight to stir the blood when the enemy broke cover into theopener wooding of the field to the tune of the roaring cannon, thevolleyings of small arms and the defiant huzzaings of the men. The sunwas just peering over the summit of Thicketty Mountain, and his levelrays fell first upon the charging line sweeping in like a tidal wave ofred death to crumple our skirmishers before it.
"Lord!" says Richard; "if Yeates and the Indian come alive out ofthat--"
But the outliers closed upon our first line in decent good order, firingas they could; and in less time than it takes to write it down theonsweeping wave of red was upon the Carolinians. We looked to see themilitia fire and run, home-guard fashion; but these men of Pickens'swere made of more soldierly stuff. They took the fire of the assaultingline like veterans, giving ground only when it came to the bayonet push.
"That fetches it to us," said Richard, most coolly; drawing his claymorewhen the Carolinians began to come home like spindrift ahead of the waveof red. Then he had a steadying word for the men of his company, and ahearty shout and a curse for some of the Georgians who had cut aroundthe flanks of our main to come at their horses in the rear.
But the lad's assertion that our time was come was only a halfprophecy. The Marylanders, with the Virginians on either flank, stoodfirm, giving the onrushing wave a shock that went near to breaking it.But the British were better bayoneted than we, and when it came to theiron our lads must needs give ground sullenly, fighting their waybackward as a stubborn assault fights its way inch by inch forward.
"Here come their reserves," said Dick, pointing with his blade to asecond red line forming in t
he farther vistas of the wood. "Lord! shallwe never get into it?"
'Twas just here that an order sent by Colonel Howard to his firstcompany, directing it to charge by the flank, came near costing us arout. The order was misunderstood,--'twas received at the precise momentof the upcoming of the British reserves,--and the Marylanders fell back.In the turning of a leaf our entire fighting front gave way, and what ofthe Georgians there were left in the mellay made a frantic dash for thehorses.
At this crisis John Howard saved the day for us by shrewdly executingthe most difficult manoeuver that is ever essayed by a field officer inthe heat of battle. Suffering his men to drift backward until the enemy,sure now of success, were rushing on in disorder to give the _coup degrace_, he gave the quick command: "About face! Fire! Charge!"
I saw the volley delivered in the faces of the redcoats at pike's lengthrange; saw the Virginians on the flanks bend to encircle the enemy; sawthe rout transfer itself at the roar of the muskets from our side to therecoiling British. Then I heard Dick's shouted command. "Charge them,lads! they're sabering the Georgians!"
A section of Tarleton's horse had hewed its way past our flank and wasat work on the militiamen scrambling for their mounts. At it we went,with our brave colonel a horse's length ahead of the best rider in thetroop, pistols banging and sword blades whistling, and that othercurious sound you will hear only when the cavalry engages--the heavydunch of the horses coming together like huge living missiles hurledfrom catapults.
'Twas soon over, and the enemy, horse and foot, was flying in hopelessconfusion through the open wood. Our troop led the pursuit; and thisbrings me to an incident in which thy old chronicler--figuring in thehistories as an unnamed sergeant--had his share.
It was in the hot part of the chase, and Colonel Tarleton--a true Britonin this, that he would be first in the charge and last in theretreat--was galloping with two of his aides in rear of the dragoons.Since many of us knew the British commander by sight, there was a greatclapping-to of spurs to overtake and cut him off. In this race threehorses outdistanced all the others; the great bay ridden by ColonelWashington, a snappy little gray bestridden by the colonel's boy bugler,and my own mount.
When the crisis came, our colonel had the wind of the boy and me andwas calling on Colonel Tarleton to surrender at discretion. For answerthe three British officers wheeled and fell upon him. Never was a mannearer his death. In a whiff, Tarleton was foining at him in frontwhilst the two aides were rising in their stirrups on either hand to cuthim down.
'Twas the little bugler boy who saved his colonel's life, and not theunnamed "sergeant," as the histories have it. Having neither a sword northe strength to wield one, the boy reined sharp to the left and pistoledhis man as neatly as you please. Seeing his fellow _sabreur_ drop hisweapon and clap his hand to the pistol-wound, my man hesitated just longenough to let me in with the clumsiest of upcuts to spoil the muscles ofhis sword arm. This transferred the duel to the two principals, who werenow at it, hammer and tongs. Both were good swordsmen, but of the twainour colonel was far the cooler. So when Tarleton made to end it with asavage thrust in tierce, Washington parried deftly and his point foundhis antagonist's sword hand.
At this, Tarleton dropped his blade,--it hangs now over thechimney-piece in Mr. Washington's town house in Charleston,--gave thesignal for flight, and the three Britons, each with a wound to nurse,wheeled and galloped on. But in the act Tarleton snatched a pistol fromhis holster and let drive at our colonel, wounding him in the knee, sowe did not come off scatheless.
This pistoling of Colonel Washington by the British commander skimmed alittle of the cream from our great and glorious victory. 'Twas noserious hurt, but wanting it I make no doubt we should have ridden downthe flying dragoons, adding them, and their doughty colonel to boot, tothe five-hundred-odd prisoners we took.
The battle fought and won,--'twas over and done with two full hoursbefore noon,--Dan Morgan knew well what must befall, lacking theswiftest after-doing on our part. With Greene near a hundred miles away,and my Lord Cornwallis less than three hours' gallop to the southward onTurkey Creek, the time was come for the hastiest welding of our littlearmy with that of the general-in-command; if, indeed, the promptestrunning would take us to the upper fords of the Catawba beforeCornwallis should intervene and cut us off.
Accordingly, Jennifer and I were detailed to carry the news of thevictory to Greene's camp at Cheraw Hill; and when we rode away on thewarm trail of the flying British, we left Dan Morgan's men hard at it,burning the heavy impedimenta of the capture, and otherwise making readyfor the swiftest of forced marches to the north.
'Twould be a thankless task to take you with us stage by stage on ourcross-country gallop to advertise General Greene of the victory at thecow pastures. Suffice it to say that we made shift to turn the head ofthe advancing British main, now in motion and hastening with all speedto cut Dan Morgan off; that we were by turns well soaked by rain andstream, deep mired in bogs, chased times without number by the enemy'soutriders, and hardshipped freely for food and horse provender before wesaw the camp on the Pedee. All this you may figure for yourselves, themain point being that we came at length to the goal, weary,mire-splashed and belted to the last buckle-hole to pinch down thehunger pains, but sound of skin, wind and limb.
Having our news, which set the camp in a pretty furor of rejoicing, Ipromise you, General Greene lost not an hour in making his dispositions.Leaving Isaac Huger and Colonel Otho Williams in command at Cheraw, thegeneral sent Edward Stevens with the Virginians by way of Charlotte toMorgan's aid, and himself took horse, with a handful of dragoons inwhich Dick and I were volunteers, to ride post haste to a meeting withMorgan at the upper fords.
Again I may pass lightly over an interval of three days spent hardily inthe saddle, coming at once to that rain-drenched thirty-first ofJanuary, cold, raw and dismal, when we drew rein at Sherrard's Ford andfound Dan Morgan and his men safe across the Catawba with his prisoners,and my Lord Cornwallis quite as safely flood-checked on the western bankof the stream.
Having done our errand, Dick and I reported at once to our colonel.'Twas of a piece with William Washington's goodness of heart to offer usleave to rest.
"You have had weary work of it, I doubt not, gentlemen," he would say."Your time is your own until General Greene sets us in order for what hehas in mind to do."
I looked at Dick, and he looked at me.
"May we count upon twenty-four hours, think you, Colonel?" I asked.
"Safely, I should say."
"Then I shall ask leave of absence for Captain Jennifer and myself tillthis time to-morrow," I went on. "This is our home neighborhood, as youknow, and we have a little matter of private business which may bedespatched in a day."
"Will this business take you without the lines?"
"That is as it may be, sir. I do not know the bounds of the outposting."
The colonel wrote us passes to come and go at will past the sentries,and I drew Dick away.
"What is it, Jack?" he asked, when we were by ourselves.
"'Tis the fulfilling of my promise to you, Richard. Get your horse andwe will ride together."
"But whither?" he queried.
"To Appleby Hundred--and Mistress Margery."
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