The Hero of Ticonderoga; or, Ethan Allen and His Green Mountain Boys

by John De Morgan

  CHAPTER XXXII.

  HOW ENGLAND TREATED PRISONERS OF WAR.

  After Eben had escaped the captain of the war ship was furious.

  He found out that five of the prisoners shared the same room with theescaped one, and he closely questioned them about the escape. Theyrefused to speak a word; perhaps they knew nothing, but their mouthswere closely sealed.

  Orders were given to take the five prisoners to the shore and hang themin such a conspicuous place that the rebels might see them and takewarning.

  This cruel and uncivilized act was carried out by men who loathed thework, but who had to obey the orders of their superior.

  Fearing that unpleasantness might ensue from the order, which, when toolate, the captain regretted, orders were given to sail north, and EthanAllen was taken to New York, where he was landed and thrown into aprison cell.

  While it was a change to be on land, the treatment was more severe.

  Every indignity was heaped upon the unfortunate prisoners by the torieswho ruled the city.

  There was but one gleam of sunshine in the hero's life.

  He often heard news of the outside world.

  A Congress had been called, and its deliberations were of vitalimportance.

  The tories talked about it in Allen's presence.

  They denounced men whose names Allen had not heard before, but who werebecoming prominent. But they also talked of Sam Adams and JohnHancock, of Patrick Henry and George Washington, and then they toldeach other that it was seriously proposed to create a new nation out ofthe colonies and declare the independence of the colonies.

  All this was glorious news to the prisoner, and he listened in silence,afraid that his joy, if known, would prevent further conversation inhis presence.

  One hot, stifling day in July there was considerable commotion in theprison, and Allen knew that something more than the ordinary had causedthe excitement.

  How anxiously he waited to hear the news!

  How tedious the hours passed before the change of guards gave thedesired few minutes for conversation.

  At last the hour came!

  "The Declaration of Independence has been signed!"

  "You do not mean it? The rebels would never dare!"

  "But they have dared. They say that a new nation has been born. Ha,ha, ha! He, he, he! Ha, ha, ha!"

  "Will all the prisoners have to be shot now?"

  "No, they will be hanged, same as before. England has not recognizedthe new nation; but England has hired a lot of Hessians----"

  "What are they?"

  "Don't you know? They come from some place in Europe; their king sellsor leases them out to fight."

  "And they must fight whether they like it or not?"

  "Oh, they like fighting; they are trained to fight. It is the onlything they can do, and they do it well. You see, they do it all thebetter because they can't talk English, so they kill all who do----"

  "Then they may kill us."

  "No, I do not mean that, but they kill all they are told to kill."

  A warden entered the long corridor and called out the name of EthanAllen.

  Allen stepped from his cell and submitted to his arms and legs beingheavily ironed.

  He was then marched through the city to the Battery, where he wasplaced on board a war ship, with other prisoners, and taken to Halifax.

  For nearly two years he suffered the most horrible tortures in prisonsand prison ships. He seemed to have been forgotten.

  For weeks at a time he was absolutely silent, no one being allowed tospeak to him, and silence was strictly enforced among the prisoners.

  Once Allen got a little paper and a pencil, and a friendly jailerpromised to have the letter sent to its destination.

  Allen addressed it to his brother at Bennington, in the GreenMountains, and it duly reached its destination, but the brother wasaway with the patriot army, the letter was kept, however, and read overand over again by the old friends of the hero of Ticonderoga.

  In that letter he says:

  "I have seen American patriot prisoners begging for food and beinglaughed at for their request. They have bitten pieces of wood to getlittle chips to eat and so satisfy their hunger. I was imprisoned fora time in a church, watched over by Hessians who would not let us leaveto satisfy the wants of nature, and mid excrements the poor wretches,who only loved their country, died in horrible tortures."

  It was a wonder that the letter ever reached Bennington, but the jailerwho passed it out was a warm-hearted man, a son of the soil fromIreland.

  It was in the early spring of 1778 that Allen heard his name called ashe sat in the hold of a war ship lying off New York.

  He dragged his legs wearily up the steps to the deck.

  He had aged much during those two years, and his friends would scarcelyhave known him.

  As he reached the deck he heard a voice, which seemed very familiar,say:

  "Colonel, don't you know me?"

  A tall, bearded young man stood before him with extended hand.

  "Eben!"

  "Ah! then I have not changed so much."

  It was Eben Pike, dressed in the uniform of a lieutenant of theAmerican army.

  "What brings you here? You are not a prisoner?"

  "No; at this moment I am a guest of His Majesty the King of England,and am acting on behalf of the United States of America, and moreespecially the commander-in-chief, Gen. Washington, and----"

  "I am so glad to see you, Eben, that I do not know what you have beensaying. I feared you were dead."

  "No, colonel, I had a work to do, and I have done it. You see, we,that is, the American army, took a certain English colonel prisoner,and England wanted him very badly, so Gen. Washington said: 'You shallhave him in exchange for Col. Ethan Allen,' and at last the order forthe exchange was made and you are free."

  What did it mean?

  Allen heard the word "free," but it seemed like an echo of fairyland,having nothing in common with this matter-of-fact, cruel world.

  "Yes, Col. Allen, you are free."

  This time the word was spoken by an English officer.

  Allen staggered like a drunken man, and would have fallen had not Ebencaught him.

  "Come, colonel, we must not trespass on the hospitality of the King ofEngland any longer; I have promised to escort you with all duediligence to the headquarters of the commander-in-chief."

  Allen stood still, looking, with glassy eyes, at the speaker.

  In a few moments he asked;

  "Am I dreaming?"

  "It looked very like it, colonel, for you acted as though you wereasleep; but come now, we must be going."

  "Do you mean it? Are you really Eben Pike?"

  "Ask the captain here. He will vouch for that. The document reads:'The bearer, Lieut. Pike, of the Army of the United States of America,'does it not?"

  "Yes, Col. Allen, the whole thing means that you are exchanged. Wehave got our man, and we pay for his liberty by giving you yours.Good-day, and may I never see you again--at least under recentconditions."

  Allen entered a small boat with Eben, and two stout seamen pulled theboat to the dock, where a carriage was in waiting.

  Eben almost pushed the astonished and half-dazed Green Mountain herointo the carriage, and soon the waterside was left far behind and thecarriage rolled along the roads to the place where Gen. Washington hadmade his headquarters.

  By that time Allen had begun to realize that he was really free.

  Washington met him at the door and grasped his hand warmly.

  "For over a year we have been trying to secure your release, but couldnot get the English to consent. You have to thank Lieut. Eben Pike foryour release. He is a real hero."

  "General, I only did my duty."

  "I wish every soldier did his duty as well. I must tell Col. Allen; Iam sure he will be prouder than ever."

  "No, general, it was a mere nothing."

  "I am the best judge of t
hat. You must understand, colonel, that Pikeenlisted in the cavalry and did excellent service as a private soldier;he was speedily promoted, for he deserved it. But it was at the battleof White Plains that he distinguished himself. Almost single-handed hefought a company of cavalry when most of our men had retreated. He wassurrounded and refused to surrender. 'I have been a prisoner ofEngland once,' he said, and that was enough for him. He cut his waythrough the enemy, and even that enemy has borne testimony to his greatbravery. I am proud of him."

  "I am sure that a braver man than my young friend, Pike, never drewsword," added Allen, proudly.

  "After he had gallantly cut his way through the enemy, he says hethought he could have done better, so he turned his horse and rodeafter the British. They evidently thought that he was the advanceguard of a regiment, for they stuck their rowels into the horses androde for life. Pike followed up closely and overtook Col. Jameson; hedemanded his surrender, and Jameson had to submit, for Pike had theadvantage."

  "Yes, he could not help himself and live," Eben said, with a smile.

  "Pike took his captive into camp, and the affair was reported to me.Sergt. Pike became lieutenant, but he was not satisfied. He knew thatJameson was a most important personage, almost as valuable asCornwallis himself, so what does the young lieutenant do but ask me torefuse to exchange Jameson unless you were the captive given up by theBritish. The difficulty had been that you had no commission; I did notknow it until I heard it from Montgomery and Schuyler, and so theBritish looked upon you as an outsider; but they wanted Jameson, andthey got him, and you owe your freedom to Pike's pertinacity."

  We can easily imagine Allen's feelings as he listened to the accountgiven by Washington.

  The pride he had felt in Eben's career was intensified, and he feltthat the young Green Mountain scout would become one of the greatheroes of the Revolution.

  Allen was so broken down by his long and cruel imprisonment that hetook a vacation and retired to Bennington to recuperate.