Blood Upon The Snow

by Martin Ganzglass

  Four of the officers, dandies who had been waiting for General Knox were standing in the entryway on the right side of the balustrade. They looked up at Will and turned their backs making clear they thought he was not worthy of their attention and continued talking. Will squeezed by two of them toward the front door.

  “Have you seen that pretty blond partridge? ” one of them said to the other. “Do you think she is the babe’s wet nurse?”

  “I do not know,” the other answered, “but I would most assuredly enjoy sucking on those teats.”

  In an instant, Will turned, grabbed the officer by the front of his coat and shoved him to the floor, his fists pummeling the fop’s face. He grabbed him by the ears and smashed his head against the wooden boards. He heard shouting around him, felt a blow to the back of his skull and lost consciousness.

  When he awoke, he was lying under a quilt on a bed under a low ceiling. A lantern burned on the sill, illuminating the crystals of frost on the panes and casting weird shadows on the walls. His coat hung on a peg, his boots were in the corner. He lifted his neck and felt intense pain in his temples followed by a pounding in the back of his head. Gradually, the rest of the room came into focus. It was Hadley’s garret room at the Ford house. He lay quietly, aware now his head was bandaged. Gingerly, he raised one arm and worked it around to the base of his skull. His fingers felt the broad raised lump and damp ooze beneath the cloth. Sighing, he put his arm at his side and tried to recall what had happened.

  All he remembered was the smirking face of the one officer who had insulted Elisabeth and the feeling of great satisfaction he felt by pulverizing the man’s nose and smashing his teeth with his fists. He looked at his own hands. His bruised knuckles confirmed the beating he had inflicted. He would do it again, he thought, proud to have defended Elisabeth’s honor.

  The door opened and Will turned, groaning at the pain that spiraled in ever increasing paths of agony from the nape of his neck to the top of his head. The light from the one candle in the darkened room hurt his eyes. Miss Mercy sat down on the edge of the bed and applied a cool wet cloth to his forehead.

  “You have been insensible for a very long time. Samuel was worried you would not regain consciousness,” she said softly.

  “How long has it been?” Will asked.

  “Almost eleven hours. Samuel carried you here before noon. It is now slightly after ten.” She rose gracefully, careful not to shake the bed. “I will tell him you are awake. He is downstairs before the fire in the kitchen.” She smiled sympathetically at him and he saw her shadow disappear in the hallway.

  He heard the clumping of boots on the stairwell and Hadley entered carrying a pewter candle-holder in front of him. Silently, he put it down on the windowsill, turned the wooden chair around and straddled it. He rested his arms on the top of the curved chair back and lowered his chin on his hands. His face was close to Will’s. For a while he said nothing.

  “Miss Mercy told me you are awake. The doctor said if you emerged from unconsciousness soon the likelihood is you would recover.” He stared at Will in the flickering candlelight.

  “I cannot judge whether you have taken leave of your senses because of your infatuation with Miss Elisabeth or you are unaffectedly insane. Do you realize what you have done?” Will started to answer but Hadley did not give him the opportunity.

  “You assaulted an officer in General Knox’s headquarters. Not any officer mind you but the son of a member of Philadelphia’s Supreme Executive Council. You have viciously disfigured Captain Richard Seeley’s visage, realigned his nose, knocked out some of his teeth and caused him to suffer a blow to his head. All in front of witnesses. His companion, one Captain Enos Newcomb of the Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse, who by the by had the honor to escort Mrs. Washington to our camp earlier this month, was compelled by your assault to strike you on the back of your head with his sword guard. It was extremely fortuitous he did not run you through. Instead, he grabbed a musket from one of the sentries, and since he alleges he thought you were still assaulting Captain Seeley, he struck you again with the butt.”

  Hadley shook his head in disbelief. “Your thick skull which has presumably caused your predicament saved you from being killed for your actions.”

  “But this Captain Seeley insulted Elisabeth. You heard him. He is a dandy and has never seen an hour of battle. He is a parade ground officer not worthy of anyone’s respect.” Will groaned as the blood rushed to his temples. The throbbing in his head seemed like someone was beating on a kettledrum from inside his skull.

  “I do not care if he insulted Martha Washington herself,” Hadley said raising his voice. “You are a corporal and you attacked a superior officer. One who is now demanding your court martial. All because you were unable to control yourself. Well, you have boxed us all in a fine corner now.”

  Will was confused. What did it matter to anyone else? “I would gladly do it again and I will take my punishment for it,” he replied angrily. “Remember it was you who taught me to honor all women and treat them with respect.” He pointed an accusatory finger at Hadley. “How would you have responded if this Captain Seeley had uttered lewd thoughts about Miss Mercy?”

  “I may have informed him that gentlemen do not speak thusly of ladies and therefore he has proved to all he is not a gentlemen,” Hadley said calmly. “I may have provoked him to strike the first blow and then defended myself,” he added. “If I were truly incited, I may have even challenged him to a duel. But,” he said angrily, “I surely would not have assaulted him in a blind, uncontrollable rage in the General’s headquarters.”

  Hadley remained silent for some time. Will closed his eyes, again seeing the smirk on Captain Seeley’s face.

  “Will. I have given my honor you will stay in my quarters instead of being held prisoner in the guardhouse. I need you to promise you will not leave this house without my express permission. Is that understood?”

  Will nodded.

  “You can and will have visitors. I will talk to General Knox. He will be under great pressure to schedule a court martial immediately, but the decision is his alone to make.” He ran his fingers through his thick brown hair. “Captain Seeley’s father has the ear of others on the Council as well as some members of the Congress. The General risks alienating extremely influential people if he does not acquiesce to the Captain’s demands.” He paused as if weighing the counter arguments. “On the other side, and in your favor, I suspect Mrs. Knox is your strongest supporter. While you are confined to these quarters, I charge you continue to contemplate your conduct and its consequences.”

  “If it comes to the worst, I am ready to be court martialed and take my punishment. I can do that,” Will said defiantly.

  “Is that so,” Hadley said exasperated with Will’s attitude. “Are you prepared to be stripped of all rank, tied half naked to a tree, flogged before the troops on the Green, and dishonorably discharged from the Regiment? Are you ready to be separated from your companions and the generosity of General and Mrs. Knox and disgraced in Elisabeth’s eyes?” He threw up his hands and stood up, loudly scraping the chair on the floor. “Think on it. Only your friends stand between you and that fate which could be the price you may pay for your impetuosity.” As he opened the door to leave, he turned and gruffly said, “I will ask one of Miss Mercy’s nieces to bring you some dinner.”

  Will lay in bed, grateful for the silence after Hadley’s tongue lashing. He had been so ecstatic, imagining the days, nay weeks and even months, being with Elisabeth in Morristown. Hadley was right. A speedy court martial would put an end to that dream. He almost wept with despair, knowing that people like Captain Seeley and his family, the powerful and wealthy in society, usually had their way.

  Early next morning, Sergeant Merriam came to see him. Will was grateful for his company and mindful of the effort it had taken the old man to climb the steps to the garret. Merriam leaned his crutch against the sill and sat down in the chair with a grunt. He remain
ed there wheezing and gasping until his labored breathing subsided. With some effort he lifted his bad leg with two hands and rested his grossly swollen ankle on Will’s bed.

  “How is your foot?” Will asked politely.

  “Not any better,” the Sergeant replied, wiping his dripping nose on his sleeve. He sat quietly with his leg extended, making rhythmic in and out rattling noises in his throat.

  “I am returning home,” he said abruptly. Will did not understand and thought Merriam was leaving the garret for his hut.

  “But you have just arrived,” Will protested.

  “The blow to your head must have addled your brain. No, it was scrambled before to permit your thoughtless assault on an officer in our beloved General’s own headquarters.” He snorted and paused, wheezing heavily. “No, lad, I mean home to Boston. To my wife and little ones. General Knox has consented. I am too aged and infirm, both with my game leg and lack of breath, to serve any longer.” Will looked at the old Sergeant, recalling the time on Dorchester Heights when Merriam had aimed an eighteen-pounder, The Albany, rescued from the icy Hudson waters, at the British floating gun battery and hit it smack on without a ranging shot.

  “You can be of use teaching gunnery,” Will said eagerly. “No one in the Regiment has your experience and knowledge.”

  “Thank you lad but I am determined and I have the General’s blessing. I regret I have failed to teach a certain young Corporal to manage his baser impulses.” Merriam was seized with another fit. His breath came in sucking, rasping sounds as if his lungs were a bellows filled with water. He held up one hand signaling Will to wait.

  “I have more to say. You are a good soldier, Will. I recommended you to General Knox, to be promoted to Sergeant. So I understand did Captain Hadley. Of course that was all before your actions of yesterday. The devil himself must have taken hold of you.” He coughed some phlegm, looked for a spittoon or chamber pot and seeing none readily available, spit into a rag tucked into his sleeve and folded it under the cuff.

  “It is evident Satan roams this camp ruining the lives of good men. Soldiers blaspheme from morning until night asking God to damn their eyes, tongue and every other appendage and organ, all the while engaging in gaming, pestiferous vices of liquor, sinful congress with women and all manner of vicious habits. And your loss of common sense and exhibition of a wild rage is but a sign Satan has seized control of your mind.” Merriam was exhausted by the effort of delivering his sermon. He sat in the chair, nodding to himself, every once in a while, repeating softly, “Satan’s power and influence is everywhere.”

  “What should I do? I am prepared to take my punishment whatever it may be.”

  “That will only gratify the victim of your assault, a man promoted to Captain not by his own merits but by the influence of high placed relatives. One who is not fit to command a flock of sheep, let alone soldiers dedicated to our noble cause. A man. . .” Merriam was forced to stop by another terrible bout of coughing and wheezing. Alarmed Will sat up in bed, swung his legs down and gently patted the old man’s back.

  “It has passed,” Merriam said softly. “Some days are worse than others.” He waved for Will to return to the bed.

  “I pray that General Knox will find a solution and your reason will be restored to you. I myself cannot see a way out of this problem. God, in His infinite wisdom will hopefully provide guidance to our General.” He lowered his head and closed his eyes, his lips moving silently. His chin fell forward on his chest and he began snored loudly. Will let him sleep. He did not see how defending Elisabeth’s honor meant the devil had invested his mind. And certainly, he had never engaged in any of the other sins Merriam had listed.

  By the third day, Will was frustrated by his continued confinement in the Ford’s home. He suffered severe headaches and pain only when he climbed the stairs to the garret, which compelled him to do so slowly. Otherwise, he idled away the time pacing the rooms downstairs, sitting in front of the fire or prowling around in the kitchen, enduring the worshipful stares of Mr. Ford’s young nieces, who giggled and found every opportunity to serve him bark tea or bread and jam and flitted around him like colorful humming birds. He was deeply disturbed that Elisabeth had not been to see him. Captain Hadley returned midday to the Ford house, but he neither had any word from General Knox about the court martial nor had he seen Mrs. Knox or Elisabeth.

  Will was sitting by the fire in the main room when Miss Mercy returned from her work at the Presbyterian Church that had been converted to a hospital. She joined him at the dining table and motioned for him to lower his head. With experienced hands, she undid the bandage.

  “The wound has scabbed nicely and the swelling seems to have subsided somewhat. Maybe we can fashion a smaller bandage that is not as dramatic looking.”

  “It is my heart that is bleeding,” Will blurted out. “Why will she not visit me?”

  “Perchance it is to avoid agitating the situation even more,” she said firmly, applying a wet cloth to the back of his head. “She has expressed concern to Captain Seeley over his wounds and assured him she hopes for his complete recovery.”

  “What,” Will shouted, turning to face Miss Mercy. “She has visited the very lout who dishonored her by his lewd thoughts and words?” Miss Mercy shooed away her two nieces who, at the sound of Will’s raised voice, had appeared at the kitchen door.

  “You really do have a thick skull, Will Stoner. You think all one needs is fists, swords or pistols to resolve any problem. A softer approach may lessen the likelihood of a court martial.” She twisted the wet cloth in her hands and applied it to the back of his head.

  “After I apply the new bandage stay by the fire. Elisabeth is to call on me this afternoon at four. I suggest you think carefully the words you will say to her. I assure you she has acted only with your best interests in mind.”

  Despite the pain, Will climbed the steps to the garret, washed his face, combed his hair, carefully avoiding the back of his head, and put on one of Captain Hadley’s clean linen shirts. Will’s only shirt still bore his blood on the collar and back. Nervously, he slowly descended the steps and pulled two of the oak chairs from the table closer to the fire. He hoped Elisabeth would agree to sit near to him.

  He jumped when he heard the door open. The sound of boots on the wood floor told him it was not Elisabeth. Hadley clomped into the room.

  “Do not look so astounded, Will. I have not come for my shirt,” he said laughing. He took off his coat and stood near the fire turning his hands before the flames. “You are a lucky man to be inside on this bitter cold day. I have been at the field drilling an inept militia unit who barely know a side box from a sponge bucket.”

  Will grunted acknowledgment. “I would prefer to be at liberty to do my duty as a soldier.”

  “Your preference may be near at hand. Have patience, Will. First, listen to Miss Elisabeth. Then, I have some news. You have General Knox and especially Mrs. Knox to thank.”

  Will had not heard the door open or close but suddenly, Elisabeth was in the room. She raised one hand to cover her mouth, her eyes tearing as she saw Will’s bandaged head. She wore a long dark brown coat and droplets of melting snow glistened on her blond hair beneath the cowl.

  “Oh, Will,” she sighed softly, throwing back her hood. “You look so pale. Are you in pain?”

  “Not now that you have come to visit me,” he said, motioning for her to sit in the other chair. “Your presence is like a balm to my wound. I would take a thousand lashes to see the concern for me on your lovely face.”

  Hadley chuckled. “Well said Will, but now is not the time for wooing. She must return to Mrs. Knox shortly. They have much to do.” He nodded at Elisabeth.

  “I am leaving Morristown tomorrow,” she explained. She saw the look of despair on his face. “General Knox is concerned for their babe’s health. The infant has developed a slight cough. I am to travel with Mrs. Knox to Philadelphia. We will stay with their friends for a few weeks. Then, we will e
ither return to Morristown or General Knox will join his family there.”

  “And me,” Will said with some bitterness. “Am I to come to Philadelphia as well? Now that you have appeared in this winter camp, after I had given up all hope of seeing you ever again, another forced parting is all the more worse to bear.”

  “Oh, my dearest Will. We will be together again and soon, I promise that.” She leaned forward in the chair and took his hand. Will entwined his fingers in hers, warming them and feeling how slender they were. He remembered sitting with her in New York City, the day before the British invasion. He had not seen Elisabeth again for more than eight months. He stared at her intently, yearning to imprint her every feature, every sense of her, to carry with him for what he feared would be another long separation.

  The two young nieces, now suddenly shy in Elisabeth’s presence, emerged from the kitchen carrying a teapot, cups and a plate with small slices of bread. Directed by Miss Mercy, the girls placed them on a small side table, and curtseyed to Elisabeth. Will remained looking into Elisabeth’s eyes, content to have her hands in his, only gently releasing her fingers when she offered him a cup of tea.

  “The General too will be separated from his wife,” Hadley said. “He has been asked by General Washington to travel to Springfield to arrange for the casting of new cannons. 3 He leaves the day after his family departs for Philadelphia.”

  Will shook his head in confusion. “What does this mean for me and the pending court martial.”

  “Your orders are to accompany him to Springfield,” Hadley said. “Mrs. Knox left some baggage there to be retrieved and brought to Morristown.” He saw the puzzlement on Will’s face. “As for your court martial, I know nothing other than it cannot take place while the General is away. He may explain more of his intentions on your journey.”

  Will understood he would not be permitted to spend the next day with Elisabeth, nor could he even appear outside to wish her a safe journey. This afternoon was the last time he would see her until he did not know when. He saw the same sad realization in Elisabeth’s eyes.