converted into a banquet hall. Members of Congress were already
seated at the long table running across the width of the room. Between
them and the double front doors, civilians were grouped at tables
perpendicular to the Congressional one. Elisabeth recognized a few
members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council and the
city’s magistrates. The Continental Army officers in town and their
guests were seated further back, closer to the entrance.
The three hundred or more celebrants completely filled the hall.
Elisabeth had never seen so many people in one room. Servants, in
dark long coats with ruffled white shirts, moved among the tables
carrying platters laden with food and pitchers, bottles and crocks
of drinks. The Knoxes halted frequently as they made their way in,
the General greeting officers he knew and being introduced to their
ladies. It was slow progress and Elisabeth sensed Will’s uneasiness.
Her fingers tapped on his hand and he inclined his head so she could
whisper in his ear.
“Once we are seated, there will be less of the press of these people.” He shook his head. “It is not that,” he replied. “If you observe the officers, there are those with a ruddy, rugged appearance from having served in the field, and then there are those, pale and almost corpse like in complexion, with their powdered wigs, who have not seen a day
in either battle or encampment.”
“Will. Please do not be negative with your thoughts or so sour
in appearance. Be prepared to be courteous and pleasant to whomever
we shall meet.” He nodded and smiled at her and she was pleased her
words had helped to improve his mood.
“But surely you must notice, Miss Elisabeth,” he said grinning at
her mischievously, “that with the obvious exception of General Knox,
we who have come from Morristown are leaner to the point of looking
underfed, while those who have remained in Philadelphia favor the
more plump and pampered look.”
“Then you will simply have to make up at this dinner for your
prior meager rations, although I caution you to mind your manners
and not act the lean and hungry wolf,” she said with mock severity. “I promise to devour my food with decorum and to eat no more
than the General himself.” Elisabeth giggled at the thought, having
seen the General’s tremendous consumption at the dinner table. She
was pleased Will was merry again. “I shall only worry about you if you
eat as little as the General’s brother.”
“Is Billy in Philadelphia?” Will asked excitedly.
“I believe not yet. Mrs. Knox mentioned he is expected to join
the General shortly and provide assistance as his secretary.” “Tis much better duty to be the General’s Aide-de-Camp,” Will
said grinning at her.
“I am pleased you are but I sense from that remark you do not
regard it so much of an obligation as an exercise of free will.” “Free will, yes certainly, but in your presence, this Will is not free
but bound to be your humble servant.”
Her eyes lit up with delight at his repost. “Very cleverly said,” she
acknowledged.
They followed General and Mrs. Knox to their table seating
sixteen, which was filled with many of the officers of the Regiment,
Captain Hadley among them, escorting Miss Mercy. Elisabeth sensed
Will’s unease among officers of higher rank. She reassured him, commenting it was the General’s table and he was entitled to select his company, and he had chosen Will. The sounds of the soft mellow tones of oboes, complimented by a sonorous melody carried by a few
fiddles filled the hall.
“Most of the musicians are the Hessians, captured at Trenton,”
Elisabeth said. The uniformed Hessian band, looking well taken care
of in their powdered wigs and blackened mustaches, were ensconced
on a raised platform to the right of the Congressional table. “They have
played at numerous outdoor concerts in the city this summer and are
quite popular and well-liked.” 4
“Their armed brethren are less likely to be appreciated by the
good citizens,” Will said. “As you have heard, General Howe will
begin the campaign with an attempt to capture Philadelphia. There
will be a major confrontation for certain before this summer is over.”
She recognized the truth of his words. While the others around them
continued in gay conversation, she became quiet.
“Forgive me, Elisabeth,” he said quickly. “I should not have
darkened your mood.”
“There is nothing to forgive,” she responded. “We are still at war,
the outcome is uncertain and there are indeed many in this city who
would welcome General Howe and his army. Their sympathies lie with
the Crown and not with our cause.” She reached for his hand under the
tablecloth and squeezed it with affection. They held hands for a long
time, untwining their fingers only when food and drink were served.
Pot pies and dishes of fish and poultry were followed by roast meats,
all accompanied by wines, ciders and beers. The meal concluded with
baked wine custards, preserved pears, layer cakes and marvelously
contrived pastries with claret and madeira served to compliment the
sweets.
There were thirteen separate toasts, each offered from the
Congressional table, in honor of the country formed by the thirteen
colonies, with acknowledgement of the brave heroes present and those
who had fallen in battle in their efforts to advance the cause. Will leaned over and whispered in her ear: “No mention of the
soldiers who have not been paid in months, or of the living maimed
and missing limbs, unable to work, and with no compensation from
these gentlemen now praising their courage.”
“I hear there are those in Congress who have used their own
personal funds to send to the troops. The women’s circle to which
Mrs. Knox and I belong collect clothing and engage in sewing to
supplement what is in scarce supply. As do others in the city.” She was about to add another thought but was startled by a
barrage of rifle fire echoing through the Tavern’s open windows. Will
put his arm around her shoulder in a comforting gesture. It brought
back memories when he had held her on the sled as they crossed the
frozen Hudson at Albany. “It is just the running fire of our infantry,”
he explained as the muskets discharged from one end of the line to the
other. “It is in celebration.” With each toast followed by such firings,
Elisabeth became more accustomed to the loud noise, but she remained
in his protective embrace. Despite what she assumed were his best
efforts to scrub himself clean, his jacket smelled of gunpowder and
horses, as if the scents had been woven into the fabric. She wondered
whether his skin smelled the same. She smiled to herself at her risqué
thought.
At the conclusion of the dinner, when the members of Congress
rose, it was a general signal for the attendees to move around the vast
hall and mingle with others. Will immediately stood, for as aide to
General Knox, he was obligated to be part of his escort around the
hall. He and Elisabeth followed the General and Lucy at a distance.
Elisa
beth let him steer her through the crowd, aware of the attention
she attracted from the young men they passed. She squeezed Will’s
arm to reassure him she was pleased to be with him. They lost sight of
General Knox and when they did locate him, he and Lucy were seated
at another table, the General surrounded by a group of officers, and
Lucy holding court among several of the patriotic ladies of the city. Knox was describing the first battle of Trenton as the army
approached the Hessian sentries with the blinding snowstorm at their
backs. The elegantly uniformed men, none of whom had been part of
the army in December 1776 attentively listened to his account. “Captain Hadley here, now graced by the presence of the lovely
Miss Mercy van Buskirk, was instrumental in our artillery supporting
the assault,” Knox said, gesturing for Hadley to take up the story. Will listened and was carried back to the cold stormy morning, the gun crew working in unison, firing canister to sweep the Hessians clear of
King Street.
“And here is another of our brave soldiers, Sergeant Stoner, my
Aide-de-Camp,” Knox boomed out, pointing at Will. “It was he, who
along with the Captain and a few others, attacked the one cannon
the Hessians had managed to get into action and captured it for our
cause.” Elisabeth felt Will stiffen. “Tell them Will of your part in that
encounter.” Elisabeth feared that Will would be remain silent or not
find his voice. She squeezed his arm in encouragement.
“I was not alone. Captain Hadley led a few of us in a mad scramble
down the icy street. It was slippery underfoot and in front of us, several
Hessians were hastily loading their three-pounder. Their muskets were
useless in the driving snow but their long bayonets would serve them
well as we approached. It was only when I was extremely close to their
cannon that I realized I was unarmed.”
“It is a rather poor soldier who forgets to carry his musket into
battle,” one of the officers standing near General Knox said sharply.
He was a slight man with a very high forehead, which appeared more
so by the powdered wig perched on the crown of his head. His pale
blue eyes bored into Will, daring him to challenge him. Elisabeth
recognized him as Captain Seely’s friend, Captain Enoch Newcomb,
the one who had bashed Will with a gun stock in the fight at General
Knox’s headquarters. Anxiously, she held her breath, hoping Will
would respond calmly.
“Sir, I normally do not carry a musket into battle because I am
part of the gun crew in General Knox’s Regiment. The cannon is my
weapon,” he said, as if explaining something so elementary to a school
boy. He paused enough to let the lesson sink in. “But you are quite
correct to criticize me for lack of preparedness, although I was not
entirely unarmed. I seized an empty sponge bucket and clobbered the
Hessian gunner with it before he had a chance to lunge at me with
his bayonet. I assume Sir, from your own familiarity with battles you
are aware that a sponge bucket has many uses.” Several of the ladies
tittered with amusement and Newcomb’s face turned crimson, the
color extending up to the line of his wig.
“My experience, as is true of any gentlemen is from the saddle
of a horse. I do not engage in bar room brawling with the enemy,”
he replied. “You on the other hand do not seem to have limited your
brawling to Hessians.” He was about to explain further but General
Knox cut him off.
“Captain Newcomb. There are times when brave soldiers must
use whatever means are at their disposal in attacking the enemy,” Knox
said loudly. “Quickness of mind and resourcefulness are attributes
in the clamor of combat to be highly valued. Sergeant Stoner has
exhibited those qualities married to cool courage that make him an
excellent soldier. I wish our army had more like him.”
Elisabeth pressed his arm, signaling Will to restrain himself.
“There is no need Will, for you to say more,” she whispered softly. “Gentlemen, while I would much prefer to provide more first
hand accounts of our battles with General Howe’s minions, we are
required by the occasion to present ourselves for a parade before the
city’s populace. My dear,” he said turning to Lucy and kissing her
gently on her upswept hair, “please excuse me. Our absence will be
brief.” He moved through the crowd, creating a path where there was
none, followed by the officers of his Regiment.
“Well,” Lucy said cheerily, “let us fill our glasses with sherry and
adjourn to the upstairs where we can observe the parade from the front
rooms.” There was the scraping of chairs and rustling of skirts as the
women left the main hall and mounted the narrow stairway. Elisabeth stood, at the window next to two Shippen sisters and
a few other young women she had met at their afternoon teas, poetry
readings and parties. From the corner of the window she had a clear
view of the direction the parade would come. Below them, crowds
three deep lined Second Street, jostling for position.
“You must have a handkerchief to wave at your beau,” Peggy
Shippen said, pressing hers into Elisabeth’s hand. “He seems well
spoken and very much taken with you. I would vouch he barely took
his eyes off of you for the entire dinner.”
“Except to respond to Captain Newcomb,” another young lady
observed. “And even then, with your hand on his arm, it seemed as if the two of you were one,” she said, raising her eyebrows to elicit a
comment from Elisabeth.
“Sergeant Stoner and I correspond regularly. General Knox
graciously appointed him his aide for the Tavern dinner. That is all
there is to it.”
“Oh, Elisabeth. Do not be so modest. It seems you have captured
the heart of a handsome young soldier who enjoys the General’s favor,”
Peggy said. “In no time at all, he will be an officer, and even better
looking in his new uniform and able to grace our salons and balls.” Elisabeth sensed the a barb in Peggy’s comment, a criticism of
Will’s present low rank and an implied disparagement of his lack
of culture. The Shippens were among the wealthiest families in
Philadelphia, after the Morrises, and while they proclaimed their
neutrality, it was whispered they were closet Tories.
“His letters to me are warm and heartfelt,” she replied curtly.
“And he has his moments of eloquence,” she said with more candor
than she had wished to reveal. “However, as one deeply committed to
our cause, he will be doing his duty in the field rather than attending to
me at drawing room soirees.” She looked at Peggy and smiled sweetly. The familiar sounds of beating drums and fifes and the reedy
strains of the Hessian oboes signaled the start of the parade. The crowd
hailed “their Hessian band,” smartly dressed in powder blue uniforms
as they marched by in unison. Next came a color guard, carrying the
flags of the various Pennsylvania and New Jersey militias, and the
newly adopted red and white striped flag- thirteen five-pointed stars
within a blue rectangle. The men in the crowd cheered lou
dly and
brandished their tri-corns above their heads in appreciation. 5 General Knox followed on his large dappled English saddle horse,
waving to the crowd. Behind him rode the officers of the Artillery
Regiment, smiling and acknowledging the cheers of the people. Then,
two mounted cavalry units and finally the cannons. Will was in the
forefront on Big Red. The horse was brushed and groomed so that one
could see its muscles rippling under the deep rich color, like strong
currents in a stream. The stallion pranced as he pulled a light brass
cannon, the metal glinting in the late afternoon summer sun. Will sat upright in the saddle, confidently looking straight ahead, the reins
clasped loosely in his hands.
“You beaux is so handsome on that magnificent animal,” Peggy
gushed. “He could pose for a statue to be placed in the most prominent
square of the city.”
Elisabeth smiled at the thought of a statue being erected to Will,
but placed in Albany where her family and friends would see it. She
pushed the silly thought from her mind and waved her handkerchief at
no one in particular, Will having already passed from view.
It was dark when Will accompanied General Knox to his home. He waited impatiently in the hallway until Elisabeth appeared at the top of the stairs. She was so graceful, it seemed to him she flew down the steps with her feet whispering over the wood. Outside, the streets were filled with celebrants enjoying the festivities. She clung closely to him and Will wanted to think it was due more to her wanting to be with him, than the crush of the crowds.
The sky was illuminated by a fireworks display. Bright balls of red and orange burst above them. No sooner had they finished, to the applause of people in the street, then individual fiery streaks of rockets, launched from the Commons soared upward, before exploding in red fury. The people cheered and counted out loud for each rocket, screaming “thirteen” as the last one rose into the darkness. They paused and watched a militia unit firing from one end of the line to the other, the men obscured by the gun smoke blown back along their ranks. Bonfires burned at major intersections as people danced and milled around them, singing and shouting in celebration.
“There is so much noise, I will become deaf by evening’s end, and unable to hear your voice,” Elisabeth said. Will knew his own hearing had already suffered from serving in the gun crew. During drills, shouted commands no longer seemed as sharp and clear to him, and afterwards, he frequently found he spoke louder than normal.
Blood Upon The Snow Page 17