Prelude to Glory, Vol. 7

by Ron Carter

  © 2003 Ron Carter.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Deseret Book Company, P.O. Box 30178, Salt Lake City Utah 30178. This work is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church or of Deseret Book. Deseret Book is a registered trademark of Deseret Book Company.

  All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Carter, Ron, 1932– The impending storm / Ron Carter. p. cm. ISBN 1-57008-993-0 (hardbound : alk. paper) 1. United States—History—Revolution, 1775–1783—Fiction. 2. Washington, George, 1732–1799—Fiction. I. Title. II. Series: Carter, Ron, 1932– . Prelude to glory ; v. 7.

  PS3553.A7833146 2003 813'.54—dc21 2003006959

  Printed in the United States of America 18961-7108 R. R. Donnelley and Sons, Crawfordsville, IN

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  This series is dedicated to the common people of long ago who paid the price

  This volume is dedicated to the people employed by the publisher, who have been so helpful, patient and dedicated to bringing this series to the highest standard possible. Among them are Cory Maxwell, Jana Erickson, Emily Watts, Brad Pelo, Garry Garff, and Richard Peterson, to name a few but by no means all. Without them this effort would have been impossible.

  Table of Contents

  The Impending Storm

  Preface

  Chronology of Important Events Related to This Volume

  Part One

  CHAPTER I

  CHAPTER II

  CHAPTER III

  CHAPTER IV

  CHAPTER V

  CHAPTER VI

  CHAPTER VII

  CHAPTER VIII

  CHAPTER IX

  CHAPTER X

  CHAPTER XI

  CHAPTER XII

  CHAPTER XIII

  CHAPTER XIV

  CHAPTER XV

  CHAPTER XVI

  CHAPTER XVII

  CHAPTER XVIII

  CHAPTER XIX

  CHAPTER XX

  CHAPTER XXI

  CHAPTER XXII

  CHAPTER XXIII

  CHAPTER XXIV

  CHAPTER XXV

  CHAPTER XXVI

  CHAPTER XXVII

  CHAPTER XXVIII

  CHAPTER XXIX

  CHAPTER XXX

  CHAPTER XXXI

  CHAPTER XXXII

  CHAPTER XXXIII

  CHAPTER XXXIV

  CHAPTER XXXV

  CHAPTER XXXVI

  CHAPTER XXXVII

  CHAPTER XXXVIII

  Bibliography

  Acknowledgments

  The Impending Storm

  None had anticipated the catastrophic plunge of America into the economic and political chaos that followed the new nation’s world-shaking military victory over the British. The national government disintegrating, state governments defiant, worthless currency, border tariff wars, bankruptcies rampant, bitter disputes over river rights, and sectionalism were ripping the union apart. There was talk of dividing America and reunion with Great Britain. Courthouses in Northampton, Worcester, Concord, Taunton, and Great Barrington had been stormed by farmers to stop foreclosures. The self-destruction of America had begun. November 5, 1787, with heavy heart, Washington took up his quill and wrote to his brilliant fellow Virginian and congressman, James Madison:

  My Dear Mr. Madison:

  At this critical moment let . . . us look to our national character, and to things beyond the present period. . . . Wisdom and good examples are necessary at this time to rescue the political machine from the impending storm . . .

  Preface

  * * *

  Following the Prelude to Glory series will be substantially easier if the reader understands the author’s approach.

  The Revolutionary War was not fought in one location. It was fought on many fronts, with critical events occurring simultaneously in each of them. It quickly became obvious that moving back and forth from one event which was occurring at the same moment as another, would be too confusing. Thus, the decision was made to follow each major event through to its conclusion, as seen through the eyes of selected characters, and then go back and pick up the thread of other great events that were happening at the same time in other places, as seen through the eyes of characters caught up in those events.

  Volume 1, Our Sacred Honor, follows the fictional family of John Phelps Dunson from the beginning of hostilities in April 1775, through to the sea battle off the coast of England in which the American ship Bon Homme Richard defeats the British ship Serapis, with Matthew Dunson navigating for John Paul Jones. In volume 2, The Times That Try Men’s Souls, Billy Weems, Matthew’s dearest friend, survives the terrible defeats suffered by the Americans around New York and the disastrous American retreat to the wintry banks of the Delaware River. Volume 3, To Decide Our Destiny, leads us across the frozen Delaware River on Christmas night, 1776, with Billy Weems and his friend Eli Stroud, to take the town of Trenton, then Princeton. Volume 4, The Hand of Providence, addresses the tremendous, inspiring events of the campaign for possession of the Lake Champlain–Hudson River corridor, wherein British General John Burgoyne, with an army of eight thousand, is defeated by the Americans in one of the most profoundly moving stories in the history of America, at a place on the Hudson River called Saratoga. Volume 5, A Cold, Bleak Hill, leads us through two heartbreaking defeats in the summer of 1777, one at Brandywine Creek, the other at Germantown, and then into the legendary story of the terrible winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

  Volume 6, The World Turned Upside Down, brings us through the realization by the British King and Parliament that they have underestimated the strength of the Americans in the northern colonies. Upon the resignation of the commander in America, General William Howe, they order General Sir Henry Clinton to take command and move the war effort to the South. The French and Spanish join forces with the United States, and the entire course of the war changes.

  Away from the battles, we find General Benedict Arnold and his wife, Peggy, entering into their treason with British Major John André, resulting in the arrest and death of John André, while Benedict Arnold escapes to become a British officer.

  In that volume, the British conquer Savannah, Georgia, then Charleston, South Carolina, and General Cornwallis, given command of the British forces in the South by General Clinton, begins his march north. Crucial battles are fought at Camden, then King’s Mountain, and at Guilford Courthouse, with General Nathanael Greene commanding the American forces in a delay-hit-run-delay tactic that slowly exhausts the British forces. General Cornwallis moves his beleaguered army to Yorktown, Virginia, protected by the guns of the British navy while he refits his men. But when the French navy engages them and drives the British ships away, General Cornwallis is landlocked, and General Washington makes his historic march from New York to Yorktown. With French soldiers assisting, the Americans place the British under siege, and ultimately General Cornwallis must surrender his entire command.

  The war is over. It remains only to quell a few British who will not accept defeat, before moving on to the signing of the peace treaty.

  In this volume, we discover that the defeat of the British at Yorktown results in a horrendous split in the British government, with King George III determined to hold the American colonies, while his cabinet is split on the question, and Parliament is against him. The result is the most dramatic house-cleaning in the history of English p
olitics, when the entire cabinet is dismissed and a new one appointed. Instantly the cabinet and parliament vote to abandon America, and peace negotiations commence, with a resulting treaty in 1783. America has become a free and independent nation.

  It is then the new nation is shocked by the harsh reality of their victory. The United States are bankrupt, with a congress that is powerless to raise revenue or compel unity among the states. Immediately the several states begin bickering over border tariffs, river rights, and money. Most states print their own currency, as does Congress, and within months the paper money is valueless. Veterans are discharged from the Continental Army without the pay they had been so ardently promised and must return home penniless. Without money they cannot pay the debts they had accumulated over the years they were serving their country, and bank foreclosures and bankruptcies reach horrifying levels. Robert Morris and Haym Salomon, the two financial geniuses to whom George Washington turns for help, quickly understand that without taxing powers being vested in Congress, the United States is doomed.

  Slowly but steadily the United States is descending into a chaos that will destroy everything the Americans fought for. The best and brightest among them realize something must be done, but as yet, no one has dreamed what it will be. Then, in August of 1786, an event occurs that puts the issue squarely before the entire country. A discharged army captain named Daniel Shays leads 1,200 veterans against the courthouse in Northampton to stop the court from entering more bankruptcies and putting the debtors in prison. Concurrently, others storm the courthouses in Worcester, Concord, Taunton, and Great Barrington. Men are shot dead and wounded.

  A fundamental change has to occur, or all is lost. James Madison of Virginia begins writing letters. There will be a gathering of representatives from all states at Philadelphia on the second Monday of May 1787. This assembly will address the ills that must now be resolved.

  The Constitutional Convention has convened.

  Chronology of Important Events Related to This Volume

  * * *

  1781

  January 17. American General Dan Morgan engages British Colonel Banastre Tarleton at Cowpens, South Carolina, and, through a brilliant military stratagem, soundly defeats the infamous Tarleton, destroying nearly his entire regiment.

  March 1. The Articles of Confederation are ratified.

  March 15. Americans under command of General Nathanael Greene engage British soldiers at Guilford Courthouse, where the Americans are defeated; however, the British losses are high, and the British are seriously crippled in their southern campaign.

  September 5–8. French ships sent by King Louis XVI under command of Admiral de Grasse to aid the Americans, engage and defeat the British fleet in Chesapeake Bay. With the loss of the British navy for support, General Cornwallis, with his entire army at Yorktown, is landlocked and subject to attack by the Americans under General Washington and French General Rochambeau.

  September 28–October 19. General Sir Charles Cornwallis is placed under siege by American and French forces, who pound him with cannon for weeks. October 19, 1781, Cornwallis surrenders his entire army to save his soldiers. The surrender essentially concludes the fighting in the Revolutionary War.

  1782

  February 23. Sir Henry Clinton, commander in chief of British forces in America, is replaced by General Sir Guy Carleton.

  March 27. The most horrendous wrenching in the history of the British government occurs when the entire cabinet of King George III is thrown out of office, to be replaced by a new cabinet that favors abandoning any further hostilities with the United States.

  April 12. Peace conferences commence between Great Britain, France, and America, in Paris, France.

  April 12. The British soundly defeat the French navy in the Battle of the Saints, West Indies.

  November 30. Provisional and preliminary peace treat is signed in Paris, between Great Britain and the United States.

  1783

  January 20. Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands sign a general armistice and hostilities cease between them.

  September 3. The Paris Peace Treaty is signed by Great Britain and the United States in Paris. The Peace Treaty of Versailles is signed by Great Britain, France, and Spain in Versailles.

  November 2. General George Washington delivers his farewell address to the army.

  November 3. Congress commences the disbanding of the Continental Army.

  November 25. General Washington bids farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York City.

  December 23. General Washington resigns his commission, bids farewell to Congress, and returns to private civilian life.

  1784

  January 14. Congress ratifies the treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain. The American Revolution is formally concluded.

  1785

  May 18. The Mount Vernon Convention convenes at Washington’s residence.

  1786

  August–September. Daniel Shays leads 1,200 men to stop all legal proceedings concerning bankruptcies and debtors at the Northampton Courthouse in Vermont. Concurrently other men storm the courthouses in Concord, Taunton, Worcester, and Great Barrington for the same purpose.

  September 11. The Annapolis Convention is convened.

  September 14. The Annapolis Convention adjourns with notice given to all states of a proposed convention to be held on the second Monday of May 1787, at Independence Hall, Philadelphia.

  Part One

  London, England

  November 25, 1781

  CHAPTER I

  * * *

  Thomas Reeves Hocking turned up the collar of his heavy black cape, pulled his tricorn low on his head, and hunched his thin shoulders against the bite of the raw, late November wind at his back. Feet spread for balance, he turned on the deck of the small packet boat Alice to glance back down the broad Thames River, rough and gray in the swirling late morning fog, as though by the peering he could see across the English Channel to the French port of Calais from whence he had come. The small vessel had left France earlier that morning with four passengers, two canvas sacks of mail, and the three-man crew—all silent, white-faced, as she plowed north across the Channel, pitching and bucking in the great whitecaps that put her decks awash, with the bitter easterlies whistling in her sails and rigging. Hocking had no recall of the hours he had spent in the tiny, damp hold, hearing only the constant roar of wind and feeling the shudder of the tough little craft as she took the relentless pounding of the sea. Sitting on a plank bench, staring at the half-inch of water that constantly lapped at his shoes on the floorboards, he reached too many times to feel the sealed message in the breast pocket of his coat. His only clear recollection of the torment of the crossing was his constant awareness of the terrifying message he carried. It numbed his brain and froze his heart within his breast.

  Yorktown—Cornwallis and his eight thousand—gone, dead, captured—Graves and our fleet—defeated in open battle on the Chesapeake Bay by de Grasse and his French fleet—we lost on the sea and we lost on the land—the Americans—that ridiculous gathering of rabble beat us—how? how? how?

  The unthinkable reality filled his head, ringing like an unending chant. The sick gnawing inside had finally driven him up onto the pitching deck to grasp the handrail and stand shivering with the fog collecting freezing on his dark, shaggy eyebrows and thin, sharp face. He watched unseeing as the small vessel worked its way through the jumble of boats and ships of every flag and description, which endlessly plied the waters of the great waterway that gave the world access to London, the capital city of the greatest military power on earth. The Thames River traffic went about its business, seemingly oblivious to the fact it was Sunday, when all right-thinking Church of England adherents were in their churches, or their homes, peering judgmentally down their noses at those who dared defy the edicts of the Great Jehovah concerning the Sabbath.

  Hocking glanced at the flags on the masts of the monstrous gather of sh
ips that undulated on the river swells—India, Spain, France, Holland, Germany, the West Indies, Greece, Africa, Portugal, Scandinavia—and an odd thought passed unbidden through his mind:

  How many gods, how many religions, are represented here on this river? Or is it just one? One who is seen differently by each of the many who is seeking? Which Sabbath, which holy day, is the right one? Catholic? Protestant? Oriental? Hebrew? Indian? Asian? African? And what would happen to the business of world trade if every port in every country were shut down on the Sabbath, or the holy day, of every religion? Impossible. The business of the world must go on. The message I carry must be delivered today. It will likely wreck the British government. Maybe—probably—change the course of the history of the world. Sabbath or no, it will not wait. It must reach Germain today, before the thunderbolt strikes through Walpole and the newsmongers. And after Germain? Only the Almighty knows.

  He wiped at the beads of moisture clinging to his heavy brows and his face, aware that it was a mix of freezing fog and nervous perspiration.

  Hocking scarcely noticed the little boat passing beneath London Bridge, then Southwark Bridge, and begin to turn left as it passed beneath Blackfriars Bridge, on past Whitehall to Westminster Bridge where the helmsman brought her hard to starboard and worked through the press of watercraft to tie up rocking at the Westminster docks, near the houses of Parliament and the abbey. The crew spilled the sails, set the gangplank rattling onto the dock, and then set about lashing the heavy, wet canvas to the arms. The captain, short, stout, round face weathered like leather, pointed his four passengers to the gangplank, then seized the two mail pouches to follow them.