by Perry Comer
Less than three minutes later they were ready to depart. Coffin was mounted on the horse. He looked down at Hardy and grinned, “Feel like a king sitting up here.”
“An easy target Sergeant, that’s what you look like. You’ll not have that grin long!” Hardy said and added, “lead us out the back.”
Coffin lost his grin.
“Uncover!” Hardy commanded. The men obeyed and removed their hats.
Hardy spoke from memory the words he had heard said on another battlefield, “Lord have mercy on all sinners, may your blessings be on Private Watts and may you embrace him in your loving arms. We commend his soul too you and his body to this earth, amen!”
“Cover!” he ordered and the men put on their hats.
He glanced down at the wooden plank that served as Watts’ marker. It simply stated, “Private R. Watts, USMC 1812.”
The man with the rifle fired again, he did not miss. The ball ripped into Horne’s pack. Horne dove behind the stone wall, as did the others.
“Anyone see where that shot came from?” Hardy asked.
No one answered. They each lay still as did Hardy. He waited a few seconds then spied Vargas, “Fetch the rifle off the ass!”
“Aye, sir,” Vargas answered and began half-crawling to where the ass was tied. He turned the ass to keep it between him and where the man with the rifle was. Without standing fully, he loosed the knot holding the canvas and pulled the rifle. He then walked the ass back to where Hardy lay, all the while keeping the ass between himself and the shooter.
Hardy expertly loaded the Baker rifle.
He spied Ellis; “You’ve steady hands and good eyes, take the rifle and brace it on the wall, when you see his smoke, hit him. There’s a bit of wind from the south. ”
Ellis took the rifle. “Aye, sir but how long are we to wait?”
“Hardy grinned and said, “I’ll be his target, when I stand, be ready.”
“Aye!” Ellis answered.
Hardy gathered himself and stood. He remained perfectly still and counted from one to five then broke into a run.
The man fired as Hardy made his move, the ball missed. Ellis fired at the puff of smoke.
“Missed!” Ellis said with disgust.
“Maybe, maybe not, we’ll not know at this distance,” Jones said.
“Marines, double quick to me!” Hardy shouted from the rear steps of the house.
The men jumped up from their crouched positions and ran for the house.
“To the front!” Hardy ordered and the men ran on without slackening their pace.
Hardy waited for Coffin who leaned against the horse keeping it between him and the wood as he walked. He came slowly but managed the distance to the front of the house. Once there he collapsed to the ground.
“Get him up on the horse,” Hardy ordered.
“Aye, sir,” Danner answered.
The carriage and the wagon were in front of the house in the process of being loaded. Two women and three children sat in the wagon. Eli handed up a large basket to one of the women. As Hardy neared, he saw there were other baskets in the wagon.
“Ellis reload the rifle and stand guard at the corner of the house,” Hardy ordered.
“Aye, sir,” Ellis answered.
Nelson came down the stairs carrying a heavy chest. “Have you more chests?” Hardy asked.
“Two sir, just two more,” Nelson answered.
“Horne you and Hambright lend Nelson a hand!” Hardy ordered.
“Aye, sir!” they answered in unison.
“Eli are you to drive the wagon?” Hardy asked.
“Yes sir, I am,” the slave answered.
“Then climb up and make ready, we’ve no time to dally.”
Misses Ramsey wearing a pink bonnet and carrying a small black valise came down the steps. Her eyes met Hardy’s and she said, “This breaks my heart but I do what I must.”
“Yes madam,” Hardy said and extended his hand to take the valise.
“I can manage,” she said curtly.
“Yes, madam,” Hardy replied.
He moved to the carriage to assist her.
“I told you I can manage!”
Hardy stepped away from the carriage.
Nelson led as Horne and Hambright came down the stairs, each carried a large chest. The women reached out and pulled the chests into the wagon. Nelson seated himself in the carriage.
“Now, if you please Nelson,” Hardy said and Nelson started the carriage forward.
The only one of the party showing any expression of appreciation was Hettie, she smiled at Hardy as the wagon passed.
“Sergeant Coffin, ride well ahead of the carriage,” Hardy ordered.
“Aye, sir,” Coffin answered and spurred the horse forward at a trot.
“Ellis, we are away, keep watch as best you can then catch up to us,” Hardy ordered.
Brooks had fashioned himself a walking stick and walked along side Hardy. “They will ransack the ladies house,” he said.
“Aye, and possibly burn it, but as I told her better a burned house and alive than the other. But as yet, I’ve seen no smoke.”
Brooks asked the question he had in his mind, “Do you think they are following?”
Hardy answered, “We will know soon enough. I think they intend to bide their time and try again. My intention is to be ready for them, if I remember correctly this road turns sharply beside a stream and then crosses the stream. When we reach that point, we will lie in wait. With the stream on one side of the road and us on the other we will have the advantage.”
“You mean to kill them all?” Brooks asked.
“If they are foolish enough to follow, it will cost them heavily.”
“Should I send a runner for Sergeant Coffin?”
“No, he should continue to escort the Ramsey party.”
Hardy wanted Coffin away from the fight. As weak as he was he would be of little help and someone would have to watch over him.
They came to the bend in the road and it was as Hardy remembered. There was heavy brush on one side of the road and the small stream on the other. The road crossed the stream a hundred yards further on.
Halfway into the bend of the road, Hardy stopped. The wagon and carriage tracks in the damp sand were marred with shoe and moccasin tracks that followed the carriage. He stood still and tried to estimate the number of men by the number of tracks. He knew what lay ahead and without a word waved the men to the brush. Either those from behind had gotten ahead by another route or there was another party, possibly it was Jackson coming for the wagon of munitions. He’d not chance a trap ahead.
He said to Brooks, “I estimate a party of eight are lying in wait, whether they are the ones giving chase or another party, I’ve no way of knowing. We will move deeper into this wood and wait. Pass the word.”
“Will those coming behind not see our tracks and know we entered the wood?”
“Aye, but we will know where they are and what they are about, so we best prepare for them.”
Hardy led them through the brush some thirty yards back the direction they had just come. He dared not go further for fear of being heard. The spot he picked to defend had a clear view of the road; it was the best he could hope for.
“Lay on your bellies, muskets and pistols at the ready!” He ordered.
“Vargas, take the ass deeper in the wood, tie her and return!”
“Aye, sir,” Vargas answered.
Hardy turned to Brooks; “I’m going to the road and watch. Keep the men down and quiet.”
“Aye,” Brooks answered.
The fifteen feet to the road was a mix of vines and briars. Hardy’s hands and face received their fair share of pricks and cuts. Once to the road he rose up, craned his neck and was not surprised to see a group of men advancing toward him. Quickly, he scrambled back through the briars and vines to Brooks.
“More than ten advancing toward us,” he said to Brooks while examining where his men lay.
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“Will we take them?’ Brooks asked.
“Aye, we’ve little choice. Better to deal with this lot now and have time to prepare for the lot that I believe lie in wait for us around the bend. Pass the word to fire when I fire.”
Behind Hardy, the men prepared their muskets. Other than the small clicks of the hammers going back there was silence. He waited; sweat beaded on his forehead mixed with the blood of briar pricks and ran down his cheek. He ignored it as he did the blood between his fingers gripping the long pistol.
The men on the road were bunched; he counted eleven. The pistol in his hand kicked and he quickly, dropped it not taking time to see if the shot struck home. He picked up the other pistol aimed and fired. That ball struck a man that was already falling. Behind him was the crackle of muskets and pistols. All the men in the road went down, some seeking cover, some wounded and others dead. Hardy pulled one of his four-shot pistols. A man on the road rose up with a pistol in his hand, Hardy shot him in the shoulder. Another, an Indian jumped up, whooped and started through the brush with a hatchet; Hardy shot him in the chest. He waited, no others rose up and behind him the men were hurriedly reloading.
“Advance!” Hardy ordered and stood.
There were some still alive on the road, they moaned and cried from their wounds. Hardy shot two of them and pulled the other four-barreled pistol from inside his tunic. His men soon surrounded him; they began stabbing the bodies with their bayonets. Hardy turned his attention to the bend in the road. A man came into view no more than fifty feet away. Behind him came nine others.
“Marines to me! Form line!” Hardy shouted.
The men responded and began forming a ragged line.
The oncoming men were no more than thirty feet by the time Hardy’s men were in their line. Four had stopped and raised muskets.
Coolly, Hardy ordered, “level,” and the men raised their muskets. There was a sudden blossoming of blue smoke as the oncoming men fired pistols and muskets.
“Fire!” Hardy shouted and fired his pistol. He advanced the next barrel and fired again. He then sidestepped a man swinging a pistol and clubbed the man’s head. Around him were screams of men dying and fighting. It was over as soon as it began.
Hardy realized he had a searing pain on his side just below his belt. A ball had grazing him leaving a bloody gash. Men lay around him; one was Brooks. He was relieved to see Brooks raise himself on one elbow.
“Mister Brooks are you wounded?” Hardy asked.
Brooks looked up; blood ran down the side of his face. He turned away and wiped his face with his hand and then felt the top of his head. “Just a lump, sir,” he answered.
Hardy extended a hand and Brooks took it. Hardy hauled him to his feet. Together they surveyed the road. Four of their number were down, all of the attackers appeared dead. Vargas, one of those that lay on the ground stirred and sat up. His face was bloodied and he buried his head in his hands.
“See to Vargas,” Hardy said to Brooks.
He went to Jones who lay on his back. The man appeared unmarked. Kneeling, he felt for breath. There was perhaps a slight breath, Hardy wasn’t sure. He rolled Jones over to examine his back, there was no wound; he rolled him back over and stood.
Jones and Hambright were the only two still down. Hambright would not be getting up, the hole just above his right eye told the tale.
Jones groaned but did not rise.
Hardy took a minute to examine those they had killed lying in the road. He wasn’t certain but he thought one of the men was Jackson. The man wore better boots than the others and held a fairly new pistol in his dead hand.
On the whole, they had fared better than Hardy expected. Radcliff was shot in the arm and Ellis had a ball in his shoulder. Danner was slashed across his back. Jones had come to and complained about his back. When Brooks examined him; the man’s whole back was one giant bruise. Vargas had a busted nose and both his eyes were blackened.
“Vargas fetch the ass,” Hardy ordered.
“Will we camp?” Brooks asked.
Hardy did not hesitate, “No we will see to our wounded, bury Hambright and march for Saint Marys, I estimate it to be about two hours walking. Maybe, longer because of the wounded. The sooner these men receive the surgeon’s attention the better their chances. It will be dark by the time we arrive.”
“But sir we can’t just leave these men in the road, some are still breathing!”
“Mister Brooks we must see to ours, we’ve not time to deal with these!”
It did not please Hardy to leave them, were it not for his wounded he would have collected the weapons and destroyed them, gone through pockets for names and other information and then buried the dead. He reasoned that his first obligation was to the men he had put in harm’s way. The dead will still be dead tomorrow; they will wait.
Chapter Five
Darkness did overtake them as they limped into the town. Every man was exhausted, tired and hungry. Hardy went straight to the inn to inquire about the surgeon. He was told the man had left for Charleston and would not return for a week. There was no one else to see to the sick or the wounded. Hardy then inquired about Coffin and was told that he had a room.
To Hardy’s surprise, the person who opened the door was Jewel. “Dear lady I am delighted to see you!” Hardy exclaimed.
“You hurt too?” Jewel asked.
“Aye, but mine will heal. I have other wounded and no doctor or surgeon to care for them. I plead with you to care for their needs. I will see Misses Ramsey and garner her consent.”
Jewel smiled, “Misses Ramsey has done gone to Charleston. Her brother, the doctor done took her. She tell Nelson to take us all back to the house but he told me that we go in a day or two. I say that be fine with me, so here I am. We ain’t got no money and got no food, will you pay me to look after them?”
Hardy smiled, “ Miss Jewel I will gladly pay you and provide food for the others.”
“I’ll do what I can then, I ain’t no doctor you knows that,” Jewel said.
“You will do just fine,” Hardy said and looked past her.
Coffin lay on the bed.
“Is he sleeping?” Hardy asked.
“Like a baby, I mixed him a potion.”
“Then we can live him?”
“Yes sir, he won’t even turn over. Be morning before he wakes up.”
Jewel went to her wagon and collected the things she needed. One of them was a bottle filled with a clear liquid. “Way stronger than rum or whiskey, bout kill you if you drink it. My mammy taught me to make it, she learned from her mam.”
“Ellis is the worst of the lot,” Hardy said to Jewel as he led her over to him.
Jewel looked down at Ellis who lay with his head on his pack. He stared up at up. She removed a jar from her basket and a little tin cup. She poured the tin cup half full and held it to Ellis’ mouth. “Drink it,” she commanded.
He smelled it and made a face. “What kind of piss is that?” he asked.
“Never you mind, you drink it cause if you don’t I’ll pour it down you,” Jewel said.
Ellis looked to Hardy.
“Drink it, you’ve got no choice in the matter,” Hardy said.
Ellis took the little cup and slung the contents down his throat His face screwed into a wad and he gagged then hacked. By the time he stopped, his head began to loll.
“Same potion I gave your other man,” Jewel said as she took the slender bladed knife from her apron. “He ain’t going to feel it, no grunting and fighting at all.
She removed the ball from Ellis’ shoulder, then took her bottle with the clear liquid and poured it into the wound. The honey and bandages came next. “He ain’t going to be no use to you for mor’n a week,” Jewel said and added, “If the fever don’t get him.”
Danner came next. She did not give him the potion. “Went clean through,” she said of the ball. She took her little bottle of clear liquid and poured. Danner screamed and Hardy and Jewel were
forced to sit on him to keep him down. “It burns worse than fire,” Danner managed to exclaim through clinched teeth.
“That it do,” Jewel said with a touch of humor.
When Jewel had finished with the men she said to Hardy, “Take down them britches so I can get to it.”
Hardy, having watched her pour the liquid fire on the others’ wounds knew what was to come. He reluctantly complied.
“Ain’t bad, just need cleaning she said and pulled the cork from the bottle. She poured a few drops of the liquid fire on to a rag and started wiping the wound. At first he did not feel it but suddenly it was like she had stuck a red-hot poker to him. His clenched his teeth and every muscle in his body tightened. “Damn!” he managed.
Jewel chuckled. “Ain’t no man no match for it,” she said.
Able to breathe Hardy asked, “What is it?”
“Some folks call it white liquor but I just calls it medicine. Ain’t cooked the same as regular whiskey, way stronger. Make a man blind if he drinks too much of it, crazy too.”
Hardy woke at dawn. He rose from the bed, splashed water onto his face and shaved. As he did so, his mind was on the journey that lay ahead. Captain Williams would be waiting. He dressed in his freshly laundered and mended uniform and went to have breakfast.
Brooks was waiting; he was seated and eating. There was a platter of fried eggs, one of biscuits and another of sausage on the table. Hardy sat and the serving girl brought another plate, utensils and coffee.
“A short night,” Brooks said while chewing.
“Aye, short but restful,” Hardy said as he lifted the cup.
“Have you decided?” Brooks asked.
“Yes, I will go across to the island and fetch five men. I dare not attempt the return with fewer than ten. And, no doubt there will be another task once I report to Captain Williams.”
Brooks chewed but did not answer.
Hardy pulled the platter across and began filling his plate. He ate as a man who had not eaten in days. Finished, he looked across to Brooks. “You have done well Mister Brooks, I will state that in my report. I am pleased that you never faltered.”