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Pioneers and Patriots in Early
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EVEBTCHILD'S SERIES

Pioneers and Patriots in Early
American History

By

Marguerite Stockman Dickson

Author of ** American History for
Grammar Schools ' '

Illustrated by John A. Huybers

The Macmillan Company
1915

All rights reserved

Copyright, 191 5,
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY.

Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1915.

/ o.i/^o

Nottaootr IPreaa

J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co.

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

FEB 25 1915

A YOUNG DESCENDANT
OF THE OLD-TIME PATRIOTS

EDWARD DICKSON WASS

PREFACE

The stories in this book are all concerned
with the great fight which our forefathers
made for independence in the Revolutionary
War. They are told with no desire to em-
phasize the glories of war, nor to encourage
any tendency toward militarism ; but rather
to arouse an interest in our early history, in
which war unfortunately had a part.

As in the companion book, " Camp and
Trail in Early American History," choice has
been made of what are considered by the
author to be type stories, which shall contrib-
ute toward the broad view of the time which
we desire children to have before beginning
the formal study of history. These stories
bring out the character of the men who
fought for freedom, and some of the condi-
tions under which their fight was waged. No

viii PREFACE

attempt has been made to weave the stories
Into a history of the period. Indeed, the
principal characters to be later met In formal
study hover only In the background here. It
is the spirit of the time which the book aims
to present.

Like Its companion volume, the book may
serve two purposes, — to precede or to sup-
plement the textbook In history.

Charlotte, North Carolina,
January, 1915.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

A Hero Spy i

Liberty or Loyalty ? . . . . .18
In the Valley of the Mohawk . . -35
Mad Anthony at Stony Point ... 50
The "Swamp Fox" of the Carolinas . . 64
Homes Beyond the Mountain Wall . . 79
Friends from Across the Sea ... 99
Israel Israel's Experience with the Tories 119
Another of Marion's Men . . . '. 130
A Hero of the Sea 140

IX

PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

A HERO SPY

Some day you will learn in your histories
how it came about that the English settlements
in America grew stronger than their French
neighbors on the north or the Spaniards at the
south. You will read about the struggle
between French and English for the Ohio
Valley ; and how New France was lost to the
mother country, and was divided between
England and Spain.

Thus it happened that England's posses-
sions in the New World spread from the far
north to Spanish territory in Florida. And
every year the various colonies grew stronger.

To tell you how these English colonists
quarrelled with the government of the mother
country would be a long story. Some day

2 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

you will learn that too in your histories. It
is enough for us now to know that the quarrel
arose, and that it led to war. No doubt you
have already heard of the American Revolu-
tion, and the independence the colonists won
by force of arms. The story I am now to tell
you is the story of a hero of that war.

In a quiet room of a fine old mansion
in the city of New York sat the commander-
in-chief of the American army — the Con-
tinental army, as it was known. Before him
stood a young officer, respectfully awaiting
the final orders of his chief. For an hour
General Washington explained the important
mission to be undertaken.

We do not know what their last words were,
as the general rose and took the young man
by the hand ; but the moment must have been
a solemn one for both. Both knew the dan-
gers to be encountered; both knew the fate
awaiting a captured spy ; both knew the scorn
of the world for the spy's work ; and yet that
work must be done.

A HERO SPY 3

This important moment in the life of
Captain Nathan Hale came when he was
barely twenty-one years old. A fine young
fellow he was, tall and well built, with hand-
some features and the glow of perfect health.
He had graduated from Yale College only two
years before, and had been a favorite with
teachers, students, and the townspeople of
New Haven. All expected for him a brilliant
future, both because of his scholarship and
his fine character.

*'No young man of his years put forth a
fairer promise of future usefulness and celeb-
rity," says one who knew him in his college
days.

The war called him from the schoolroom
in which he was already making a success as
teacher. When the news of the first fighting
came, Nathan Hale cried, ''Let us march
immediately, and never lay down our arms
until we have obtained our independence."
With the first company organized in the town
he set forth.

4 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

That had been more than a year ago. He
had already risen to the rank of captain, and
was loved by his men as well as his superiors.
The army was attempting the impossible
task of holding New York against double its
own force of British soldiers and a British
fleet. There had been a battle on Long Island
which left the British in possession, and now
Washington was waiting anxiously to dis-
cover the next move of the British commander,
General Howe. Would he make an attack on
the city itself ? Or would he shut the Ameri-
cans in by seizing some position north of
them ? Would he attack from the East
River or the Hudson ^

A constant lookout was kept from heights
above the city with powerful iield-glasses.
But nothing was discovered. Washington
called his officers to a council of war. There
seemed only one thing to do. Some one must
go into the British camp and find out the
facts it was necessary to know.

Scarcely any harder task could have been

A HERO SPY 5

proposed. It required military knowledge ;
bravery ; coolness ; caution ; daring ; judg-
ment ; faithfulness, — in fact, it seemed as
though no worthy quality of head or heart
was not required. Who would undertake so
delicate and dangerous a mission ? Who
would brave the scorn of the world, and
perhaps suffer death and disgrace, to be
a spy ^

It was decided that a meeting of officers
should be called, and the matter laid before
them. The great need must be explained.
Perhaps some one would volunteer to make
the attempt.

The meeting took place. Colonel Knowl-
ton, who commanded the "Connecticut Ran-
gers," asked for a volunteer to serve the com-
mander-in-chief. He explained the nature of
the service. He reminded the officers that
it was a case of desperate need. He appealed
to their spirit of adventure, their ambition,
their love of country. He paused and looked
expectantly about the room.

6 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

A sudden silence had fallen. There was
a look of astonishment on every face, — on
some a look of indignation. Colonel Knowl-
ton was asking for a spy !

It would be impossible to describe the feel-
ings aroused by Colonel Knowlton's words.
Many, probably most, of the officers before
him were young men. They had their dreams
of the great things they were to do. Who
among them wished the story of his life
ended with ''hanged as a spy" 1

For a moment the silence continued. Then
came a murmur of protest. And in spite
of all that Colonel Knowlton could say, no
one would consent to undertake the un-
welcome task.

Just as the meeting was breaking up, a
young captain in Colonel Knowlton's own
regiment entered the room. A group of
his friends immediately surrounded him, go-
ing over once more the question which had
so agitated the meeting. The young captain
asked few questions. He waited for no de-

A HERO SPY 7

tails. But, hearing merely that a volunteer
was wanted for secret service for the chief,
he turned calmly to Colonel Knowlton, say-
ing, '^I will undertake it." A perfect storm
of remonstrance met him on every side.
Surely he did not understand ! It was a
spy's work the chief wanted ! Suppose he
should be caught ! Had he forgotten the
fate of captured spies ?

But no amount of protest changed the
calm decision. ''I will undertake it," he
had said; and now, "I am fully sensible of
the consequences of discovery and capture
in such a situation."

"I wish to be useful, and every kind of
service necessary for the public good becomes
honorable by being necessary." So he an-
swered those who talked of dishonor or dis-
grace. There is something fine about the un-
hesitating way in which Nathan Hale made
this decision. His country needed a certain
service, and against his country's need nothing
must count. So, resolutely and with his

PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

lfli'^1|!|f''|l|Pl1l"f|;.i,,|

*' Both knew the dangers to be encountered."

whole heart, he went the way leading to
danger and death.

Almost immediately the young man went
to General Washington for orders. Within

A HERO SPY

a few hours he had taken leave of his fellow-
officers, and set out on his perilous mission.

The first step of his journey was taken
that night. With two companions he trav-
elled along the shore
of Long Island
Sound, looking for a
safe place to cross.
This was not easy to
find, since the whole
western end of Long
Island was in the
hands of the Brit-
ish, and their boats
were guarding the
Sound. They had

reached Norwalk, fifty miles from New York,
before they dared make the attempt. Here
Hale laid aside his uniform, clothing himself
once more in the plain garments of the
schoolmaster. Then, bidding his companions
await his return, he went on board the sloop
which was to take him to the Long Island shore.

Nathan Hale's camp basket,
powder and diary,

lO PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

Once landed, he bade his boatmen return
for him on a certain day. Then he assumed
the character of a schoolmaster who was
disgusted with the ''rebellious Americans,"
and was himself a loyal supporter of King
George. He was in search of employment
as teacher. In this capacity he found little
difficulty in making friends with loyalists
and in gaining entrance to British camps.
It is said he visited all the camps on Long
Island, crossed to New York, which the
British had now taken, and, returning to
Long Island, made his way back to the place
where his boatmen were to meet him.

So far his work had been done skilfully;
in his shoes, beneath loose inner soles, were
drawings of British fortifications and in-
formation written in Latin on the thinnest
of paper. It was night, and before sunrise
he would be on his way back across the
Sound, to safety. Once on the safe side of
the Sound, he might resume his uniform, and
be himself once more, — Captain Nathan

A HERO SPY II

Hale, — on the way to rejoin his regiment,
north of the city.

Only one night ! but until he should be
safe on board the sloop, he must still be the
loyalist schoolmaster, with ear and eye quick
to see danger, and with nerve strong and
alert to meet it.

So it happened that a loyalist schoolmaster
entered a tavern near the Long Island shore,
to pass the night.

The tavern was a favorite meeting place
for loyalists, and they were out in full force
when the schoolmaster stepped in. Among
them a red coat or two marked British sol-
diers. All were merry, and they called the
schoolmaster to join them. He scarcely dared
refuse. But it was the last night! To-
morrow, at dawn, he would find his friends
awaiting him on the shore. Until then he
must play his part.

It is said that a loyalist in the party looked
keenly at the stranger, —looked and looked
again; then silently, still looking, passed
out into the night and was seen no more.

12 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

We wonder at the nerve and coolness of
this boy of twenty-one, seated among his
bitter foes, and obHged to take his part in
the gay and careless chatter of the hour.
We wonder if he noticed the overcareful
stare of the man who left his companions
early, and if one thrill of fear disturbed his
even heart-beat.

At last he was freed from the idle chatter.
The house was quiet, and morning was not
far off. He watched the slow change of the
sky from black to gray. Masses of shadow
showed at length as hills and trees. Faint
streaks of light appeared in the eastern sky.
A rosy flush told of coming day.

Silently the loyalist schoolmaster made
his way from the tavern to the shore. His
friends must be near. In a few minutes
more, this strain would be over. Surely
they would not fail him. Xo ! he could
see in the half light of the early morning, a
boat cautiously approaching the shore.

Running swiftly down, he threw up his

A HERO SPY 13

hand in signal, and in a moment was at the
water's edge. The rest of the story is almost
too sad and awful to tell. But we must hear
it to value Nathan Hale at his true worth.
Never was more courageous boy than he !
Never was man with greater bravery than
this man of twenty-one !

You will have guessed that the boat was
manned by British soldiers. You will guess
their errand on this lonely shore. Whether
the watchful loyalist of the night before knew
Hale and sent a message to the British we
cannot tell. We know only that the brave
boy stood on the shore with six British mus-
kets levelled at his head. "Surrender or
die !" was the curt order. A moment later
the boat moved off, bearing among the red-
coated soldiers a suspected spy.

Carried to a near-by British guard ship,
Hale was searched, and the papers found in
his shoes. Nothing more was needed to
prove him the spy they had believed him to
be. Taken now to the headquarters of Gen-

14 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

eral Howe, the British commander-in-chief,
Hale made no effort to conceal his name and
rank, or the work he had been doing, and
why. We are told that General Howe was
moved to pity by the fine, frank manner of
the young officer, but he had no power to
change the fate reserved for spies. He or-
dered Hale to be hanged before sunrise next
morning. Hale was led away.

The last night of Nathan Hale's life was
spent alone, under strong guard. Who can
guess the thoughts that filled those wakeful
hours ^ There is nothing to cause the belief
that for a moment he felt regret for what he
had done. He had been close to success —
and life. An unhappy chance had sharply
turned his steps toward failure — and death.
He must face death as he had faced the task
now to be forever unfinished — with calm
decision and with a love of country so great
as to blot out all else. Long before morning
light, the prisoner was sent under guard to
be delivered into the hands of the executioner.

A HERO SPY 15

The last test of the patriot spy was at
hand.

A brutal man was the provost marshal
into whose hands Hale fell. No last insult
was too great for him to offer. Denied a
minister, denied a Bible, denied even per-
mission to write a farewell word to his mother,
the hero Hale sat silent in a tent while the
final preparations were being made.

A pitying officer brought a Bible and paper
for letters. The boy wrote to his mother,
his sisters, his sweetheart. But even that
small comfort was of brief duration. The
provost marshal read the letters and tore
them to fragments before his victim's eyes.
He said he had no idea of letting the rebels
know they had a man who could die with
such firmness.

Let us draw a veil over the rest of the
sad story, lifting it only for a moment to
catch the last words of Nathan Hale. In
the last moment of Hale's life, the provost
marshal tauntingly demanded a "confession."

i6

PIONEERS -\XD PATRIOTS

Hale seemed not to hear him. With his fine
head still lifted fearlessly, he looked out and
through and beyond any taunts of men. And
then he spoke, — to himself, or perhaps to

.4^^^-^

1 '■

x:

^.^

The Xathax Hale homestead.

the world, — to you. to me. These were
his words :

'T onlv reeret that I have but one life to

give lor my count r}'

A HERO SPY 17

And then he died ; and by his death glori-
fied the name of spy. For he loved his
country, and he ser\ed her with his life,
choosing not the shining road to fame and
glory, but the darker one to lonely and em-
bittered death. And the light of his de-
votion lights that path forever.

LIBERTY OR LOYALTY?

We must not make the mistake of suppos-
ing that every American in Revolutionary
days fought for independence, or, if not
fighting, gave what help he could in other
ways. There were many people of America
who looked upon the war as a "most wicked
rebellion against his Gracious Majesty, King
George." They could not understand how
their neighbors and friends could take part
in such wicked business. Most of them at
the beginning of the struggle had no doubt
that England would make short work of sub-
duing the rebellious colonists, and they looked
forward to long lives as subjects of the king.

Naturally enough, many of these "loyal-
ists," as they were called from their loyalty
to the English government, wanted to help
the English soldiers to put an end to the war,

i8

LIBERTY OR LOYALTY? 19

and so they joined the British airmy. There
were whole regiments fighting for England
which were made up of American loyalists.

Others had no heart to fight against their
neighbors and one-time friends. Some of
these left their homes, going to Halifax or to
England. Some tried to live quietly at home.
Some gave secret aid to the king's soldiers,
and, if they were found out, received rough
treatment. Some received rough treatment
anyway, simply because they were loyalists,
or Tories, as the other party called them.

The name Tory in itself meant nothing
bad or disgraceful. Whig and Tory were
the names of English political parties, as
Republican and Democrat are in our own
country to-day. Of course there were Whigs
and Tories in the English colonies too. The
Whigs in both the colonies and the mother
country took the part of the resisting Ameri-
cans, and the Tories believed the English
government was right. So when an American
called another American a Tory, he meant

20 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

merely a man loyal to the English government.
Of course as war went on the feeling between
Whigs and Tories grew bitter, and the very
word Tory came to imply scorn.

All sorts of cruel deeds were done as the
war spirit grew. Quiet and harmless Tories
were tormented because they could not be-
lieve as their neighbors did. Others were
imprisoned or driven away from their homes.
Tories, on the other hand, did their share of
tormenting. They spied upon their Whig
neighbors, and many a patriot soldier at home
for a glimpse of wife and children was cap-
tured by bands of Tories or by British soldiers
warned by Tory spies.

Perhaps the most hated of all were those
w^ho would take neither side, or who changed
sides during the war. Nobody trusted them,
— nobody dared trust them. It would per-
haps be too much to expect that every man
should be true to his best self at such a time.
There were selfish men, who would be sure
to follow the stronger side for their own ad-

LIBERTY OR LOYALTY? 21

vantage. There were the timid ones, who
dared not choose the weak side even though
they believed it right. And there were others
that seemed to change with every wind that
blew. When a British army encamped near
them, they were all for ^'England and the
Crown." When a turn of battle brought
an American army, they were just as devoted
to the cause of liberty and independence.
Thus they hoped to make sure of their own
safety.

Michael Doherty, of Delaware, was an
unfortunate example of this changeable nature.
He was a sergeant in the Continental army,
but was taken prisoner by the British. While
in prison he was approached by a British
officer who offered him his freedom if he
would take the king's side. Michael, won
by what he calls the officer's *' perpetual
blarney" and "the king's money" slipped
into his hand, became a duly enlisted soldier in
the British regiment which had captured him.

Alas, for Michael ! His regiment was or-

22

PIOXEERS AND PATRIOTS

^ y^^<>^

X

v- ^<^s»*

;^ i

Michael was again a valiant British soldier, axd, when the

BATTLE WAS OVER, AGALX A PRISONER TO HIS FRIE>-I>S, THE
EXEMT.

LIBERTY OR LOYALTY? 23

dered to garrison Stony Point, and there
''Mad Anthony's" men gave him an ugly
wound and took him prisoner again. No
doubt he had time to think over the matter
seriously while his wound was healing; at
any rate he changed his sympathies and was
forgiven and received back with kindness
by his comrades in his old Delaware regiment.
But at the battle of Camden in South Caro-
lina the British won the day, and poor Michael
soon found himself marched to the coast and
shut up on a British prison ship. By that
time changing sides had probably become a
habit, so we are not surprised to hear that,
in the battle at the Cowpens, Michael was
again a valiant British soldier, and, when
the battle was over, again a prisoner to his
friends, the enemy. What became of him
after that I cannot say, but he lived to tell
the tale, which he concluded with these words :
"I feel some qualms at the thought of battle
since, take whatever side I will, I am always
sure to find it the wrong one."

24 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

I must tell you the story of Doctor Byles
and his two daughters, of Boston. For more
than forty years the learned doctor was pas-
tor of a church in his native town, but when
trouble came between the colonies and the
English government, his people were not sat-
isfied with the good doctor's stand.

He was careful not to say a word about
politics or the questions that everybody else
was talking excitedly about. Other preachers
wrote sermons about ''the duty of the col-
onies to the king," or "the wrongs of the
American colonies," but never a word from
Doctor Byles. At last some one asked him
why he expressed no opinion. His reply
was : "In the first place, I don't understand
politics ; in the second place, you all do,
every man and mother's son of you ; in the
third place, you have politics all the week,
pray let one day in seven be devoted to re-
ligion."

This, however, did not satisfy his Whig
congregation. The people believed he was

LIBERTY OR LOYALTY? 25

a Tory at heart. And so he was, but of the
sort that was disposed to keep out of the
quarrel and allow those who felt more strongly
than he to settle it.

It was not long before his Tory sympathies
cost him his church ; but he lived on in his
old house in Boston. His daughters were
far more interested than he. They wel-
comed to their father's house the British of-
ficers then stationed in Boston ; they watched
anxiously for news of British victories ; they
prayed for the success of England and the
welfare of the British king.

The old doctor was closely watched, you
may be sure, and, at one time during the war,
he was tried and sentenced to be shut up in
his own house under guard. It might have
been worse, of course, and the old man, al-
ways cheerful, made the best of it, although
the daughters more than offset his mildness
by their indignant exclamations.

One day it happened that the doctor was
alone in the house, before which the sentinel

26

PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

marched back and forth on his usual guard
duty. It also happened that the doctor
found himself much in need of a servant or a
messenger boy to do an errand
for him. Unfortunately he
could not go himself, and there
was no one else. Quite an-
noying, surely ! Suddenly, with
a twinkle in his shrewd old
eyes, the doctor threw open
the front door and hailed the
guard.

Now, I haven't a doubt that
the militiaman pacing up and
down before the doctor's door
was very tired of his task. And
I should be very little surprised
to know that it seemed to him
rather a foolish precaution to guard this
white-haired old man who had done noth-
ing worse than to wish success to England in
the war. Even so, he stood in open-mouthed
astonishment when the doctor coolly proposed

LIBERTY OR LOYALTY?

27

Ltr r o^rr^r ^-rk: «--"---"

'^U ON. 1 LL DO SENTRY DUTY."

28 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

that he — the guard — go on an errand for
his prisoner !

"But, sir," he stammered, "who — who —
who would stand guard over you, sir ?"

"I am quite capable of shouldering a mus-
ket myself," replied the old doctor. "Go on.
I'll do sentry duty." The strangest part of
the story is that the sentinel agreed, leaving
the prisoner to march gravely back and forth
for an hour or more, till his return.

Once the doctor and his daughters were
ordered to be sent to England, but the sen-
tence was not carried out. Instead they
remained in their old home, while the war
went on and finally ended in the independence
of the American colonies.

The hopes and prayers of the doctor's
daughters had gained them nothing. Still,
however, they were loyal to King George.
The father died, but the daughters lived in
Boston for fifty years after the war, unchang-
ing loyalists to the days of their death. The
people around them might yield to the rulers

LIBERTY OR LOYALTY? 29

of ^'the states." They were as they had
always been, subjects of the king. Their
old-fashioned house was kept as in their
father's day. Their treasures were ^'from
England" and as old or older than them-
selves. They talked of the old days when
they were taken to walk on the Common by
General Howe and Lord Percy of the King's
Army, and of the band which played beneath
their windows by the order of these officers.
As death approached, they found great com-
fort in the knowledge that "not a creature
in the states will be any better for what we
shall leave behind us."

To them the war was always "a rebellion,"
and they never forgot nor forgave the deeds
of their "misguided countrymen." We can-
not help feeling sorry for the poor old ladies,
although we rejoice in America's freedom
and in the deeds of our patriot forefathers,
which won it.

There is a story of another old minister
in Massachusetts, which shows him, like

30 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

his fellow-Tory, Doctor Byles, a gentle and
peace-loving man. For many years before
the Revolution he had been wont to pray as
other ministers did for "'our excellent King
George"; and one Sunday after the war
began, he, in an absent-minded way, offered
the sam.e prayer. He had scarcely spoken
the words **King George," however, when
he realized what he had said and that his
people would surely object: so he immedi-
ately went on, **0 Lord, I mean George
Washington."

There were not many Tories as harmless
to the patriot cause as Doctor Byles, nor
many who could have been trusted to stand
guard over themselves. On ever}- hand we
hear of Tor}- deeds. In the Mohawk \'alley,
in Xew York State, the}- gathered together
bands of Indians and, with their aid, carried
on the most cruel and a\\-ful warfare. There
were raids and massacres, murder and scalp-
ing, — warfare not onl}- against men, but
aeainst women and children.

LIBERTY OR LOYALTY?

31

Everywhere through the middle colonies
and the south there were more Tories than
in New England ; and the patriots of these
sections had to fight not only British soldiers,
but neighborhood Tories. Stories are still
told In Pennsylvania of the five Doane
brothers, who left their home, and carried
on their warfare from the woods. They were
the terror of the neighborhood, spying, rob-
bing, dashing out from their hiding places,
and doing all manner of harm to the patriot
cause.

Scarcely a town, north or south, but has
its stories of Tory misdeeds. There Is a
story of a southern patriot, whose plantation
was left for months at a time in charge of
his faithful slaves, while the master fought
for liberty. One night the master suddenly
appeared, and the slaves were rejoiced to see
him, although they feared for his safety, for
there were many Tories in the neighborhood.

After a long talk about plantation matters,
the weary soldier sought his bed, and was soon

32 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

sleeping soundly. The slaves kept watch,
lest he should be surprised and captured.
Suddenly in the dark hours of the night, the
slaves came running to rouse their master.

''The Tories are coming, massa. They
are coming, sure," they cried, even shaking
the sleeping man to rouse him to his danger.
He had scarcely wakened when he knew the
slaves were right. Voices and hoof beats
told the story. There was little time in which
to flee.

Reassuring the frightened negroes, the sol-
dier ran down the stairs, and, still in his
night-clothes, hastily concealed himself in a
thickly growing shrub close to the house.
There was no time to seek a more distant
refuge. Scarcely had the crackling of twigs
and the rustling of leaves ceased before the
Tory band was upon him. He hardly dared
breathe.

In a moment the leader of the company
was roughly demanding that the slaves lead
him to their master. They protested loudly

LIBERTY OR LOYALTY? 33

that they did not know where he was. And
indeed they did not. They knew only that
he was hidden somewhere. The voices grew
louder and angrier. The slaves grew more
and more frightened, but they were loyal in
spite of fright. The Tories threatened them
with whipping and with torture, but were at
last convinced that they really did not know.

Close beside the hiding place of the soldier,
the Tories gathered, and soon decided that
they would burn the house. ^'He's probably
in it somewhere, so we'll get him dead if not
alive," said one. In a short time there was
smoke and the crackling of flames. The fire
burned rapidly, and the man in the bushes
began to suffer from the heat. He had torn
his scanty garments in getting to his hiding
place, and now the heat was blistering his
back and arms. It seemed as though he must
cry out. But crying out meant- capture and
perhaps death. He bit his lips, and endured
the torment.

At last the Tories, seeing that the house

34 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

was doomed, turned about, and, with a last
threat flung toward the weeping negroes
clustered at a little distance, rode off. Then
the master crept forth, scratched and bleeding,
scorched and blistered. But he lived to fight
again for liberty.

One of the saddest things about the war
for independence was the turning against
each other of one-time friends and neighbors.
But in most cases, people favored the side
which they thought right, and we must allow
to each the liberty of his own belief. Whigs
and Tories called each other hard names ; and
when the Whigs were victorious and won
independence, they treated the defeated Tories
harshly. It is only in these later years that
we can see that, if they were honest, they
could only defend the right as they saw it.

IN THE VALLEY OF THE MOHAWK

In Revolutionary days, most of the colony
of New York was still unsettled forest, peopled
only by traders and trappers and by the
Indians of the Six Nations. The settlements
of the colony were almost entirely in the
valleys of the Hudson and the Mohawk.
These two beautiful streams had long been
the highways for traffic between the towns
and the wilderness to the north and west.

The people of the Mohawk Valley lived
comfortably on their fertile farm lands.
Many were descended from the Dutch ; many
more, from German settlers of the century
before ; some, from Scotch Highlanders ; and
a few were '* Yankees" from the New England
settlements. In the valley was the great
estate of Sir William Johnson, now descended
to his son. Sir John. Both father and son

35

36

PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

Now THE Indian lad, raised to the leadership of his tribe,
WAS a firm friend to Sir William's son."

IN THE VALLEY OF THE MOHAWK 37

had wonderful control over their Indian
neighbors, among whom they had long lived
almost as rulers. The chief of the Mohawks
had as a boy been a great favorite with Sir
William, who had sent him to school and
treated him like a son. Now the Indian lad,
raised to the leadership of his tribe, was a
firm friend to Sir William's son, and both
were firm friends to the cause of the English
king. Indeed nowhere in the colonies were
more devoted loyalists than here in the
Mohawk Valley.

Sir John gathered the Tories of the neigh-
borhood into a famous regiment known as
the "Royal Greens," and the Mohawk chief,
who is best known by his English name,
Joseph Brant, brought great war parties of
Mohawks to lend their aid.

On a sultry summer morning in August,
1777, Colonel Peter Gansevoort with seven
hundred and fifty men was holding Fort Stan-
wix in the Mohawk Valley against a besieg-
ing force of British soldiers. The Americans

38 PIONEERS AXD PATRIOTS

\^-ithin the fort were waiting for some relief
party to drive the British away, since the
garrison was hardly strong enough to do it
^^"ithout aid.

Before the Fort were gathered about seven-
teen hundred men fighting under the British
fiag. Of these less than half were British sol-
diers. The "regulars," commanded by Col-
onel St. Leger, had come down through Lake
Ontario from Canada, landing at Oswego.
There they had been joined by Johnson's
Royal Greens and another Ton* regiment —
valley men who were thus setting out to fight
their own neighbors and former friends —
and also by a band of Indians — Mohawks
and other Iroquois.

Together, regulars, Tories, and Indians
had followed the streams and lakes from
Oswego to the head waters oi the Mohawk,
and were now to capture the fort and sweep
down through the valley, killing and destroy-
ing as they went.

Within the fort. Gansevoort waited relief.

IN THE VALLEY OF THE MOHAWK 39

Without, the British commander awaited the
time when hunger should drive the men within
to surrender. Far back in the forest another
band was waiting too.

Here were eight hundred militiamen of
the valley, gathered by General Nicholas
Herkimer as soon as he heard of St. Leger's
approach, and now marching to the relief
of the fort. It was well known that the Tories
were strong in the valley, and the British
commanders made the mistake of thinking
that there were few there who were not
Tories. We shall see how they came to
change their minds.

Herkimer was a stout old German, a vet-
eran of the French wars, and the men he com-
manded were the farmers from the country-
side, who had left their hayfields not only to
show their devotion to the patriot cause,
but to protect their homes and families against
the dreaded Tories and the still more dreaded
Indian warriors.

The hot August morning found the militia

40 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

stirring early in their camp at Oriskany,
eight miles from Fort Stanwix. Men as well
as officers knew that Herkimer was awaiting
a signal from the fort. When they had
halted here the night before, Herkimer had
sent three messengers ahead to approach
Fort Stanwix from the rear by w^hat the
British considered an impassable swamp.
The messengers wxre to tell of the approach
of friends, and to ask Colonel Gansevoort
to attack the British from the front at the
same time the militia attacked from the rear.

And so Herkimer waited in the w^oods at
Oriskany for the three guns that should tell
him his messengers had reached the fort and
that Gansevoort was beginning the attack.
It was expected that the messengers would
reach the fort by dawn. Now all ears were
strained to catch the boom of the fort guns.

The hot sun and the hard, rough ground
caused early waking, and the camp was
soon lively with movement and conversation.
The men clustered in groups for breakfast.

IN THE VALLEY OF THE MOHAWK 41

after which, preparations for the march were
made. Soon all was in readiness — blankets
rolled and strapped, haversacks packed, mus-
kets inspected, the supply wagon loaded, and
the horses attached. All the while men and
officers listened for the signal guns.

The sun climbed higher. It was eight
o'clock. Still there was no signal. The men
were growing uneasy now. Some began to
question whether the guns could be heard so
far away. Others clamored to go on, whether
the guns should sound or not. A few hinted
darkly that Nicholas Herkimer had a brother
in Johnson's Tory regiment, and perhaps
Nicholas too — and though they went no
further, all who heard could guess their
meaning. It mattered little that many an-
other man in camp had relatives in the Tory
regiments. Everybody knew how the valley
was torn by these family divisions. Stout-
hearted old Nicholas, however, was as true
a patriot as could be found in all the colony,
and most of them knew it. Still the men

42 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

grumbled and questioned, and the sun climbed
higher still.

The officers were gathering about the
commander, who waited, uneasy too. Then
the officers, impatient to move, urged Herki-
mer to go on without the guns. He stead-
fastly refused. There were many reasons
why it would not do, he said, as he calmly
smoked his pipe and waited. The only hope
of victory lay in attacking the British from
both sides at once.

The officers were growing angry, as they
tried one argument after another without
changing Herkimer's mind at all. Their
voices grew louder and their sense of the
respect due their commander grew less. The
men clustered about, calling, "Lead us on !
Give us the word, Nicholas !" All order
seemed gone. The old general stood, it
seemed, alone, against the whole eight hun-
dred, who had lost their senses in the excite-
ment and disappointment of delay.

At last the officers openly accused the old

IN THE VALLEY OF THE MOHAWK 43

general of being a Tory — or a coward —
and taunted him until even his calm courage
could bear no more. He jumped to his feet,
waving his sword, and, crying, "If you will
have it," shouted the order to march.

The militia moved forward, with the grim
old general at their head. It was now nine
o'clock, and the heat was intense. Leaden
thunder clouds showed their tips in the sky,
and the men were glad when the brazen sun
was covered. The way led through deep
woods, with bad roads and frequent bridges
of logs across swampy hollows. When at
one of the worst of these, a deep ravine with
steep wooded sides, all were intent upon
getting across safely, a wild war whoop and
sudden stinging rifle shots told that the enemy
was lying in wait.

In a moment all was confusion. The hidden
savages swarmed upon the men huddled to-
gether on the bridge at the bottom of the
hollow, while from the top of the further hill
charged the hated Tories of the " Royal Greens. "

44 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

^1##&-^

In a moment all was confusion

IN THE VALLEY OF THE MOHAWK 45

The surprise was complete, but old Nicholas
Herkimer never flinched from the fight. In
the midst of the wild clamor his commands
rang out. The men were ordered to shelter
behind trees or fallen logs. The pitiless
hail of bullets continued, but Herkimer's
men were doing their share now. The toma-
hawks still swung high, but sometimes before
they fell their savage owners dropped be-
neath the crashing blow of a clubbed musket
in a sturdy farmer's hands. Tory and pa-
triot clinched and fell, rolling, stabbing, dying
in each other's grasp. Old neighbors, one-
time friends, fought fiercely, with hate in
the hearts once filled with friendly thoughts.

There seemed no end to the swarming
savages or to the stinging fire from the smoke-
covered hillside. All the while the steel-
gray thunder clouds had been growing
blacker, until there was almost the darkness
of night in the ravine. The fight went on,
swiftly, fiercely, with sickening sights and
sounds.

46 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

A ball killed General Herkimer's horse and
shattered the brave old man's leg. He coolly
ordered his saddle placed at the foot of a
tree on the hillside, and when the wound was
bound up, he drew his pipe and smoked
thoughtfully, as his keen eyes watched the
awful fight. It was like the battles of olden
times, in which each man fought a single
enemy to the death and then turned swiftly to
a new encounter. The little valley was strewn
with the dead, and it seemed as though the
battle would go on until none was left alive.

Suddenly the storm, long gathering, broke
with crash and glare, with wild roar of wind
and downpouring torrents of water. Great
trees bent and rocked. The thunder shook
the earth; and the bright unearthly light
flashing from the clouds showed all the
horrors of the battle ground.

Sounds of firing ceased and the little hollow
in the woods sank to silence, save for the
battle in the sky. Then, suddenly, the storm
was over, and through the dripping, leafy

IN THE VALLEY OF THE MOHAWK 47

cover came long quivering rays of sunlight.
At this moment, while the din of battle was
hushed, came a sound from the westward, —
a dull boom ! — boom ! — boom ! It was the
signal gun, and it rang through the death-
strewn forest with heavy, mournful sound.

Then came the crackling noise of muskets
from the same direction, telling that the at-
tack from the fort had begun. In the valley
the patriots fought with redoubled strength,
and soon they saw the enemy give way before
them. Then they were left in the blood-stained
valley, alone, too weak to follow as the
broken remnant of Tory and Indian band
made its way back to camp.

Sadly the patriots placed their wounded
on litters of green boughs and turned back
toward Oriskany. They could do no more.
The garrison within the fort must fight
alone.

Within the fort that morning distant sounds
of battle had been heard, but no one could
explain their meaning, until, late in the

48 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

forenoon, Herkimer's three messengers ap-
peared, mud stained and weary, from the
swamp. Gansevoort hastened to make the
attack, hoping to draw back the attention of
the British toward the fort. Colonel Willett
made a brilliant dash upon Johnson's Tory
camp, drove the Tories across the river, and
held the camp while twenty-one wagon loads
of food, blankets, clothes, tools, and ammuni-
tion were carried to the fort.

Returning to the fort. Colonel Willett
hoisted there five British banners he had cap-
tured in the enemy's camp, and over them he
raised, for the first time anywhere, the new
flag of the United States of America, It
was only a few weeks since Congress had
adopted the ''Stars and Stripes" for a na-
tional flag, and this first banner to be flung
to the breeze was a decidedly home-made
affair, cut from a white shirt, an old blue
jacket and some strips of red cloth from a
petticoat contributed by a soldier's wife.
But it was ''the Stars and Stripes," and it

IN THE VALLEY OF THE MOHAWK 49

waved triumphantly above the British stand-
ards over the fort.

Herkimer's gallant attempt to relieve the
fort must not be considered a failure, although
his men suffered such awful loss, and finally
had to turn back home. St. Leger still
remained encamped before the fort, it is
true, but his men too had suffered in the
forest battle, and after it many of the In-
dians had quietly stolen away. When rumors
of a strong force of Americans marching up
through the valley were heard, Tories and
Canadians and even British regulars fled
also and left the valley fort in peace.

And so, although brave old General Her-
kimer gave his life in the terrible fight at
Oriskany, he did not give it in vain. And
the people of the valley still speak his name
with love and reverence.

MAD ANTHONY" AT STONY POINT

Perhaps no story of the Revolution has
been told oftener or with greater enjoyment

than the account of
the attack on Stony
Point by General
Anthony Wayne.
" Mad Anthony," they
called him, from the
fierceness and fury
of his charge ; and
"Mad Anthony," we
call him still, although
we know he was not
only a valiant fighter,
not only a dashing soldier,
but a careful general, upon whom Washington
was wont to rely.

so

"Mad Anthony."

but an able leader

"MAD ANTHONY" AT STONY POINT 51

If ever a man was born to be a soldier,
Anthony Wayne was destined to that career.
We smile as we read almost the only word
we have about his youth ; for it is full of
"soldiering."

It seems young Anthony had not been
doing well at school, and his teacher, who was
also his uncle, wrote about him to his father :

"What he may be best qualified for, I
know not ; but one thing I am certain of,
that he will never make a scholar. He may
make a soldier ; he has already distracted the
minds of two-thirds of the boys under my
direction by rehearsals of battles, sieges, etc.
They exhibit more the appearance of Indians
and harlequins than of students ; this one,
decorated with a cap of many colors ; and
others, habited in coats as variegated as
Joseph's of old; some, laid up with broken
heads, and others, with black eyes. During
noon, in place of the usual games and amuse-
ments, he has the boys employed in throwing
up redoubts, skirmishing, etc. I must be

52 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

candid with you, brother Isaac ; unless An-
thony pays more attention to his books, I
shall be under the painful necessity of dis-
missing him from the school."

We are glad to know that Anthony reformed
his ways, that he gave up his "military re-
hearsals, mud forts, and sham battles," and
astonished his uncle by becoming a good deal
of a " scholar " after all.

The beginning of the Revolution found
Anthony Wayne a promising young surveyor
of thirty. But he was more than ready to
give up surveying in order to fight for his
country; and as in his school days, he was
able to inspire others with his own enthusiasm.
He rose rapidly in the Continental army,
and by the summer of 1779, when our story
begins, was one of the most popular officers
in the army, and one of Washington's trusted
generals.

Although you have not yet studied the
history of the Revolution, you can easily
see what an advantage it would have been

"MAD ANTHONY" AT STONY POINT 53

to the British to gain control of the Hudson
River. By holding this, they might ''cut
the colonies in two." Before 1779 they had
made two attempts to seize the Hudson but
had not succeeded. They had gained pos-
session of New York City, but the Americans
held the ground above.

West Point was the stronghold of the
Americans on the Hudson, and its natural
position had been made stronger by fortifica-
tions. The British could scarcely hope to
take it. They had, however, seized Stony
Point, fourteen miles below West Point, and
were making that strong with fortifications
and earthworks. They also held Verplanck's
Point, across the river.

Between these two points ran King's Ferry,
and the loss of that means of travel and con-
veyance disturbed the Americans.

Stony Point was a natural fortress, extend-
ing as it did nearly half a mile into the river,
and so surrounded by water on two sides.
The land side was cut off by marshes, which

54 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

at high water were completely covered.
Strongly fortified, It seemed as though no
attempt to take It could succeed.

Washington, however, determined to make
the attempt. There were reasons why the
capture of Stony Point would mean far more
than just regaining the use of the ferry.
Therefore Washington laid careful plans and
made preparations for an attack.

Every detail of the plan was worked out
by Washington, In the utmost secrecy. The
task was to be given to the Light Infantry,
recently made up of picked men from the
various regiments under Washington's im-
mediate command. They wxre the very
flower of the army, the finest of the troops
from Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Con-
necticut, and Massachusetts. Their officers
included a young Dane; a gallant French-
man ; Major Thomas Posy, of Virginia ; Col-
onel Richard Butler, of Pennsylvania ; Major
Jack Steward, of Maryland, whose bearing
was that of a fashionable young dandy, but

"MAD ANTHONY" AT STONY POINT 55

whose daring and courage were the wonder
of those who knew him ; Colonel Meigs and
Lieutenant Colonel Sherman, of Connecticut ;
William Hull, of Massachusetts ; Major
Hardy Murfree of North Carolina. Every
officer had been selected by Washington him-
self, and for their leader had been chosen
General Anthony Wayne.

The only possible hope of taking Stony
Point lay in keeping the British from getting
the slightest notion that any plan was on
foot. "Knowledge of your intention ten
minutes previously obtained blasts all your
hopes," Washington wrote to Wayne, who
with two of his four regiments was in readi-
ness about five miles below West Point. The
other two regiments were ordered to report
to Wayne on July 14th. The date fixed for
the attack was midnight of th^ iSth, but

not a man in the force and only \ very few
of the officers knew there was to be ahy attack
at all. \

During the forenoon of the iSth the en-

56 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

tire command, about thirteen hundred and
fifty men, was drawn up in battle array for
"general inspection" by the commander.
Men must be "fresh shaved and well pow-
dered, fully equipped and rationed," were
General Wayne's orders.

By noon the review was over, and the men
expected to be ordered back to their quarters.
To their surprise, however, they were given
marching orders, and were soon in motion
along the road leading to the south.

All the afternoon they tramped southward,
and by eight o'clock came to a halt thirteen
miles from their camp, and only a mile and a
half back from Stony Point. How much the
men suspected in regard to their destination
is not known, but they must have guessed
that some undertaking of importance was
planned. Orders on the march had been that
not a man was to leave the ranks for a moment
for any purpose whatever except at a general
halt, and even then no man must get out of
sight of an officer. If any man should guess

"MAD ANTHONY" AT STONY POINT 57

what was going on, he must have no chance to
spread his guesswork where it might do harm.

More than that, officers had been sent with
small companies by another and nearer road
"to take and keep" all the men living in the
neighborhood, lest they should run to the
British camp with news. Not a person was
allowed to reach the camp. Even two poor
widows who were on the way to sell chickens
and greens to the soldiers were stopped.
And all this went on so quietly that no breath
of gossip reached the fort on Stony Point.
By nightfall American sentries had formed a
silent line around the foot of the great hill.
All was ready. The secret had been kept.
Wayne had only to wait.

The plan divided the forces into three
parts. One of these divisions, containing
only two companies, was to march along the
ferry road toward the fort. This division
was "to amuse the British," as Wayne ex-
pressed it, while the other two did the work.
The two remaining divisions were to ap-

58 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

proach the hill through the marsh, one on
the north and the other on the south side.
These were, if possible, to rush silently into
the fort while the British were being " amused "
by the small company in front.

Every detail was arranged, and late in the
evening the men were called to attention and
the "order of battle" was read. There was
excitement enough when they knew what
was before them. But even excitement must
make no noise. Every man was given a strip
of white paper to fasten to his hat, that he
might be recognized as an American by his
companions in the fight. The orders were
that no man was to load his gun. The at-
tack was to be a bayonet charge. Only the
small division in front was to fire. Any sol-
dier who should fire his musket without
orders or should retreat one foot was to be
killed instantly by the nearest officer.

A watchword was given. The moment a
soldier got within the fort, he must shout
and keep on shouting, "The fort's our own."

"MAD ANTHONY" AT STONY POINT 59

It was hoped that both columns would reach
the fort at the same time. Prizes of money
were oifered to the men who should first
enter the fort.

It was within half an hour of midnight when
the march began, and promptly at twelve
the silent columns had reached the marsh.
The men found the water deeper than they
had expected ; but they marched steadily
on, sometimes waist deep, across the two
hundred yards of black and slippery marsh.
Still they were silent, but before they were
across, they were fired upon by the enemy's
pickets and heard shouts of "To arms ! to
arms !" from within the fort.

Straight on the two columns went, climbing
the rough sides of the frowning hill, hewing
with axes to make opening, meeting the fire
of musket and cannon, but firing never a shot
in return. Some fell, others were wounded,
but struggled on. Wayne was with the
southern column, but neither men nor offi-
cers needed Mad Anthony's urging that night.

6o

PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

'They were all mad with excitement and enthusiasm.

"MAD ANTHONY" AT STONY POINT 6 1

They were all mad with excitement and en-
thusiasm and went scrambling up through
the darkness like cats.

A bullet wound in the head stopped Wayne
himself for a moment, but it proved to be
only a flesh wound and he pressed on. There
were other narrow escapes, — bullet holes
in hats, boots, and coats ; bent swords ; and
scarred guns. Nobody paid much attention
to anything short of a wound which brought
him to the ground.

Within the fort, men had sprung to their
stations at the first alarm and were valiantly
defending the hill. The wisdom of the
American plan was soon shown. All the
noise was in front, where Major Murfree's two
companies were making great show. W^hile
the British rushed to the outer line of their
defences to meet them, a silent column of
Americans went rushing into the fort from
either side, meeting defence at the bayonet's
point, and madly shouting, ''The fort's our
own ! The fort's our own !"

62 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

So indeed it was. The British were sur-
rounded and could only surrender. Few men
were killed on either side. More than five
hundred prisoners were taken, and valuable
cannon and supplies secured. Only one man
escaped, by swimming nearly a mile to a
British man-of-war in the river.

Stony Point was taken. General Wayne
reported to Washington :

** Stony Point, i6th July, 1779.

" 2 o'clock A.M.
" Dear Gen'l :

" The fort and garrison, with Col. Johnson,

are ours. Our officers and men behaved like

men who are determined to be free.

" Yours most sincerely,

''Ant'y Wayne."

The whole country went wild over the
achievement of Wayne and his gallant Light
Infantry. An amusing order issued by Wayne
shows us how prominent a place they oc-
cupied in public attention.

"MAD ANTHONY" AT STONY POINT 63

"As the eyes of the citizens and country,"
he wrote, ''will be more full upon the
American Light Infantry than any other
part of the army, the General can't doubt but
that every officer without distinction will exert
himself and require his men immediately to
furbish up their arms and clothing in the best
and neatest manner possible." And he gave
his Stony Point prize money to buy needles
and thread for the men to use in "mending
themselves up." It is a question in my mind
whether the Light Infantry proved as ex-
pert in mending rents as in storming forts.
I can better imagine them handling bayonets
than needles. But they were brave fellows,
these picked men of Mad Anthony's, and no
doubt they conquered, even against such
fearful odds, emerging brushed and mended,
"fresh shaven and well powdered," for the
admiration of the public which came forth at
their approach to see the heroes of Stony
Point.

THE "SWAMP FOX" OF THE
CAROLINAS

In the later years of the Revolution, almost
all the fighting was in the south. After
failing twice to "cut the colonies in two" at
the Hudson, British soldiers were sent to the
southern colonies. They felt sure that many
loyalists would fight with them ; and they
hoped to win back the south with the Tory
aid.

There were many loyalists in the southern
colonies, it is true. But there were also many
patriots. Well did they defend their homes,
and well did they fight for independence and
liberty. Among them all, none deserves
greater fame than Francis Marion, the
"swamp fox."

Perhaps I cannot better show you how he
came by this name than to lead you to one

64

"SWAMP FOX" OF THE CAROLINAS 65

of his favorite camping grounds. But first
I must teil you that Marion's men were not
finely drilled ''regulars," with gay uniforms
and shining swords, who fought great battles
amid the booming of cannon and the roll of
fife and drum.

They were rather men who had gathered
to fight against the bands of Tories who were
spreading destruction through the south.
They were men who put themselves under
Francis Marion's leadership because they
believed he could lead them to success. They
came and went, now fighting, now returning
to their homes to care for their wives and
children, and then returning to fight again.
They wore no uniform and were often scantily
clothed. Their swords, if they had any, were
either taken from some British prisoner or
more often were old saws, heated and ham-
mered into weapons. They were nearly al-
ways short of ammunition ; indeed it often
happened that not more than half the men
went into a fight; the rest stood back and

66 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

waited for the fall of some fighter — either
friend or foe — in order to secure arms or
ammunition. The band sometimes numbered
not more than twenty men, sometimes seventy
or perhaps one hundred and fifty. The
number was always changing. Whether with
few men or many, Marion accomplished his
purpose, which was to worry the enemy
whenever and wherever he could.

Cornwallis, the British commander, found
Marion a frequent annoyance. ''I would
give a good deal to have him taken," he said,
and again, "Colonel Marion had so wrought
upon the minds of the people that there was
scarcely an inhabitant between the Santee
and Pedee that was not in arms against us.
Some parties had even crossed the Santee
and carried terror to the gates of Charleston
itself."

Marion in his camp at Snow's Island pre-
sents us a picture very much like Robin Hood
in his retreat in Sherwood Forest. In the
midst of forest-grown swamp lands where

"SWAMP FOX" OF THE CAROLINAS 67

two rivers joined, the camp was difficult to
reach and easy to guard and, best of all, near
to the places where the enemy could be
found.

The island itself was fairly high and dry,
covered with forests and thickets of cane.
Here Marion encamped when not in motion.
He destroyed all bridges in the neighborhood
and seized all boats. He closed the ordinary
paths into the swamp with heaps of brush
and hewn timber. Thus he rested secure in
his island fortress.

Here were stored such arms and ammuni-
tion as the band had ; here were held their
prisoners ; and here their wounded rested
and recovered their strength for another day
of fighting. Sometimes these invalids cleared
and cultivated a small spot where they planted
corn ; sometimes they shot small game in
the woods around them ; and here they wel-
comed back their loved commander and his
fighting men.

Night after night when the band was here

68 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

in camp, small parties went out in all direc-
tions, for the enemy was near at hand and
there was always work to be done. If the
enemy was too numerous and the fight went
against the band, the men would scatter into
the forest and find their way back one by one
through the pathless swamp to the camp.
Every man was an expert horseman, and they
trained the horses to swim the streams and
to pick their way through drowned lands
and swampy thickets. Marion himself rode
a fine horse which he had taken from a cap-
tured Tory captain. The horse became al-
most as famous as the man. He took to the
water as though it were his native element,
and the other horses of the brigade learned
to follow his fearless lead as their riders had
learned to follow his master.

A story often told gives us a picture of
Marion in the Snow's Island camp. A Brit-
ish officer was sent to arrange with Marion
for an exchange of prisoners. He was met
miles from the camp by a small party of

'* SWAMP FOX" OF THE CAROLINAS 69

Marlon's men. They blindfolded him and
led him by roundabout paths through swamp
and forest. When his eyes were uncovered,
the young man stood before Marion, in the
midst of Marion's band.

A natural opening in the forest was sur-
rounded by lofty trees, hung with streaming
moss. Here under a lofty pine were men
asleep, resting perhaps after a night raid.
There were others, mounting in readiness
for some new venture. Rifles leaned against
trees. Horses, ready saddled, grazed near
by.

The British ofHcer was much impressed by
the scene and by Marion himself. Marion,
always courteous, invited the young man to
dinner. Imagine the British officer's aston-
ishment to find the meal consisting of only
roasted sweet potatoes, served on pieces of
bark.

The officer's curiosity was sufficient to
lead him to say, ''But, surely, general, this
cannot be your ordinary fare."

JO PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

"Indeed, sir, it is," replied Marion, "and
we are fortunate on this occasion, entertain-
ing company, to have more than our usual
allowance."

We have no continuous story of the deeds
of Marion's men ; on the contrary, the many
stories of their doings are of incidents here
and there. On one occasion Captain Gavin
Witherspoon was sent out with four men on
scout duty. Hard pressed by a band of
Tories, the five took refuge in the nearest
swamp. For a while they lay quiet, but at
length young Gavin stole back in the direc-
tion of the Tory band from whom they had
escaped. He had not gone far before he
heard voices. Peering cautiously through
the trees, he saw seven men gathered about a
camp-fire, watching, no doubt, for the return
of the men they had chased.

The captain looked long enough to discover
that the Tories had stacked their guns against
an uprooted pine tree some little distance
from their resting place. Then, creeping

*' SWAMP FOX" OF THE CAROLINAS 71

back to his companions, he proposed that they
attempt a capture. The others objected,
but the captain had no mind to lose so good
an opportunity.

He went back alone and watched the Tory
camp. At last every man was quiet. They
must be asleep. So with Indian-like caution
he crept up to the guns and silently carried
them off. It required several journeys to
dispose of them all safely. Then he returned
and, with levelled rifle, called upon the Tories
to surrender.

Stumbling to their feet, half asleep, the
Tories were powerless without their guns.
The young captain had seven prisoners when
his men finally came up.

This was just the sort of work In which
Marlon's men delighted. It was only a few
days after this capture of Witherspoon's that
Marion himself, with all the force he could
muster, made a night attack on a large body
of Tories. The only approach to the Tory
camp was by way of a plank bridge ; and the

72

PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

So WITH INDIAN-LIKE CAUTION HE CREPT UP TO THE GUNS AND
SILENTLY CARRIED THEM OFF.

"SWAMP FOX" OF THE CAROLINAS 73

noise of the horses' feet on the bridge was
closely followed by an alarm gun in the camp.
Marion won in the fight that followed, but
with more loss than he usually suffered.
After this, the cautious leader carefully
avoided bridges, or if he must cross them, he
had the blankets of his men spread on the
planks to deaden the sound of the horses'
tread.

Another midnight raid was made upon a
party of .Tories who were bringing out from
Charleston supplies for newly gathered Tory
bands. The scout had brought in word of
the muskets with bayonets, ammunition,
swords and pistols, saddles and bridles to
be had, if the Tories could be surprised.
Marion with his men approached the camp.
There was no guard. Some slept, others
made merry with wine and cards. Suddenly
Marion's men were in their midst. There
was no resistance. The supplies were cap-
tured with many prisoners.

There was with Marion a soldier who had

74 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

won fame early in the war. This was Ser-
geant Jasper, who with Marion himself had
taken part in the defence of a fort in Charles-
ton harbor against nine ships of war. During
a fierce battle the American flag had been
shot away from its staff, and had fallen out-
side the fort. Jasper's name will always be
remembered for his bravery in springing over
the rampart to the beach, rescuing the flag,
and restoring it to its place, — all in direct
range of the British guns.

Later the same Sergeant Jasper made him-
self of great use as a scout. He had a natural
talent for disguise, which gave him ready
access to British camps. Twice at least he
visited a brother who was a Tory and a ser-
geant in a British regiment. During the
second of these visits, a small party of Ameri-
can prisoners was brought in, on the way
under guard to Savannah. Jasper resolved
to rescue these prisoners, and with one com-
panion placed himself in ambush near a
spring where he believed the party would

"SWAMP FOX" OF THE CAROLINAS 75

halt. Although there were ten guards, the
rescue was accomplished.

Jasper did not live to see the end of the war
and freedom, but died in battle, bravely de-
fending the colors for which he had so often
fought. His name lives, however, and will
live, for his brave deeds.

The story of one of the successes connected
with Marion's name tells us also of a patriotic
South Carolina woman, Mrs. Motte. She
was a wealthy widow and had just moved into
a fine new mansion house on a hill which over-
looked all the country round. Scarcely had
she finished moving her household goods from
the old house to the new one, when the Brit-
ish decided that the new house would make a
fine fort and sent soldiers to seize it. Mrs.
Motte had to return to the farm-house, and
the mansion became Fort Motte. A deep
trench was dug around it, with a wall at its
inner edge. The place was held by a gar-
rison of one hundred and fifty men.

This fort Marion besieged, with the help

76 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

of Continental soldiers under Lee. But the
garrison within refused to surrender, knowing
that a British force was on the way to aid
them. If the fort was to be taken by the
Americans, it must be taken quickly, before
this force arrived. There seemed no way but
to set on fire the mansion house, which oc-
cupied almost every foot of space inside the
wall.

Mrs. Motte had been very kind to the
American officers, and they dreaded to tell her
that they must burn her house. They little
knew how ready they would find her to help
the patriotic cause. She even found for
them a bow and arrows, brought long ago
from India, and bade them shoot fire with
these upon the mansion's roof.

For this the noon hour was chosen, when the
hot rays of the sun had dried and heated the
roof. The bow was put into the hands of
one of Marion's men ; balls of blazing fire
were fastened to the arrows ; and, one by one,
three of these were lodged upon the roof.

"SWAMP FOX" OF THE CAROLINAS ^J

The garrison within, seeing their danger, sent
men to the roof to put out the fire, but Marion's
one cannon was turned against them, and the
garrison could only surrender.

In the last year of the war, the southern
armies were commanded by Nathanael Greene,
a fine soldier, second probably only to Wash-
ington himself in the whole American force.
Marion ably assisted Greene, and helped to
clear the way for the final victory.

It is not in the line of regular battle that
we remember Marion best. It is not with
the roll of fife and drum we think of him.
Instead we picture him finding his way along
lonely roads by the light of the midnight
moon. We see him on his faithful steed,
swimming the river or wading the ford. We
think of him dashing down without warning
on some Tory band. With his bravery, we
remember his fine courtesy and the mercy he
ever showed to prisoner or fallen foe. No
deeds of cruelty stain his story. His men
loved him and served to show their love. He

78

PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

loved his country as they too loved her.
Together they fought for her and freedom.
So lived and served Francis Marion, ''the
swamp fox of the Carolinas."

The "swamp fox

HOMES BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN
WALL

The English settlers, as you already know,
made their homes along the Atlantic coast.
By the time of the Revolution, these settle-
ments extended in a long line from Maine
to Georgia. Many of the colonies had been
granted land from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Ocean. How far it was from one ocean to the
other nobody had much idea. These grants
of land, therefore, meant very little, since
English settlers clung to the eastern slope of
the continent.

There were several reasons for this. The
Mississippi Valley, you will remember, was
explored by the French, and they claimed it
for their king. They made few settlements,
but their hunters and trappers roamed about
in the forests, and jealously guarded their

79

8o PIONEERS AXD PATRIOTS

rights there. The French rule, however, was
a short one; and the English were left in
possession of the country as far west as the
great river. Even now the settlers were
held back. The British government forbade
their settling in the ''Indian country" beyond
the mountains, lest home-making there should
destroy the forests and kill off the game. But
the greatest reason of all was the mountains
themselves. None but the hardiest of the
hunters dared to go far into their dark forests ;
and so the mountains stood for years like a
great wall.

The ''backwoods people," as they were
called, of the Pennsylvania, Mrginia, and
North Carolina colonies, pushed farther and
farther toward the mountains. They made
little "clearings" in the forest, built their
rough cabins, and brought up their children
to fight the wilderness and the Indians. The
backwoodsman planted corn and vegetables,
and, if he was not too poor, kept a cow or two,
hogs, and perhaps sheep.

HOMES BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN WALL 8 1

He hunted in the forest, bringing home
venison and bear meat to be dried for winter
use. He shot wild turkeys, pigeons, and
squirrels. He learned to creep noiselessly
upon the game and to imitate the calls of
beast and bird. He hunted sometimes for
months at a time, sleeping in the forest and
living without any food but meat. Then he
went home, laden with meat and skins.

The dress of the backwoodsman was not
unlike that of the Indians. He wore leggings
and hunting-shirt of fringed buckskin, moc-
casins and coonskin cap. The hunting-shirt
reached nearly to his knees, and a broad belt
served to draw it in about the waist and to
hold tomahawk and scalping knife. His rifle
was a clumsy affair, long and heavy. The
backwoodsman, however, rarely missed his
aim.

The log cabin to which the hunter returned
was sometimes a single room, sometimes It
contained living room and bedroom, with a
loft above, reached by a ladder. There were

82 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

a rough table, three-legged stools, and a
bed covered with bearskins and deerhides.
Wooden pegs were driven into the sides of
the house, to hang clothing upon, but the
wardrobes of these backwoods people were
too scanty to require many pegs.

The people of these scattered backwoods
clearings learned to depend upon their own
work for food and clothing ; but they also
learned to help each other. When a cabin
was to be built, the neighbors gathered to
lift the heavy logs to their places ; when the
harvest season came, they gathered to help
shuck the corn. There were housewarmings
and quiltings. These were all regarded as
merrymakings, and the guests rode up from
all the country round. The work, whether
husking or house-raising, was done with much
rough fun and frolic. Then there were tables
laden with bear meat, venison, vegetables,
wild fruits, and, as an especial luxury, apple-
pie. There were also rum and whiskey, and
hard drinking. Sometimes there were fights

HOMES BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN WALL 83

among the men. The victor would be
immensely proud of himself, jumping on a
stump, where he crowed lustily and flapped
his arms, like a quarrelsome rooster. Usually
the gayety was concluded by a dance for the

Daniel Boone's cabin.

young people, after which the guests mounted
their horses and galloped off home. The
pleasures of these hardy people were rough,
as their toil was. They themselves were
honest and hardworking and brave. No
other kind of people could have lived in such

84

PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

surroundings. We must not forget the con-
stant danger from the Indians, who never
lost a chance to injure the whites who were

stealing their hunt-
ing-grounds.

In such a back-
woods home as
these I have de-
scribed was born
Daniel Boone, one
of the famous hunt-
ers and frontiers-
men of the early
days. His earliest
home was in Penn-
sylvania, but while
he was still a boy,
his people moved,
as the backwoods
folk so often did,
to what they thought was a better place for a
home. This was in North Carolina. Here
Boone grew up, married, built his log cabin.

HOMES BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN WALL 8$

and began life for himself. Hunting, in
which all backwoodsmen were expert, was
to Boone the only occupation which seemed
worth while. He went farther and farther
into the mountains. There is an old beech
tree still standing in eastern Tennessee which
bears these words cut deeply into its bark :
"D. Boon cilled a bar on this tree year
1760."

It was not long before he left his home on a
''long hunt," in which he hoped to reach the
''country of Kentucky," of which he had
heard. With four companions he pressed
forward through the thick forests. The
beautiful summer was just beginning when
they reached the place of which they were
in search. No longer were there woods on
every hand. Running streams and rolling
prairies were seen as well as forest; and the
hunters had never found game in such abun-
dance as they saw it here.

There were salt springs which the hunters
called "licks," because the wild beasts came

86

PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

to them and licked the earth to get salt. To
these licks came huge herds of buffalo, elk,
and deer. There were also bears, wolves,
and panthers.

For six months Boone and his companions
hunted and gathered great quan-
tities of skins as well as the meat
for their daily food. No Indian
tribes lived here. It was a sort
of "no man's land," in which
all hunted and which each de-
sired to keep as his own hunting-
ground. The white hunters soon
came to know that they would
find no friendly Indians — for
every Indian was an enemy to
any hunter outside his own tribe.
As winter approached, Boone and one
companion were captured, but managed to
escape. When they returned to their camp
they found that their companions had gone ; it
was not long, however, before Boone's brother
joined him, and later other hunters came.

HOMES BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN WALL 87

Sometimes Boone was alone for months
at a time ; but he was happy without com-
panions, hunting and exploring the country.
He always had to be on the watch for Indians,
and many nights he lay hidden in the thickets,
not daring to build a fire lest the Indians
should follow the smoke. Two years Boone
spent in this fashion before he returned to his
North Carolina home.

As the hunters in the Kentucky country
grew more numerous, there was constant
war between red men and white. Each
hunted the other in much the same way in
which both hunted the forest animals. Many
a hunter was killed because he followed
sounds which seemed to him the call of bird
or beast. There is a story of one old hunter
who listened in the dusk of evening to the
hooting of the owls in the forest. At first
the calls seemed natural enough, but soon he
doubted them, especially because they seemed
to come from the ground instead of the trees.
He crept nearer, watching not for owls, but

88 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

Indians. An old stump showing dimly in
the shadows between two forked tree trunks,
fixed his attention. Was it a stump, or a
crouching man ^ He aimed, and fired. The
"stump" toppled and fell, — a dead Indian.
Indeed the wilderness was full of dangers,
from beasts as well as men. The ground
around some of the licks was so trodden that
the paths of the beasts were like the beaten
roads of a city. When a great herd of buffalo
started on a mad rush over prairie or through
the forest, a man had little chance unless he
could get out of the way. Once two hunters
were thus caught in a "stampede.'' One
scrambled up into a mulberr)' bush, where
he hung, "like a coon,'' his companion says,
and the other could onK' leap behind a tree
trunk, where he stood while the herd rushed
by, with their horns scraping on either side.
It was a narrow escape for both men. A
village of Kentucky to-day bears a constant
reminder of the buffalo in its name, —
"Stamping Ground."

HOMES BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN WALL 89

In 1773 Daniel Boone sold his North
Carolina home, and set out with his family
to make a new home in the Kentucky wilder-
ness. Five other families and forty men
accompanied them. In the mountains the
party was attacked by Indians, six men were
killed and the cattle scattered. For a time
the journey to the west was given up.

But in 1775 Boone with thirty men set
out to clear a path across the mountains to
the Kentucky River, and not far behind came
a party of settlers. The path Boone cleared
was long known as the Wilderness Road, and
many thousands of people travelled over it
to new western homes.

Reaching a spot suitable for a settlement,
Boone's party began the building of a fort.
The place chosen was an open plain near the
Kentucky River and a lick. The fort was
an oblong enclosure, with a stout two-storied
blockhouse at each corner and a high stockade
or fence of heavy timbers. The cabins were
built with the back wall forming part of the

90 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

stockade. In time of danger the cattle were
driven into the open space inside the fort,
and the gates were closed and barred.

Each settler had land outside the fort,
which he cleared and planted, and upon which
he lived, when he dared do so. This settle-
ment of Boone's was called Boonesborough.
Other forts were built, and other settlements
begun in Kentucky at about this time.

Even before homes were made in Kentucky,
the first settlements had been made in
Tennessee. They were made by the same
sort of backwoodsmen, who lived beyond the
mountains the same sort of lives their fathers
had lived before them in the foothills of the
Alleghanies. The great leaders of the
Tennessee settlements were James Robertson
and John Sevier.

North of the Ohio River lay what the French
had long called the Illinois country. There
were a few scattered French trading-posts
and settlements among the Indians of this
section. The largest of these were Vincennes

HOMES BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN WALL 91

on the Wabash River, and Kaskaskia and
Cahokia on the Mississippi. When the
French lost their territory to the English,
some of the French settlers at these places
crossed the Mississippi and made new homes.
But most of them remained, living quiet,
peaceful lives on their little farms.

The English government paid little attention
to these Frenchmen and the Indians among
whom they dwelt, until the Revolution. Then
British soldiers were sent to them, and to
the Indians, to gain their help against the
Americans. It was easy for these British
soldiers to win the friendship of the Indians.
The red man hated the white settler and the
white hunter. The white soldier promised
him that settlers and hunters should not
steal his hunting-grounds. The white soldier
bought his furs, paying in the sort of goods
the Indian most of all desired. The white
soldier brought plenty of ''fire-water" for
his red brother. The red men were glad to
fight for the white soldier's king.

92 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

General Hamilton, who commanded the
British soldiers in these northwestern posts,
sent out many Indian war parties to lay waste
the young settlements in Kentucky and
Tennessee. Massacres and scalpings were
reported on every hand. The *'hair buyer"
General Hamilton was scornfully called,
because he offered to pay the Indians for
American scalps — from the heads not only
of men, but of women and children. -

How were the struggling settlements to
protect themselves ^ How could the older
colonies, fighting the great fight for inde-
pendence, spare men to protect them ? It
was hard to say.

Among the backwoodsmen of Kentucky
was a young man who had left his home in
Virginia for the frontier settlements. Except
Daniel Boone, probably no man in Kentucky
was better known or more trusted than
George Rogers Clark.

The Kentucky settlements were on ground
claimed by Virginia, so it was decided by

HOMES BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN WALL 93

the Kentuckians to send men to ask the Vir-
ginian governor to help them in their struggle
against the Indians. Clark was one of the
two Kentuckians sent on this errand. They
asked that the riflemen of Kentucky be given
a part in the war, and that five hundred
pounds of gunpowder be sent them to fight
with. The governor started to refuse the
powder, but Clark broke in, saying, "A
country not worth defending is not worth
claiming." The governor, who had no desire
to see Kentucky lost to Virginia, changed
his mind.

The following year (1777) saw more Indian
war parties than ever. It seemed as though
the struggling western settlements would
be entirely wiped out.

Clark burned to punish the red murderers
and the British soldiers who were urging them
to their cruel deeds. He sent scouts to learn
how strong the British were in the Illinois
country, and, on their return, he went again
to the Virginian governor.

94 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

After a long talk with the governor, Clark
turned westward once more. He had been
made a colonel of Virginian militia, and was
given power to raise seven companies of
fifty men each in the settlements west of the
mountains. He carried instructions to use
these soldiers for the protection of Kentucky ;
and carefully hidden in a safe inner pocket
he had also secret orders to enter the Illinois
country and attack Kaskaskia.

It would be a long story to tell you how
Clark gathered men and supplies, how he
embarked in flatboats at the head waters
of the Ohio River, how he drifted down
beyond the Kentucky, and finally landed,
one hundred and thirty miles from Kaskaskia,
marching across the country in order to sur-
prise the town.

In the fort at Kaskaskia, the ofiicers were
giving a dance to the young people of the
town. The hall was lighted by flaring torches ;
the music of the violins sounded merrily;
the floor was thronged with gay young dancers.

HOMES BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN WALL 95

An Indian — there were always friendly
Indians about — lay upon the floor by the
door, watching the dance.

Suddenly a wild war-whoop sounded through
the room. The friendly Indian had jumped
to his feet, shouting defiance to a man in
the doorway. It was Colonel Clark, standing
quietly with folded arms. Now if there was
one thing ^ of which these French villagers
stood in fear, it was an American backwoods-
man ; and terror took deep hold of the dancers.
Clark bade them go on with their dancing, if
they chose. ''But, remember," he added,
''it is under the flag of Virginia you dance,
not that of Great Britain."

Meanwhile Clark's men had overrun the
fort and had seized the commandant. Mes-
sengers hurried through the town, ordering
every one to remain within his house, unless
he would be shot. In the morning, the peaple
were forced to give up their arms. They were
overcome with terror. The fame of the
"Long Knives," as the Indians called the

96 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

backwoodsmen, had gone before them. All
expected death or slavery.

A group of the leading men came to Clark
to beg for mercy. When Clark assured them
that he meant them no harm, their terror
was suddenly turned to joy, and all the village
was ready to promise friendship to the new
American nation.

The priest was surprised when Colonel
Clark freely granted him permission to open
his church as usual. "An American com-
mander has nothing to do with any church
save to defend it from insult," said Colonel
Clark.

The only person who does not seem to
have entered into the general rejoicing was
the commandant of the fort. His reply
to Colonel Clark's invitation to dinner shows
that he must have been very much out of
temper indeed. Clark promptly sent him a
prisoner to Virginia. No one else received
anything but kindness from Clark.

The capture of Kaskaskia is only the begin-

HOMES BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN WALL 97

ning of the story. Cahokia, farther up the
river, was easily won to friendship, and also
VIncennes, but the struggle came when Gen-
eral Hamilton, ''the hair buyer," appeared
to punish the bold Americans.

At VIncennes a single American officer
and one soldier occupied the fort. General
Hamilton demanded Its surrender, never
dreaming that there were but two men inside.
The officer with lighted torch In hand stood
beside the cannon he had wheeled Into the
open gateway. General Hamilton imagined
scores of "Long Knives" out of sight behind
him ; and when the American officer agreed
to surrender the fort, British soldiers and
painted Indians drew up In long lines to let the
Americans pass out with "the honors of war"
which the American officer had demanded.
Then the two solemnly marched forth.

Clark, however, had no Idea of giving up
VIncennes to Hamilton. Although it was
winter, he at once marched to take it back.
The journey was a hard one, through mud and

98 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

over ice, flooded meadows and prairie land.
The men suffered from lack of food as well
as from cold. But they went on bravely, sur-
prised the town, and defeated the British.

The value of what Clark had done was
seen when the war for independence was
ended. The northwest — between the Ohio
and the Great Lakes — was won for freedom
and the new nation, by his bravery. Clark
was a typical backwoodsman. What we owe
to these men we must never forget. With axe
and rifle they made their way into untried
wildernesses. They made homes and boldly
defended them. They brought to the Ameri-
can nation the great wealth of the "old
northwest."

FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE SEA

In my childhood my daily walk to school
led me to the neighborhood of a group of
streets whose names by their very unfamiliar
sound were easily fixed in my attention :
"Lafayette, Kosciusko, De Kalb, Pulaski."
Sometimes I wondered at their strange foreign
sound and wondered too why streets in an
American city should receive such names.

It was, therefore, a pleasure to discover that
Pulaski, De Kalb, Kosciusko, and Lafayette
were Revolutionary heroes, and that their
strange foreign-sounding names told stories
of the homes beyond the sea from which they
came to fight for American liberty. Thus
my wonder was satisfied, but my interest
iremained.

When war broke out between the English
government and the English colonies in
America, many European officers came to

99

lOO

PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

take a part in the fighting. Some came be-
cause they wished to win military glory ; some,
because at that time the armies of Europe
were lying idle and their officers longed
for battle somew^here ; and some, because
they wished to help America and see her win.
Of the many, the four I have mentioned,

and one more. Baron
Steuben, are best
known and most
gratefully remem-
bered. Of the
five, the name of
Lafayette stands
first.

Although only a
boy of nineteen
when he first heard
of the rebellion of
England's colonies,
he was already a soldier and an officer. Be-
longing to one of the most distinguished
families of the French nobility and pos-

LaFAYETTE, the " FRENCH BOY."

(

FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE SEA loi

sessed of a large fortune, the young man
seemed to have a brilliant career before him.
He was already married, and his home life
was extremely happy. Yet he left home
and position to help the struggling Ameri-
cans. More than that, he came to America
against the wishes of the king. Indeed the
king forbade his coming, lest the anger of
England should be aroused against France.

But neither the command of the king nor
the entreaties of his relatives could move the
young man's determination. He seems to
have had an inborn love for liberty; the
story of America's fight for freedom roused
in him a desire which he could not conquer.

It was no easy matter for the young noble-
man to escape the watchful eyes of the king's
officers. Indeed he had some exciting adven-
tures before he was able to get away. He
had bought a vessel for the voyage, and at
last, with eleven other officers who wished to
join the Americans, he set sail from a Spanish
port in 1777.

I02 PIONKERS AND PATRIOTS

Landing near Charleston, in South Carolina,
the officers hurried to Philadelphia to offer
their services to Congress. Lafayette was
made a major-general and at once joined
Washington's army. Washington was kind
to the young foreigner from the first, and
soon there sprang up between them a strong
and steadfast friendship, which nothing
changed nor lessened as years passed by.

In his first battle Lafayette was slightly
wounded ; and he wrote to his wife describing
Washington's care and affectionate interest.
" When he sent his best surgeon to me," he
wrote, "he told him to take charge of me as
if I were his son, because he loved me with the
same affection."

As winter approached, Washington led
his army into winter quarters at Valley
Forge. Lafayette was now in command of a
division of this army. He describes the
condition of the men in another letter: ''The
unfortunate soldiers were in want of every-
thing; they had not coats, hats, shirts, nor

\

FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE SEA 103

shoes. . . . The army frequently remained
whole days without provisions."

In another letter he spoke of his division
as ''almost in a state of nakedness ; but I am
promised cloth," he continued, ''of which I
shall make clothes." He went on to say he
was also promised more men, "of which I
must make soldiers, this being unfortunately
a more difficult task."

Lafayette seems to have been modestly
conscious of his lack of age and experience.
He says, "I read, I study, I examine, I listen,
I reflect; I will not talk much, for fear of
saying foolish things ; I will still less risk
acting much, for fear of doing foolish things —
but when some plans occur to me which I
believe may become useful when properly
rectified, I hasten to impart them to a great
judge, who is good enough to say he is pleased
with them."

A story is told of Lafayette at this time
which shows that he w^as quite able to make
plans which were useful, in spite of his youth.

I04 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

Valley Forge was only about twenty miles
from Philadelphia, and while the American
soldiers had been suffering in one place, the
British had passed a comfortable, indeed a
gay winter in the other. It was nearly sum-
mer again when Washington sent Lafayette
with two thousand men to march toward
Philadelphia. He was to cross the Schuylkill
River and take up a position where he could
keep watch of the movements of the British.

Accordingly he took possession of Barren
Hill, about halfway between Philadelphia
and Valley Forge.

British scouts, discovering him there, has-
tened to the city with the news. General
Howe, the British commander, was a guest
that evening at a fine military ball. He was
pleased to hear of the approach of the young
French general. He was sure he could cap-
ture him and his men. So sure was he that
he went about inviting the fair Tory ladies
at the ball to a banquet the next evening
at his house, ''to meet the Marquis de

FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE SEA 105

Lafayette." Already he thought of the mar-
quis as his prisoner.

Next morning the British force selected
to make the capture marched off gayly toward
Barren Hill. It was all so easy. One divi-
sion should hold the ford, to prevent the
retreat of the ''French boy" across the river.
One division should march around the hill,
and one should remain on the nearer side.
Then the two should march up, and between
them at the top would be Lafayette and his
two thousand men.

American scouts brought word to Lafayette
that the British were coming. Though this
was not pleasant news, the young general
had no idea of being captured. Fortunately
he knew another ford, but the time in which
to reach it was short. Indeed the red coats
were in sight.

Boldly Lafayette advanced toward them
with a few of his men, while all the rest were
hurried toward the ford. The British ad-
vanced toward Lafayette's bold front. Sud-

io6 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

denly the American columns were drawn
back and vanished over the hill. The two
British divisions pushed faster up the opposite
sides of the hill. They reached the top.
They met. But no "French boy" was
between them. And at the banquet that
night the Tory ladies did not meet the Mar-
quis de Lafayette.

Later in the year, when the British had
gone back to New York and Washington's
army stood guard over them from New Jersey
to West Point on the Hudson, Lafayette
went home to France. The French govern-
ment had already agreed to help the struggling
American nation, and Lafayette found the
French people friendly to everything
American.

They were very proud of the young mar-
quis, upon whom honors were showered by
the king, the queen, and all the court. As for
Lafayette himself, he could talk of nothing
but America and the Americans. He told of
the suffering of the army and of the brave

FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE SEA 107

endurance of the men. He told about the
lack of money to carry on the war, and the
lack of clothing and supplies. • He told the
fine ladies and gentlemen of the court that
the cost of a single royal ball in the king's
palace would buy clothes and comforts for
the whole American army. He told them
about Washington, the great general, his
friend. He asked the king to send land sol-
diers to America in addition to the French
warships which were already in American
waters.

Happy indeed was Lafayette when he
received instructions from the king to return
to America. He was to proceed immediately
to join General Washington, and ''to com-
municate to him the secret that the king,
willing to give the United States a new proof
of his affection and of his interest in their
security, is resolved to send to their aid, at
the opening of spring, six vessels of the line
and six thousand regular troops of infantry."

Returning at once to America, Lafayette

lo8 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

remained until the fighting was over. His
part in the later years of the war you will
find in your histories. His first longing to
fight for liberty remained as long as there was
fighting to do. He proved himself a gallant
soldier, an able general, and a true friend.

Lafayette's fame in his own country now
knew no bounds ; and he left behind in
America the truest of gratitude and admira-
tion. His friendship with Washington suf-
fered no change from separation. Frequent
letters passed between them. Washington
returned to his farm at Mount Vernon, and
from there went at his country's call to the
Presidential chair. Lafayette busied himself
on his estates with plans for future useful-
ness, from which he was called by revolution
in his own land. Although he was rich and a
noble by birth, he joined the poor and down-
trodden in France who fought for liberty.

Some day you will read the story of the
French Revolution and of the part Lafayette
had in it. He had seen freedom won by the

FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE SEA 109

Americans ; and he knew how much worse
was the condition of the common people in
his own country. He upheld their fight for
liberty, but the Revolution in France became
a wild and awful time. The most dreadful
deeds were done in the name of liberty. At
first Lafayette was a leader, but the time
came when the people threw aside all obedi-
ence to law and order and Lafayette could
no longer fight with them. Then they turned
upon him, and his life was in danger.

He fled, but was captured, and lay in an
Austrian prison for five weary years. Re-
leased at last, he returned to France, where
after many years he saw at least the begin-
ning of real freedom for the people.

He lived a long and useful life, during which
he never forgot his early battles in America
nor his friendship for the American people.
Forty years after the independence of America
had been won, Lafayette returned to visit
the scenes of his youthful glory. President
Monroe had invited him to be the nation's guest.

no PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

From the moment he landed in New York
he was surrounded by welcoming crowds
who lost no chance to show their love and
honor for the nation's friend. Cannon
boomed, and thousands cheered the fine old
man wherever he appeared. As he went
from city to city, everywhere the people made
a holiday in which to greet him.

Washington had long been dead, and his
friend could only weep beside his tomb. Few
indeed of the Revolutionary heroes were
left, but these came to take Lafayette's hand,
or he went to them. The country had
changed in forty years, and Lafayette went
from state to state to see the new cities, the
fine farms, and the comfortable homes. He
was in America through the excitement of a
presidential election, and he spent the last
days of his visit in the White House in Wash-
ington as the guest of the new President.
For more than a year he had been in the United
States, and had received every honor the
American people could devise.

FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE SEA in

Lafayette has been called ''a man of two
worlds," and surely it is true that both the
old world and the new are better for his love
of liberty. His name stands high on the roll
of freedom's soldiers.

No other friend from Europe won quite
the place in American hearts that Lafayette
did. Perhaps it was partly his youth and
position — what he gave up — that first at-
tracted attention to the man. Others fought
bravely too. Pulaski and Kosciusko were
soldiers from Poland, who had fought for
the freedom of their own land and had seen
it crushed by strong and cruel conquerors.
They came to America, seeking for freedom
here since it was lost at home. Both were
brave officers. Pulaski fell in battle, a true
soldier of liberty to the last. Kosciusko
lived, and after the war returned to Poland,
where, like Lafayette, he became a leader of
his people. But his efforts to free Poland were
in vain. He was captured and imprisoned in
Russia. When the Russian Czar gave him

112 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

his freedom, after two years In prison, the
Czar handed Kosciusko a sword. But Kos-
ciusko refused It, saying, *'I need no sword.
I have no longer any country to defend."

These three — Lafayette, Pulaski, and Kos-
ciusko — were all young men. De Kalb and
Steuben were older. Indeed, De Kalb was
a soldier before any of the younger group was
born. Although a German, he had been In
the service of France for many years, and had
once been sent to the English colonies In
America on business for the French king.
He was one of the eleven officers who came
to America with Lafayette, and he, like
Pulaski, gave his life for the country he had
come to help.

Of all the five, Steuben alone remained in
America after the war, making It his home.
He had come from Prussia, where his young
manhood had been spent In the army of
Frederick the Great, the Prussian king. Steu-
ben had proved himself an excellent ofiicer
and had been honored by a high place on the

FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE SEA 113

king's own staff. Frederick was a great
soldier and possessed an army that was
probably better drilled than any other in
Europe. To have held high place under him
was evidence of Steuben's ability.

He offered his services to the American
Congress in the winter of 1777 and was sent
at once to join Washington's army at Valley
Forge. Here he found a difficult task await-
ing him. Washington was anxious to make
use of Steuben's knowledge in instructing
the soldiers, many of whom knew very little
about military drill. Steuben was, there-
fore, made inspector general of the army.

This office gave him the care of arms and
equipment as well as instruction of the men.
He was well fitted for the task, discouraging
as it was. Men were without clothes, with-
out shoes, without arms. Many were sick,
and all were discouraged.

Steuben began work at once, with what
men he could muster. From the first he
kept careful account of all supplies and insisted

114 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

The drill began in earnest.

that the men should keep their arms In perfect
condition. They had been accustomed to

FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE SEA 115

no such care before. This alone made a
great difference in the efficiency of the army.

When spring came, newly enlisted soldiers
joined the army, and some supplies were
received. The drill began in earnest. Every
day, unless the weather was bad, the old
general rose at three o'clock in the morning,
and at sunrise might be found on horseback,
galloping to' the parade ground. First of all
came inspection of the men and their arms.
This was no rapid riding in front of the line,
but a careful examination of every man.
Then came the drill. At first Steuben could
not make the men understand the movements
he desired, or the orders he gave, since he
could speak very little English. A young
officer who could speak French as well as
English came to his assistance, and things
went better.

"If I had seen an angel from heaven,"
said the old Baron, in telling the story, "I
should not have been more rejoiced."

Many stories are told of the Baron's hot

Il6 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

temper and also of his kind heart. Some-
times the awkwardness of the men would
move him to the most violent of language,
until he had exhausted all the exclamations
he could think of in German, French, and
English. Then he would call upon his aids
to help him think of more names to call
them. His bursts of temper, however, had
little eifect on the affection the men came to
feel for him. Always kind to those in dis-
tress and generous to all, he made friends
everywhere. The young officers who were
his aids loved him and continued to devote
themselves to him after the war was over,
indeed as long as he lived.

Many stories are told of his hospitable
habits. He made a point of inviting to his
table not only the higher officers in camp,
but those of lesser rank. "Poor fellows," he
would say, ''they have field officers' stomachs,
without their pay or rations."

When the French soldiers had come to the
aid of the Americans and were encamped

FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE SEA 117

near them, the Baron was disturbed because
none of the American officers except Wash-
ington could afford to entertain them.

"We are constantly feasted by the French,
without their receiving any invitation in
return except from headquarters. I can stand
it no longer. I shall give one grand dinner
to our allies, should I eat my soup with a
wooden spoon forever after." To do it, he
sold part of his camp furniture.

It was not long before the effects of Steu-
ben's drill began to show upon the men. All
through the long spring months he went on
with his work. He taught officers as well
as men. As a result of his training, the army
that came out from Valley Forge bore little
resemblance to the one which had gone in
in the dark days of winter.

When the war was over, Steuben made
his home in western New York on land the
state had given him. Here he built a log
house, and lived surrounded by his books,
and often visited by his faithful young friends

Ii8 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

of the war time. After some years Congress
voted to give him a pension of twenty-five
hundred dollars a year. A few years later
he died and was buried by his own wish in
the forest near his last home.

The work he did was of great benefit to the
cause for which Americans fought. The gal-
lant old general, with his kind heart and his
desire to make those around him happy is
surely a pleasant figure to find a place in our
book of heroes. May we cherish his memory
with that of Lafayette, — both true friends
of America and of liberty.

ISRAEL ISRAEL'S EXPERIENCE WITH
THE TORIES

In the early twilight of a winter afternoon
in 1777, a young man walked rapidly along
the road from Wilmington to Philadelphia.
He was closely wrapped in a large cloak,
inside which he carried various bundles and
packages, including a small bag of money.
He was clearly anxious to reach his journey's
end, yet as he approached the ferry, he lin-
gered along the road until darkness fell and
the lights of the city began to appear in the
distance. Then under the friendly cover of
the darkness, he walked boldly toward the
British sentinel who guarded the ferry en-
trance.

Philadelphia was at this time in the hands

of the British General Howe, and his soldiers

were quartered in the city. The Tories of

Philadelphia were joyful indeed because of

119

I20 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

the presence of the British, but Whigs un-
fortunate enough to remain suffered incon-
venience and sometimes real hardship.
Among the Whig families thus suffering were
the mother and sisters of the young man at
the ferry ; and his present journey was to
carry them relief.

Hailed by the British sentinel with the
customary question, *'Who goes there .^" the
young man promptly answered, ''A friend,"
and when further questioned, gave quite
as promptly the British countersign for the
night.

''Pass, friend !" said the sentinel. The
young man hurried on, glad to escape his
searching eyes.

This man, Israel Israel, was the elder of
two sons of a widowed mother. When. war
broke out, both of the brothers desired to
fight for liberty, but the aged mother, two
sisters and Israel's young wife seemed to
need the protection and support of one of
the young men, and it was decided that one

EXPERIENCE WITH THE TORIES 121

must remain at home. It was hard to choose
between them. It was finally settled that
they should draw lots, and this ended in the
lot's falling upon Joseph, the younger brother,
who therefore went to fight.

Israel continued to live upon his little farm
in Wilmington, making frequent visits to
the old mother and sisters in Philadelphia.
Since the British had seized the city, only
''king's men," or loyalists, were permitted
to pass in and out. Israel heard strange
stories of the rough treatment Whigs within
the city were receiving, and he grew daily
more fearful. He tried to devise some way
to get inside the British lines.

At length help came from an unexpected
source. A Tory neighbor, knowing of Israel's
longing to learn how his mother was faring,
obtained for him the British countersign;
and thankfully accepting his neighbor's kind-
ness, Israel had passed the sentinel, as we
have seen, and was soon walking rapidly in
the direction of his mother's house.

122 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

Once within, the young man was relieved
to find his mother and sisters well, though
sorely in need of the supplies he had brought.
Soldiers were quartered in the house, they
told him, and the timid women were very
weary of their rough, noisy ways. Then
cautiously they led Israel to an inner room,
where he was surprised to find a soldier in
Continental uniform.

''Why, 'tis Joe," he cried, and the brothers
clasped hands joyfully. ''How did you get
here, man?" asked Israel. "Did some Tory
friend help you as mine helped me .^"

'"Tis too long a tale to tell," answered
Joseph. '"Tis enough that I am here.
Indeed I must soon be gone. I must be far
from the city before light."

It was fully eleven o'clock when the happily
united family sat down to supper, still talking
busily of their experiences in these trying
times. Suddenly the tramp of horses in the
street without was followed by loud knock-
ing at the door. In a moment Joseph had

EXPERIENCE WITH THE TORIES 123

left his untasted supper, for to be caught here
in Continental uniform meant imprisonment
and perhaps worse.

The rest rushed after him up the stairs,
helped him out of the telltale uniform, and
saw him safely out of sight on the roof before
they descended to open to the pounding,
shouting soldiers below.

It was Israel himself who unbarred the
door. Upon him the soldiers rushed, shouting,
''Now we have him, the rebel rascal !"

"Who calls me a rebel ?" calmly asked the
young man, shaking off the rough hand of
the Hessian sergeant who commanded the
group.

"Your own slave admits it," answered
the sergeant, pointing to an old negro who
stood with hanging head in the doorway.

The master fixed his keen eye upon the
trembling slave, as he said carelessly, "There's
a mistake here, gentlemen. It's my brother,
Joe, you're looking for, no doubt. He fights
in the rebel army. But he isn't here." And

124 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

as he spoke, Israel could only hope his words
were true, and that Joe was indeed some dis-
tance away by this time.

''Stay," he added, as if a new thought
had just come to him, ''I believe an old uni-
form of Joe's has been left in the house. I'll
get it, and you may see for yourselves whether
I'm its rebel owner."

So, still calmly, he went upstairs, and
returned with the garments so lately thrown
aside by the escaping soldier. Now it chanced
that Joe was a small man, while Israel was tall
and broad, quite a giant in fact. Even the
soldiers could only laugh when Israel strug-
gled, but all in vain, to get into the uniform.

The sergeant made all due apologies, and
dismissing his men, proposed that, since
supper was on the table, he stay and share
It. Little as the family desired his presence,
they dared not object, and they made a
place for the self-invited guest.

When the officer had taken his departure,
Israel bade his mother and sisters good-by,

EXPERIENCE WITH THE TORIES 125

Even the soldiers could only laugh when Israel struggled,
but all in vain, to get into the uniform.

and set out upon his homeward journey.
Passing the sentinel safely, he tramped the
thirty miles between the ferry and his home,

126 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

arriving weary, but relieved that his dangerous
errand was safely accomplished.

At home, however, he met fresh difficulties.
The friendly Tory who had given him the
countersign proved far from friendly at heart,
for he had betrayed the secret of the journey
to the British, and now Israel found himself
arrested and accused of entering the British
lines as a spy.

Together with his wife's brother, the young
man was carried off to a British warship in
the Delaware, to be tried for his life. While
it was not true that he was a spy, his activity
in the patriot cause could not be denied, and
his Tory neighbors were more than ready
to testify against him.

The Roebuck, on which the prisoners were
confined, lay not far from the town, directly
opposite, it happened, to Israel's little farm.
As he lay on the deck, on the coil of rope which
was his only bed, he could see the. lights in
his windows, telling of the lonely young wife
within the house^, trembling for his safety.

EXPERIENCE WITH THE TORIES 127

Only nineteen years old, she was now left
quite unprotected.

In the morning, Israel saw his cattle driven
out upon the meadow by the riverside and
knew the brave wife was caring as she could
for the home in his absence. His enemies
were on hand early with their tales of his evil
deeds. He had been a rebel from the first,
they said. He had given no provisions for
the use of his Majesty's soldiers and fleet.
Indeed he had been heard to say he would
sooner drive his cattle as a present to General
Washington than to sell them for a cartload of
British gold.

"Indeed," said the commander of the
Roebuck. "And where are these precious
cattle.?"

"There, on the meadow, sir, in plain sight,"
responded the Tory informers. Then the
commander sternly ordered men ashore to
drive the cattle down to the river, where
they should be slaughtered before their rebel
owner's eyes.

128 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

The young wife, having risen at dawn, was
watching eagerly from an upper window of
the farm-house for some sign of her husband's
fate. She saw the soldiers rowed ashore
from the ship, saw them land and march
toward the meadow. Guessing their errand,
she ran down with a sudden determination
to resist.

No one was in sight to help her but the
small boy who had driven the cows to the
pasture, and he was only eight years old.
Calling him to follow, she started for the
pasture, and, pulling down the bars, ran to
drive the cattle out. With the small boy
who helped valiantly, she soon started the
herd in the right direction. The soldiers
were coming nearer now and were shouting
angrily that they would fire, — and fire they
did. By this time Mrs. Israel was thoroughly
aroused, and she only called back, "Fire
away ! " while she ran hither and thither with
the boy, guiding the frightened cattle.

With the balls falling around them, the

EXPERIENCE WITH THE TORIES 129

young woman and the little boy braved death
In defence of those rebel cattle. ''This way,
Joe ! Head them this way ! Don't let a
single one escape." With the last one through
the bars, Mrs. Israel caught up the little boy,
stumbling in his terror, and fastened the
cattle securely in the barnyard.

The soldiers, perhaps a little ashamed of
making war upon a woman and a child, turned
back to the ship. On the deck of the Roebuck
officers and prisoners had watched the scene,
and the prisoners at least must have gloried
in the courage shown by the young wife.
The trial went on, but strange to say, the
officers for some reason changed their harsh
attitude toward the prisoners and sent them
home free men. They even rebuked the
Tories who had accused a man bound on a
peaceful errand of duty to his old mother.
Israel went home in honor on a splendid
barge, with presents for his brave wife from
the officers of the Roebuck^ British man-of-
war.

ANOTHER OF MARION'S MEN

"Dorcas! Dorcas!" called a faint voice
below the window of Mrs. Dorcas Richard-
son's bedroom. ''Open the door for me,
Dorcas !"

Mrs. Richardson started up from her bed,
listening intently. ''Perhaps I only dreamed
it," she said to herself, "but indeed I thought
I heard Dick's voice." And as she heard
the call a second time, she hastily put on
wrapper and slippers and hurried to the great
front door.

Pushing aside the heavy bolts, she swung
the door open. Her husband. Captain Rich-
ard Richardson, stepped inside. For a mo-
ment the wife scarcely recognized the gaunt,
travel-stained soldier, and her joy at his
coming was mingled with sadness as she saw

how he was wasted by disease.

130

ANOTHER OF MARION'S MEN 131

Her husband, Captain Richardson, stepped inside.

132 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

"What is it, Dick?" she asked anxiously.
''What makes you look so?" in the same
breath with "How did you get here ?" and
"Will they follow you and capture you
again ?"

"Not so fast with your questions, Dorcas,"
answered the captain, as the good wife made
him comfortable in his own favorite easy
chair. "Yes, I've been sick. It was small-
pox, and I scarce wonder that you didn't
know me. It's left its ugly mark. But
perhaps 'twas a blessing after all, since with-
out it, I'd have been taken a dozen times
between the coast and the Santee. But
when British or Tory approached," he added
with a grim chuckle, "I had only to walk
feebly and thrust my pock-marked face for-
ward to set them all running for fear of their
lives."

Dorcas was swiftly setting food before the
hungry man, while question and answer
flew fast between them.

"I scarce dared approach the house for fear

ANOTHER OF MARION'S MEN 133

'twas in the hands of the enemy," said the
captain. "'Twould have been hard lines
indeed to escape from one British prison only
to be marched off to another. Have they
not troubled you at all .^"

''Indeed they have done us no harm, Dick,
but weVe seen them often enough. Yester-
day Tarleton himself rode all about the house
and gardens, and I expect nothing less than
to see his troops quartered all over the planta-
tion. If they should find you here — "

''But they won't, Dorcas, because I don't
intend to be here. Before daylight I must
be on my way to the swamp."

"The swamp.?" Oh, you mean until — "

"Until they get tired of looking for me and
so give me a chance to slip away to Marion."

The night was a busy one for Dorcas.
She gathered together blankets and other
simple comforts, as well as food, to be carried
to the swamp. As the first dawn showed in
the east, she roused a faithful old slave and
directed him to bring the captain's favorite

\

134 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

riding horse from the stable and to drive out
certain of the cows. When all was ready,
she roused her weary husband, and the little
procession, led by the captain and the old
slave, set out toward the swamp, leaving
Dorcas standing at the back of the house,
anxiously gazing after them.

She had little time for reflection, however,
as, at an early hour, the sound of approach-
ing horsemen indicated that there were sol-
diers in the neighborhood.

Trembling lest it should be a search party
looking for her husband, she answered the
resounding knock upon the great front door.
The soldiers standing without, however, had
nothing to say about the captain. Their
errand was to inform her that her house and
stables were needed as quarters for a portion
of Tarleton's cavalry ; and before noon the
place was swarming with redcoats.

The days that followed were hard ones
for the patriotic woman. She was allowed
only one room in the house for herself and

ANOTHER OF MARION'S MEN 135

her children, and of all the plentiful provisions
which were really hers only the scantiest
were given her. Once every day or night
the faithful slave made a secret journey to
the swamp, carrying the food his mistress
had saved from this scanty store. Captain
Richardson was encamped on a small knoll
deep in the swamp. He called it ''John's
Island," perhaps in memory of the island of
that name on the coast, from which he had
recently escaped. His horse was stabled
in a disused corncrib, and the cattle pastured
near. Not far away another knoll rose from
the wet swamp lands, on which were other
patriots hiding from their enemies and watch-
ing their chance to join Marion or Sumter.
Captain Richardson spent much of his time
in drilling these men, and would have been
happy enough in his forest camp, but for the
thought of his wife and children, deprived
of their home comforts by the enemy.

One day the slave was heard approaching
for his daily visit, and the captain was some-

136 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

what alarmed to hear him talking to some
one as he drew near the camp. A moment
of listening changed his fear to joy; for the
old slave was saying, ''Be ca'ful, dar, Mistis.
Step on dis log. Lemme help de baby."
As the captain ran forward, he saw Dorcas
and his little daughter coming to meet him.

Husband and wife spent a happy hour
together, while the little girl ran about play-
ing among the trees.

"The}^ have news of your escape, Dick,"
said Dorcas, sadly. "They have begun to
question me. And they have posted notice of
a reward for any one who will capture you."

''Have no fear for me, Dorcas," answered
her husband. "They'll never find me here.
I am far more disturbed over your danger
than mine. Will you promise that you will
let me know if you need a defender ?" The
wife promised, although she felt sure the
danger would be very great which would
cause her to summon her husband to fall
into British hands.

ANOTHER OF MARION'S MEN 137

It was only a few days after this visit to
the swamp that a British officer caught up
the little daughter In his arms as she ran at
play outside the house. "Tell me, little
one," he asked, ''When did you see your
father last?"

''Just the other day," the child answered
promptly, as she smoothed the scarlet cloth
of his coat and patted the epaulets on his
shoulders.

"Where did you see him ?" asked the officer.
"Was he here?"

"No," she answered, "I saw him on John's
Island. He hasn't any pretty coat like yours."

The mother, who heard this questioning,
was pale with fear as she heard the secret
betrayed ; but the officer knew of no John's
Island except the British prison Island from
which Captain Richardson had escaped. So
he set the child down, saying, "That was long
ago, little one. I guess you have forgotten."

Once Captain Richardson ventured from
the swamp to the house, when the soldiers

138 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

were all away ; but scarcely had he begun
to enjoy his visit when a patrolling party
of the British came galloping up, and only
instant flight could save him. While he
hurried out the back door, Dorcas stood in
the doorway at the front, delaying the en-
trance of the soldiers by her questions, asked
so coolly as to arouse no suspicion of the
patriot flying for his life.

Soon after this, the captain found oppor-
tunity to leave his hiding place with the other
patriots who had shared his retreat. They
were successful in reaching Marion's camp, and
remained with Marion until the war was over.

Twice at least after this Captain Richard-
son found himself in danger when visiting his
family. One night, after Tarleton's removal
from the Richardson plantation, the captain
rode up on the horse which had shared his
hiding place in the swamp.

*^Corncrib and I are glad to be at home
again," laughed the captain as he dismounted
at the door.

ANOTHER OF MARION'S MEN 139

"Corncrib?" asked his wife. "Who is
Corncrib ?"

"This is Corncrib," returned the captain,
patting the faithful horse. "He has a new
name since he lived in the old corncrib on — "

But the sentence was not finished, nor the
visit made, since at that very minute a group
of Tories was seen riding up the road. There
seemed no escape, but the captain flung him-
self into the saddle, and as his only hope,
dashed furiously forward, into the very midst
of the Tories ; and took them so by surprise
that he galloped safely through, untouched
by ball or sword thrust.

Stories like these, of the bravery and en-
durance of patriot men and women, quite
unknown to fame, may be multiplied from
every section of the country while the war
went on. Some of these stories have been
long forgotten, others are treasured by the
descendants of the heroes and will be told and
retold as each succeeding generation comes
to listen.

A HERO OF THE SEA

For weeks Commodore Paul Jones, of the
American Continental Navy, had been cruis-
ing about the coast of England In his ship,
the Bonhomme Richard. He had captured
many merchant vessels and had the whole
coast in terror. Yet he was not satisfied ;

140

A HERO OF THE SEA 141

for he had met no British man-of-war, and
to meet one was his heart's desire.

Especially had he hoped to come upon the
Baltic fleet, bringing naval stores from north-
ern Europe to England and guarded by some
ship of war. In one more week his cruise
must come to an end, and he must return to
France to report to the American Commis-
sioners there what he considered his failure.

It was about noon of September 23, 1779.
The Richard lay ten or twelve miles off Flam-
boro' Head, on the east coast of England.
Near her were the other ships of the fleet, —
the Alliance, the Pallas, and the little Ven-
geance. All were waiting and watching for
the appearance of the Baltic fleet.

Then suddenly, as they waited, the lookout
on the Richard reported a sail appearing
around the headland, and then another and
another, until it was clear that the Baltic
fleet was in sight, — forty richly laden ships,
guarded by a frigate and a sloop of war, mak-
ing sail for the shelter of Scarborough harbor

142 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

and the protection of Scarborough Castle
guns.

Here was the chance for which Paul Jones
had longed. He saw at once that the larger
of the two war ships was a stronger vessel
than the Richard^ with heavier guns. But
when you have come to know Paul Jones
better, you will know that the strength of his
enemy would never keep him out of battle.
Signalling to the Alliance and the Pallas to
follow, he turned at once to get between the
frigate and the shore. The Pallas, at his
order, followed the sloop, but the Alliance
simply ran away.

You must remember that these war-ships
of Revolutionary times were not the swift-
sailing battleships and ''dreadnaughts" of
the present day. Their hulls were of wood,
their sailing power was the wind, and their
movements were often slow and clumsy.
Hours passed before the Richard drew near
the British frigate. The Richard was an old
ship, and a slow one — indeed she had not

A HERO OF THE SEA 143

been intended for a war-ship at all, but for
the East Indian trade. She had been bought
by the French government, repaired and
fitted with cannon, and lent to the American
navy. Her guns were all old, and many of
them had been condemned by the French
dockyard from which they came. At the
time they were the best to be had, so Commo-
dore Jones had taken them and set out to do
the best he could. Some commanders might
have feared with such a ship to attack the
fine new frigate Serapis of the British navy.
The only fear shown by Paul Jones was lest
she should get away.

Slowly the miles between the Richard and
the Serapis grew less. Through the long
afternoon preparations for battle were made,
and the decks were "cleared for action."
As the sun went down the crews had their
supper, and then on either ship came the grim
roll of the drums, ''beating to quarters."
The long twilight had begun. The moon,
at its full that night, shed a golden radiance

144 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

over the gently swelling sea. The wind was
light, and the ships seemed scarcely more
than to drift toward each other.

The Serapis lay with broadside toward the
Richard, great guns thrust forward from the
port-holes, and every opening in her white
hull gleaming with light. On board, captain
and crew were watching the oncoming ship,
high of stern, black, and unfamiliar enough
to set all guessing at her nationality and pur-
pose. Captain Pearson, of the Serapis, stood,
night-glass in hand, watching every move-
ment of the stranger. Once he said, "It is
probably Paul Jones. If so, there is work
ahead."

The ships drew nearer. The magazines
were opened ; the gunners ready to hand out
powder charges to the boys who carried them
to the guns. The gun crews were in their
places, with shot ready and slow matches
lighted. Cutlasses and pistols were given
out. Pumps were made ready, and hose laid
out in case of fire. Carpenters stood with

A HERO OF THE SEA

I4S

shot plugs ready to stop up holes. Great
hooks were swung from chains, in readiness

The Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis.

for lashing the ships together if they should
touch. Away from the guns, on quarter deck

146 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

and forecastle, were placed ranks of marines,
with muskets ready, while the rigging was
filled with others, similarly armed, and with
buckets of hand-grenades within reach.

Below the main deck, in the gun room,
were more guns with their crews, and below
again, was the ^'cockpit," where the surgeons
laid out the rude instruments and appliances
with which to do their saving work. On
either ship were about three hundred men,
quietly waiting, each in his appointed place,
to begin the awful work of destruction and
death.

On the Richard, Paul Jones stood, silent,
on the deck, watching the closing in of the
ships. He had been from station to station,
seeing that all was in order, with a word of
encouragement here and there, and a giving
of his own calm courage to the men. Now,
again, he stood alone, and silent. What his
thoughts were we cannot guess. Perhaps
he thought tenderly of his old mother in
Scotland or fiercely of the cowardly captain

A HERO OF THE SEA 147

of the Alliance, who had sailed away. What-
ever his thoughts, he stood, small in stature
but commanding in presence, with his fine
eyes confident and serene. Some one has
said of Paul Jones, "He was born a captain."

The ships drew nearer yet, with now no
sound on either but the soft lapping of the
water against the sides, the creak of a rope,
or the gentle sigh of the wind in the swelling
sails.

Then, suddenly, a man leaped upon the
rail of the Serapis, and from his hollowed
hands came the echoing call, "What ship is
that.?"

There was no answer. The Richard was
swinging about now, with her broadside to-
ward the foe. Again the same words rang
over the moonlit water. "What ship is
that.?" Then sharp and clear, "Answer at
once, or I fire."

Then there was answer, — the thunder of
the cannon, fired from the blazing portholes
of the black stranger's side.

148 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

The last entry In the log of the Serapis
reads: ^'Sea smooth, moon full, sky clear,
time 7: 15 P.M. We hail second time, enemy
answers with broadside."

In an instant the Serapis made reply with
the roar of her great guns, and the still beauty
of the night was at an end. The battle was
on !

For nearly an hour the two ships furiously
poured broadsides into each other as they
sailed slowly along side by side. In this sort
of fight the Serapis could easily do the greater
damage, as her guns were heavier and in
better condition. Indeed, at almost the first
fire two of the Richard^s heavy guns had
exploded, killing men in the gun crews and
finally causing the abandonment of all the
guns on that deck. One by one the RicharcTs
guns were silenced by the firing from the
Serapis, and, more than that, the heavy
cannon-balls were tearing great holes in the
RicharcTs side. Water began to enter the
holes, and fire blazed in many places where

A HERO OF THE SEA 149

burning splinters had struck. Dead and
dying men were everywhere.

The ships were drawing nearer as they
sailed along, and the Commodore watched
intently for a chance to grapple with the
enemy at close quarters. At last they
touched, and, in an instant, the grappling
hooks of the Richard were thrown into the
rigging of the Serapis. But the strain upon
the ropes was too great, and as they broke,
the two ships dropped apart again.

It seemed as though the end of the battle
was at hand. Yet no man on the Richard
thought of giving up. ''He is hammering
us all to pieces," said the Commodore to
his first officer. ''We must close with him;
we must get hold of him." Indeed, this was
the only hope. Steadily the commander
worked the ship to reach this position. By
this time only three of the cannon on the
Richard could be used, and the broadsides of
the Serapis continued as furiously as ever.
The whole side of the Richard below the deck

I50 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

was broken in, and fires raged in a dozen
directions.

Just then the Alliance appeared. For a
moment Jones thought her captain had re-
turned to his duty. To the utter amaze-
ment of the whole crew, however, the broad-
sides of the Alliance were aimed full at the
Richard; here was a new enemy, it s-eemed.
But after a few shots, the Alliance sailed off
again and left the Commodore to give un-
divided attention to the work in hand. A
change of wind was helping a little now,
and slowly the Richard came close and swung
around the bow of the Serapis.

Now, if ever, the chance would come.
The Richard grazed along the side of the white
ship, only a few hours since so spotless, now
smoke-stained, splintered, and bloody. An an-
chor on the Serapis caught in the rigging of
the Richard. Men dashed forward, and it
is said that the Commodore himself threw
a rope around the anchor and lashed it
fast.

A HERO OF THE SEA 151

Now the whole character of the battle
changed. The great guns of the Serapis
could do little but shoot straight through the
gun deck of the Richard, already abandoned.
It was now a hand-to-hand fight, in which
cannon had but little part.

A gunner on the Richard came rushing to
the deck from below, shouting that the ship
was sinking, and calling, "Quarter! Quar-
ter!" Although Jones quickly silenced him,
the cry had been heard on the English ship.
From the smoke clouds surrounding the two
vessels came the voice of the English captain,
"Have you struck your colors, Sir ?"

"No!" came the response in the mag-
nificent voice of Paul Jones. "Sir, I have
not yet begun to fight."

It was true. On a sinking ship, with
cannon broken and useless, Paul Jones was
going to fight, — and fight until the waves
swallowed the ship on which he stood ; he
could not be conquered, alive.

The confusion on the Richard grew with

152 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

each moment. The muskets of the marines
on the upper decks now began their deadly
work, sweeping the exposed places on the
Serapis, Eleven men were shot, one after
another, at the wheel, and man after man who
ran forward to cut loose the anchor which
held the ships together. Again, it was the
Commodore himself who commanded the
marines and cheered them by his own magnifi-
cent courage.

"I could distinctly hear, amid the crashing
of the musketry," wrote one young officer
of the Richard in describing the battle, "the
great voice of the Commodore, cheering the
French marines in their own tongue, . . . ex-
horting them to take good aim, pointing out
objects for their fire, and frequently giving
them direct example by taking their loaded
muskets from their hands into his, and firing
himself. In fact, toward the very last, he
had about him a group of half a dozen marines
who did nothing but load their firelocks and
hand them to the Commodore, who fired them

A HERO OF THE SEA

153

from his own shoulder, standing on the quar-
ter deck rail. . . ."

Meanwhile, believing the Richard to be
sinking, an officer in charge of more than two
hundred English prisoners in the hold had
let them loose, and a new danger had to be met.
It was met, at once, before more than fifty
had reached the deck. The rest were held
back by men with cutlasses, and the fifty
driven to man the pumps which alone kept
the ship afloat.

Now, again, the Alliance appeared, with
her murderous fire for her sister ship. A
perfect hail of shot rained from her guns,
as she slowly passed and sailed away again
into the night. But the Richard fought on.

By this time the upper decks of the Serapis
had been cleared. No man dared show his
head upon them. The captain stood on the
quarter deck alone. Both ships were on fire ;
the Richard, in many places. The great guns
of the Serapis continued their work. Now
a new attack was made from the Richard,

154 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

From the yard-arm a cool young midshipman
threw down hand-grenades upon the open
hatch leading to the enemy's lower deck. The
third attempt sent one down the hatchway,
where, falling in the midst of a pile of car-
tridges, it produced a terrific explosion, kill-
ing and wounding many men. At last the
English sailors faltered and, though only for
a moment, that moment was enough.

A boarding party leaped from the Richard
to the deck of the Serapis, Every man of
the party is said to have been but lately from
an English prison, and as they went over the
side, their leader shouted fiercely, "Remem-
ber Portsea jail !"

With the Americans now swarming on his
deck, the English captain sadly seized the
ensign halyards and struck the flag himself.
For a moment the battle raged on. In the
smoke and confusion the surrender was not
seen. But word was soon passed to the
fighters of both ships, and the fighting ceased.

The captain and the first officer of the Sera-

A HERO OF THE SEA 155

pis were led on board the Richard, where they
gave up their swords. The ropes which
bound the ships together were cut, and the
ships gently drifted apart.

It was now nearly midnight. The full
moon sailed above In a cloudless sky. The
last echoes of the firing had died away, and
again the still beauty of the night was un-
broken by the horrid sounds of war.

On the ships the awful consequences of
war were on every hand. Dead and wounded
lay together In horrible confusion. Fire had
still to be fought, and the Richard was slowly
but surely sinking. Strange indeed, to think
that the broken, battered ship was the con-
queror, — sinking there beside the conquered,
which remained afloat.

It was Paul Jones who had conquered, —
'*the man behind the men behind the guns."

The Pallas, too, had found victory In the
fight, returning now with her prize, the
Countess of Scarborough. As soon as it was
found that the Richard could not be saved,

156 PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS

the sad work of moving the wounded was
begun. These were put on board the Serapis.
The prisoners were divided among all the
ships. Finally, the Richard^s crew, with the
hastily gathered ship's papers, left the sink-
ing ship. By hard work at the pumps she
had been kept afloat until the morning of
the 25th. Now she was left to find her
last resting-place where she had won her
victory.

Let us finish the story in Jones's own words :
"No one was now left aboard the Richard
but our dead. To them I gave the good old
ship for their coffin, and in her they found a
sublime sepulchre. She rolled heavily in the
long swell, her gun-deck awash to the port-
sills, settled slowly by the head, and sank
peacefully in about forty fathoms.

''The ensign-gaff, shot away in the action,
had been fished and put in place soon after
firing ceased, and our torn and tattered flag
was left flying when we abandoned her. As
she plunged down by the head at the last, her

A HERO OF THE SEA 157

taffrall momentarily rose in the air ; so the
very last vestige mortal eyes ever saw of the
Bonhomme Richard was the defiant waving
of her unconquered and unstricken flag as
she went down."

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