With the Swamp Fox: A Story of General Marion's Young Spies by George Bird Grinnell
CHAPTER V.
THE AMBUSH.
Had the men composing the brigade all been akin to me they couldnot have shown greater kindness, nor done more to soothe my grief,than they did during the brief time before the march toward the Toryencampment was really commenced.
One found immediately a better steed; another brought assurances fromCaptain Mouzon that I was not to think for a single instant of the lossof his horses, since it was only the fortunes of war, which must beexpected. A third would have pressed food upon me; but I could not haveswallowed a single morsel unless, perchance, life itself might havedepended upon the act.
My uncle, Major James, said very little after hearing the story we hadgotten from Sam Lee.
At first I attributed his silence to the apprehensions which had comeupon him with the knowledge that General Gates had been overwhelmed;but later I had good reason to believe it arose solely from anxietyconcerning my brother.
"You shall ride by my side, lad, until we have settled this affair, andwhen it is done neither you nor I will have cause to reproach ourselvesfor not having ventured enough."
Such a promise from such a man was sufficient to tell me that whilehe and I remained alive, we would struggle as men do who have no fearof death, until the dear lad was rescued, or we borne down by press ofnumbers.
At this day it seems singular to me that I heard no one speak of thegreat disaster which had come upon the colonists at Camden.
I can only explain it by the supposition that each man saw inthe adventure before us an opportunity to do somewhat by way ofretaliation, and set all his thoughts on that purpose.
We were halted, after my rejoining the brigade, twenty minutes or more,and then the word to advance was given; but not in such fashion asI had supposed from what General Marion said, on his learning of thedisaster which had come upon Percy.
My idea was, and in my ignorance I saw no other method of procedure,that the little troop would ride into Barfield's Tories even as theyhad among those commanded by Major Gainey, and that we should profit bythe surprise.
This could not be done, as I afterward came to realize.
The capture of Percy, and what Sam Lee could tell, would be sufficientto prevent us from coming upon them unexpectedly.
When the Tory lad should inform the commander that two of Major James'nephews were in that vicinity, it would be immediately known that ouruncle, with a goodly following, was somewhere nearabout.
The Tories would be prepared, and those who had suffered defeat thatmorning must have, by this time, a very good idea of our strength.
General Marion, as I afterward came to know full well, was not the manto neglect any precaution, and while he counted on making an attackdespite the difference in numbers, it was his intention to do so insuch manner as would come nearest to guaranteeing success.
Fifty of the best mounted men were detached and sent straight towardDubose Ferry, while the remainder of the brigade rode off at rightangles, in such direction as would bring us to the timber landseastward of the road leading to Indian Village.
It was this last portion of the force which my uncle and I accompanied,and I, surprised that a part of the brigade rode at full speed, whilewe loitered, as it were, asked the reason.
"Those in advance are mounted in such fashion that they may easilyoutrun the enemy, and it is the plan that they appear before Barfield'sforce as if intending to make an attack," my uncle replied. "After thusshowing themselves the squad will beat a retreat, causing it to appearas if they were surprised by seeing so large a force. Then, unless theTories are quicker witted than I give them credit for being, a goodlyportion of the band will be led into ambush."
It was the Indian's favorite method of warfare, and, cruel though I hadever considered it, at this moment it gave me most intense pleasure.
I had said to myself that we could hope to do little less than die inthe vain attempt to rescue Percy; but now it seemed as if, should ourlives be demanded as a sacrifice, we might sell them dearly.
Well, all went as our commander had counted upon.
We hid ourselves in the thicket either side the road, three hundred andfifty horsemen, with not a man dismounted, for we counted upon ridingthe Tories down when they should retreat after the first volley hadwarned them that they had been led into a trap.
There we waited upwards of an hour, no man venturing to so much asspeak, and each looking well after his steed lest one of the animalswhinny at the supreme moment, thus giving the enemy a clew, before theywere fairly within our grasp, of what awaited them.
During that hour I resolutely kept my thoughts on trifles, such ascaring for the animal I bestrode, making certain I was in such positionthat it would be possible to get out of the wood with the leastpossible delay when the enemy was thrown into confusion, and by theseand other means prevented myself from dwelling upon Percy's fate.
Then came that sound for which we had waited--the thunder of horses'feet upon the beaten road.
We heard cries of fear, which were uttered by our decoys to enticethe Tories into yet hotter pursuit, and far in the distance could bedistinguished the crack of rifles and the rattle of muskets.
At that time, with the blood literally boiling in my veins and my heartbeating like the blows of a hammer, I never stopped to question howmany of ours might be killed in this attempt to deal out punishment tothe enemies of the colonies; but realized only that now was come themoment when I could strike a blow in defense of my brother.
Nearer and nearer came the horsemen, until through the trees we saw theWilliamsburg men riding madly down, not a saddle emptied, and beforeone could count twenty the advance of the Tories came in sight.
A whispered word went around among us to "hold ready," although everyman was on the alert, and when the road in front of us appeared to beone dense mass of horses, and men wearing red uniforms, my uncle gavethe signal for which we waited:
"Fire, boys, and at them!"
From each side the road rang out reports of rifles which had beenleveled in deadly aim, for at such short range each could pick his manand make certain of bringing him down.
Instantly the ranks were broken; the redcoated horsemen reined intheir steeds as the squad they had been pursuing halted and fired theirvolley, and then came a scramble and retreat when we dashed among them.
Twice I loaded and discharged my rifle, and then it seemed to me as ifsuch work was all too slow.
Using the weapon as a club, I rode by my uncle's side into the verymidst of that scrambling, terrified mass of human beings, and criedaloud with savage joy when I struck one of the frightened villainsdown.
As was afterward learned, there were no less than one thousand men whohad set out in pursuit of our decoys, and yet after our first attacknot one of them remained to hold us in check.
Had they been only so many sheep, we could not have found them easierprey.
The major, my uncle, had said I should ride by his side, and so I did,down the road at the heels of the Tory scoundrels, ever as we had donethe night previous. Then on, and on, striking down a foe here and thereuntil we were come, nearly the whole brigade, into that encampmentwhich Gavin Witherspoon and I had looked upon, believing it could notbe taken by such a force as ours.
Out of all those scoundrels who had so lately held the place, believingthat those true to the Cause had been virtually crushed by the defeatof General Gates, only two men came forth to meet us, and those two, mybrother and Gavin Witherspoon.
Is there any need I should say how warm was the greeting between ustwo lads when I threw myself from the horse and clasped to my heart thedear boy whom I had thought never to see again in this life?
It needed no more than an hundred words for him to tell his story.
While he remained in the thicket guarding Sam Lee a body of men, whohad lately served under Major Gainey, came upon them by chance, and, asa matter of course, he was at once taken prisoner, Sam Lee immediatelytelling the story of his own capture.
My brother was conducted to Barfield's camp, and there kept under guardof Sam, who did all that lay in his power, save by way of personalviolence, to pay off old scores.
Gavin Witherspoon, wily as an Indian, had crept up to the very edgeof the encampment, and was lying there in the vain hope that someopportunity would come for the rescue, when our force, sent as a decoy,appeared.
An hundred or more men were left to guard the encampment, and Gavinhoped the moment had come when he might be of service to the lad.
Believing that the Tories would be victorious in the chase, because ofsuperior numbers, he ventured too near Percy, and was himself captured.
An hour later the first of the terrified fugitives burst into theencampment, riding straight through it in their wild terror, thuscausing a panic among the guard who might even then, because of theirintrenched position, have held us in check.
In a twinkling Percy and Gavin were free; but in imminent danger ofbeing ridden down by the panic-stricken.
Crouching behind trees, or at the stronger portions of theintrenchments, they awaited our coming, and when we rode into camp cameforth to greet us as I have said.
Our force remained in the captured quarters until next morning, andduring the evening Gavin Witherspoon, Percy and myself had much to talkabout.
My brother and I were come by this time to look upon the old man as acomrade, and well we might, after the friend he had proven himself tobe.
While we talked only concerning ourselves, and looked after our ownwelfare, General Marion and the officers of the command spent the timediscussing how it might be possible for so small a force to uphold thecause in the Carolinas, for since the defeat of Gates ours was the onlybody of men in the colony to oppose the foe.
It was as if the king's troops had indeed crushed what they werepleased to term "rebellion," and more than one man in the brigade whosefidelity to the Cause could not be questioned, asked his comrade if itwere wise to longer remain in arms when we were virtually whipped.
The outlook was gloomy indeed for those who had hoped to be freed fromthe burdens the king had put upon them; but, fortunately for the Cause,General Marion and Major James were not the men to give in beaten solong as life remained.
Even while some among us were making ready to say openly that the timehad come when we must submit, those two gallant gentlemen were planningfor the future--planning as to how four hundred or less might bestoppose ten times their number of trained soldiers.
Gavin Witherspoon, Percy and myself, while listening to thefaint-hearted ones or discussing the situation between ourselves, hopedthat the general would call upon us for some especial mission, even ashe had when we were sent to spy out Barfield's camp; but the time wasnot come when we were needed for a venture of any moment, as we learnedan hour before daybreak next morning.
Then the men were aroused with orders to breakfast from the Tories'provisions as hurriedly as might be, and make ready for the forcedmarch.
Among those with whom I talked, when in the gray light we made ourpreparations for the march, not a man believed there was the slightestquestion we should continue upon the offensive.
All understood that we could not in safety remain much longer in theTory camp, for unless those whom we had routed were greater cowardsthan was generally believed, they would soon recover from the panicinto which we had driven them, and return to make an attack.
Therefore it was that we set out believing the move was made simply forthe purpose of changing quarters, and when orders were given that eachman take from the Tory stores so much of provisions for himself, orprovender for his horse as could be carried conveniently behind him, wefancied it was the general's purpose to so outfit the brigade that itmight lay in hiding two or three days without being forced to ventureforth in search of food.
Before noon came, however, all understood that some maneuver was inprogress.
Instead of riding rapidly, as would have been the case had we countedon simply exchanging one encampment for another, we went forward at aleisurely pace, making no halt until the sun was high in the heavens,when we were come to the ford on Black River, half a dozen miles ormore south of Kingstree.
Then the men and horses were allowed a rest of an hour, after which webore nearly due west until we struck the road leading from Georgetownto Nelson's Ferry, and the word was whispered from man to man that thecommander had it in mind to strike yet another blow at the red-coatedenemy before we laid down our arms.
It is well known, as a matter of course, that the "war-path" fromCharleston to Camden crosses Santee River at Nelson's Ferry, and here,above all other places, would one who was eager for fighting be likelyto get his fill.
More than once during the day had we learned from planters, who weretrue to the Cause, additional particulars concerning the blunder ofGeneral Gates, and before nightfall we understood beyond a peradventurethat the story told by Sam Lee was only untrue in so far as it did notcontain all the disasters which had befallen the American arms.
Now we knew how many prisoners had been taken, and, what was more tothe purpose, learned that our unfortunate countrymen were being sentas rapidly as possible from the scene of the one-sided conflict toCharleston.
It was an hour before sunset, and we were holding the same pace atwhich we started, with no evidence of going into camp, when GavinWitherspoon said bitterly, as if the thought had just seized him:
"Lads, if it so be you have any curiosity concerning this long marchof ours, during which we have traversed the Williamsburg districtapparently for no other purpose than to come upon an enemy who maycrush us with but little trouble, I can satisfy you."
"Have you been getting some special information?" Percy asked with alaugh.
"Aye, lad, that I have, and you may count upon its being true, althoughI got it only from my own head."
"Then you are guessing as to where we are going?" I said with no greatshow of enthusiasm, for I was weary to the verge of exhaustion withlong remaining in the saddle.
"It is more than guessing, lad. It is what has been learned fromobservation, and that is the most reliable information a man canobtain. We are heading for Nelson's Ferry."
"If that is all your observation has taught you, it would seem as ifmuch time had been wasted," Percy replied laughingly. "Every man in thebrigade has known as much since noon."
"True, lad, but that is not the sum of the information I am willingto give. It has been told us that the American prisoners which LordCornwallis took are being sent to Charleston as rapidly as possible,and you will admit with me that all must pass through this same placetoward which we are bound. It is General Marion's purpose to strikeanother blow, if no more, at the enemy, and in so doing set free someof those who were made prisoners through their general's stupidity."
There was much of sound common sense in Gavin Witherspoon's reasoning,and straightway the truth of it came into my mind, all sense of fatiguewas lost sight of in the relief which was mine at knowing we wouldnot yet submit to the Britishers, even though it seemed as if we werealready driven to the last extremity.
A moment before the old man gave words to his thoughts, I wouldhave said that both the animal I bestrode and myself were so nearto exhaustion that we could not hold the pace an hour longer; butnow it was as if I had enjoyed a long time of repose, and action wasabsolutely necessary, lest I grow rusty with much idleness.
We three discussed the possibility of the future as if all GavinWitherspoon had suggested was known to be true, until one of thegeneral's aides came riding down the line, drawing rein in front of us,as he said curtly:
"The general would speak with you."
"We have not been forgotten," Percy cried gleefully, "and now has comeour time to render some immediate service."
"Or fall into the hands of the enemy," Gavin Witherspoon added witha smile. "These special missions are not the safest, and sometimes hewho sets out on them
"As I did yesterday," Percy replied, still laughing. "When I haveas comrades you and Bob, it matters little how much of unpleasantadventure I see, save for the discomfort of the moment."
Then the dear lad spurred his horse onward, and we two followed,Gavin Witherspoon wearing a serious countenance, while I was inmuch perplexity as to whether two lads like Percy and myself shouldbe trusted with work such as old soldiers oftentimes fail at doingsuccessfully.
Arriving at the head of the line we found the general and Major Jamesriding side by side.
Both returned our salute, but neither slackened speed, and we rodealongside of the general, Percy and I, while Gavin remained slightly inthe rear.
"We should be within twenty miles of Nelson's Ferry," the commandersaid, speaking as if we were eager for such information. "It is certainthat portions of Cornwallis's force guarding American prisoners willpass there from time to time within the next eight and forty hours. Itis my desire that we have early information of such coming and going,and to that end I have sent for you, lads."
He paused for an instant as if debating in his mind what to say next,and Gavin Witherspoon rode up that he might attract the general'sattention, when the latter said with a smile:
"I am speaking to you two lads and the old man who is so eager toparticipate in venturesome missions. Any force coming from Camden willhalt over night, at least, nearabout the Ferry. By riding up the riverten miles or more you should be able to give me timely information oftheir coming. Within an hour we shall halt, and then it is you who mustpush forward so far as the animals can go. Continue on until havingcome to a point ten or twelve miles above the Ferry. There remain,in whatsoever fashion may please you, until you hear of the enemy'sapproach. Then wait only so long as may be necessary to learn howstrong he is in numbers, after which you will ride without delay to TawCaw Creek, on the bank of which we shall be encamped."
Having said this he saluted, as did my uncle, and we three,understanding that this was the signal for dismissal, reined in oursteeds until we were fallen back to our proper place in the line.
The knowledge that we were to perform some especial work which bid fairto be of service to the Cause, heartened us wonderfully, and indeed wehad need of something to raise our courage, for much talking about thedisasters which had overtaken the American troops caused it to seem asif the so-called rebellion was well-nigh come to an end.
"It may be our last chance of striking a blow at those who representthe king, lads," Gavin Witherspoon said cheerily. "Mayhap we shallbe fortunate if a British bullet finds lodgment in our bodies withsufficient force to wipe us out of existence, for such a death as thatis preferable to hanging, and that is what awaits us of Williamsburgwho defy his majesty, after my Lord Clinton's second proclamation."
"It is a doleful way you have of preparing one for venturesome work,"Percy said, with a laugh which told that he claimed little share inthese forebodings. "If to be shot is good fortune, then we may rejoice,for I doubt not but that there are hundreds of the king's servants whowill readily grant such a favor."
"I am not minded to dishearten you," Gavin said in a kindly tone; "butthe straits into which the Cause has fallen are so sore and desperatenow, that to an old man like me who has ventured all, it would seem asif a soldier's death, coming before the last blow to the colonies hadbeen struck, was a kindly thing. However, we are like to go ten milesabove Nelson's Ferry and back, without falling into more harm than wasbrought about by the capture of Sam Lee, and I venture to say we shallreport in proper form and due time such information as the generaldesires."
Then we fell silent, each intent on his own thoughts, and at thatmoment I was thinking far more of my mother than of the Cause, forGavin Witherspoon's words had depressed me until it began to appear asif I might never see her dear face again.
From this pleasant but yet painful reverie I was roused by the haltingof the command, and Percy said, seizing me by the arm as if believingI had fallen asleep:
"The time has come for us to push forward alone, Bob, and we must makeas many miles 'twixt now and dark as can be forced out of these jadedsteeds."