Joseph A. Altsheler

“ The sharpshooters never slept, and the dark seemed to profit them as much as the day. They enveloped the British camp like a swarm of unseen bees, all the more deadly because no man knew where they hovered nor whence nor when the sting would come. Men brave in the day are less brave at night, and every British officer I saw looked worn, and fearful of the future. ”

“ Acting from impulse rather than thought, I lifted the officer by the shoulders and began to drag him back into the camp. Whether or not my uniform protected me I can not say, but I was hit by no bullet, though the skirmishing became so sharp and so hot that it rose almost to the dignity of a battle. The officer’s body was withdrawn beyond the range of the sharpshooting and placed in a tent. Though he had sought to entrap me he had made handsome apology therefor, and I mourned him as I would a friend. Why should men filled with mutual respect be compelled to shoot each other? ”

“ Old Ty’s big black muzzle grinned threateningly across at his antagonist, as if he longed to show his teeth, but waited the word and hand of his comrade.
“There goes the bark of the other!” cried Whitestone.
The bright blaze sprang up, the British cannon roared, and hurled his shot. The mass of iron swept over Old Ty and buried itself in the hillside.
“Much bark, but no bite,” said Whitestone.
Old Ty, black and defiant, was yet silent. [Pg 254] Goss was not a man who hurried himself or his comrade. We waited, breathless. Suddenly Goss leaned over and touched the match. ”

“ I wanted to chirk Belt up a bit, and I thought I could do it by ridiculing such a fever dream. But I could not shake the conviction in him. Instead, his temper took heat at my lack of faith. Then I affected to believe, which soothed him, and exhaustion falling upon him I saw that either he would slumber again or weakness would steal his senses. I thought to ease his mind, and told him everything outside was going well; that Whitestone was the best sentinel in the world, and not even a lizard could creep past him though the night might be black as coal. ”

“ I hold that I am not a sentimental fellow, but in the ride to Albany I often saw the face of Kate Van Auken—Mrs. Captain Chudleigh that was to be—a girl who was nothing to me, of course. Yet I was glad that she was not a Tory and traitor, and I hoped Chudleigh would prove to be the right sort of man.
“I’ll be bound you’re thinking of some girl,” said Whitestone suddenly, as he took his pipe from his mouth and held the stem judicially between his thumb and forefinger.
“Why?” I asked.
“You look up at the sky, and not ahead of you; you sigh, and you’re young,” replied Whitestone. ”

“ The British fell back quickly and then broke into a discreet run into their own encampment.
“You will perceive,” said I to Captain Jervis, “that our people have not yet retired for the night.”
He laughed a little, though on the wrong side of his mouth. I could see that he felt chagrin, and so I said no more on that point.
As if by concert our sharpshooters also pushed up closer, and being so much better at that business drove in those of Burgoyne. The Germans, in particular, knowing but little of forests, fared badly. ”

“ We were among the paid Hessians, whom we ever hated more than the British for coming to fight us in a quarrel that was none of theirs.
The Hessians, even with their intrenchments and cannon, could not stand before us—nor do I think they are as good as we. Perhaps our hatred of these mercenaries swelled our zeal, but their intrenchments were no barrier to us. For a space we fought them hand to hand, knee to knee; then they gave way. I saw their slain commander fall. Some fled, some yielded; others fought on, retreating. ”

“ I have had my share, more or less humble, in various campaigns and combats, but I have not seen any other battle begun with so much deliberation as on that morning. In truth all whom I could see appeared to be calm. A man is sometimes very brave and sometimes much afraid—I do not know why—but that day the braver part of me was master.
We were ready and waiting to see what the British would do, when Burgoyne, with his picked veterans, came out of his intrenchments and challenged us to battle, much as the knights of the old time used to invite one another to combat. ”

“ For us the Englishmen had become a target, and nothing more.
Bucks was the most eager of us. He showed his teeth like a wolf.
The Englishman reached the water and stooped over to fill his pail. Bending, he forgot himself and thrust his head beyond the board. With a quickness that I have never seen surpassed, Bucks threw up his rifle and fired. The Englishman fell into the water as dead as a stone, and, his board and his pail falling too, floated off down the stream. ”

“ We walked on with diligence through a breakfastless country. Chudleigh, though suffering from hunger, was frequent in his expressions of sympathy for me. He said he had the utmost pity for any man who was compelled to sit up an entire night and watch prisoners; but I replied that I throve upon it, and then Chudleigh showed chagrin.
We had the good fortune, about two hours before noon, to find the house of a farmer, who sold us some food, and cared not whether we were American or British, Tory or nothing, so long as we were good pay. ”

“ We had a good position and could note the distressed look of the British camp. The baggage wagons were drawn up with small reference to convenience and more to defense. The house, the cellar of which I knew to be inhabited by women, children, and severely wounded men, was so torn by cannon balls that the wind had a fair sweep through it in many places. Some of the soldiers walking about seemed to us at the distance to be drooping and dejected. Yet they made resistance, and their skirmishers were replying to ours, though but feebly. ”

“ Bucks raised his rifle and began to take aim. I sprang up and dashed his rifle aside. I am afraid I swore at him too. I hope I did.
“What are you about, Bucks?” I cried. “Would you shoot a woman?”
“Mr. Shelby,” he replied very coolly, “we’re put here to keep the British from that water, man or woman. What’s a woman’s life to the fate of a whole army? You may outrank me, but you don’t command me in this case, and I’m going to shoot.”
I stooped down and with a sudden movement snatched the gun from his grasp.
“Don’t mind it, Bucks,” said the man in the tree; “I’ll shoot.” ”

“ Among our men was a slight bustle that told of preparation, a last look at the flints, a shoving forward for a better position. I looked at my own rifle, but I resolved that I would not allow zeal to overcome me again. I would remember Whitestone’s suggestion and fire into the air, leaving the real work to Bucks and the others, who would be glad enough to do it. I saw the flutter of a garment at the earthwork and some one came over. The man on the bough above me uttered a cry, to which I gave the echo. ”

“ I have seldom seen a finer morning. The fresh crispness of early October ran through the brilliant sunshine. The earth was bathed in light. It was such a sun as I have heard rose on the morning of the great battle of Austerlitz, fought but recently. A light wind blew from the west. The blood bubbled in my veins.
“It’s lucky that so many of us should have such a fine day for leaving the world,” said Whitestone.
The battle, the final struggle for which we [Pg 133] had been looking so long, was at hand. I had not mistaken the preparations in the British camp the night before. ”

“ Whitestone was at my shoulder, the same eagerness showing on his face. The man in the tree had squirmed [Pg 289] like a snake far out on the bough, and was seeking for a shot over the top of the board.
The Englishman trailed himself and his protecting board along, and was within a yard of the water. Over the earthwork at the edge of the British camp the men were watching him. His friends were as eager for his success as we were to slay him. It was a rivalry that incited in us a stronger desire to reach him with the lead. In such a competition a man’s life becomes a very small pawn. ”

“ I never saw a man turn redder, and he trembled all over. It was the scarlet of shame, too, and not of righteous anger.
“Dick,” he said, “I beg your pardon. I let my zeal for our cause go too far. I—I——”
I think he would have broken down, but just then the elderly officer interfered.
“Be silent, Lieutenant Van Auken,” he said. “It is not your fault, nor that of any other present except myself. You speak truth, Mr. Shelby, when you say it was unworthy of us. So it was. I am glad it failed, and I apologize for the effort to make it a success. Mr. Shelby, I am glad to know you.” ”

“ While we were gone, one man was slain and another wounded in the same way. In the darkness that British cannon had become a live thing and was stinging us. Some of our best sharpshooters were chosen to slay the cannoneers, but they could aim only by the flash of the gun, and the men loading it had the woods to protect them. The bullets were wasted, and the troublesome hornet stung again and again.
We were perplexed. Our pride as well as our safety was concerned. The idea came to me at last.
“To fight fire with fire is an old saying,” I remarked to Whitestone. ”

“ Whitestone was right. In a half hour a man appeared protecting his body with a heavy board as long as himself. He moved with slowness and awkwardness, but two or three bullets fired into the board seemed to make no impression.
“At any rate, if he reaches the river and gets back all right it’s too slow a way to slake the thirst of many,” said Whitestone in the tone of a philosopher.
Bucks’s face puffed out with anger.
“They mustn’t get a drop!” he said with the freedom of a backwoodsman. “We’re to keep ’em from it; that’s what we’re here for.” ”

“ As I stood in the dark and she was going toward the light, I could watch her figure. I saw her pass between the wagons again and knew that she was safe. Then I addressed myself to my own task.
I stood in a depression of the ground, and on the hills, some hundreds of yards before me, our camp-fires glimmered. The firing on this side was so infrequent that it was often several minutes between shots. All the bullets, whether British or American, passed high over my head, for which I was truly glad. ”

“ In a high state of excitement we whipped our horses forward, paying no further attention to the plowman, for whom in truth we had use no longer. Our horses seemed to share our zeal, and recalled their waning strength and spirits. Forward we went at a fine pace, all three of us straining our eyes to catch the first glimpse of the fugitive when we should turn the curve around the hill.
“Two to one I beat you, Whitestone!” I said.
“Then you’ll have to push your horse more,” said the sergeant, whose mount was neck and neck with mine. ”

“ I looked to Sergeant Whitestone for cheer.
“We are not the only men on watch to cut off their messengers,” he said. “We have our bit of ground here to guard, and others have theirs.”
[Pg 2]
Then he sat down on the turf and smoked his pipe with provoking calm, as if the troubles of other people were sufficient to take our own away. I decided to stop thinking about failure and address myself to my task. Leaving the sergeant and the four men who constituted my small army, I took a look about me. The hollow was but a few hundred yards across, sparse-set with trees and bushes. ”

“ Either the British would come with a great army or not at all.
The approaching troops, two hundred at least, appeared down the valley. The dust encased them like armor, and one can not tell what a soldier is by the dirt on his uniform. Whitestone took one long and critical look and then unbuttoned his coat and drew out his pipe.
“What are they?” I asked.
“Virginians,” he replied. “I know their stride. I’ve served with ’em. Each step they take is exactly two inches longer than ours. They got it hunting ’possums at night.” ”

“ Which was about as solemn as Whitestone ever became.
Looking steadily at the British, I saw a man in their front rank fall. Almost at the same time I heard the report of a rifle just in front of us, and I knew that one of our sharpshooters had opened the battle.
This shot was like a signal. The sharp crackling sound ran along the grass like fire in a forest, and more men fell in the British lines. Their own skirmishers replied, and while the smoke was yet but half risen a heavy jerky motion seized our lines and we seemed to lift ourselves up. ”

“ I pulled up just enough to see that Adams was not hurt, and to shout to him:
“Follow us as best you can!”
Then on we went. Far ahead of us in the road we saw a black speck. Whether man, beast, or a stump, I could not say, but we hoped it was Chudleigh.
“See, it moves!” cried Whitestone.
Then it was not a stump, and the chance that it was Chudleigh increased. Soon it became apparent that the black object was not only moving, but moving almost as fast as we. By and by we could make out the figure of a man lashing a tired horse. That it was Chudleigh no longer admitted of doubt. ”

“ Those in the first rank were on one knee, and I remember thinking how sharp their bayonets looked. The thought was cut short by a volley and a blaze which seemed to envelop their whole line. A huge groan arose from our ranks. I missed the shoulder against my left shoulder—the man who had stood beside me was no longer there.
We paused only for a moment to fire in our turn, and our groan found an equal echo among the British. Then, officers shouting commands and men shouting curses, we rushed upon the bayonets. ”

“ Now I had every confidence in Kate Van Auken. I considered her as good a patriot as myself, though all her family were Tory. It did not seem to me to be at all likely that any spy or messenger of the British had reached the concealment of the house, but it was my duty to be sure.
“Perhaps you would not care to talk to my mother?” she asked.
“No!” I replied in such haste that she laughed.
I knew Madame Van Auken was one of the [Pg 5] most fanatic Tories in New York colony, and I had no mind to face her. It is curious how women are more hard-set than men in these matters. ”