CHAPTER VI.
It was still early in the evening when the _Dolphin_ reached her wharfat Philadelphia, where her passengers found friends and relativeswaiting to give them a joyful reception.
A few days passed very pleasantly in visiting these friends and placesof interest in the city, particularly such as were in one way or anotherconnected with the events of revolutionary times. Then they went up theDelaware in their yacht.
Their first halting-place would be at Trenton, and naturally the talk,as they went up the river, was largely of the revolutionary events whichhad taken place there and at other not far distant points. Grandma Elsiewas again the narrator.
"In November of 1776," she began, "our country's prospects looked verydark. On the 16th, Fort Washington, on the east bank of the Hudson, andnear New York City, fell into the hands of the enemy and its garrison ofnearly three thousand men were made prisoners of war.
"On the 20th Cornwallis crossed the Hudson at Dobbs Ferry and with hissix thousand men attacked Fort Lee. The garrison hastily retreated,leaving all their baggage and military stores, and joined the main armyat Hackensack, five miles away.
"Then Washington, who had with him scarcely three thousand men, began aretreat toward the Delaware, hoping to obtain reinforcements in NewJersey and Pennsylvania which would enable him to make a stand againstthe invaders and give them battle.
"But his troops had become much dispirited by the many recent disastersto our arms, delayed payment of arrears by Congress, causing them greatinconvenience and suffering, and lack of proper food and clothing, andthe presence of the enemy, who now had possession of New Jersey andseemed likely soon to take Philadelphia.
"Just at that time, as I have said, there seemed little hope for ourcountry. Washington's army was dwindling very rapidly, men whose termsof enlistment had expired refusing to serve any longer, so that he hadbut twenty-two hundred under his command when he crossed the Delaware,and two days later not more than seventeen hundred; indeed, scarcelymore than a thousand on whom he could rely.
"He wrote to General Lee, who had been left at White Plains with nearlythree thousand men, asking him to lead his division into New Jersey, toreinforce his rapidly melting army. Lee paid no attention to therequest and Washington sent him a positive command to do what he hadbefore requested.
"Lee obeyed very slowly, and while on his way was taken prisoner by theenemy."
"Served him right for disobeying Washington!" growled Walter.
"There could be no excuse for such disobedience," continued GrandmaElsie; "and one feels no sympathy for Lee in reading of his suddenseizure by the British, who carried him off in such haste that he had notime to dress but was taken bareheaded and in blanket coat andslippers."
"I doubt if his capture was a loss to the American cause," remarkedRosie.
"No," said her mother; "though much deplored at the time, I have nodoubt it was really for the good of the cause. General Sullivansucceeded Lee in command and presently joined Washington with hisforces."
"I don't see how Washington could have patience with so manydisappointments and delays," said Lulu. "Didn't he ever give way todespair, even for a little while, Grandma Elsie?"
"I have never seen the least intimation of it," replied Mrs. Travilla."He is said to have been at this time firm, calm, undaunted, holdingfast to his faith in the final triumph of the good cause for which hewas toiling and striving.
"There seemed to be nothing but the Delaware between the enemy and hisconquest of Philadelphia; the freezing of the river so that the Britishcould pass over it on the ice might occur at any time. Some one askedWashington what he would do were Philadelphia to be taken. He answered,'We will retreat beyond the Susquehanna River, and thence, if necessary,to the Alleghany Mountains.' Doubtless he was even then planning themasterly movements of his forces that presently drove the enemy fromTrenton and Princeton."
"Didn't the people of Philadelphia try to be ready to defend themselvesand their city, mamma?" asked Walter.
"Yes," she replied; "Congress gave the command there, with almostunlimited power, to General Putnam; then appointing a committee of threeto act for them, they adjourned to reassemble at Baltimore.
"In the meantime Washington was getting ready for the striking of hisintended blows in New Jersey.
"It would seem that General Howe, the commander-in-chief of the Britishforces, had planned to despatch Cornwallis up the Hudson to theassistance of Burgoyne, who was about to invade our country from Canada.But Cornwallis had a strong desire to capture Philadelphia, andprobably no doubt that he could do so if allowed to carry out his plans,and to that Howe consented.
"Cornwallis showed but little skill in the arrangement of his forces,scattering them here and there in detachments from New Brunswick to theDelaware and down that stream to a point below Burlington. His militarystores, and his strongest detachment, were at New Brunswick. The lastconsisting of a troop of light horse with about fifteen hundredHessians.
"Washington decided to surprise those troops while at the same timeGenerals Ewing and Cadwalader, with the Pennsylvania militia, weredirected to attack the posts at Bordentown, Black Horse, Burlington, andMount Holly. Cadwalader was to cross near Bristol, Ewing below Trentonfalls, while Washington, with Generals Greene and Sullivan, and ColonelKnox of the artillery, was to lead the main body of Continental troopsand cross the Delaware at M'Conkey's Ferry.
"Washington was very anxious to save Philadelphia, which Cornwallis wasaiming to capture, and felt sure of taking without any great difficulty,after crossing the Delaware, since he had heard that the people therewere for the king almost to a man. So sure was he indeed that thevictory would be an easy one that he had gone back to his headquartersin New York and prepared to return to England.
"Putnam, in Philadelphia, had heard of Washington's intended attack uponthe British at Trenton, and to assist him sent Colonel Griffin, at thehead of four hundred and fifty militia, across from Philadelphia to NewJersey with directions to make a diversion in favor of the Americans bymarching to Mount Holly as if intending an attack upon the Britishtroops under the command of Colonel Donop at Bordentown.
"Donop fell into the trap, moved against Griffin with his whole force oftwo thousand men, and, as Griffin retreated before him, followed; then,secure like Cornwallis and other of the English officers in the beliefthat the Americans were well nigh subdued already, and that when oncePhiladelphia should fall, resistance would be about at an end, moved histroops in so dilatory a manner that he was two days in returning to hispost."
"Humph! they were mightily mistaken in their estimate of our people,weren't they, mamma?" exclaimed Walter.
"I think they were themselves soon convinced of that," she answered witha smile; then continued her story.
"Washington selected Christmas night as the time for his contemplatedattack upon the British at Trenton. It was, as he well knew, the habitof the Germans to celebrate that day with feasting and drinking, andsuch being the case, he felt that he might reasonably expect to findthem under the influence of intoxicating drinks, therefore unfit for asuccessful resistance.
"The river had been free from ice, but in the last twenty-four hoursbefore the time appointed for the expedition the weather changed,growing very much colder, so that the water was filled with floatingice, greatly increasing the difficulty and danger of crossing; a stormof sleet and snow set in too, and the night was dark and gloomy.
"Still the little army was undaunted; they paraded at M'Conkey's Ferryat dusk, expecting to reach Trenton by midnight; but so slow andperilous was the crossing that it was nearly four o'clock when at lastthey mustered on the Jersey shore.
"It was now too late to attack under cover of the darkness, as had beenWashington's plan."
"Excuse me, mamma, but surely it would be still dark at four o'clock inthe morning?" Walter said half inquiringly.
"Yes, my son, but you must remember they had crossed at M'Conkey'sFerry, which is eight miles higher up the river
than is Trenton, so thatthey had that distance to march before they could make their attack.
"Washington divided his forces, leading one portion himself by the upperroad,--Generals Greene, Mercer, and Lord Sterling accompanying him,--andgiving Sullivan command of the other, which was to approach the town byanother road leading along the river.
"The two arrived at Trenton about the same time, having marched sosilently that the enemy was unaware of their approach till they were buta short distance from the picket guards on the outskirts of the town.
"There was a brisk skirmish then, the Hessians retreating toward theirmain body, firing as they went from behind the houses, while theAmericans pursued them closely."
"Then the Hessians weren't drunk as Washington expected, were they,Grandma Elsie?" asked Grace.
"Well-authenticated tradition says they were," replied Mrs. Travilla;"that they had been carousing through the night, Rall himself feasting,drinking, and playing cards at the house of Abraham Hunt, who hadinvited him and other officers to a Christmas supper. They had beenplaying all night and regaling themselves with wine.
"A Tory on the Pennington road saw, about dawn, the approach of theAmericans under Washington and sent a messenger with a note to warnRall. But a negro servant who had been stationed as warden at the doorrefused to allow the messenger to pass in, saying, 'The gemman can't bedisturbed.'
"It seems that the messenger was aware of the contents of the note, orat least that it was a warning of the approach of the Americans, so,being foiled in his purpose of seeing Rall himself, he handed the noteto the negro with an order to carry it at once to Colonel Rall.
"The negro obeyed, but Rall, excited with wine and interested in hisgame, merely thrust the note into his pocket and went on with his deal.
"But presently the roll of the American drums, the rattle of musketry,the tramp of horses, and the rumble of heavy gun-carriages fell upon hisdrowsy ear, and in a moment he was wide awake, the cards were dropped,he sprang to his feet, then rushed away to his quarters and mounted hishorse with all speed; but at that time his soldiers were being driven bythe Americans as chaff before the wind.
"The Hessians' drums were beating to arms, and a company rushed out ofthe barracks to protect the patrol. Washington's troops had begun thefight with an attack upon the outermost picket on the Pennington road,and Stark, with the van of Sullivan's party, gave three cheers andrushed upon the enemy's pickets near the river with their bayonets, andthey, astonished at the suddenness and fury of the charge, were seizedwith a panic and fled in confusion across the Assanpink.
"Both divisions--the one commanded by Washington, the other underSullivan--now pressed forward so rapidly, and with such zeal anddetermination, that the Hessians were not allowed to form. Nor couldthey get possession of the two cannon in front of Rall's quarters.
"The Americans themselves were forming in line of battle when Rall madehis appearance, reeling in his saddle as if drunk,--as I presume hewas,--received a report, then rode up in front of his regiment andcalled out, 'Forward, march; advance, advance!'
"But before his order could be obeyed a party of Americans hurriedforward and dismounted his two cannon, accomplishing the feat withoutinjury to themselves except that Captains William Washington and JamesMonroe were slightly wounded."
"And where was General Washington just then, mamma?" asked Walter.
"He was there in the midst of the fighting, and exposed to the samedangers as his troops. It was under his personal direction that abattery of six guns was opened upon two regiments of Hessians less thanthree hundred yards distant. Washington was then near the front, alittle to the right, where he could be easily seen by the enemy, andmade a target for their balls. But though his horse was wounded, heremained unhurt."
"Oh," cried Evelyn with enthusiasm, "surely God protected him and turnedaside the balls, that America might not lose the one on whom so muchdepended! the father of his country, the ardent patriot, the best of menand greatest of generals, as I do certainly believe he was."
"I am proud that Washington was a countryman of mine," exclaimed Rosie,her eyes sparkling.
"Yes, we are all proud of our Washington," said Lulu. "But what more canyou tell us about the battle of Trenton, Grandma Elsie?"
"Rall drew back his two regiments as if intending to reach the road toPrinceton by turning Washington's left," continued Mrs. Travilla inreply. "To prevent that, an American regiment was thrown in front ofhim. It seemed likely that he might have forced a passage through it,but his troops, having collected much plunder in Trenton and wishing tohold on to it, persuaded him to try to recover the town.
"He made the attempt, but was charged impetuously by the Americans anddriven back further than before; and in that movement he himself wasmortally wounded by a musket ball. His men were thrown into confusion,and presently surrendered.
"Then Baylor rode up to Washington and announced, 'Sir, the Hessianshave surrendered.'"
"Baylor?" repeated Walter. "Who was he, mamma?"
"One of Washington's aids," she replied. "In the first year of the warhe was made an aid-de-camp to General Washington and in that capacitywas with him in this battle."
"How I envy him!" exclaimed Lulu.
"I do think that if I'd been a man living in those days," said Walter,"I'd have cared for no greater honor than being aid to our Washington."
His mother's only reply was a proudly affectionate look and smile as shewent on with her story.
"There was another regiment, under Knyphausen, which had been ordered tocover the flank. These tried to reach the Assanpink bridge, but losttime in an effort to get two cannon out of the morass, and when theyreached the bridge the Americans were guarding it on both sides. Theytried to ford the river, but without success, and presently surrenderedto Lord Stirling, with the privilege of keeping their swords and theirprivate baggage. That ended the battle, leaving the Americans withnearly a thousand prisoners in their hands.
"Over two hundred of the Hessians had escaped--some to Princeton,others to Bordentown. There were a hundred and thirty absent, havingbeen sent out on some expedition, and seventeen were killed. The battlehad lasted thirty-five minutes, and the Americans had not lost a man."
"It was wonderful, I think!" said Evelyn, in her earnest way; "certainlyGod helped our patriotic forefathers or they never could have succeededin their conflict with so powerful a foe as Great Britain was eventhen."
"It was all of God's great goodness to this land and people," saidGrandma Elsie. "Had there been in that action defeat to our arms insteadof victory, we would not--so soon at least--have become the free andpowerful nation we are to-day. Congress lavished praise upon GeneralWashington, but he replied, 'You pay me compliments as if the merit ofthe affair was due solely to me; but I assure you the other generalofficers who assisted me in the plan and execution have full as good aright to the encomiums as myself.'"
"Possibly that was only just," remarked Rosie, "but it strikes me asvery generous."
"It was just like Washington," said Walter; "our Washington! I'm ever soproud of him!"
"As we all are," said his mother; "but we must not forget to give theglory of that victory, and all others, and also of our final success,to him who is the God of battles, and by whose strength and help ourfreedom was won. As Bancroft says, 'Until that hour the life of theUnited States flickered like a dying flame,' but God had appeared fortheir deliverance and from that time the hopes of the almost despairingpeople revived, while the confident expectations of their enemies weredashed to the ground. Lord George Germain exclaimed after he heard thenews, 'All our hopes were blasted by the unhappy affair at Trenton.'"
"Unhappy affair indeed!" exclaimed Walter. "What a heartless wretch hemust have been, mamma!"
"And how our poor soldiers did suffer!" sighed Lulu; "it makes my heartache just to think of it!"
"And mine," said Grandma Elsie. "It is wonderful how much the poorfellows were willing to endure in the hope of attaining freedom forthem
selves and their country.
"Thomas Rodney tells us that on the night of the attack upon Trenton ofwhich we have been talking, while Rall caroused and played cards besidehis warm fire, our poor soldiers were toiling and suffering with coldand nakedness, facing wind and sleet in the defence of their country.
"The night," he says, "was as severe a night as ever I saw; the frostwas sharp, the current difficult to stem, the ice increasing, the windhigh, and at eleven it began to snow. It was three in the morning of the26th before the troops and cannon were all over, and another hour passedbefore they could be formed on the Jersey side. A violent northeaststorm of wind, sleet, and hail set in as they began their nine miles'march to Trenton, against an enemy in the best condition to fight. Theweather was terrible for men clad as they were, and the ground slippedunder their feet. For a mile and a half they had to climb a steep hill,from which they descended to the road that ran for about three milesbetween hills and forests of hickory, ash, and black oak."
"Oh, how brave and patriotic they were!" exclaimed Rosie. "I rememberreading that their route might be easily traced by the blood on the snowfrom the feet of the poor fellows, who had broken shoes or none. Oh,what a shame it was that Congress and the people let them--the men whowere enduring so much and fighting so bravely for the liberty ofboth--bear such hardships!"
"It was, indeed," sighed Grandma Elsie; "it always gives me a heartacheto think of those poor fellows marching through the darkness and thatdreadful storm of snow, sleet, and bitter wind and only half clothed.Just think of it! a continuous march of fifteen miles through darkness,over such a road, the storm directly in their faces. They reached theirdestination stiff with cold, yet rushed at once upon the foe, fightingbravely for freedom for themselves and their children. 'Victory ordeath,' was the watchword Washington had given them."
"Were they from all the States, mamma?" asked Walter.
"They were principally Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New England troops,"she answered. "Grant, the British commander in New Jersey, knew of thedestitution of our troops but felt no fear that they would reallyventure to attack him; persuading himself that they would not cross theriver because the floating ice would make it a difficult, if notimpossible, thing for them to return.
"'Besides,' he wrote on the 21st, 'Washington's men have neither shoesnor stockings nor blankets, are almost naked, and dying of cold and wantof food.'"
"And didn't Rall say the Americans wouldn't dare to come against him?"asked Walter.
"Yes; his reply to a warning of danger of being attacked was, 'Let themcome; what need of intrenchments! We will at them with the bayonet!'"
"And when they did come he was killed?"
"Yes, mortally wounded; taken by his aids and servant to his quartersat the house of a Quaker named Stacey Potts; and there Washington andGreene visited him just before leaving Trenton."
"They knew he was dying, mamma?"
"Yes, and, as Lossing tells us, Washington offered such consolation as asoldier and Christian can bestow."
"It was very kind, and I hope Rall appreciated it."
"It would seem that he did, as the historian tells us it soothed theagonies of the expiring hero."