CHAPTER XIX.
A FRIENDLY WARNING.
Arriving at headquarters, Enoch attracted but little attention.
The staff officers were discussing the information which had beenbrought in from different sources, and speculating upon the probableevents of the coming day; but no one gave any heed to the young aid.
Thus it was that the boy learned, without the necessity of askingquestions, the different opinions of the Continental officers regardingthe advisability of attacking General Clinton and his well-organized,well-disciplined, and thoroughly-seasoned troops.
Now and then Washington joined in the conversation; but as a rulehe remained apart from the others, as if in deep study, oftentimesneglecting to answer a question, and Enoch noticed that his apparentpreoccupation occurred more often when his opinion was asked concerningsome point upon which his officers were divided in opinion.
Twice during the evening the commander-in-chief dispatched an aid tosome division, but gave no heed whatever to Enoch, and the boy began tofancy that the general had forgotten the order relative to reporting atsunset.
It was nearly nine o'clock in the evening when the commander-in-chief,turning to the officer nearest him, said:
"Major, will you oblige me by riding to General Lee's quarters, andsaying to him it is my desire he shall have his troops ready to move ata moment's notice?"
The officer bowed and left the tent, and then it was as if thecommander but had just seen Enoch.
"You were ordered to report at sunset, my lad."
"So I did, sir, and have been here ever since."
"It may be necessary to keep you on duty all night. Roll yourself inone of those blankets, and lie down."
Enoch had no desire to sleep; but this was neither more nor less thana command, and he obeyed.
Lying on the ground at the edge of the tent, behind the camp-table, hewould easily escape observation. But the novelty of his surroundings,the fact that officers were entering and leaving the tent almostconstantly, and the belief that a battle was imminent--would, perhaps,be fought on the morrow--drove from his eyelids the desire for slumber,and he was an interested observer of all that occurred around him.
Couriers were coming in from the different divisions, bearing messageswhich required immediate answers, and Washington was sending out aidsin every direction to gather information concerning his own troops andthe movements of the enemy.
Not until nearly midnight was the tent free from visitors, and thenthe commander-in-chief began to write, using certain memoranda Enochhad observed him making during the day, in the preparation of what wereevidently official documents.
It was while General Washington was thus employed, apparently to theexclusion of everything else, and the silence which ensued was profoundas compared with the confusion of an hour previous, that sleep wasbeginning to weigh upon the young aid's eyelids, when he heard a gruff"Who goes there?" from the sentinel on duty, and then the reply:
"I am Dr. Griffith, chaplain and surgeon of the Virginia line, onbusiness highly important to the commander-in-chief."
There was a brief delay, after which Enoch heard a call for the officerof the guard.
When that soldier arrived the boy heard the visitor repeat his words,receiving as answer:
"It is impossible, sir, absolutely impossible. My orders are positive;the general cannot be seen on any account."
"Present, sir, my humble duty to his excellency, and tell him thatDr. Griffith waits on him with secret and important intelligence, andcraves an audience of only five minutes' duration."
This conversation could be plainly distinguished by those within thetent, but so engrossed was the commander with his writing that heapparently heard no word of it. He looked up in surprise, not unmingledwith disapprobation, when the officer of the guard entered.
The visitor's message was repeated, and the commander-in-chief saidalmost impatiently:
"Admit him, major; admit him."
Enoch believed that he ought not to remain if the business to betransacted was "secret;" but General Washington's orders had been forhim to lie in that place, and he did not dare suggest that he shouldretire.
The visitor entered hurriedly, and with no slight confusion.
He was dressed in civilian's garb, but gave a soldierly salute, andintroduced himself by repeating that which he had told the sentinel:
"I am, your excellency, Dr. Griffith, chaplain and surgeon ofthe Virginia line, and apologize for my intrusion, which would beunwarranted but for information which has come to me in strictestconfidence. My informants are men of the highest character as citizensand patriots, and they have stated positively that, of their ownknowledge, General Lee has made such arrangements with Clinton that hewill avoid any serious engagement to-morrow, if it be possible. I amconvinced of the correctness of this statement, your excellency, andbeg you will give it your closest attention."
Then saluting, and without waiting for a reply, Dr. Griffith left thetent.
General Washington remained motionless as if in deep thought, untilEnoch began to fancy he had fallen asleep, and was startled when thecommander said sharply:
"Are you awake, my boy?"
"I am, sir," and Enoch rose to his feet.
"You have shown yourself to be a lad of keen perception, quick tounderstand what others might fail to believe of importance. Thecommunication which you heard made was of a confidential nature. It isnever to be repeated!"
Enoch bowed; but did not reply.
"You are to ride at once to General Lee's quarters, and tell him thatit is my desire he shall have a small body of troops stationed verynear the British line to observe their movements, and give immediatenotice if there is any indication on their part of resuming the march.Should this last occur they are to skirmish with the enemy in orderthat our army may move into position, and General Lee will report tome instantly he learns of any movement. You will also tell him thatyou are directed by me to give the same order to Generals Maxwell andDickinson. Let me know if you thoroughly understand my meaning."
Enoch repeated almost verbatim the words of the commander.
"That is correct. Carry out the instructions with all possible haste,and report to me how the orders have been received. In other words, youwill observe carefully the apparent effect which the command has uponthe several gentlemen. Call the officer of the guard."
Enoch obeyed by going just outside the tent and speaking to thesentinel.
Then he returned, and a moment later the officer entered.
"Major," General Washington said, "this boy will be passed into my tentto-night at whatever hour he may appear."
The officer saluted and withdrew.
"Now go, my boy, and do not spare your horse."
In half an hour from the time he left headquarters, Enoch was halted bythe sentinel in front of General Lee's tent.
"A messenger from the commander-in-chief," he announced, "with ordersto speak with General Lee at once."
Five minutes later he was repeating General Washington's words to theofficer who was suspected by many of not only being lukewarm towardthe cause, but absolutely an enemy to it, and he fancied the command hebrought was received with anything rather than satisfaction.
Twice during that brief time did Lee interrupt him to inquire if he wasrepeating the commander-in-chief's exact words, and when he said thathis orders were to deliver the same message to Generals Maxwell andDickinson, the general asked sharply:
"Does his excellency think I have no aids in camp?"
"I don't know as to that, sir. I am only explaining to you my orders,as I was told to do."
"You may say to General Washington that his commands will be obeyedat once," Lee replied after a short pause, and intimated that theinterview was at an end by turning his back upon Enoch.
It was necessary the boy should linger in camp several moments inorder to learn the exact whereabouts of the other detachments; but oncethis had been done, he set off at full speed, and
twenty minutes laterreined in his horse as a familiar voice cried:
"Halt! Who goes there?"
"A messenger from the commander-in-chief to General Dickinson. Why, isthat you, Seth?"
"I ought to be pretty certain of the fact after tramping up and downhere for the last two hours," Master Graydon replied grimly as Enochleaped from his horse. "I shall be off duty in ten minutes, though,which is more than you can say, I reckon, even if you _are_ an aid tothe commander-in-chief."
"Now, Seth, don't keep ringing the changes on that. You know I wantto be with you and Jacob; but there doesn't seem much chance ofaccomplishing my purpose before the battle."
"Then you believe we are really to have one?"
"I think it is bound to come to-morrow."
"But to-morrow is Sunday," Seth exclaimed, as if doubting whetherarmies would meet in conflict on the Sabbath.
"I don't believe they keep run of the days of the week in a time ofwar. Where are General Maxwell's quarters?"
"He hasn't had any to speak of for quite a spell. If you want to seehim, though, he was lying under the same tree with General Dickinsonwhen I saw him last."
"Will you call the officer of the guard?"
"What for?"
"I want to speak with the generals."
"Well, why don't you go ahead and do it? I know you are on GeneralWashington's staff, and so it will be all right."
"It might for me, but not for you, Seth. I don't think a privatesoldier is allowed to decide even in such a case as this. To saveyourself trouble you had better call the officer of the guard."
Master Graydon thought this a needless formality; but he followed hisfriend's advice, and during the short time which elapsed before thatofficial made his appearance, Enoch asked:
"Where can I see you and Seth a few minutes before I leave?"
"Are you going right away again?"
"Just as soon as I deliver my message, and that may take ten or fifteenminutes."
"If I am relieved before then, Jacob and I will find you. Say, do youknow General Dickinson sent a squad down to the house where we weremade prisoners, and I reckon they didn't use the Tory very softly. He'shere in camp under guard, and I heard he was likely to get it prettyrough after what he did to us."
"Then the blow from the pistol didn't do him any serious damage?"
"I reckon he knew he got it, for his head is tied up, and he tried tomake the soldiers think he was so near dead he couldn't be moved."
The arrival of the officer of the guard put an end to the conversation,and after stating the purpose of his visit, Enoch was escorted to wherethe two generals lay on the ground as Seth had described.
By them his message was received far differently than it had been byLee.
"You may assure his excellency that we will be on the alert," Maxwellreplied promptly, and Dickinson said, in a tone of approbation:
"This begins to look like business. We can now have some idea ofGeneral Washington's intentions."
Then both arose to their feet to carry out the order given, and Enochwas left to his own devices.
Not only Jacob and Seth, but Greene the spy, met the young aid just ashe had mounted his horse preparatory to returning, and Enoch was pliedwith questions as to the whereabouts and disposition of the main army.
General Dickinson, who was standing near by, gave orders for a certainnumber of men to move nearer the British lines, and Greene said in amatter-of-fact tone as he heard it:
"I reckon that's owing to the word you brought, lad. It means business,and no mistake. Lee will have to show his cloven foot if he succeeds inpreventing an engagement during the next twenty-four hours."
"It doesn't seem possible he could, or would dare to try anything ofthe kind," Enoch replied in a whisper.
"He will dare, I have no question; but whether he can or not, whileevery officer and man in the army is eager to try conclusions withthe Britishers, is another matter. I allow we shall have hot workto-morrow, boys, and if it so be, Enoch, that you pass anywhere nearus, pull up to give the latest news, for you are likely to see a goodbit of the engagement. Now, move on, my boy, for you have no right toloiter here when your orders were to return at once."
Seth and Jacob reached up to clasp their comrade's hands, for all knewthey might never meet again in this world, but Greene cried sharply:
"None of that, lads; no bidding good-by to each other because we're onthe eve of a battle. Say 'Godspeed,' and let Enoch go."
Thus was avoided that which might have unnerved all three for the timebeing, and Master Ball rode away through the darkness, feeling that hewas of service to the cause even though he might not stand before theenemy with a musket in his hand.
It was nearly three o'clock when Enoch again entered the headquarterstent, and found General Washington still busily engaged with hiswriting.
Without waiting for questions he reported how, to the best ofhis observation, the order was received by the generals, but thecommander-in-chief made no comment.
"Lie down again, boy, and sleep if you can. Wait! Has your horse beencared for?"
"No, sir, I left him just outside the tent."
"Then see that he is fed. You may not have another opportunity for somehours."
Enoch spent no little time in grooming the animal that had carriedhim so swiftly and steadily, and was still engaged in the work when asoldier came up hurriedly:
"The general wants to see you at once."
Hastening back to headquarters Enoch found the tent filled withofficers, and from their conversation understood that General Dickinsonhad sent a courier to report to the commander-in-chief that the enemyhad commenced their march.
The boy waited several moments before Washington ceased giving commandsto those around him, and then turning to Enoch he said abruptly:
"Ride with all speed to General Lee, and order him to move forward andattack the enemy unless powerful reasons should prevail. Tell him theentire army have thrown their packs aside, and are advancing to hissupport. Ride, lad, ride hard, and return to me when your work has beenaccomplished."
Enoch obeyed, and once more was dashing across the country, thistime in such excitement as to be hardly aware of what he did, for heunderstood that the battle was about to begin.
He found General Lee asleep, and the officer of the guard at firstrefused to awaken him; but Enoch understood how important it wasthe order should be delivered without loss of time, and insisted asperemptorily as an experienced soldier might have done, upon beingallowed to repeat his message at once.
The order was received quietly--Enoch fancied with disapprobation--andthe only reply given was:
"Say to the commander-in-chief that his instructions shall be followedto the letter."
Then without delay the boy rode back at full speed, passing on hisway several brigades which were being hurried forward, and findingGeneral Washington where he had left him, still in consultation withhis officers.
During several hours was the young aid forced to remain inactive,and regarding this time, and the movements which were being made, thedetails can best be described by quoting from an article in _Harper'sMagazine_, 1878:
"June 28th was the Sabbath.... The day was the hottest of the year.At dawn General Knyphausen began to march with the first division ofthe British army, which included the German troops, the 'Hessians,'and the Pennsylvania and Maryland Loyalists. Clinton with the otherdivision--the flower of the army--did not move until eight o'clock, forGeneral Lee was so tardy in obeying the order of Washington that theenemy had ample time to prepare for battle.
"When Dickinson gave notice of Knyphausen's movement the main body ofthe Americans began to move immediately. Colonel Grayson, with hisown regiment leading the brigades of Scott and Varnum, had passedthe Freehold meeting-house, nearly three miles from Monmouth CourtHouse, before he received orders from Lee to push forward and attackthe enemy. The aid who brought the order advised Grayson to halt, forhe had heard on the way that the main body of t
he British army weremoving to attack the Americans. General Dickinson had received thesame information, which he communicated to Lee, when the latter pushedforward with his staff across a narrow causeway near the parsonage, andjoined Dickinson upon the height close by. While he was endeavoring tounravel the conflicting intelligence, Lafayette arrived at the head ofthe advanced troops.
"Lee's whole command, exclusive of Morgan's sharpshooters and theNew Jersey militia, now numbered about four thousand men. The brokencountry was heavily wooded up to the elevated plain of Monmouth. Lee,satisfied that no important force of the enemy was on either flank,pressed forward under cover of the forest, and formed a portion of hisline for action near some open fields. Then, with Wayne and others, hereconnoitered the enemy. They saw what they supposed to be a coveringparty of the British about two thousand strong. Wayne was detached withseven hundred men and two field-pieces to attack their rear. MeanwhileLee, with a stronger force, endeavored, by a short road leading tothe left, to gain the front of the party, while small detachments,concealed in the woods, annoyed their flanks.
"It was now nine o'clock in the morning. Just as Wayne was preparing tomake the attack, a party of American light-horsemen, advancing, weredirected to make a feigned assault upon some British dragoons seenupon an eminence, and, by retreating, draw them into a position to bereceived by Wayne. The maneuver was partially successful. The dragoonsfollowed until fired upon by a party under Colonel Butler, ambushed onthe edge of a wood, when they wheeled and fled toward the main army.Wayne ordered Colonel Oswald, who was in command of his field-pieces,to cross a morass, plant them on an eminence, and open fire on theretreating dragoons, while he should press forward and attack themwith the bayonet. Wayne was prosecuting the maneuver with vigor at apoint about three-fourths of a mile eastward of the courthouse, with aprospect of full success, when he received an order from Lee to makeonly a feigned attack, and not to press on too precipitately, as itmight frustrate his plan for cutting off the covering party. Wayne wasexasperated; but he obeyed, only to be disappointed, for Lee really didnothing.
"At that moment Clinton was informed that the Americans were marchingon both his flanks to capture his baggage-train. To avert the dangerhe changed the front of his army, and prepared to attack Wayne with somuch vigor that the armies on the British flanks would be compelledto fly to the succor of that officer. A large body of royal troopsapproached Lee's right, when Lafayette, perceiving that a goodopportunity was offered to gain the rear of the enemy, rode quickly upto Lee, and asked his permission to attempt the maneuver. Lee replied:
"'Sir, you do not know British soldiers; we cannot stand against them.We shall certainly be driven back at first, and we must be cautious.'
"The marquis replied:
"'That may be, general; but British soldiers have been beaten, and theymay be beaten again; I am disposed to make the trial.'
"Lee so far yielded as to order Lafayette to wheel his columnand attack the enemy's left. At the same time he weakened Wayne'sdetachment on the left by ordering the regiments of Wesson, Stewart,and Livingston to support the right. Then he rode to Oswald's batteryto reconnoiter, when he saw a large portion of the British armymarching back on the Middletown road toward the courthouse. Apparentlydisconcerted, he ordered his right to fall back. The brigades of Scottand Maxwell on the left were already moving forward toward the right ofthe royal forces, who were pushing steadily on in solid phalanx towardthe position occupied by Lee, with the apparent design of gainingWayne's rear and attacking the American right at the same time.
"General Scott now left the wood, crossed the morass, and was formingfor action on the plain, and Maxwell was preparing to do the same,when Lee ordered the former to re-enter the wood and await furtherorders. When Scott perceived the retrograde movement on the right,mistaking the spirit of Lee's orders, he recrossed the morass andretreated toward Freehold meeting-house, followed by Maxwell. WhenLee was informed of this movement he ordered Lafayette to fall backto Monmouth Court House. The marquis did so with reluctance, and wasmortified to find that a general retreat had begun on the right underthe immediate command of Lee, and he was obliged to follow. The Britishpursued as far as the courthouse, and halted, while the Americanspressed on across the morass near the house of Mr. Carr, to the heightsof Freehold, and halted. The heat was intense, and in many places thesoldiers sank ankle-deep in the burning sand. The royal troops soonfollowed, and Lee, instead of making a bold stand in his advantageousposition on the eminence, renewed his retreat toward Freeholdmeeting-house. This produced a panic among the American troops, andthey fled in great confusion in the wooded and broken country, many ofthem perishing as they pressed over the narrow causeway to cross thebroad morass. Others, struck down by the heat, were trampled to deathin the sand. At first both parties kept up a rambling cannonade; soonnothing was heard but a few musket-shots and the loud shouts of thepursuers.
"Lafayette, who knew Lee's ambition to supersede Washington in commandof his army, had watched his movements all the morning with anxiety,for he was satisfied that Lee was either cowardly or treacherous."
During all this time Enoch had remained inactive, standing with thebridle of his horse in his hand, ready to ride off at a moment'swarning, and with the sounds of the conflict ringing in his ears. Itseemed to him cruel that he should be deprived of the opportunity ofstriking a blow for the cause at a time when he knew men were needed;but General Washington, calm and collected, had given no heed to theexcited boy who remained almost at his elbow.
Suddenly the commander-in-chief turned, and said sharply:
"Ride forward, lad, and ask General Lafayette if he can send me anyinformation."
Gladly Enoch obeyed this command, and regardless of possible dangerurged his horse steadily ahead, stopping from time to time to ask ofthe different troops where the marquis could be found.
It seemed to him as if he had been an hour performing the journey,although in reality it was hardly more than ten minutes, when he drewrein in front of Lafayette, and, saluting, said:
"General Washington wishes information as to the movements of theenemy."
The marquis, looking anxious and troubled, glanced around him for aninstant as if trying to decide what words had best be used, and saidhurriedly:
"Tell General Washington that his presence here is of the utmostimportance, for in my opinion it is absolutely necessary he himselfdirect the movements. Ride hard, boy; there is not a moment to belost."