was Ethan Allen, and probably there was no man living then that had
more of the elements of the popular hero than he. He was tall, almost
a giant in stature, and strong in proportion. He was easily excited to
anger, and his rage was something terrific. In another place it is told
how he surprised and captured the strong fortresses of Ticonderoga and
Crown Point. Afterward he was captured and taken prisoner to England.
The brutal British officer in command put him in irons, and one day
spat in his face. Allen, beside himself with rage at this insult,
with his teeth wrenched off the head of the nail which fastened his
handcuffs, and attacked the officer, who was obliged to retreat to save
his life.
2. With all his rough ways and fits of anger Allen was a remarkably
honest man. It is related of him that he owed a person in Boston sixty
pounds, for which he gave his note. When due, it was sent to Vermont
for collection. Allen could not pay at the time, and he employed a
lawyer to postpone the payment until he could raise the money. The
lawyer arose in court and denied Allen's signature to the note, as this
would oblige the other party to send to Boston for a witness, and give
Allen all the time he wanted.
3. When the lawyer made his plea, Allen, who happened to be in the
back part of the court-room, strode forward, and in a voice of thunder
addressed the lawyer: "Mr. Jones, I did not hire you to come here to
lie! This is a true note--I signed it--I'll swear to it--and I'll pay
it! I want no shuffling, I want time. What I employed you for was to
get this matter put over to the next court, not to come here and lie
and juggle about it." The lawyer shrank from his blazing eye, and the
case was put over as he wished.
_XVI.--JOSEPH REED._
1. A hero of another kind, and one we should never forget, is Joseph
Reed, of New Jersey. He entered the patriot army, and proved a brave
and efficient officer. In 1778 he entered Congress, and, while quiet,
he became one of the most useful members. Soon after he entered
Congress, a British commission was sent out to see if the difficulties
between the two countries could not be adjusted and the war terminated.
The terms they offered, however, did not include independence.
Convinced that they could not accomplish their object directly, the
commissioners resorted to deceit and bribery, and they offered Joseph
Reed ten thousand guineas if he would use his influence to help
along their project. The noble patriot heard the offer with great
indignation, and replied, "I am not worth purchasing, but, such as I
am, the King of Great Britain is not rich enough to buy me." The poet
Freneau has recorded this incident in a poem from which the following
extract is made:
2. "No single art engaged his manly mind,
In every scene his active genius shined;
Nature in him, in honor to our age,
At once composed the soldier and the sage.
3. "Firm in his purpose, vigilant and bold,
Detesting traitors, and despising gold,
He scorned all bribes from Britain's hostile throne,
For all his country's wrongs were thrice his own."
_XVII.--GENERAL PRESCOTT._
1. In 1777 the British troops upon the Island of Rhode Island were
commanded by General Prescott. Of all the disreputable officers sent
over by the British during the Revolution, he was the meanest and
the worst. He was cruel at heart, a petty tyrant, and a real coward.
His government was so offensive to the people of Rhode Island, that
they determined to put an end to it. The British army was stationed
at Newport, and the British ships sailed up and down Narragansett Bay
to protect the island from any attempted surprise on the part of the
Americans. Feeling perfectly secure under the protection of the fleet,
General Prescott made his headquarters at the house of a Mr. Ovington,
five miles out of Newport, and beyond the British military lines.
2. The residence of General Prescott became known to the patriot
leaders at Providence, and they resolved to make an effort to capture
him. The enterprise was intrusted to Colonel William Barton, who
entered upon the service with zeal and discretion. On the night of July
10, 1777, Barton, with a few chosen men, embarked in four whale-boats,
and with muffled oars rowed across the bay to the island, passing
directly through the fleet of ships and guard-boats. They came so near
the ships that they could hear the sentinel's cry of "All is well!"
After landing they made their way silently to the Ovington house, and
captured the guard without creating an alarm.
3. Barton boldly entered the house, and found Mr. Ovington reading, the
rest of the family being in bed. He inquired for General Prescott's
room, and was told it was directly overhead. Taking with him four
sailors, and Sisson, a powerful negro, Barton ascended the stairs,
and gently tried the door. It was locked; but there was no time to
be lost: the negro drew back a few paces, and, using his head for a
battering-ram, burst open the door at the first effort. Prescott begged
time to dress, but, as time was precious, he was hurried down to the
shore without clothes, and placed in the boat, where he could dress at
leisure. The boats then took their way back in perfect silence, and
about midnight landed upon the mainland in safety. "Sir, you have made
a bold push to-night!" said Prescott, to his captor. "We have been
fortunate," replied Barton.
_XVIII.--PRESCOTT AND THE YANKEE BOY._
1. In the spring of 1778, Prescott was exchanged for General Charles
Lee, and returned to Rhode Island. Soon afterward the British admiral
invited the general to dine with him and his officers on board his
ship, then lying in front of Newport. Martial law yet prevailed on the
island, and men and boys were frequently sent by the authorities on
shore to be confined in the ship as a punishment for slight offenses.
There were several on board at the time.
2. After dinner, the free use of wine made the company hilarious, and
toasts and songs were frequently called for. A lieutenant remarked to
the admiral, "There is a Yankee lad confined below who can shame any of
us in singing."
3. "Bring him up," said the admiral. "Yes, bring him up," said
Prescott. The boy was brought to the cabin. He was pale and slender,
and about thirteen years of age. Abashed by the presence of great
officers, with their glittering uniforms, he timidly approached, when
the admiral, seeing his embarrassment, spoke kindly to him, and asked
him to sing a song.
4. "I can't sing any but Yankee songs," said the trembling boy. "Come,
my little fellow, don't be afraid," said the admiral. "Sing one of your
Yankee songs--any one you can recollect."
[Illustration]
5. The boy still hesitated, when the brutal Prescott, who was a
stranger to the lad, roared out: "Sing us a song, or I will give you a
dozen with the cat!" But the admiral interfered and told him to sing,
and he should be set at liberty the next morning. Thus encouraged, the
lad sang the following ballad, composed by a sailor at Newport:
6. "'Twas on a dark and stormy night,
The wind and waves did roar;
Bold Barton then, with twenty men,
Went down upon the shore.
7. "And in a whale-boat they set off,
To Rhode Island fair,
To catch, a red-coat general
Who then resided there.
8. "Through British fleets and guard-boats strong
They held their dangerous way,
Till they arrived unto their port,
And then did not delay.
9. "A tawny son of Afric's race
Them through the ravine led,
And entering then the Overton house,
They found him in his bed.
10. "But to get in they had no means
Except poor Cuffie's head,
Who beat the door down, then rushed in.
And seized him in his bed.
11. "'Stop! let me put my clothing on,'
The general then did pray;
'Your clothing, massa, I will take,
For dress we can not stay,'
12. "Then through rye-stubble him they led,
With shoes and clothing none,
And placed him in their boat quite snug,
And from the shore were gone.
13. "Soon the alarm was sounded loud,
'The Yankees they have come,
And stolen Prescott from his bed,
And him have carried home!'
14. "The drums were beat, sky-rockets flew,
The soldiers shouldered arms,
And marched around the ground they knew,
Filled with most dire alarms.
15. "But through the fleet with muffled oars
They held their devious way,
And landed him on 'Gansett shores,
Where Britons held no sway.
16. "When unto land the captors came,
When rescue there was none,
'A bold push this,' the general cried;
'Of prisoners I am one.'"
17. The boy was frequently interrupted by roars of laughter at
Prescott's expense, which strengthened the child's nerves and voice;
and when he had concluded his song, "I thought," wrote a gentleman who
was present, "the deck would go through with the stamping." General
Prescott joined heartily in the merriment produced by the song, and,
thrusting his hand into his pocket, he pulled out a coin, and handed it
to the boy, saying, "Here, you young dog, is a guinea for you!" The boy
was set at liberty the next morning, and went ashore.
_XIX.--BATTLE OF THE KEGS._
1. In 1777, while the British occupied Philadelphia, Washington made an
effort to destroy their shipping. He caused torpedoes to be constructed
in the form of strong kegs, and launched in the river, hoping that
the tide would float them against the British ships, when they would
explode. But the British discovered them, and for a time were greatly
frightened. Then they opened upon them a furious cannonade; and for the
next twenty-four hours they fired at everything that floated in the
water. Mr. Hopkinson, the author of "Hail, Columbia," has given the
following amusing account of this battle:
2. Gallants attend, and hear a friend
Trill forth harmonious ditty;
Strange things I'll tell, which late befell
In Philadelphia city.
3. 'Twas early day, as poets say,
Just when the sun was rising,
A soldier stood on log of wood,
And saw a sight surprising.
4. As in his maze, he stood to gaze,
The truth can't be denied, sir,
He spied a score of kegs or more
Come driving down the tide, sir.
5. A sailor too, in jerkin blue,
The strange appearance viewing,
First rubbed his eyes in great surprise,
Then said, "Some mischief's brewing."
6. The soldier flew, the sailor too,
And, scared almost to death, sir
Wore out their shoes to spread the news,
And ran till out of breath, sir.
7. Now up and down, throughout the town,
Most frantic scenes were acted;
And some ran here, and others there,
Like men almost distracted.
8. Some fire cried, which some denied,
But said the earth had quaked;
And girls and boys, with hideous noise,
Ran through the streets half naked.
9. Now in a fright, Howe starts upright,
Awaked by such a clatter;
He rubs both eyes, and boldly cries,
"For God's sake, what's the matter?"
10. At his bedside he then espied
Sir Erskine at command, sir;
Upon one foot he had one boot,
And 'tother in his hand, sir.
11. "Arise! arise!" Sir Erskine cries,
"The rebels--more's the pity--
Without a boat, are all afloat,
And ranged before the city!
12. "The motley crew, on vessels new,
With Satan for their guide, sir,
Packed up in bags, or wooden kegs,
Come driving down the tide, sir.
13. "Therefore prepare for bloody war!
These kegs must all be routed;
Or surely we despised shall be,
And British valor doubted."
14. The royal band, now ready stand,
All ranged in dread array, sir;
With stomach stout, to see it out,
And make a bloody day, sir.
15. The cannons roar from shore to shore,
The small-arms loud did rattle;
Since war began, I'm sure no man
E'er saw so strange a battle.
16. The rebel dales, the rebel vales,
With rebel trees surrounded,
The distant woods, the hills and floods,
With rebel echoes sounded.
17. The kegs, 'tis said, though strongly made
Of rebel stones and hoops, sir,
Could not oppose their powerful foes,
The conquering British troops, sir.
18. From morn till night, these men of might
Displayed amazing courage;
And, when the sun was fairly down,
Retired to sup their porridge.
19. Such feats did they perform that day,
Against those wicked kegs, sir,
That years to come, if they get home,
They'll make their boasts and brags, sir.
_XX.--THE DARING OF PAUL JONES._
1. It was in the spring of 1778 that the name of John Paul Jones became
so terrible along the western coasts of Britain--his native coasts, as
familiar to him as to a Solway fisherman.
2. And what a tough, valiant, intractable, audacious hero he was, with
his foppish ways and costume, his romantic, fantastic courtesy and
enthusiasm! He had been a Nelson, if he had had Nelson's opportunities.
He was a little man, too, like Nelson, though compactly built, and his
voice was "soft and still, and small, and his eye had keenness and
softness in it, and, full as he was of the spirit of mastery, he was
all gentleness, consideration, generosity, to men who obeyed him." Like
all the greatest fighters, he performed his immortal exploits while he
was young; he was but thirty-two when he did his greatest day's work.
3. On the southwestern coast of Scotland John Paul Jones was born.
Nothing could keep him from the sea. At twelve he was apprenticed to a
merchant in the American trade, in whose ships he served seven years,
as cabin-boy, and sailor before the mast. At the age of twenty-four
we find him settled in Tobago, engaged in commerce, and possessing
considerable property. In 1774 he came to the colonies. The Revolution
breaking out, he obtained a lieutenant's commission in the forming navy
of the United States. He acquired sudden and very great distinction.
In one short cruise he took sixteen prizes, of which he burned eight
and sent in eight. He had some sharp actions with king's ships, and
captured one, which had on board a company of British troops, and ten
thousand suits of clothes--a most precious acquisition in 1776.
4. It was Paul Jones who first hoisted the Stars and Stripes. On the
very day, June 14, 1777, on which Congress resolved that "the flag of
the thirteen United States be thirteen stars, white in a blue field,
representing a new constellation," they also resolved that "Captain
Paul Jones be appointed to command the ship Ranger." As he had been the
first to hoist the flag of the United States on a ship-of-war, so, on
entering the harbor of Brest in February, 1778, seven days after the
signing of the treaty of alliance, he was the first naval officer who
had the pleasure of acknowledging a salute to that flag from a foreign
power.
5. Soon after, Captain Jones sailed in the Ranger for the Scottish
coast, on his first cruise in British waters. On the seventh day he
was between the Isle of Man and Whitehaven waters, which he knew as
familiarly as New-Yorkers do the Narrows. Whitehaven was the town at
which he had been apprenticed, and from which he had sailed for ten
years. It was a town of several thousand inhabitants, and its harbor
contained three or four hundred vessels closely moored together. Jones
had formed the daring scheme of running in near the port, landing two
parties, burning all these ships, and retiring before an armed force
could be raised to repel him.
6. At midnight, with two boats and thirty-one men, provided with
combustibles and dark-lanterns, he left his ship and made for
Whitehaven pier. Day was dawning when he reached it, for the light
wind had made him hours too late in starting. He would not abandon the
enterprise, however, unpromising as it seemed. Sending one boat to the
north side of the harbor to fire the vessels collected there, he went
himself to do the same office to the stranded fleet on the south side.
7. Familiar with every foot of the ground he had to traverse, he boldly
landed under the guns of the two forts that protected the harbor,
and he himself climbed the wall of one of them, and spiked every
gun, without giving alarm. All the sentinels, he found, had gone to
the guard-house, and there he secured and disarmed every one of them
without giving or receiving a scratch. Then, accompanied by one man,
he scaled the other fort and spiked its guns. Returning to the pier to
begin the conflagration, he found there the other boat, which had come
back for a light, the candles in the lanterns having burned out. Jones
now discovered that all his own candles were consumed, and there was
not in either boat a spark of fire, or the means of kindling one. The
day, too, had dawned, and every second was precious. Nevertheless, he
sent one of his men to a house near by for a light, who soon returned
successful, and the boats again separated for the work of destruction.
8. Ten minutes later a barrel of fat, ignited in the steerage of a
ship that lay surrounded by a hundred and fifty others, all left high
and dry by the receded tide, shot a bolt of roaring flame through the
hatchway. The people of the town, in hundreds, were soon running to the
pier. Captain Jones stood by the side of the burning vessel, pistol in
hand, and ordered the crowd to keep their distance, which they did.
Not till the flames had caught the rigging and wreathed about the
mainmast, not till the sun was an hour high, not till the whole town
was rushing amazed to the scene, did Jones give the order to embark.
9. His men entered the boats without opposition, the captain releasing,
at the last moment, all his prisoners but three, who were all he had
room for. He stood on the pier till his men were seated in the boats,
and for some little time after; then, stepping gracefully into his
place, he gave the word, the oars splashed into the water, and they
moved toward the ship, while from every eminence in the vicinity
hundreds and thousands of silent, astonished spectators gazed upon the
unearthly scene.
10. "To the forts!" was the cry on shore, as soon as the spell of the
enemy's presence was removed. "Their disappointment," says Jones, "may
easily be imagined, when they found at least thirty heavy cannon, the
instruments of their vengeance, rendered useless! At length, however,
they began to fire, having, as I apprehend, either brought down
ship-guns, or used one or two cannon which lay on the beach dismounted,
and had not been spiked. They fired with no direction, and the shot
falling short of the boats, instead of doing us any damage, afforded
some diversion, which my people could not help showing, by discharging
their pistols in return for the salute." The people of the town
succeeded in confining the ravages of the fire to a few ships. Had it
been possible, he remarks, to have landed a few hours sooner, he could
have burned three hundred vessels.
_XXI-FORT MOULTRIE._
1. Early in 1776 Governor Rutledge, of South Carolina, built Fort
Moultrie, to protect Charleston from an attack by sea. The fort was
built of palmetto-wood, which is soft, but very tough and springy.
In the middle of the fort was a low place scooped out of the earth,
designed to hold water. Before the fort was finished, the British
admiral, Sir Peter Parker, with two large ships-of-war, made his
appearance off the harbor. Colonel Moultrie commanded within the fort.
His men were all militia, and had never been in battle before.
2. Sir Peter commenced a furious attack upon the fort from his
principal ships. But the balls entered the soft palmetto-wood and did
no damage. Shells were thrown into the fort, struck in the interior
ditch, which on the day of battle was filled with mud, instead of
water, and the fuses were put out, or the shells burst and did no other
damage than covering the men with a thick coat of mud. All day long the
ships kept up their terrible broadsides, and all day long did the brave
militiamen in the fort return the fire slowly but with good aim. It
would not do to waste fire, as powder was low; and several times during
the battle the gunners were obliged to stop firing until a new supply
of powder came in from the city.
3. In the meantime, the people in the city were fearful and anxious;
that small, half-finished fort was all that stood between them and
capture. They could hardly believe that Colonel Moultrie with his raw
troops could resist the attack of a formidable British fleet. All day
long they heard the boom of the cannon, and all day long the steeples
and roofs of houses were crowded with anxious spectators. With joy,
they saw the ships crawl away toward night, fearfully cut up, while
the fort continued its firing as the powder came slowly in. Then the
bells rang, and a shout went up, that cheered the hearts of the brave
garrison at the fort. One of the ships got aground, and was set on
fire and burned up. Only ten of the militia were killed, and twenty-two
wounded, while the loss on the ships numbered hundreds.
[Illustration]
4. One incident of this battle is worthy of note. During the action,
the flag-staff was shot away, and the flag fell to the earth outside
the fort. Sergeant William Jasper at once jumped over the parapet,
picked up the flag, and, amid the storm of iron from the fleet, he
fastened it to a staff and set it up once more, and then leaped unhurt
into the fort. The next morning Governor Rutledge publicly thanked
Jasper, and gave him a small sword that hung by his side. Three years
later the gallant sergeant was killed in the attack upon Savannah.
_XXII.--COUNT PULASKI AND HIS BANNER_
1. Count Casimer Pulaski was a native of Poland. At an early age he
entered the army, where he soon became a leader of a patriotic movement
to rid Poland at once of an unpopular king and of Russian rule. His
little army was defeated, and in 1771 he entered the service of the
Turks, then at war with Russia. In 1776 he went to Paris and had an
interview with Dr. Franklin, and resolved to enter the service of the
United States. He sailed for America the next year, and was placed by
Washington in command of cavalry. He proved a very valuable acquisition
to the American cause. His familiarity with military affairs enabled
him to bring his corps to a high degree of efficiency in regard to
discipline, and in battle he was a very thunderbolt. He was stationed
along the New Jersey coast, keeping watch of the British during the
greater part of 1778; and the next spring he was ordered south to
assist General Lincoln and the Count d'Estaing in the reduction of
Savannah.
2. This enterprise, planned by Washington with every prospect of
success, met with a series of mishaps and disasters from the very
first. The troops were tardy in concentrating, enabling the British
commander to complete measures of defense which at first were very
imperfect. Then there was a want of co-operation between the American
forces and their French allies. When everything was in readiness,
Count d'Estaing granted the British commander twenty-four hours truce,
which he employed to so good a purpose that the idea of an assault was
abandoned, and the operations were turned into a siege. For twelve days
there was constant battle, ending in a general assault. No troops ever
fought better, but they were driven back from the strong fortifications
of the enemy with great loss. The golden moment was lost, and the great
sacrifice of life was in vain. Count Pulaski was in the van of the
fight during all these anxious days, and was stricken down at the very
last moment, a hero dying for our freedom.
3. In 1777 Pulaski visited Lafayette while that officer was wounded,
and under the care of the Moravian nuns, at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
When it became known that the brave Pole was raising a company of
cavalry, the nuns prepared a banner of crimson silk, beautifully
wrought with the needle by their own hands, and sent it to Pulaski with
their blessing. This banner he received with grateful thanks, and took
it with him in every battle to the day of his death. The story of this
banner is beautifully told by Longfellow:
4. "When the dying flame of day
Through the chancel shot its ray,
Far the gleaming tapers shed
Faint light on the cowlèd head;
And the censer burning swung,
When before the altar hung
That proud banner, which with prayer
Had been consecrated there;
And the nuns' sweet hymn was heard the while,
Sung low in the dim, mysterious aisle.
5. "Take thy banner. May it wave
Proudly o'er the good and brave,
When the battle's distant wail
Breaks the Sabbath of our vale;
When the clarion's music thrills
To the hearts of these lone hills;
When the spear in conflict shakes,
And the strong lance, shivering, breaks.
6. "Take thy banner; and, beneath
The war-cloud's encircling wreath,
Guard it--till our homes are free--
Guard it--God will prosper thee!
In the dark and trying hour,
In the breaking forth of power,
In the rush of steeds and men,
His right hand will shield thee then.