_Lieutenant Martin's Lesson_
As they rode along slowly, the general explained his plans. General
Howe had pursued him relentlessly through the Jerseys, until he had
crossed into Pennsylvania, only escaping further pursuit and certain
defeat because he had had the forethought to seize every boat upon the
Delaware and its tributaries for miles in every direction, and bring
them with his army to the west bank of the river, so that Howe was
unable to cross. The English general had threatened, however, to wait
until the river was frozen and then cross on the ice, and after
brushing aside the miserable remains of Washington's army, march on to
Philadelphia and establish himself in the rebel capital. Making that
most serious of mistakes for a military man of despising his opponents,
Howe had scattered his army, for convenience in quartering, in various
small detachments along the river. The small American army,
supplemented by the Pennsylvania militia, had been placed opposite the
different fords from Yardley to New Hope, to hold the enemy in check in
case an attempt should be made to force a crossing.
The fortunes of the country were at the lowest ebb. But there was to
be a speedy reversal of conditions, and the world was to learn how
dangerous a man was leading the Continental troops. Washington, to
whom a retreat was as hateful as it had been necessary, had long
meditated an attack whenever any chance whatever of success might
present itself. The necessity for a change was apparent, not merely
for the material result which would flow from a victory, but for the
moral effect as well. The fancied security of the enemy, their exposed
positions, disconnected from each other, and the contempt they felt for
his own troops, were large factors in determining him to strike then;
but another factor had still more weight, and that was the fact that
the time of the enlistment of nearly the whole of his own army expired
with the end of the year, and whatever was to be done must be done
quickly. He therefore conceived the daring and brilliant design of
suddenly collecting his scattered forces, crossing the river, and
falling upon his unsuspecting enemy at Trenton, where a small brigade
of Hessians, under Colonel Rahl, was stationed.
It would be a piece of unparalleled audacity. To turn, as it were,
just before the dissolution of his army, and cross a wide and deep
river full of ice, in the dead of winter, and strike, like the hammer
of Thor, upon his unwary foe, rudely disturbing his complacent dreams,
was a conception of exceeding brilliancy, and it at once stamped
Washington as a military genius of the first order. And with such an
army to make such an attempt! Said one of the officers of the period
in his memoirs: "An army without cavalry, partially provided with
artillery, deficient in transportation for the little they had to
carry; without tents, tools, or camp equipage,--without magazines of
any kind; half clothed, badly armed, debilitated by disease,
disheartened by misfortune." But their leader was a Lion, and the Lion
was at last at bay! There was another factor which contributed greatly
to the efficiency of the army, and that was the high quality and
overwhelming number of the American officers.
Orders had been given to the brigades and troops mentioned to
concentrate at McConkey's Ferry, about nine miles above Trenton.
Another division under Ewing was to cross a mile below Trenton and
seize the bridge and fords across the Assunpink, to check the retreat
of the enemy and co-operate with the main attack.
Cadwalader's Pennsylvania militia under Gates were to cross at Bristol
or below Burlington, and attack Von Donop at that point, while Putnam,
in conjunction with him, was to make a diversion from Philadelphia.
The movements were to be simultaneous, and the result it was hoped
would accord with the effort. The main column, and the one upon which
the most dependence was to be placed, was that which Washington himself
was to accompany, which was composed of veteran Continentals, to the
number of twenty-four hundred, with eighteen pieces of artillery.
All this was briefly explained by the general to Seymour and the staff,
while they rode slowly along the frozen road. About eight o'clock they
arrived at the ford, near which the troops who had arrived before them
now stood shivering on the high ground by the river. A few fires were
burning in the ravines back of the banks, around which the men took
turns in warming themselves, as they munched their frugal fare from the
haversacks. A large number of boats had been collected for their
transportation, but the river itself was in a most unpromising
condition, full of great cakes of ice which the swift current kept
churning and grinding against each other.
The general surveyed the scene in silence, as his staff and the general
officers gathered about him.
"There is something moving in the river, general," suddenly said
Seymour, pointing, his practised eye detecting a dark object among the
cakes of ice. "It is a boat, sir!"
"Ah," replied the general, "you have sharp eyes. Where is it?"
"There, sir, coming nearer every minute; there is a man in it."
"I see now. So there is. Who can it be?"
"Probably it is Lieutenant Martin," remarked General Greene, quietly.
"You know you sent him back."
"Oh, so I did," replied the general, nodding sternly at the
recollection. Meanwhile the man in the boat was skilfully making his
way between the great cakes of ice, which threatened every moment to
crush his frail skiff. He rapidly drew near until he finally jumped
ashore, and, having tied his boat, hastened up to where the general sat
on his horse. He stopped.
"I have been across, general," he said, saluting.
"So I perceive, sir. How did you get across?"
"When I left you, sir, this afternoon," went on the young man, gravely,
"I was in such a hurry that I did not wait for anything. I swam it,
sir, with my horse."
"Swam it!"
"Yes, sir."
"Very well done, indeed! Was it cold?"
"Not very, sir. At least I was too excited to feel it, and a good hard
gallop on the other side soon warmed me up."
"Where did your ride take you?"
"Almost to Trenton, sir."
"And what is the situation there?"
"Very confident, the guard very negligent, the men carousing in the
houses. I examined both roads, and neither of them is well picketed.
I should think a surprise would not be very difficult, sir."
"Humph! Where's your horse?"
"He fell dead on the other side just as I got back. I found that leaky
skiff, and came over to report, sir."
"You have done well, Mr. Martin, very well indeed! I think you must
have found that man I sent you for!" continued the general, smiling
grimly, while the young soldier blushed with pleasure. "Meanwhile we
must get you another horse. Who has a spare one?"
"May it please your honor," spoke out Bentley, who had attached himself
to Seymour, "he can have mine. I am as much at sea on him as you would
be on the royal yard, begging your honor's pardon, and I 'll feel
better carrying a gun or pulling an oar with the men there than here."
The general laughed.
"There 's your horse, Mr. Martin. Where do you belong, sir?"
"To Colonel Stark's regiment, sir."
"Good! Keep at it as you have begun and you will meet with a better
reception when you call upon me again. Now God grant that fortune may
favor us. Gentlemen, if the brigades are all up, we will undertake the
crossing. It looks dangerous, but it can be done--it must be done.
Who will lead us?"
"I will, sir, with your permission, with my Marblehead fishermen," said
Colonel Glover, stepping out.
"Ah, gentlemen, this is our marine regiment. Go on, sir! You shall
have the right of way across the river. I think none will dispute it
with you. Mr. Seymour, as a seaman, perhaps you can render efficient
service, and your boatswain will find here more opportunities for his
peculiar talents than in carrying a musket. General Greene, will you
and your staff go over with the first boat to make proper disposition
of the brigades as they arrive? I shall come over after the first
division has passed. Then General Sullivan, and lastly our friend
General Knox with his artillery. I expect we shall have to wait for
him. Well, we cannot dispense with either him or the guns."
"You won't have to wait any longer than is absolutely necessary to get
the guns and horses over, general."
"I know that, Knox, I know that. Now, gentlemen, forward! and may God
bless you!"
In a few moments the terrible passage began.