[Sidenote: =Hale a leader in class affairs and athletic sports=]
=94. Nathan Hale, the Martyred Patriot.= Nathan Hale was born in
Connecticut in 1755. He was brought up by his Puritan parents in the
fear of God and in obedience to duty. At the age of sixteen Nathan
left his native farm to enter Yale University. Here he soon became
well liked for his gentle nature, lively spirit, and studious habits.
In spite of his youth he was a leader in the affairs of his class and
in all athletic sports. He graduated from college with honor and then
taught school for almost two years. These were quiet days for the
active young man.
[Sidenote: =Enrolled to fight for liberty=]
At this time the people were talking a great deal about their troubles
with Great Britain. In secret, bands of young men were even forming
companies of militia. Suddenly the news of the fight at Lexington
came to the place where Nathan Hale was teaching. The citizens
gathered in meeting and he made a speech, in which he said: "Let us
march immediately and never lay down our arms until we obtain our
independence." The next day he and many others enrolled to fight for
liberty.
[Illustration: NATHAN HALE
_From the statue by William Ordway Partridge_]
Washington was in command of the Continental army at Boston and soon
sent for Hale's company. None worked harder than he at drills, or did
more to keep the men cheerful in hardships. On New Year's day, 1776,
Congress made him captain for his bravery and faithfulness.
[Sidenote: =Captures a British war vessel=]
In the following spring Washington moved his army to New York. One
night Nathan Hale and a small band of men slipped out into the harbor
where a British sloop lay. They boarded the ship gently, locked the
sailors in before they knew what had happened, then they sailed their
prize past a British man-of-war and over to the American side. It was a
brave feat, well carried out.
[Sidenote: =Offers to find out the British plans=]
Soon after, the American troops were badly defeated in the battle of
Long Island. The army was half starved and losing hope. The British
general, Howe, was preparing to attack again. If Howe should win, the
American cause would be lost. Washington saw that it was necessary
to find out the British plans, or he would be caught and his army
destroyed. A brave man was needed to go into the British camp to spy
out their plans. No one was willing to go. Hale had been sick, but when
he heard of his country's need he offered himself. Friends pleaded with
him in vain.
[Sidenote: =Passes the British lines safely=]
The young officer took off his uniform and put on the clothes of a
schoolmaster. Under cover of night he was rowed to a place near the
British camp. This was the last his friends saw of him. He spent
several days with the British troops and got the needed information. On
his return he passed safely through the whole British army. He went to
the spot where the boat was to come for him. There he waited until the
boat came into view and then walked down to the water's edge to meet
it. A dozen muskets were leveled at him; instead of fellow-soldiers he
found himself in the hands of the British!
[Sidenote: =Hale sentenced to death=]
[Sidenote: =Gives his life for his country=]
Hale was sent to New York immediately and placed before General Howe,
to whom he said frankly that he was a spy. The British general wrote
out his death warrant, "to be hanged to-morrow morning at sunrise." Not
even the death of a soldier was to be his. His brutal guard refused to
let him send a last letter to his people. Alone he spent the night,
without the comfort of friend or minister. At daybreak he was dragged
forth to execution. A crowd of strange people had gathered to see him
die. It is said that the officer asked him if there was anything he
wished to say. Brave to the last, Nathan Hale answered: "I only regret
that I have but one life to lose for my country." Thus, at the age of
twenty-two, died Nathan Hale, who held his country dearer than his own
life.
GENERALS GREENE, MORGAN, AND MARION, THE MEN WHO HELPED WIN THE SOUTH
FROM THE BRITISH
[Sidenote: =Moultrie repulses attack on Charleston=]
=95. The War in the South.= Early in the Revolutionary War British
vessels made an attack on Charleston, South Carolina (1776). But
Colonel Moultrie, from his rude fort of palmetto logs, gave them such a
welcome that they were glad to get away, and for two years the British
gave the southern colonies little trouble.
[Sidenote: =Charleston surrenders to Cornwallis=]
But in 1778 another British army captured Savannah, Georgia. In 1780
the city of Charleston, South Carolina, with General Lincoln's entire
army, surrendered to Cornwallis. Congress hastened General Gates to the
South to check the British, but Cornwallis surprised Gates and cut his
army to pieces near Camden.
[Illustration: NATHANAEL GREENE
_From a painting by Charles Wilson Peale, once owned by Mrs. William
Brenton Greene, Jr., Princeton, New Jersey, and now in Independence
Hall, Philadelphia_]
[Sidenote: =Greene goes south to watch Cornwallis=]
=96. Nathanael Greene, the Quaker General.= Washington now chose
Nathanael Greene, the "Quaker general," to go south, take command of
the American army, and to watch Cornwallis, who had just defeated
Gates. Greene was born in Roger Williams' old colony, and was ten
years younger than Washington. His father was a farmer, a miner, and a
blacksmith on week days, and a Quaker preacher on Sundays.
[Sidenote: =The "learned blacksmith"=]
As a boy Nathanael had plenty of hard work to do, and at thirteen could
"only read, write, and cipher." But he was hungry for more knowledge,
and began to study Latin, mathematics, philosophy, and history.
Besides, he made iron toys, and sold them to buy books. His family got
into a lawsuit, and Nathanael took up the study of law. He was called
the "learned blacksmith."
[Illustration: GREENE'S GUN
_Now in the possession of the Rhode Island Historical Association_]
[Sidenote: =He buys a musket=]
When Greene saw that King George was likely to force the Americans to
fight, he joined the militia and went to Boston to buy a musket, a
very unusual thing for a man in Quaker dress to do. He hid the gun in
his wagon. There he watched General Gage drilling British soldiers. He
persuaded one of them to go with him to drill his company of minutemen.
[Illustration: GREENE CONCEALING THE MUSKET IN HIS WAGON]
[Sidenote: =News from Lexington sends Greene to Boston=]
When the stirring news from Lexington reached him, Greene was among
the first to start for Boston, and there Washington found him when he
arrived to take command of the army.
Greene was made one of Washington's generals, and followed his great
commander till Washington sent him to the South to win back that part
of the country from Cornwallis.
He found only a small army in North Carolina, but he knew the southern
men would fight if they had a chance, for the backwoodsmen had just
killed or captured one thousand British soldiers at Kings Mountain.
[Illustration: SCENE OF THE CAMPAIGNS IN THE SOUTH]
[Sidenote: =Men who helped Greene in the South=]
Besides, he had some of the bravest and ablest leaders in America to
help him, among them Daniel Morgan, Francis Marion, William Washington
(a cousin of General Washington), Henry Lee (called "Light Horse
Harry"), and Thomas Sumter.
[Sidenote: =Greene divides his army=]
Greene divided his army into two parts. He took one thousand men and
marched into northeastern South Carolina, where Marion and Lee, with
small bands of cavalry, stole upon the British outposts. In broad
daylight they charged pellmell into Georgetown, captured the officer in
command there, and got safely away before the British were over their
fright.
[Illustration: MORGAN'S ESCAPE FROM THE INDIANS]
[Sidenote: =Morgan goes to northwestern South Carolina=]
Greene sent General Morgan and Colonel William Washington with nine
hundred men into northwestern South Carolina to threaten some British
posts, and to encourage the patriots in the mountains. Very shortly
after this, Washington and his cavalry swooped down on a party of
British soldiers and captured two hundred fifty of them.
[Sidenote: =Tarleton sent to capture him=]
Cornwallis was now thoroughly roused, and resolved to put an end to
such events. He therefore ordered his favorite cavalry officer, Colonel
Tarleton, to take eleven hundred picked soldiers and capture Morgan and
his men.
=97. General Morgan.= But Morgan was not the kind of man to be caught
napping. When a young man, he had fought the French and Indians on the
Virginia frontier.
[Sidenote: =Morgan's training=]
He was at Braddock's defeat. He had once knocked a British officer
down for striking him. In an Indian fight he had been shot through the
neck and thought himself dying, but, to escape being scalped, locked
his arms tightly around his horse's neck, while the horse ran wildly
through the woods.
At the head of a company of ninety-six Virginia backwoodsmen, Morgan
had marched six hundred miles in twenty-one days, and joined Washington
at Boston.
[Illustration: DANIEL MORGAN
_From a miniature painted by John Trumbull now in the Art Gallery of
Yale University_]
[Sidenote: =Burgoyne's compliment=]
Later, Washington sent him to join in the capture of Burgoyne, at
Saratoga. His men did such splendid fighting that Burgoyne said to
Morgan: "Sir, you command the finest regiment in the world!" Fighting
in the woods of America, such a man was likely to be a match for any
British officer.
When Morgan heard of Tarleton's approach he retreated to a good place
for fighting, called the Cowpens. On the top of a long, rising slope he
placed the Continental troops--men trained to fight. In the rear he hid
Colonel Washington and his cavalrymen.
[Sidenote: =Morgan places his men=]
Some distance in front of the Continentals he placed the militia with
orders not to retreat till they had fired twice. In front of the
militia Morgan hid a company of deadly sharpshooters in the woods on
the right and another company in the woods on the left.
As soon as Tarleton's men came in sight they charged pellmell,
thinking victory an easy matter. The militia and sharpshooters poured
in their fire not twice, but several times, and retreated behind the
Continentals, who now poured deadly volleys into the ranks of the
on-coming British, and then made at them with their bayonets.
[Sidenote: =A brilliant victory=]
Just at this moment, Colonel Washington's cavalry dashed out and struck
the right flank of the redcoats. In another moment the militia, which
had reformed and reloaded, rushed out and struck their left flank.
Most of Tarleton's men threw down their guns and surrendered on the
spot. Only two hundred seventy redcoats got away. Tarleton barely
escaped after being wounded in a hand-to-hand sword fight with Colonel
Washington.
[Sidenote: =Stories of Tarleton=]
Tarleton was not permitted to forget his defeat. In conversation one
day he remarked that he had never seen Colonel Washington. A patriotic
lady present replied: "If you had only looked behind you at the battle
of Cowpens, you would have had that pleasure."
[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF THE COWPENS
_Where General Morgan, in one of the most brilliant battles of the war,
defeated the brave but overconfident General Tarleton, destroying the
famous legion Tarleton boasted could not be defeated_]
On another occasion it is told that Tarleton said to a lady, in a
sneering way, that he understood Colonel Washington was so ignorant
he could not even write his own name. This lady looked at Tarleton's
wounded hand, and said: "You certainly carry proof that he can at least
'make his mark.'"
The defeat of Tarleton at the Cowpens roused Cornwallis. He destroyed
all his heavy baggage, and started in hot haste after Morgan. But
Morgan knew a thing or two, and marched for the fords of the Catawba
River as soon as the battle was over.
[Sidenote: =Greene's great march=]
There Greene joined him, and away the armies went for the Yadkin River.
Greene had brought along boats on light wheels, and had no trouble in
crossing, but Cornwallis had to march up the river until his army could
wade across. Greene was already on his way to the Dan, which he crossed
into southern Virginia.
[Sidenote: =General Morgan retires=]
General Morgan, now broken in health by long years of hard fighting,
retired to his home, "Soldiers' Rest," in the Shenandoah Valley. After
the war was over his neighbors elected him to Congress, where he gave
hearty support to President Washington.
[Illustration: THE LAST SALUTE TO MORGAN]
[Sidenote: =A touching scene=]
When Daniel Morgan died he was followed to the grave by the largest
procession that the valley had yet seen. The people, who had come from
near and far, witnessed a touching sight. They saw seven gray-haired
veterans, with old rifles in their hands, stand beside the grave of the
hero, and fire a military salute. They were the last of that hardy
band of ninety-six which had marched with Morgan to Boston to join
Washington, nearly thirty years before. This was their last military
farewell!
[Sidenote: =Greene's "victory"=]
=98. The Battle of Guilford Court House.= General Greene won a great
victory by retreating. He and his army were still among friends,
and his army was growing. Cornwallis was hundreds of miles from his
supplies and from reënforcements. After a few weeks, Greene crossed
back into North Carolina and fiercely attacked Cornwallis at Guilford
Court House, and killed or wounded one fourth of his army.
Cornwallis claimed the victory, but instead of attacking Greene he
marched his army rapidly to Wilmington, on the seacoast, and from there
marched into Virginia, where Washington and Lafayette caught him in a
trap at Yorktown.
[Sidenote: =Greene drives the British to Charleston=]
Greene turned back to South Carolina, where the British still held
Charleston and a few other towns. The British lost so many men at
Hobkirks Hill and at Eutaw Springs, their last important battles in the
South, that they were compelled to retreat to Charleston, where they
were when the news from Yorktown put an end to serious fighting.
[Sidenote: =Congress, South Carolina, and Georgia honor Greene=]
General Greene's work as a soldier was done. Besides the medal
presented to him by Congress for the battle of Eutaw Springs, South
Carolina, as a token of affection, gave him a large sum of money, and
the state of Georgia a beautiful plantation on the Savannah River,
where he died in 1786. Greene's fame as a soldier of the Revolution
stands next to that of Washington.
[Sidenote: =The "Swamp Fox"=]
=99. Francis Marion.= Of all the brave men who helped Greene win
back the South, none was braver than General Francis Marion, whom the
British named the "Swamp Fox." Marion was born in the same year as
Washington. He was of French parentage. He was so very small in size
that people wondered how he could be so great a soldier.
[Sidenote: =Marion's "Brigade"=]
Marion's "Brigade," as his company was called, was made up of only a
handful of men, usually less than one hundred. But they owned and rode
the swiftest horses, carried their own guns, and wore their own swords,
hammered out of old saws by country blacksmiths.
Marion and his men seldom were two successive nights in the same place.
The night was their time for work. At sundown they swung into their
saddles, and were soon riding for the enemy's camp. When near, they
quietly surrounded the camp, took aim by the light of the fires, fired,
and then rushed upon the frightened British or Tories, and cut them
down with their terrible broadswords.
[Sidenote: =How they escaped=]
Before daybreak, Marion and his men were hiding safely in some distant
swamp or other safe place. If the British chased him too closely his
men scattered in different directions, but always made their way to the
common hiding place. In a few days they were ready to strike again.
[Illustration: FRANCIS MARION
_After the portrait in the painting by T. Stothard, R.A._]
[Sidenote: =One hundred fifty prisoners set free=]
Just after Cornwallis defeated Gates, near Camden, Marion pounced upon
a guard of British soldiers that was taking one hundred fifty prisoners
to Charleston, captured them all, and set the prisoners free.
[Illustration: ONE OF MARION'S MEN]
[Sidenote: =Tarleton cannot catch Marion=]
At last Cornwallis ordered Colonel Tarleton to get "Mr. Marion," as
he called him. But before Tarleton could act Marion had fallen on a
large party of Tories going to join Cornwallis, and killed, captured,
or scattered the entire party. Tarleton chased Marion for twenty-five
miles, only to find a large swamp through which he could see neither
road nor path. He gave up the chase in disgust, declaring he would
pursue the "Swamp Fox" no farther.
[Sidenote: =Congress gives Marion a vote of thanks=]
When Greene returned to the last campaign in South Carolina he found no
better, bolder, or more vigilant helpers than Marion and his "Brigade."
Greene gave Marion high praise, and Congress gave him a vote of thanks.
Marion was the true soldier of liberty. He cared nothing for display,
only for the success of the patriot cause. Marion thought of his men
before himself. He was watchful, patient, and silent. He always struck
his foes where and when they did not look for him. If they were too
strong for him he vanished like smoke in a brisk breeze.
[Sidenote: =After the war=]
Marion was as true and gentle as he was bold and brave. He was never
cruel to prisoners, and was greatly opposed to punishing the Tories
after the war was over. Marion's neighbors often elected him to high
office and in many other ways showed that they admired him, even if
some did not agree with him.
[Illustration: "MARION AND HIS MEN" SURPRISE THE BRITISH
_Dashing out of the swamp, Marion fell upon the guard of a band of
patriot prisoners, killed or captured the British, then set the
prisoners to guarding the redcoats_]
[Sidenote: =A potato feast=]
During the war a British officer was invited to take dinner with
Marion. What was his surprise to see only sweet potatoes, baked in the
ashes, set before him. After this feast the officer resigned, saying it
was useless trying to defeat such soldiers.