latter became confirmed, heart and soul, in the cause to which he had
attached himself. Now, I know, you may look upon these things with a
smile of credulity, and say it was all the result of imagination; but a
mere fancy cannot mislead hundreds of people, and make them believe
that their eyes are traitors. I have told you nothing but what is well
attested. I don't pretend to know anything of the causes of such events,
but I do know that these visions changed many a heart from toryism to
patriotism." "I am very much obliged to you for your interesting
story, Mr. Morton," said Mr. Jackson Harmar. "I like your plain,
straight-forward style, and your matter excites my wonder. It is a fact,
that General Washington was known to observe and mention the remarkable
apparitions in the heavens, at many different periods of the Revolution.
They were not without their influence on his mind. I firmly believe
that such things occurred; and can look for no cause but that of God's
providence, to explain them."
Of course Mrs. Harmar believed the story of the apparitions to be
perfectly true, and did not look for any other cause except the direct
order of the Almighty; but Wilson said he was always suspicious of such
stories. He even ventured to offer an explanation of the phenomenon,
which amounted to this:--A thunder-storm came up while the people were
gathered together, very much excited upon the subject of the war, and
feeling very anxious for the success of the cause of the colonies; one
man thought he saw an army in the clouds driven before the winds, and
heard the roar of the artillery; this he communicated in an excited
manner to the others, and they, disposed to believe, also thought the
clouds looked "very like a whale." But Morton, old Harmar, Mr. Jackson
Harmar, Smith, and Higgins, brought their argumentative batteries to
bear upon the explanation and incredulity of Wilson, and silenced,
if they did not convince him. He admitted that a man of General
Washington's strength of mind could not easily be deceived, and said,
that if it was a fact that he had seen and mentioned the phenomenon,
he could think it true; but no one was prepared to prove what had been
asserted. Mr. Morton was again thanked for the manner in which he had
told the story, and Mr. Jackson Harmar said that some of the writers of
the day might learn from him.
"Of course, Murray and Lester lived through the war, went home to the
banks of the Lehigh, and married the girls they loved," remarked Wilson.
"They did; and two very happy couples they made. Jane Hatfield had
always been a republican in sentiment, and she loved Lester more than
ever when she heard he had dropped toryism as something that would have
burnt his fingers if he had held on to it," replied Morton.
THE TIMELY RESCUE.
"When Mr. Morton commenced his story," said old Harmar, "he said
there was considerable love-stuff mixed up with it, as if that was an
objection to his telling it. Now I can tell you a story of which love
and fighting are the elements. The events occurred up here in New
Jersey, and are true to the time and the people that acted in it."
"No matter if it was all made up of love, if it illustrated the
character of the time, I should like to hear it," remarked Mr. Jackson
Harmar.
"And so should I," added his wife.
"Is it that story about Captain Edwards and Miss Williams, that Bill
Moore used to tell?" inquired Higgins.
"That's the affair; and, supposing you folks will wish to hear about it,
I shall proceed. Shortly after the surrender of Burgoyne, two horsemen
were riding along the road which leads to the town of Ridgefield. One
was Captain Edwards, and the other Lieutenant Brown. Their conversation
partook of the spirit of the period. They were discussing the relative
merits of General Gates and General Washington. Brown thought that
Washington was deficient in energy, while Edwards thought him a model
general, and Gates deficient in both energy and skill. They could not
agree, and so they dropped the subject.
"As the colloquy ended, the horsemen spurred onward, and soon arrived in
view of the residence of Mrs. Williams, which was situated on a gentle
acclivity, accessible by a long avenue, skirted on either side with
tall poplars, and entered at the extremity by a slight wooden gate. On
entering this avenue, old Pompey came running towards them with a brow
darkened a number of shades by his agitation, and grasping the bridle of
Captain Edward's horse, exclaimed:
"'Oh! for Heaven's sake, good master Edwards, don't go to the house!'
"'What the devil's the matter?' ejaculated the captain, as he endeavored
to disengage the hold of the negro.
"'Mistress has gone clean 'stracted,' began the African, 'because young
Miss Caroline--'
"'What of her?--speak out, in the fiend's name!' exclaimed Captain
Edwards, evincing much greater emotion than he had hitherto betrayed.
"'You stop me, sir; I must tell my story in my own way,' replied Pompey.
"'Proceed with it, then, with a murrain to you,' said Lieutenant Brown,
impatiently, 'or, by heaven, I'll beat it out of you with the flat of my
sword.' "'Well, then,' cried the negro, angrily, 'the tory Captain Lewis
came to our house last night with some sodgers, and carried off Miss
Caroline.'
"'The unhung villain!' muttered Captain Edwards, from between his
clenched teeth; and then, compelling himself to speak more calmly, he
said, 'Brown, my dear fellow, return directly to the camp, and meet me
at Stophel's tavern, with Sergeant Watkins and a dozen trusty soldiers.
The scoundrel cannot escape me--I know every tory haunt between here
and the Hudson; I must go to the house, and console the afflicted Mrs.
Williams.'
"The subaltern struck his spurs into the flank of his steed, and
hastened to execute the orders of his superior. The captain rode up the
lane, and having reached the house, threw his bridle to a servant, and
entered without ceremony. As he had anticipated, he found Mrs. Williams
in an indescribable state of grief; her health was delicate, and this
unexpected calamity had prostrated her. After offering a few encouraging
words, which produced but a very slight effect, he remounted his horse
and rode to the place of rendezvous. Here he met Lieutenant Brown, a
sergeant, corporal, and ten privates, all finely armed and equipped, and
prepared to brave any danger and incur any hazard, in the service of a
commander in whom they had the most unbounded confidence. He instantly
placed himself at their head, and proceeded on his expedition.
"It was now dark. Their road lay along the margin of a small stream,
bounded on the one side by half cultivated fields, and on the other by
a thick gloomy forest, in which the death-like stillness of its dark
bosom was only broken by the occasional howl of wild beasts.
"After pursuing their course for some distance along the bank of this
rivulet, now traversing the ground on its very margin, and then again
carried by the windings of the path miles from the stream, they came to
a sharp angle in the road, on turning which, the captain, being a short
distance in advance of his troops, discovered a figure slightly defined,
but yet bearing some resemblance to the human species, stealing along
the side of the path, apparently wishing to avoid observation.
"Striking his spurs into his horse, and drawing his sword at the same
time, the captain had the person completely in his power before the
other had time to offer either flight or resistance.
"'For whom are you?' was demanded by Captain Edwards, in no gentle
accents.
"'I'm nae just free to say,' replied the stranger, thus rudely
interrogated, with the true Scotch evasion.
"'Answer me at once,' returned the captain; 'which party do you favor?'
"'Ye might have the civility to give me a gentle hint which side ye
belang to,' said Sawney.
"'No circumlocution,' rejoined the soldier, sternly. 'Inform me
immediately: Are you a mercenary of the tyrant of England, or a friend
to liberty? your life depends on your answer.'
"'Aweel, then,' said the Scotchman firmly, 'sin ye will have it, by
my saul, I won't go to heaven with a lie in my mouth--I'm whig to the
back-bone, ye carline; now do your warst, and be hanged till ye!'"
"He might still have been a foe," remarked Wilson. "He might have seen,
from Edwards' language, that to be a whig was to ensure his safety."
"I cannot say whether the Scotchman was sincere or not," replied old
Harmar. "The American captain was well pleased to discover a friend,
when he had every reason to expect an enemy; and, after furnishing him
with a pistol, and advising him to avoid the scouting parties of the
enemy, by keeping in the wood, he again proceeded on his expedition.
They soon reached a fork in the road: one branch led into the recesses
of the wood, and the other lay still farther along the banks of the
stream. On arriving at this spot, the captain, calling Lieutenant Brown
a little distance from the troop, said, 'A few miles' ride will carry us
to an encampment of a party of these tories. I wish to reconnoitre the
position of the enemy, and shall take the road which leads into the
wood, for that purpose, while you with the soldiers will ride on the
other road, till you will arrive within sight of the enemy, and then
return to this point, which shall be our place of rendezvous. In the
meantime, I wish you to avoid coming to any engagement with the tories;
but, in case you hear me fire two pistol shots, you may believe me to be
in danger, and hasten to my relief.'
"To command was to be obeyed with Captain Edwards, and soon no sound
was heard save the slow and regular tread of the horses of the soldiers
under command of Lieutenant Brown "Captain Lewis, the partisan tory who
had carried off Miss Williams, was an officer of some fame. Of English
extraction, and bred in the principles of entire acquiescence in the
orders of the British ministry, he beheld the struggles of the colonists
with contempt. He saw the inhabitants rising about him in various parts
of the country, with feelings of bitter hatred, and he determined
to crush these evidences of rebellion in the outset. He accepted a
captain's commission in the English army, and fought for a time under
the banners of General Clinton, with success worthy of a better cause.
But taking offence at some imperious order of his commander, he threw up
his commission in disgust, and retired to his native village near the
river Hudson. Here, collecting about him a few choice spirits like
himself, he kept the inhabitants in a continual state of alarm by his
plundering and rapacious conduct. Acting, as he pretended, under the
orders of the king, the tories durst not oppose him, and the whigs were
too few in numbers to resist his foraging excursions with any prospect
of success.
"In his youth he had been a school companion of Captain Edwards, but
their principles were widely dissimilar, and little intercourse had
taken place between them. In after life they embraced different sides,
and the tory disliked the whig for his virtues, and envied his good
name. In one of his marauding expeditions he became acquainted with
Miss Williams, and discovering the interest the republican had in her
affections, he determined to get her into his power, for the purpose of
holding a check on the whig officer, whom he equally feared and hated. A
libertine in principle, and a profligate in practice, he scrupled at
no means to attain his object, and a violent attack on the peaceful
dwelling of a defenceless woman was as consonant with his views as
robbing a hen-roost.
"The dwelling of this renegade was situated on a small hill on the bank
of the river Hudson. His peculiar occupation, and the state of affairs
in the country, had rendered it necessary for him to fortify and
strengthen his house, and, at the time referred to, it resembled, what
in fact it was, the rendezvous of a band of lawless desperadoes.
"In the principal room of the building was the villain captain, with
three of his officers, seated round a decayed table, playing cards; on
one end of the table stood a dirty decanter, partly filled with apple
brandy; three or four cracked, dingy tumblers were scattered over the
table, and the rest of the furniture of the apartment was in keeping.
In one corner of the room sat Miss Williams, apparently in the depth of
wretchedness. She occasionally cast furtive glances at the captain, and
then toward a small window, which was firmly barricaded; but seeing no
prospect of escape, she relapsed again into hopeless sorrow. Groups of
blackguard soldiers were seated on stools in different parts of the
room, many of them following the example of their officers, and others
amusing themselves with burnishing their muskets and equipments. After
numerous potations from his bottle, the captain started up, reeling
under the influence of the liquor, and addressing a ruffian-looking
officer, one of his boon companions, said: "'Lieutenant Jocelyn, have
the drum beat to arms, and take these lazy knaves and scour the woods
for a few miles around, and cut down or make prisoner every rebel rascal
you meet; leave soldiers enough, however, to guard the old castle;
quick--blast me, no hesitation.'
"'Humph!' muttered the old soldier; 'ready enough to run his comrades
into the noose, but devilish careful to keep his own delicate person out
of danger.'
"'Ha! what say you, old grumbler? You shall stay here and guard the
lady, if you are so much afraid of your beautiful self; and I will take
command of the men.'
"The lieutenant liked this proposition still worse than the former, but
seeing no alternative, obeyed in silence. In a short time, the captain,
accompanied by about twenty men, including a sergeant and two corporals,
left their camp and proceeded toward the wood. It was night-fall when
they reached the forest, through which the road was very narrow and
circuitous. They were travelling along the path in double files, when
the sergeant in front ordered a halt.
"'Why do we stop here,' roared the captain, 'when it is as dark as
Egypt?'
"'I hear a noise like the trampling of horses,' replied the sergeant.
"'Hist, then,' said Captain Lewis; 'draw up the men into a body, and
await their arrival in silence.'
"'The horse's footsteps were now distinctly heard, but it was a solitary
horseman whom these worthy soldiers were to encounter. When he
arrived within speaking distance, the sergeant advanced a few paces in
front of the soldiers, and exclaimed:
"'Stand! stand! or you are a dead man!'
"The horseman evinced no disposition to comply with this arbitrary
requisition, but deliberately drew pistol from his holsters and
endeavored to urge his horse through the ranks of his opponents. Captain
Lewis now came to the front of his men, and ordered: "'Seize the bridle,
and down with the rebel!'
"'Let no man lay a hand on me or my horse, as he values his life,' said
the horseman in a determined tone, at the same time cocking his pistol.
"'The sergeant drew back a few yards, and discharged his carbine, but
without effect; two soldiers grasped the horse by the head at the same
instant. The horseman, seeing a struggle inevitable, literally blew out
the brains of one of his assailants, and, plucking his other pistol from
its holster with his left hand, he fired at and slightly wounded his
second antagonist; he now threw aside his pistols, &c., and then
drew his heavy broadsword, and essayed to cut his way through his
opponents--but giant strength, combined with the most desperate courage,
could not compete with such vast disparity of numbers; some of his
enemies fastened themselves on his horse, while others thrust at him
with their bayonets, and, after a protracted contest, during which the
tories lost five men, the horseman was disarmed and brought to the
ground.
"'Bind the rebel dog,' shouted the infuriated captain; 'he shall die
the death of a felon, were he George Washington. By Heaven!' continued
he, as he viewed the prostrate horseman, 'it is Captain Edwards! Are
then my dearest wishes gratified? I will be doubly revenged! Bind him
hand and foot, boys, and throw him across his own horse, if the beast
can bear him; if not, drive a bullet through the horse's brains, and
carry the soldier in your arms.'
"The whig officer was firmly bound and placed on his own charger, while
a soldier marched on either side of him, and another led the horse.
After prosecuting their route homeward near a mile, they were startled
with 'No quarter to the cowardly tories! cut them down root and branch!'
followed by the discharge of near a dozen pistols, which killed four
men, and wounded two or three others; and in a moment they were nearly
surrounded by the dragoons under command of Lieutenant Brown. For a
short time the contest was maintained with vigor; the bonds of Captain
Edwards were soon cut; he attacked the tory captain, sword in hand, and,
after a short conflict, succeeded in wounding him in the sword-arm and
hurling him to the ground, and placing his foot on his breast, he said:
"'Now, you dastardly ruffian, avow your villanies, and inform me where I
shall find Miss Howard, or, by heaven, I will send you where the tenor
of your life will be hard to account for.'
"The fierceness of the whig soldier's manner, and the consciousness of
being wholly in his power, completely humbled the tory, and he begged
his life, and promised to conduct the troops to his encampment, where
they would find the lady in safety.
"The tories were now effectually routed; some were killed, some wounded,
others captured, and some had escaped. A few miles' travel, and Captain
Edwards and the men under his command arrived at the habitation of the
tories. A coarse slovenly soldier was pacing the ground in front of the
building, and, on the advance of the continental troops, presented his
musket, and ordered them to halt. Captain Edwards briefly informed him
of the reverse that had taken place in the fortunes of his commander,
and concluded by telling him that 'Submission was safety--resistance
death.'
"The door was now burst open, and in a moment Miss Williams was folded
in the arms of her lover.
"Little more remains to be told. No entreaties of Captain Edwards, or
persuasions of her aunt, could induce Miss Williams to give her hand to
her admirer till the close of the war. On the establishment of peace,
Colonel Edwards, (for he had received that rank,) was made happy in the
possession of his long-tried affection. Lieutenant Brown served under
his captain during the war, and, on the promotion of Captain Edwards,
succeeded to his command. The tory Lewis, and the remainder of his
guilty accomplices, were captured shortly after the occurrence of the
events I have related, and executed for desertion."
"The tories generally received the worst of every encounter," remarked
Higgins; "at least, so all our love-story tellers say." "What I have
told you I know to be true--just as Bill Moore, who was one of Captain
Edwards' men, used to tell it," replied old Harmar.
"I believe it to be a fact that the tories did get the worst of most
of the encounters in which they had an equal number of our men to deal
with. The reason was plain. They had not the same great motives to spur
them to daring and noble effort; and the whigs fought against them with
more ardor than they would against the British," said Wilson.
"Captain Edwards was a host. Just think of one man daring to resist the
attack of twenty men, and killing five of them before he was taken. It
seems like the deed of a fabulous hero," remarked Mr. Jackson Harmar.
"The case was a desperate one, and demanded desperate conduct. A
surrender would not have saved his life, and might have secured Miss
Williams in the hands of Lewis. By a bold attack, Edwards won new
reputation and alarmed his men, who then saved his life and the honor of
his beloved," said old Harmar, in defence of his hero.
"I expect they would have murdered the poor man, and then Lewis would
have forced Miss Williams to become his wife--the wretch!" put in Mrs.
Harmar.
"Nothing would have been too black for his heart, when he had an end in
view. Such men are the most dangerous foes to their fellows, and we
must rejoice when a just punishment overtakes them in their headstrong
career. Many of those who are glorified as great men have possessed the
same unscrupulous disposition. The only difference between them and
Lewis lies in this--they fixed their minds on greater objects," said old
Harmar.
"What's that for?" inquired Higgins, starting up as the sound of drum
and fife broke on his ear. Mrs. Harmar went to the front window, and
reported that a Volunteer company of soldiers was coming down the
street. The old men instantly crowded round the window, and expressed
their gratification at the sight that presented itself. The volunteers
were neatly uniformed and very precisely drilled. They marched with
the firm and uniform tread of regulars. The "ear-piercing fife and
spirit-stirring drum" discoursed the music sweetest to the ears of the
old warriors, and their eyes brightened and they made an effort to
straighten themselves, as if "the old time came o'er them." They
lingered at the window as long as they could catch the sound, and long
after the volunteers had turned the corner of the street. Perhaps, if we
had possessed sufficient mental insight, we might have been with those
old men in the scenes that came back to their minds like a tide that had
seemed to have ebbed away for ever. We might have been with them where
the drum and fife were as strong drink to the warriors, firing their
hearts and steeling their nerves for the bloody struggle. But we are
left to conjecture what was present to their imaginations by what they
express in conversation.
BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN.
"Those fellows look very neat and prim; they march well, and their
muskets are polished very bright. I wonder how they would stand fire,"
said Higgins, after the party had seated themselves.
"I doubt if they would like it as well as parading the streets; but
there may be some stout hearts among them," replied old Harmar.
"They should have been at Brandywine or Germantown. At either place they
would have had a chance to prove their stuff. Fife and drum would have
been necessary, I think, to stir them up," said Wilson.
"I paid a visit to Germantown, the other day," said Mr. Jackson Harmar.
"I passed over the chief portion of the battle-ground, and examined
Chew's house, where some of the British took refuge and managed to turn
the fortunes of the day. The house is in a good state of preservation,
and bears many marks of the conflict."
"I have seen it since the day of the battle, and have also walked over
the neighboring grounds," said Smith "You are wrong in stating that the
troops that threw themselves into that house turned the fortune of the
day. Our defeat was the result of many unlooked-for circumstances, which
no general could have been prepared to meet."
"I have always understood that the check received by our troops
at Chew's house gave the enemy time to rally, and thus defeated
Washington's plan," replied Mr. Jackson Harmar. "If it was otherwise, I
should like to be informed of the circumstances."
"Oh, tell us about the battle of Germantown, Mr. Smith!" exclaimed Mrs.
Harmar. She had some acquaintances at Germantown, and she wished to
astound them by the extent of her information. "Father says he was not
in the battle, being sick at the time. Besides, if he knew, he would
never condescend to tell me about it, when he could find Jackson to talk
to."
"Why, I'm sure, my child, you never seemed very anxious to know,"
replied old Harmar; "but if you will listen to Mr. Smith, you will know
all about it. He was present during the whole battle."