BLADENSBURG.
If I would tell all that was done in and around Washington by our
people, and then have space in which to set down that which we lads
were able to accomplish after the British had worked their will, very
much of what then seemed highly interesting to us of the Avenger, must
be passed over with but few words.
Perhaps it is well that it should be so, for we moved here and there
without apparent aim or purpose until every man and officer was on the
verge of exhaustion, and then, when it required no slight effort
simply to remain on our feet, we were forced to meet the British army,
which had advanced by short stages to the end that the men should be
in the best physical condition for that struggle which decided the
fate of the nation's capital.
We had no sooner struck our tents than word was brought that the
President was on his way from the Potomac to review our troops, and at
such information Darius grumbled loud and long, therefore we lads
knew full well that Commodore Barney was opposed to such
monkey-shines, otherwise the old sailor would not have dared to voice
his complaints so stoutly.
When we might have been resting preparatory to the extraordinary
fatigues that were before us, all our little army were forced to
remain in line a good two hours, when President Madison was ready to
begin the review, after which we marched and countermarched in front
of him when three men out of every four were unable to understand the
words of command.
It was a most ridiculous performance, as can well be fancied, and if
the chief magistrate of the land was well pleased with the result, it
is more than can be said for the officers in command.
By the time this mockery of a review had come to an end, scouts
arrived with information that the main body of the enemy was still
resting comfortably at Upper Marlboro, whereupon we were allowed to
remain in line while the general sent couriers to the different
commanders under him, directing them to move in the direction of the
British camp.
We remained on parade from shortly after sunrise until ten o'clock in
the forenoon, when we were as tired as if from a long march. Then we
were dismissed; but since all the tents had been carried away in the
baggage-wagons, there was nothing for us to do save lounge around in
the open field exposed to the burning rays of the sun.
Nothing more was done in the way of throwing up breastworks, therefore
we who had been the last to leave the fleet, were not called upon to
handle pick or shovel.
An hour before noon General Winder, escorted by a troop of Laval's
cavalry, left the encampment, and it was reported that he had gone to
hold a conference with General Stansbury at Bladensburg.
All our rations, save what each man had held back in his pockets, were
with the baggage-train, therefore we did not make a very hearty meal
at noon, and perhaps it was as well, for while we were eating the
small amount of food at our disposal two companies of Maryland
militia, under command of Major Peter, came into camp on the double
quick, with every evidence of terror on their faces.
Immediately the long roll was sounded, and as we fell into line once
more, expecting to see the enemy advancing, word was whispered around
that Major Peter, scouting in the direction of Marlboro on the Wood
Yard road, had skirmished with the Britishers, and been driven back.
Commodore Barney and General Smith, who had command of the militia in
the absence of General Winder, set about making preparations for
battle, and Major McKenney was sent in hot haste to inform our
commander of the position of affairs.
We remained under arms, and in momentary expectation of being engaged
in a life or death struggle, until near sunset, when General Winder
arrived, and without loss of time we were headed for Washington at a
sharp pace, thus being forced to march over the same ground three
times without having seen the enemy once.
We arrived for the second time at the capital about midnight, and were
posted near the Eastern Branch bridge, there to get such repose as
might be possible while we did guard duty on that side of the city.
In order to show that my grumbling had good foundation, I am going to
set down here a portion of General Smith's report, as I heard it read
a week later:
"The arrival at the Eastern Branch bridge terminated the four days of
service of the troops of this District. They have been under arms,
with but little intermission, the whole of the time, both night and
day; have traveled, during their different marches in advance and
retreat, a considerable tract of country, exposed to the burning heat
of a sultry sun by day, and many of them to the cold dews of the
night, uncovered. They have in this period drawn but two rations, the
requisition therefor in the first instance being but partially
complied with, and it being afterward almost impossible to procure the
means of transportation, the wagons employed by our quartermaster for
that purpose being constantly impressed by the government agents for
the purpose of removing the public records when the enemy's approach
was known, and some of them thus seized while proceeding to take in
provisions for the army."
On that night after our arrival we heard that the British were
advanced within two miles of Long Old Fields. We who comprised the
command under General Winder were worn and dispirited; Laval's
horsemen were exhausted, and Stansbury's men at Bladensburg were tired
out by long marches, lack of sleep and scarcity of food.
As if to make bad matters worse, our general fell from his horse near
about daybreak, and really was not fit to remain in the saddle,
although he pluckily kept on duty, not the least of which were many
conferences with the President and members of his Cabinet.
At sunrise, after our force had indulged in less than two hours'
sleep, Laval's scouts brought in positive information that the British
General Ross was marching directly toward Bladensburg; half an hour
later messengers came from General Stansbury with the word that the
enemy was in his front, and urging that reinforcements be sent at
once.
It was a case of making another march without breakfast, and, for the
matter of that, we had had no supper the night previous.
There was more than one grumbler when we obeyed the summons to "fall
in;" but the men under Commodore Barney held their peace after our
leader urged that we act "like patriots, and not like children who had
come out expecting to enjoy a holiday."
Well, off we posted for Bladensburg, a good eight miles from where we
had halted, and I for one hoped that the battle, since there must be
one, would be on at once, for it seemed better to be shot at than worn
down by apparently aimless running to and fro.
We of the flotilla arrived near Bladensburg shortly after noon, and
were stationed about a mile from the village on the Washington road.
There we found two eighteens and three 12-pounders, all ship's guns,
mounted on carriages, which had been drawn to the spot by the marines
from the navy yard, and with these we were supposed to hold our
position, having no other support than a crowd of raw militia in front
of us.
Our force, meaning those under Commodore Barney's command, numbered,
as I have already said, about five hundred, and although we had no
knowledge of military tactics, we knew enough to obey our officers to
the best of our ability, which was considerably more than could be
said for very many of the troops near at hand.
I cannot set down that which followed, in proper fashion so that it
could be understood by those familiar with the game of war; I only
know what happened near my comrades and myself, for the crew of the
Avenger had taken good care to stand side by side at this time when
one or all of us might meet death through the medium of British lead.
For myself, I can say this: that when I looked around at the mass of
men--five thousand strong I have since heard--, and saw them wrangling
over this trifling matter or that, openly disputing some command, or
boldly leaving an assigned position to take up one which pleased them
better, I had more fear of what might come to us through the cowardice
or ignorance of our own people, than regarding the ability of the
enemy to cut us up.
Darius made his preparations for the conflict by stuffing a huge piece
of tobacco into his mouth, after which he proceeded to read us a
lecture on behavior while under fire.
"Remember this," he said with the air of one who knows it all, "it
isn't every bullet that finds its billet, an' the toughest time is
just now, when we're waitin' for what all hands know is bound to come.
Think of the folks at Benedict, an' kind'er figger out what they'd
say if you went home after showin' yourselves cowards under fire.
There are worse things than bein' killed or wounded in battle, an' the
hardest is to live knowin' every youngster on the street has the right
to call you a white-livered sneak what ran away when danger came.
Stand here behind Joshua Barney, for I warrant he won't give you a
chance to get in front of him, an' you'll be doin' about right."
When the old man had come to an end of his instructions, we would have
conversed among ourselves, speaking much, no doubt, of the folks at
home; but he sternly bade us hold our tongues, thinking that we would
not be heartened by such talk, and straightway began to tell us a yarn
of how he and Bill Jepson had fought under Commodore Barney, when the
enemy was a ship of thirty-two guns, and they in a schooner carrying
only twelve 10-pounders.
The yarn had not yet come to an end when a commotion among the men in
front of us caused me to crane my neck to look in the direction many
were pointing, and there I saw the lines of red marching directly
toward us in perfect order, as if on parade.
At almost the same moment the enemy began to throw rockets among our
people, and these, exploding, hurled bullets' in every direction.
Within two minutes from the time I first saw the Britishers, no less
than five men near me were stricken down, and the sight of the gaping
wounds, together with the moans of the sufferers, gave me a sensation
of faintness which was well-nigh overpowering.
"Stand steady you lads from the Avenger!" Darius cried sharply,
warned, no doubt, by the sight of our pale faces that we were growing
sick in more ways than one. "Somebody must get hurt, else the battle
would never be over, an' we're here to spoil the Britishers' fun,
which we shall do mighty soon. Joshua Barney is only waitin' for the
proper time, an' when he gives the word to begin work, there'll be a
change of tune."
At that moment, and before a gun had been fired, the militiamen in
front of us broke into a run toward the rear, many of them throwing
down their muskets as they took part in a most disgraceful retreat.
For the credit of our flotillamen, and the marines, I must set it down
that not one of them wavered when the retreat was begun, and after the
last of the cowards was in the rear I heard the commodore shout:
"Now's your time, lads! Give it to 'em hot an' strong, but make every
charge count!"
Then our ship's guns were discharged, and the faintness left me as I
saw the missiles cut down long lanes in the red-coated ranks; the
smell of burning powder must have got into my brain, for from that
moment I knew nothing save that my musket was to be loaded and
discharged as rapidly as possible.
Men fell around me by the score, yet I gave no heed to the evidences
of suffering. Once, a man shot through the head, pitched forward
directly into my arms, covering me with blood as he sank dead at my
feet, and yet, unused though I was to such scenes, it caused me no
other feeling than that of anger because he had spoiled my aim.
I knew nothing of what was going on immediately in front of me, save
that the red line, now broken by many a gap, was before my eyes; that
it advanced, fell back and advanced again, sending among us such a
shower of bullets that the buzzing in the air was like unto a swarm of
angry bees.
Once Jerry tried to say something to me, but I pushed him back
petulantly, so strong a hold had the fever of battle upon me. My
musket barrel grew hot to the touch, and it was no longer possible to
charge it properly. Without compunctions I exchanged weapons with one
of the dead men at my feet, and continued the work, shouting aloud in
vengeful joy when I saw an enemy fall by my hand.
Darius cried out in my ear; but I heard him not, nor did I heed the
fact that he wanted to speak with me. I was insane with the scene of
carnage, the salty odor of blood, and the choking, stifling fumes of
burning powder.
Then, suddenly, Darius pulled me back by the coat-collar, forcing me
to run with him, and as we went swiftly past our guns toward the rear,
I asked what he was doing.
"The word had been given to retreat!" he cried. "Do the best you can
with your legs, lad, for there'll be no quarter given if we are taken.
We of the flotilla, with the marines, have borne the brunt of this
whole battle for the last half hour, an' we've left our mark on the
red-coats, even if we are turnin' tail now!"
"But the commodore?" I cried, now getting back a portion of my
scattered senses.
"Wounded ten minutes ago, an' taken off the field, I hope. It was in
my mind to help him; but he ordered me to go back to duty, an' I went,
for when Joshua Barney gives the word, even though he's half dead,
it's safest to obey without makin' much talk. Captain Miller of the
marines was shot down at about the same time."
Then I had sense enough to see that all my comrades of the Avenger
were close about me, none of them appearing to be hurt, and while we
ran to save ourselves from being made prisoners, let me set down that
which was written less than a week after the battle of Bladensburg,
for, as it turned out, we had fought a regular battle.
"No troops remained in line, except the party under Commodore Barney,
and two detachments on his right, that were well posted. Having been
so roughly handled, the enemy made no attempt to advance directly in
front of the seamen and marines, but, after forcing the troops on
their right from the field, by a demonstration in that direction, they
prepared to turn the rear of Barney in order to surround him.
"While these movements were going on in front, a party of light troops
had been thrown out on the enemy's right, and the militia having
abandoned the ground, they were also beginning to close upon the
Americans that stood. By this time Commodore Barney, Captain Miller,
and several other officers were wounded, and, victory being impossible
against odds so great, an order was given to commence a retreat.
"The defense had been too obstinate to admit of carrying off the guns,
which were necessarily abandoned. All the men retired, with the
exception of the badly wounded; among the latter, however, were
Commodore Barney and Captain Miller, who both fell into the enemy's
hands.
"Of the marines, nearly one-third were among the casualties, and the
flotilla-men suffered considerably, though in smaller proportions. The
people of the flotilla, under the orders of Barney, and the marines,
were justly applauded for their excellent conduct. No troops could
have stood better, and the fire of both artillery and musketry has
been described as to the last degree severe."
Jerry, who reads each day what I write, says that by putting down the
account of what we of the flotilla did, I am blowing my own horn; but
I do not so consider it, since the fact is a matter of history, and if
we won praise on that disastrous day, then we should boast of it to
the end that the picture may not be so black.
And now to return to us of the Avenger who were fugitives, without any
idea of where safety might be found.
Strange to say, not one of us had been wounded, while many a better
man close beside us had met his death.
Darius took it upon himself to lead our party, and right willing were
we to have him act as commander, though I question if he really knew
where he was going when we left the bloody field.
There is no shame in my heart when I set it down that we ran from the
enemy, and did our level best at that game; the order to retreat had
been given after we had done all that might have been expected from
well seasoned troops, and to have remained longer would have been a
useless sacrifice.
By instinct, rather than deliberation, Darius led us southward, close
on the heels of several hundred men, all of whom were quite as eager
as we to keep out of the enemy's clutches.
To the best of my knowledge the British did not pursue; they had won a
victory, but in so doing received quite as much of a drubbing as was
needed, and officers as well as privates were willing to remain on the
hard-earned field.
I believe it was a full hour before Darius would allow us to slacken
the pace, and then we were well among the foremost of the fugitives.
By this time we were so nearly winded that it was impossible to
continue the flight without a breathing spell, and the old man allowed
us to halt when we were close upon the city.
We could see that our people were bearing to the west, in order to
give Washington a wide berth, and, when it was possible to speak
because of my heavy breathing, I asked Darius where he proposed to go.
"That's what I haven't rightly made up my mind on," the old man said
thoughtfully. "It stands to reason that the enemy will, sooner or
later, try to make as many prisoners as possible, an' I'm allowin'
that those fellows ahead are bound to have a hot time of it before
they're many hours older. If we could only get down the river!"
"But we can't, an' that much is certain," Jerry said petulantly.
"Perhaps you've got another scheme in your head, since the oyster
business turned out so well," and it is possible that I spoke
sharply, realizing with bitterness just then that but for my
partner's proposition to sell fish to the fleet I might never have
discovered I owed my country a duty, and, consequently, would not at
that moment be hunted down, or in danger of it.
"Perhaps I have," Jerry replied quietly, giving no heed to my
disagreeable manner of speaking.
"What is it, lad?" Darius asked curiously. "I take it that at such a
time as this a bit of advice, no matter from whom it comes, is well
worth listenin' to."
"Why not go straight into Washington, an' stay there till we find a
chance to slip down the river?"
"Into Washington?" Jim Freeman cried in alarm. "Why the Britishers
have promised to burn the town!"
"I know that, an' it ain't likely any of our people will go there
because of that same thing."
"An' yet you allow that we should stick our noses into the mess?"
Darius asked.
"Ay, because the Britishers never will suspect that any who took part
in the fight would go there. It should be possible to find a
hiding-place somewhere in the town, an' it strikes me we wouldn't be
in as much danger as if we kept with the crowd."
I began to think that there was more in Jerry's scheme than appeared
when he first suggested it, and Darius seemed to be considering the
matter very seriously.
"In the first place," my partner continued, warming to the subject
when he saw that we were interested, "it would be necessary to get
there before the Britishers took possession, an' it might be we could
pass ourselves off as fellows who had stayed in the town like cowards,
rather than take the chances of bein' shot."
"It's a pretty good scheme, lad, an' I for one am willin' to try it,"
Darius said abruptly as he rose to his feet. "If the others think as I
do, we'd better be movin'."
After the old man had thus spoken there was not one of us who would
have ventured to object, for he had shown that in any business of this
kind he knew more than all of us put together, therefore we made ready
to set out; but before the first step had been taken we saw coming
toward us from the direction of Bladensburg, a man riding a mule, and
waving his arms as if to attract our attention.
"Go on," I said petulantly. "We can't afford to hang around here very
long if we count on finding a hiding-place in the city, and that is
only one of the country people who wants to sell his mule."
"I reckon we'll wait a bit," Darius replied firmly. "Unless I'm way
out of my reckonin', yonder man was in the fight, an' has scooped up
one of the baggage-wagon mules to help him along."
"But our party is too big for safety now, and what will it be if we
allow every straggler to trail on behind? We might as well follow the
other fugitives."
All this I said like a peevish child, and no sooner had I ceased
speaking than Darius seized me by the shoulder, forcing me to turn
until I had a full view of the newcomer.
"Look at the man," the sailor cried sternly, "an' then say whether you
will allow every straggler to trail on behind us when the road is as
free to one as another?"
In an instant I was covered with confusion and remorse. The man to
whose company I had objected was none other than my own father, and as
he approached I could see that he was wounded in the right leg.
There was nothing I could say just then to show my comrades how deeply
I regretted having spoken in such a tone, therefore I ran forward to
greet him who, a moment previous, I had been eager to leave behind.
My comrades joined me as I saluted my father much more warmly than I
might have done but for the unkind words I had spoken, and in a few
seconds we heard all the story he could tell.
He had been wounded quite severely during the early part of the
battle, and went to the rear in search of the surgeons. Failing to
find those whose duty it was to be near the scene of action, and
unable to walk any further owing to loss of blood, he laid down under
one of the baggage-wagons which had been used to transport ammunition.
Here he bandaged his wound as well as possible, and was about to set
out once more in search of aid, when the final retreat was ordered.
Unable to walk, he would soon have been made a prisoner, or, perhaps,
in the heat of the moment, received worse treatment, when the idea of
escaping on one of the mules occurred to him.
Cutting the traces he rode off, taking a course to the north in his
ignorance of the country; but, discovering his mistake, he turned
about, and the first persons he saw were those of our party.
Without wasting any time we told him of Jerry's scheme, and he, having
nothing better to propose, agreed to make the venture, more
particularly because he stood sadly in need of some attention, since
the wound had been only rudely bandaged.
Darius claimed that he could treat it after a sailorly fashion,
provided we found clean water and cotton cloth, and declared that it
would heal as well after such treatment as if any save a skilled
surgeon had dressed it.
As a matter of course we kept the mule, for it was necessary my
father should ride, and after the delay needed in which to explain
matters, our little party started toward Washington, knowing full well
that we were going where it was certain the enemy would soon come.
Although I had agreed to Jerry's scheme, and was willing to do
whatsoever the majority of my companions decided was for the best, I
could not but believe that ours was as rash a move as fugitives ever
made, for of a verity it was thrusting ourselves into the jaws of the
lion.
Now that my father was with us, having his wound as proof that he had
taken part in the battle, we could no longer hope to pass ourselves
off as cowards who remained at home while others were fighting for us,
and in event of being captured in the city I believed we would receive
rougher usage than those taken prisoners on the battle-field.