The Siege
Doubtless the patriots would have been able to keep the redcoats from
putting out the fire, and it would have burned the stockade-wall and
perhaps the fort, but a thunder-storm came up just as the affair was at
its height, and a heavy rain beating down on the fire, put it out.
The patriots, realizing that it would be useless to try to set the fort
afire when the wood was wet, returned to their encampment, and made
themselves as comfortable as they could for the night.
Next morning work was resumed, but no very rapid progress was made. They
kept pounding the stockade-wall with six-pound cannon balls, but they
did not seem to make much impression. Nor did General Greene deem it
wise to try to storm the fort, for the structure was too strong to break
through, and the wall was too high to scale.
It began to look as if the siege was to be a long one, and the patriots
settled down to take it as easy as possible, and make a thorough job of
the affair. They were determined that they would capture the fort sooner
or later.
When the siege had been going on four or five days, a patriot settler
came to the encampment, and told General Greene that a British force was
coming to reinforce Fort Ninety-Six, and it was about fifty miles
distant, and coming from the coast. General Sumpter had sent the patriot
to warn General Greene.
The general called a council of the members of his staff, and then they
questioned the patriot closely.
“How long will it take the British to reach here?” asked General Greene.
“About three days, I think,” was the reply.
“And how strong a force is it?”
“The man that brought the news to General Sumpter said there was about
five hundred soldiers in the force.”
“That number, in addition to the force that Major Cruger already has in
the fort will make his army too strong for us,” said General Greene.
“We must capture the fort before the reinforcements get here,” said
Captain Morgan.
“Yes, so we must,” agreed the general. “That is, if we can.”
“We are weakening the stockade-walls,” said another officer. “I believe
that in another day of pounding the wall with six-pound shots we will be
able to make an opening, and then we can storm the works.”
“We will try to force our way into the enemy’s works, anyhow,” said
General Greene. “We will get to work early in the morning, and keep at
work till we succeed.”
The patriots were up early next morning, and soon after breakfast the
bombardment of the fort with the six-pounders was begun, and was kept up
steadily throughout the day, but when evening came the wall still stood
firm.
The patriots began to believe that they would not be able to break down
the wall and get at the enemy.
Still, they were determined, and next day they worked as hard as ever,
but when evening came the wall still stood firm. The patriots were
disappointed, but made preparations to continue the work as
energetically as ever on the morrow.
After an early breakfast next morning, they went at it, and kept the
field-pieces busy till noon, and then as the wall still withstood the
fire from the six-pounders, General Greene began figuring on storming
the fort anyway.
“The British reinforcements may get here this afternoon,” he said, “and
we haven’t much time in which to work. We must try to effect an entrance
at the point where we have been trying to cause a breach with the
field-pieces.”
The other officers agreed with him, and so about the middle of the
afternoon an attempt was made to storm the enemy’s works. For a while
there was a desperate battle, and the patriots came very near effecting
an entrance, but finally they were repulsed, and had to retreat to the
edge of the forest.
It was now getting along toward evening, and the dead and wounded
patriots were removed under a flag of truce, the dead being buried and
the wounded taken care of.
Dick Dare had gone to General Greene as soon as the patriot force had
retreated, and he suggested that he should go and reconnoiter and see if
the British reinforcements were anywhere near, and the general had told
him to go ahead.
“That is a good idea,” he said. “The British may be near here now.”
Dick set out, and made his way eastward at a rapid pace, and kept onward
till nightfall, when he stopped at a farmhouse and asked if any redcoats
had been seen in that vicinity.
The settler said no, and Dick went on his way, but when night came, he
had not seen any signs of the British.
“They are not far away, I am certain,” was his thought. “Well, I’ll keep
on till I get them located. They will be in camp, likely, somewhere near
here.”
A few minutes later he caught sight of the glimmer of a campfire in the
distance, and he advanced slowly and cautiously, and when about one
hundred and fifty yards from the camp, he paused and stood there, gazing
at the scene with interest.
It was the British force, sure enough, and when he had sized it up
closely, he decided that there was nearer one thousand men than five
hundred.
“Our force could not hope to capture Fort Ninety-Six after this force
gets there,” he murmured. “And this force will reach there easily by
noon to-morrow.”
Having sized up the British force, Dick turned and made his way back in
the direction of the patriot encampment, reaching there about half-past
ten o’clock. He went direct to the tent occupied by General Greene, and
found the general still up.
“I found the encampment of the British, sir,” said Dick, after
exchanging greetings.
“Ah, indeed. How far from here is the encampment, Dick?”
“About ten or twelve miles.”
“How strong a force have they?” was the next question.
“There is nearer one thousand men than five hundred, sir.”
“Ah. Then the force is stronger than the messenger thought.”
“Yes, sir.”
The general asked a number of questions, all of which Dick answered, and
then the youth went to the quarters occupied by his company, and told
Tom and Ben about the British.
“That means that we will have a big battle to-morrow,” said Tom, his
voice trembling with eagerness.
“Likely,” said Dick.
“But they will outnumber us greatly,” said Ben.
“Yes,” said Dick, “but we will make a strong fight, and if we could
manage to capture the fort before the reinforcements get here, I believe
we could hold it.”
“I wish we could capture the fort,” said Tom.
Then they lay down and were soon sound asleep.