Insubordination
It was near to daybreak when we followed the soldier to where General
Herkimer lay under a shelter of pine boughs; but owing to the storm the
gloom was quite as profound as at any time during the night.
To my surprise, the general came out from his poor apology for a tent on
hearing our voices, although we spoke cautiously low, and even then I
could but ask myself why it was that an experienced soldier such as he was
not giving more heed to his bodily welfare, for men on the eve of
encountering a strong enemy surely need all the repose which can be had.
I was soon to understand why the commander slept so lightly, and to learn
for the first time that even patriots may be insubordinate.
General Herkimer did not at first recognize us in the gloom; but when
Sergeant Corney made himself known, the leader said, in a tone of bitter
disappointment:
"Then you did not succeed in getting there?"
"Ay, that we did, sir," the old soldier replied, emphatically; "but
Colonel Gansevoort had the desire to send a message to you, and we have
brought it, hopin' to be excused from further duty for a short time."
"What had Gansevoort to say?" General Herkimer asked, impatiently, and
Sergeant Corney repeated the message twice over, in order that there
should be no misunderstanding as to its meaning.
"Very well. We will be on the alert if these hotheads can be restrained,"
the general replied, and his words were a riddle to me until half an hour
later.
Then he asked what the old soldier meant by wishing to be excused from
duty, and the sergeant, in the fewest words possible, gave him an account
of our proceedings since leaving the camp at Oriskany, concluding by
saying:
"There is no question but that Jacob Sitz will make his way through the
Indian encampment, if it can be done by any person. Yet the lad is blinded
by love for his father, an' will take altogether too desperate chances,
unless there be some one at hand who can restrain him."
"Is it in your mind that the prisoner may be taken out of Thayendanega's
camp?" General Herkimer exclaimed.
"We do not count on any such good fortune; but follow the lad simply that
he may know he has not been forgotten. If it so be you need us, sir, we
will wait until you have gained the fort before making any effort to join
him."
"No, no, it was not from such motives that I spoke," the general
interrupted, hastily. "With a force as large as this two men would not
make much of a count either way. Go where you please, Sergeant Braun, and
when you are once more at liberty report to me."
"We reckon on resting our legs a bit, sir, before settin' out. You will
not advance for some time to come, sir?"
"How far do you count we are from the enemy's pickets?"
"Not above two miles, sir."
"Then we shall remain here, unless matters get beyond my control, until
having heard the signal."
Having made this, to me, odd remark, the commander disappeared from view
inside the shelter of boughs, and Sergeant Corney led me a dozen yards or
more from what might by courtesy have been called "headquarters," when he
halted to say, gravely:
"It appears that things are not just as they should be in this camp, lad."
"How do you mean?" I asked, in surprise.
"You heard what the general said?"
"Ay."
"Well, who of his men are making the trouble?"
Before I could so much as make a guess at the proper answer, I must needs
be told that there was trouble, for, through having failed to understand
exactly what the commander meant, I had not suspected that there was
anything serious brewing. But Sergeant Corney, experienced as he was in
such matters, seemed to know as if he had been informed in so many words
that insubordination was rife in the camp, and at a time when it was in
the highest degree necessary the men should move in harmony.
Since I could not even so much as hazard a guess, the old man, forgetting
his weariness and the need of gaining repose, led me out to where he had
been halted by the sentinel, and, finding him at his post, began his
investigations by saying:
"We two have just come from Fort Schuyler, an' knowin' full well how
strong a force is in front of the place, have a better idea of the kind of
work in hand than you who haven't seen the enemy."
"Did the general send you over here to tell me that?" the man asked, in a
certain tone of irritation, and Sergeant Corney replied, soothingly:
"Not a bit of it, my friend; but while we were having an interview with
the commander it struck me that matters here were not just as pleasant as
they should be, an' instead of awakenin' some one who might need more
slumber, we thought to come to you for an explanation."
"Of what?"
"That we cannot say; but there is a question I would ask you, as between
man and man, for mayhap the lives of us all depend upon the general sense
of good fellowship. Tell me plainly, is there insubordination in the
camp?"
"I know not if you may call it by that name," the sentinel said, somewhat
moodily; "but certain it is we would have relieved the fort four and
twenty hours ago had General Herkimer not held us back. With such a force
as we have here, it cannot be a hard matter to do about as we please. Look
you," the man continued, growing more confidential, "the general has no
less than eight hundred men under his command, and what may not a company
of that number do?"
"Very much, my friend; but your eight hundred would be weak indeed unless
the advance was made at the proper time and in a soldierly fashion. So
your people have been complaining because the commander holds them back?"
"Ay, and with good cause. When Colonels Cox and Paris say openly that it
is cowardly for us to loiter here, surely there must be some reason in
their words. A full third of this force believe we should have come in
front of Fort Schuyler yesterday mornin', an' think you all those can be
mistaken, an' only General Herkimer stand in the right?"
"Then it _is_ insubordination!" Sergeant Corney said, sadly, and the
sentinel replied, angrily:
"It is only common sense and a desire to aid the Cause. If we are eager to
begin a battle which will drive the Tories and their painted allies from
the valley, surely that man is a criminal who would hold us back."
"If you had been where this lad and I have just come from, able to see
what was seen by us, you would talk in a different strain," the old
soldier said, hotly. "Why, man, Colonel Gansevoort himself sent us back to
request that you remain here until he signals, so that everything may be
prepared for your comin', and we, knowin' how important it was you delay
until the proper moment, risked our lives twenty times over in the effort
to bring the word."
"Then Colonel Gansevoort is as great a coward as General Herkimer, for we
are of sufficient strength to march whithersoever we will."
Sergeant Corney turned as if to go, and then suddenly wheeling upon the
sentinel, said:
"I do not read my Bible, as a man should; but yet I remember that in it
can be found these words: 'Fools die for want of wisdom,' an' I'm
allowin', my friend, if you have any desire to linger in this 'ere world,
that you take the statement home mighty strong."
With this cutting remark, which for a moment I feared would provoke a
downright quarrel, Sergeant Corney strode off into the darkness, I
following meekly at his heels.
"Surely there can be nothing which would work harm in this desire of the
men to go forward," I said, when the sergeant had come to a halt,
throwing himself down under a tree as if to rest. "It should be a good
sign when soldiers are eager to go into battle."
"Insubordination, wherever you find it, is the most dangerous condition of
affairs that can be figgered out. When a man puts himself under a leader,
whether to fight or to till the land, an' then sets up his opinions
against those of the one who is supposed to know best, else he wouldn't be
in command, matters have come to a mighty dangerous pass. Instead of
helpin' the men inside the fort, this regiment is likely to bring them to
grief, unless things are changed, an' that right soon. Now get what sleep
you can, lad, before the encampment is astir," the old man added, changing
his tone very suddenly, and before I could obey he drew out his rifle from
the hiding-place where he had left it when we set off for the fort.
I laid myself down by his side; but it was not to sleep, for I realized
that the old soldier would not have spoken in such a tone unless matters,
according to his belief, had been in a most serious condition.
I was still speculating upon the situation, sorrowing because the men
would, at such a time, while the lives of so many depended upon concerted
action, set up their individual opinions against those who had been put in
authority over them, when a bustle on every side told that the soldiers
were awakening to a day of noble struggle for their country, or worse
than criminal bickerings.
If Sergeant Corney had really closed his eyes in slumber, which I doubted,
he was now awakened by the many noises, and a plan of action must have
been presented to him in his dreams, for he spoke like one who is
determined upon some decided course, as he said to me:
"Now, lad, we'll fill ourselves up with one good hearty meal, if it so be
this mutinously inclined army has a proper store of provisions, and then
it is for us to decide whether we stay among those who are like to come to
grief if they have their own way, or push out for ourselves."
I did not understand fully what he meant; but it was sufficient for me
that he was no longer in doubt as to what was best, and right willingly
did I obey his orders, for my stomach was uncomfortably empty.
There was no lack of food in this command which seemed to be divided
against itself, and the breakfast would have been to me most enjoyable but
for the sauce with which it was served.
Every man's tongue was loosened as if its owner was the only man amid all
the company who knew exactly which was the wisest course to pursue, and I
dare venture to say never a commander had under him at a critical moment,
such as this certainly was, so many pig-headed recruits.
Only once during the brief meal was Sergeant Corney asked for
information, although the word had passed around the encampment that he
and I were but just come from Fort Schuyler, and then it was that the old
soldier gave those insubordinate men such a tongue-lashing as they
deserved and I dare say had never before received; but, storm as he might,
it seemed as if all the arguments he brought up in favor of General
Herkimer's carrying out the plans suggested by Colonel Gansevoort, only
served to make those imitation soldiers more fixed in their opinions.
And for all this unseemly wrangling, when it was almost a crime to raise
one's voice against an order of the commander, I lay the blame upon the
two colonels, Cox and Paris, who, instead of holding their men firmly in
check, as was their duty, openly declared that General Herkimer was in the
wrong; thus fomenting what promised to be a most serious disturbance, and
what was finally paid for over and over again in blood.
It was perhaps half an hour after daybreak when Colonel Cox, the same
officer who by injudicious use of his tongue had well-nigh compassed the
death of us all during the powwow with Thayendanega, approached General
Herkimer while the latter was walking slowly around the encampment as if
on a tour of inspection, and said, in a tone so loud that all in the
vicinity might hear it:
"Are we to go forward, sir, as men should who set out to relieve a
besieged fort, or must we loiter here until the enemy has worked his
will?"
For an instant the general made no reply, and Sergeant Corney whispered to
me, angrily:
"That man deserves to be shot, an' all the more so because he is high in
command. I've seen troops in many a tight place durin' my life, but never
before heard any thin' that quite come up to that."
When, after a pause of fully a moment, General Herkimer spoke, it was to
ask:
"Do you know that messengers have come from Gansevoort, asking that we
hold our hands until he shall give the signal?"
"I have heard that it is pretended such a message has come," Colonel Cox
replied, in a most offensive tone, and I could see Sergeant Corney
clenching his fists tightly, as if thereby the better to hold himself in
check, for surely were we two entitled to make reply to such an implied
accusation.
"The garrison will make a sortie immediately after giving the signal, and
we can thus go into action with some hope of success," General Herkimer
said, mildly and firmly. "To advance before Gansevoort is ready would be
to imperil the lives of all this command."
"Speaking more particularly for yourself, sir, I suppose," Colonel Paris
said, with a sneer, and it would have given me the greatest pleasure to
have struck him down for that insult.
Then the three officers, still disputing, or, I should have said, the two
colonels still insulting their commander, who continued to bear with them
beyond that point where forbearance ceases to be a virtue, passed out of
earshot for the time being, and the men in the immediate vicinity took up
the subject, until, to my surprise, I found that nearly all of them sided
with the insubordinate colonels.
Five minutes later the three officers had approached so near where
Sergeant Corney and I were sitting that we could hear their words once
more, and then, to my indignation and the old soldier's anger, Colonel Cox
cried, in a fury, as he planted himself directly in front of the
commander:
"You are not only a coward, sir, but a Tory!"
I shall always hold that General Herkimer was a brave man, because, after
a severe effort which was evident to us all, he so far mastered his
righteous anger as to say, quietly:
"I am placed over you as a father and guardian, and shall not lead you
into difficulties from which I may not be able to extricate you."
Unless the soldiers of the command had been literally beside themselves,
such words would have brought them to a proper frame of mind; but as it
was, the temperate reply seemed to inflame their anger, and on the moment
there was a very babel of outcries, amid which it was only possible to
distinguish the demand that the force be led toward Fort Schuyler without
delay, regardless of any message which the sergeant and I might have
brought.
I could see, rather than hear, for the tumult was exceeding great, that
the two colonels continued to demand that the commander follow their plans
rather than adhere to his own, and it was a veritable fishwoman's squabble
during twenty minutes or more, when General Herkimer apparently lost his
temper for the first time, and cried, in a tone so loud that the words
could be distinctly heard all over the encampment:
"I will give the command to march forward, and you shall soon see that
those who have been boasting loudest of their courage will be the first to
run on meeting the enemy."
"I was afraid it would come to that," Sergeant Corney whispered to me,
with a sigh. "It don't stand to reason that any man could hold his temper
a great while under such a tongue-lashin' as those curs gave the
commander, an' I'm predictin' that every mother's son of 'em will rue this
mornin's work."
Immediately the unwilling permission for them to do as they pleased had
been given, the men set about making ready for the advance as if each
moment was of the greatest value, and in an incredibly short time after
General Herkimer had been bullied into agreeing to that which his better
judgment told him to be wrong, the company was ready for the march.
"Are we to go with them?" I asked of the sergeant, believing for the
moment that it would be wiser for us to form an independent command of
two.
"Ay, lad, I'm thinkin' that we had best stand by the general, for he may
be needin' us before this mornin's work is done, an' we sha'n't be takin'
a great deal of time from Jacob, because, in case of arrivin' before
Colonel Gansevoort is ready for us, the scrimmage will soon be over."
The two colonels, who were responsible for this unsoldierly method of
conducting a campaign, busied themselves with getting the men into lines,
and all the while telling what it was possible for them to do to St. Leger
and his force, as if anything of value could be done when the idiots did
not have sufficient sense to make inquiries of those who could give them
full information regarding the strength of the enemy whom they were so
soon to meet.
Even had Sergeant Corney not decided to follow the commander before the
line of march had been arranged, he would have done so later, because
General Herkimer beckoned us to approach when he took his place at the
head of the column.
"Are you counting on coming with me, despite the unnecessary danger which
we know will be encountered?" he asked, and Sergeant Corney replied,
promptly:
"Ay, sir, that we are, and had already settled it in our own minds."
"Which portion of the besieging troops are we likely to meet first, if we
follow the trail?" the general asked.
"Thayendanega's camp lies southeasterly from the fort; but how far it may
be from the trail, I cannot say."
At this moment the report of a rifle from the direction of where the
outermost sentinels were stationed startled every one, including those
bloodthirsty colonels, and for a moment all stood silent and motionless,
waiting to learn the cause of the alarm.
Then it was that the sentinel with whom the sergeant and I had already
spoken, came running into camp, for it seemed a favorite trick of his to
desert a post of duty whenever inclination prompted.
It was Colonel Cox who asked, advancing:
"Did you fire that gun?"
"Ay, sir; I saw two Indians in the thicket, coming as if from the
direction of this camp."
"Did you kill either of them?"
"I do not think I even scratched 'em. The wood is too dense for much good
shooting."
Colonel Cox wheeled around as if the information was of no especial
importance, when even a boy like me understood somewhat of its import,
and, carelessly saluting the commander, reported that the troops were
ready for the word to march.
The general, who was mounted, spurred his horse on to the head of the
column, Sergeant Corney and I following as best we might, and once in the
lead he gave the command.
"Is nothing to be done toward finding out whether the Indians whom the
sentinel saw, succeeded in getting back to their own camp?" I asked of my
companion, and he replied, grimly, with what was very like a smile of
satisfaction on his wrinkled face:
"These officers who have so much wind to spare in camp cannot afford the
time to consider such trifles as a few scouts skulkin' around to make
certain of what we are doin'."
"An' we are like to find ourselves ambushed!" I cried, in dismay.
"Ay, that's what we are, lad, an' I'm thinkin' there will be no way out of
the difficulty until some of these insubordinates are killed off, which
will be greatly to the advantage of the command, accordin' to my way of
thinkin'."
I will set down here that which I read in a book several years after the
day Sergeant Corney and I followed General Herkimer on what we believed to
be a most ill-advised and hazardous march, in view of Colonel Gansevoort's
request, and from the words it will be seen that I am not the only person
who lays blame of all that happened upon those loud-mouthed, imitation
soldiers who were so soon to show themselves cowards.
"The morning was dark, sultry, and lowering. General Herkimer's troops,
composed chiefly of the militia regiments of Colonels Cox, Paris,
Visscher, and Klock, were quite undisciplined, and their order of march
was irregular and without precaution. The contentions of the morning had
delayed their advance until about nine o'clock, and the hard feelings
which existed between the commander and some of his officers caused a
degree of insubordination which proved fatal in its consequences.... A
deep ravine crossed the path of Herkimer in a north and south direction,
extending from the high grounds on the south to the river, and curving
toward the east in semicircular form. The bottom of this ravine was
marshy, and the road crossed it by means of a causeway of earth and logs.
On each side of the ravine the ground was nearly level, and heavily
timbered. A thick growth of underwood, particularly along the margin of
the ravine, favored the concealment of the enemy."
All the colonels of this small army were on horseback, a fact which caused
me no little astonishment, for I had heard my uncle say again and again,
and there can be no question but that he was a brave and skilful soldier,
that the man who went in the saddle to meet savages was courting his own
death.
So great was my indignation against these men who had badgered the
commander that I mentally hugged myself with delight because of their
folly, not only in thus riding, but in moving the column without scouts
ahead to learn the whereabouts of the enemy, or to ascertain what might be
in front of, or on either side of them.
It is true that Colonel Visscher's regiment was detailed as a rear-guard,
and I question if even such a precaution would have been taken but for the
fact that the provision and ammunition wagons, which were not able to move
at as rapid a pace as the men, needed something in the way of protection.
It was not until we had advanced half a mile or more that I bethought
myself of the position in the column which Sergeant Corney and I occupied
because of attempting to follow General Herkimer closely.
In event of an ambush being prepared for our reception, and I confidently
expected that such would be the case after the sentinel had seen Indians
lurking nearabout the camp, we two would be in a most dangerous position,
and I made mention of that which was in my mind to the sergeant.
"Ay, lad, you may be right, an' yet I am questionin' whether we shall be
any worse off here than further in the rear, for if it so be
Thayendanega's sneaks count on ambushin' us, I can tell you to a dot just
where it'll be done. They will let this gang of men--you can't call 'em
soldiers after what we have seen--get well into the ravine before makin'
any attack. Consequently it will be about the centre of the line that
suffers most."
"You mean that if trouble comes it will be at the ravine over which is
the causeway?"
"Ay, lad, an' there's no question about our gettin' it hot there!"