Part 16 (1/2)
The history of the A, like sunbeams, on this heavenly fiat: ”America shall be free!”
Some of our chimney-corner philosophers can hardly believe, when they read of Sa the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass Then hoill they believe what I a to tell them of Marion? Hoill they believe that, at a time when the British had completely overrun South Carolina; their headquarters at Charleston, a victorious arh, with swar up all between; and the spirits of the poor whigs so completely cowed, that they were fairly knocked under to the civil and ain, will believe, that in this desperate state of things, one little, swarthy, French-phizzed Carolinian, with only thirty of his ragged country out of the swamps, should have dared to turn his horse's head towards this all conquering foe?
Well, Marion was that man He it ith his feeble force, dared to dash up at once to Nelson's ferry, on the great war path between the British arallant friends,” said he, at sight of the road, and with a face burning for battle, ”now look sharp!
here are the British wagon tracks, with the sand still falling in!
and here are the steps of their troops passing and repassing
We shall not long be idle here!”
And so it turned out For scarcely had we reached our hiding place in the swa that a British guard, with a world of American prisoners, were on their march for Charleston
”How many prisoners do you suppose there were?” said Marion
”Near two hundred,” replied the scouts
”And what do you iuard?”
”Why, sir, we counted about ninety”
”Ninety!” said Marion with a sentleood hope that we thirty will have those ninety by to-morrow's sunrise”
We told him to lead on, for that ere resolved to die by his side
Soon as the dusky night ca for a party of good loyalists, we easily got set over The enee of the river as the sun went down, halted at the first tavern, generally called ”the Blue House”, where the officers ordered supper In front of the building, was a large arbor, wherein the topers ont to sit, and spend the jocund night away in songs and gleeful draughts of apple brandy grog
In this arbor, flushed with their late success, sat the British guard; and tickler after tickler swilling, roared it away to the tune of ”Britannia strike houe, and the opiate juice, down they sunk, deliciously beastified, to the ground
Just as the cock had winded his last horn for day we approached the house in perfect conceal of fence, within a few yards of it
But in spite of all our address, we could not effect a complete surprisal of the their pieces, fled into the yard Swift as lightning we entered with the their ate, we ed to kill ton and his whole army been upon the survivors, they could hardly have roared out louder for quarter
After securing their arms, Marion called for their captain; but he was not to be found, high nor low, a or dead
However, after a hot search, he was found up the chied very hard that ould not let hiscould equal the mortification of the British, when they came to see what a handful of militia-men had taken them, and recovered all their prisoners
Marion was at first in high hopes, that the Aallantly rescued, would, to a e their late defeat But equally to HIS surprise and their own disgrace, not one of them could be prevailed on to shoulder anohen all is lost?”
This was the general impression And indeed except these unconquerable spirits, Marion and Sumter, with a few others of the same heroic stamp, who kept the field, Carolina was no better than a British province
In our late attack on the enele sword that deserved the naht up all the old saw blades froave them to the smiths, who presently manufactured for us a parcel of substantial broadswords, sufficient, as I have often seen, to kill a le blow
Froot colish muskets, with bayonets and cartouch-boxes, to each of us, hich we retreated into Britton's Neck