Part 11 (2/2)

”Men have different ideas of that particular thing.”

”This 'thunderbolt of war,' this 'brave Morgan, who never knew fear,'

was, in camp, often wicked and very profane, but never a disbeliever in religion. He testified that himself. In his latter years General Morgan professed religion, and united himself with the Presbyterian church in Winchester, Va., under the pastoral care of the Rev. Dr. Hill, who preached in that house some forty years, and may now be occasionally heard on Loudon Street, Winchester. His last days were pa.s.sed in that town; and while sinking to the grave, he related to his minister the experience of his soul. 'People thought,' said he, 'that Daniel Morgan never prayed;'--'People said old Morgan never was afraid;'--'People did not know.' He then proceeded to relate in his blunt manner, among many other things, that the night they stormed Quebec, while waiting in the darkness and storm, with his men paraded, for the word 'to advance,' he felt unhappy; the enterprise appeared more than perilous; it seemed to him that nothing less than a miracle could bring them off safe from an encounter at such an amazing disadvantage. He stepped aside and kneeled by the side of a cannon--and then most fervently prayed that the Lord G.o.d Almighty would be his s.h.i.+eld and defence, for nothing less than an almighty arm could protect him. He continued on his knees till the word pa.s.sed along the line. He fully believed that his safety during that night of peril was from the interposition of G.o.d. Again, he said, about the battle of the Cowpens, which covered him with so much glory as a leader and a soldier--he had felt afraid to fight Tarleton with his numerous army flushed with success--and that he retreated as long as he could--till his men complained--and he could go no further. Drawing up his army in three lines, on the hill side; contemplating the scene--in the distance the glitter of the advancing enemy--he trembled for the fate of the day. Going to the woods in the rear, he kneeled in an old tree-top, and poured out a prayer to G.o.d for his army, and for himself, and for his country. With relieved spirits he returned to the lines, and in his rough manner cheered them for the fight; as he pa.s.sed along, they answered him bravely. The terrible carnage that followed the deadly aim of his lines decided the victory. In a few moments Tarleton fled.

'Ah,' said he, 'people said old Morgan never feared;'--'they thought Morgan never prayed; they did not know;'--'old Morgan was often miserably afraid.' And if he had not been, in the circ.u.mstances of amazing responsibility in which he was placed, how could he have been brave?”

[Ill.u.s.tration: GENERAL MORGAN.]

”We seldom hear of a man admitting that he was ever afraid,” observed Hand. ”But the man who never knew fear must be possessed of a small degree of intelligence and no sense of responsibility; neither of which are creditable. Great generals, and soldiers, in all ages, have boasted of their freedom from dread under all circ.u.mstances. But it is a mere boast. Fear is natural and useful, and I have ever observed that the man of most fear is the man of most prudence and forecast.”

”Do you mean to say that the coward is the wisest man?” enquired Kinnison, in astonishment.

”Oh, no. A coward is one who will not grapple with danger when he meets it, but shrinks and flies. A man who is conscious of dangers to be met, and feels a distrust of his own power to meet them, is a different sort of person,” replied Hand.

”Well, that's a very nice distinction,” remarked one of the young men.

”There's truth in what he says, however,” said Ranson. ”I have felt a fear of consequences many a time, yet I know that I am not a coward; for my conduct in the time of battle, and when death was hailing around me, proves it.”

”I can't see any distinction between a coward and a man of many fears,”

remarked Davenport; ”though, of course, I don't know enough of words to argue the point.”

”To make it clearer,” replied Hand, ”I will a.s.sert that Was.h.i.+ngton was a man fearful of consequences, and some of those who refused to go to the aid of the heroes of Bunker Hill were cowards.”

”It's all plain enough to me,” observed Colson. But the rest of the company, by shakes of the head and meditative looks, indicated that the distinction was not perceptible to their mental vision.

THE BATTLE OF ORISKANY.

”Well now, my friends, I can tell you of a brave man who was not fearful enough to be prudent,” observed Colson. ”I allude to Gen. Herkimer. No man can dispute his courage; and it is clear that if he had possessed more fear of Indian wiles, he would not have fallen into an ambuscade.”

”Will you tell us about the battle in which he fell?” enquired Hand.

”I was about to do so,” replied Colson. ”Brig. Gen. Herkimer was the commander of the militia of Tryon County, N.Y., when news was received that St. Leger, with about 2,000 men, had invested Fort Schuyler. The General immediately issued a proclamation, calling out all the able-bodied men in the county, and appointed a place for their rendezvous and a time for them to be ready for marching to the relief of Fort Schuyler.

”Learning that Gen. Herkimer was approaching to the relief of the garrison, and not being disposed to receive him in his camp, St. Leger detached a body of Indians and tories, under Brant and Col. Butler, to watch his approach, and to intercept, if possible, his march. The surrounding country afforded every facility for the practice of the Indian mode of warfare. In the deep recesses of its forests they were secure from observation, and to them they could retreat in case they were defeated. Finding that the militia approached in a very careless manner, Butler determined to attack them by surprise. He selected a place well fitted for such an attack. A few miles from the fort there was a deep ravine sweeping toward the east in a semicircular form, and having a northern and southern direction. The bottom of this ravine was marshy, and the road along which the militia were marching crossed it by means of a log causeway. The ground thus partly enclosed by the ravine was elevated and level. Along the road, on each side of this height of land, Butler disposed his men.

”About ten o'clock on the morning of the 6th of August, 1777, the Tryon County militia arrived at this place without any suspicions of danger.

The dark foliage of the forest trees, with a thick growth of underbrush, entirely concealed the enemy from their view. The advanced guard, with about two-thirds of the whole force, had gained the elevated ground, the baggage-wagons had descended into the ravine--Col. Fisher's regiment was still on the east side--when the Indians arose, and with a dreadful yell poured a destructive fire upon them. The advanced guard was entirely cut off. Those who survived the first fire were immediately cut down with the tomahawk. The horror of the scene was increased by the personal appearance of the savages, who were almost naked and painted in a most hideous manner. They ran down each side, keeping up a constant fire, and united at the causeway; thus dividing the militia into two bodies. The rear regiment, after a feeble resistance, fled in confusion, and were pursued by the Indians. They suffered more severely than they would have done had they stood their ground, or advanced to the support of the main body in front.

”The latter course would have been attended with great loss, but might probably have been effected. The forward division had no alternative but to fight. Facing out in every direction, they sought shelter behind the trees and returned the fire of the enemy with spirit. In the beginning of the battle, the Indians, whenever they saw that a gun was fired from behind a tree, rushed up and tomahawked the person thus firing before he had time to reload his gun. To counteract this, two men were ordered to station themselves behind one tree, the one reserving his fire until the Indian ran up. In this way the Indians were made to suffer severely in return. The fighting had continued for some time, and the Indians had begun to give way, when Major Watson, a brother-in-law of Sir John Johnson, brought up a reinforcement, consisting of a detachment of Johnson's Greens. The blood of the Germans boiled with indignation at the sight of these men. Many of the Greens were personally known to them. They had fled their country, and were now returned in arms to subdue it. Their presence under any circ.u.mstances would have kindled up the resentment of these militia; but coming up as they now did, in aid of a retreating foe, called into exercise the most bitter feelings of hostility. They fired upon them as they advanced, and then rus.h.i.+ng from behind their covers, attacked them with their bayonets, and those who had none, with the b.u.t.t end of their muskets. This contest was maintained, hand to hand, for nearly half an hour. The Greens made a manful resistance, but were finally obliged to give way before the dreadful fury of their a.s.sailants, with the loss of thirty killed upon the spot where they first entered. Major Watson was wounded and taken prisoner, though afterwards left upon the field.

”In this a.s.sault Col. c.o.x is said to have been killed; possessing an athletic frame, with a daring spirit, he mingled in the thickest of the fight. His voice could be distinctly heard, as he cheered on his men or issued his orders, amid the clas.h.i.+ng of arms and the yells of the contending savages.

”About one o'clock, Adam Helmer, who had been sent by Gen. Herkimer with a letter to Col. Gansevoort, announcing his approach, arrived at the fort. At two o'clock, Lieut. Col. Willet, with 207 men, sallied from the fort for the purpose of making a diversion in favour Gen. Herkimer, and attacked the camp of the enemy. This engagement lasted about an hour, when the enemy were driven off with considerable loss. Col. Willet having thrown out flanking parties, and ascertained that the retreat was not feigned, ordered his men to take as much of the spoil as they could remove, and to destroy the remainder. On their return to the fort, above the landing, and near where the old French fort stood, a party of 200 regular troops appeared, and prepared to give battle. A smart fire of musketry, aided by the cannon from the fort, soon obliged them to retreat, when Willet returned into the fort with his spoil, and without the loss of a single man. A part of that spoil was placed upon the walls of the fortress, where it waved in triumph in sight of the vanquished enemy.

”This timely and well-conducted sally was attended with complete success. A shower of rain had already caused the enemy to slacken their fire, when finding by reports that their camp was attacked and taken, they withdrew and left the militia in possession of the field.

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