True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the American War of Independence Read online

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  TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG

  A TALE OF THE AMERICAN WAROF INDEPENDENCE

  ByG. A. HENTY

  Author Of "With Clive In India," "The Dragon And The Raven,""With Lee In Virginia," "By England's Aid," "In The Reign Of Terror,""With Wolfe In Canada," "Captain Bayley's Heir," Etc.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER

  I. A FRONTIER FARM

  II. AN INDIAN RAID

  III. THE REDSKIN ATTACK

  IV. THE FIGHT AT LEXINGTON

  V. BUNKER'S HILL

  VI. SCOUTING

  VII. IN THE FOREST

  VIII. QUEBEC

  IX. THE SURPRISE OF TRENTON

  X. A TREACHEROUS PLANTER

  XI. THE CAPTURE OF PHILADELPHIA

  XII. THE SETTLER'S HUT

  XIII. SARATOGA

  XIV. RESCUED!

  XV. THE ISLAND REFUGE

  XVI. THE GREAT STORM

  XVII. THE SCOUT'S STORY

  XVIII. THE SIEGE OF SAVANNAH

  XIX. IN AN AMERICAN PRISON

  XX. THE WAR IN SOUTH CAROLINA

  XXI. THE END OF THE STRUGGLE

  PREFACE.

  MY DEAR LADS:

  You have probably been accustomed to regard the war between Englandand her colonies in America as one in which we were not only beatenbut, to some extent, humiliated. Owing to the war having been anunsuccessful one for our arms, British writers have avoided thesubject, and it has been left for American historians to describe.These, writing for their own countrymen, and drawing for their factsupon gazettes, letters, and other documents emanating from one sideonly, have, naturally, and no doubt insensibly, given a very strongcolor to their own views of the events, and English writers have beentoo much inclined to accept their account implicitly. There is,however, another and very different side to the story, and this Ihave endeavored to show you. The whole of the facts and detailsconnected with the war can be relied upon as accurate. They are drawnfrom the valuable account of the struggle written by Major Steadman,who served under Howe, Clinton, and Cornwallis, and from otherauthentic contemporary sources. You will see that, althoughunsuccessful,--and success was, under the circumstances, a sheerimpossibility,--the British troops fought with a bravery which wasnever exceeded, and that their victories in actual conflict vastlyoutnumbered their defeats. Indeed, it may be doubted whether in anywar in which this country has been engaged have our soldiersexhibited the qualities of endurance and courage to a higher degree.

  Yours very sincerely,

  G. A. HENTY.

  TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.

  CHAPTER I.

  A FRONTIER FARM.

  "Concord, March 1, 1774.

  "MY DEAR COUSIN: I am leaving next week with my husband for England,where we intend to pass some time visiting his friends. John and Ihave determined to accept the invitation you gave us last summer forHarold to come and spend a few months with you. His father thinksthat a great future will, ere many years, open in the West, and thatit is therefore well the boy should learn something of frontier life.For myself, I would rather that he stayed quietly at home, for he isat present over-fond of adventure; but as my husband is meditatingselling his estate here and moving West, it is perhaps better for him.

  "Massachusetts is in a ferment, as indeed are all the Eastern States,and the people talk openly of armed resistance against theGovernment. My husband, being of English birth and having served inthe king's army, cannot brook what he calls the rebellious talk whichis common among his neighbors, and is already on bad terms with manyaround us. I myself am, as it were, a neutral. As an American woman,it seems to me that the colonists have been dealt with somewhathardly by the English Parliament, and that the measures of the latterhave been high-handed and arbitrary. Upon the other hand, I naturallyincline toward my husband's views. He maintains that, as the king'sarmy has driven out the French, and gives protection to the colony,it is only fair that the colonists should contribute to its expenses.The English ask for no contributions toward the expense of their owncountry, but demand that, at least, the expenses of the protection ofthe colony shall not be charged upon the heavily taxed people athome. As to the law that the colony shall trade only with the mothercountry, my husband says that this is the rule in the colonies ofSpain, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands, and that the peoplehere, who can obtain what land they choose and till it without rent,should not grumble at paying this small tax to the mother country.However it be, I fear that troubles will come, and, this place beingthe head and focus of the party hostile to England, my husband,feeling himself out of accord with all his neighbors, saving a fewloyal gentlemen like himself, is thinking much and seriously ofselling our estate here and of moving away into the new countries ofthe West, where he will be free from all the disputation andcontentious talk which occupies men's time here.

  "Indeed, cousin, times have sadly changed since you were staying herewith us five years ago. Then our life was a peaceful and quiet one;now there is nothing but wrangling and strife. The dissenting clergyare, as my husband says was the case in England before the greatcivil war, the fomenters of this discontent. There are manybusybodies who pass their time in stirring up the people by violentharangues and seditious writings; therefore everyone takes one sideor the other, and there is neither peace nor comfort in life.

  "Accustomed as I have always been to living in ease and affluence, Idread, somewhat, the thought of a life on the Indian frontier. Onehas heard so many dreadful stories of Indian fights and massacresthat I tremble a little at the prospect; but I do not mention this toJohn, for as other women are, like yourself, brave enough to supportthese dangers, I would not appear a coward in his eyes. You will see,cousin, that, as this prospect is before us, it is well that Haroldshould learn the ways of a frontier life. Moreover, John does notlike the thought of leaving him here while we are in England; for, ashe says, the boy might learn to become a rebel in his absence;therefore, my dear cousin, we have resolved to send him to you. Anopportunity offers, in the fact that a gentleman of our acquaintanceis, with his family, going this week West, with the intention ofsettling there, and he will, he tells us, go first to Detroit, whencehe will be able to send Harold forward to your farm. The boy himselfis delighted at the thought, and promises to return an accomplishedbackwoodsman. John joins me in kind love to yourself and yourhusband, and believe me to remain,

  "Your Affectionate Cousin,

  "MARY WILSON."

  Four months after the date of the above letter a lad some fifteenyears old was walking with a man of middle age on the shores of LakeHuron. Behind them was a large clearing of about a hundred acres inextent; a comfortable house, with buildings for cattle, stood at adistance of some three hundred yards from the lake; broad fields ofyellow corn waved brightly in the sun; and from the edge of theclearing came the sound of a woodsman's ax, showing that theproprietor was still enlarging the limits of his farm. Surroundingthe house, at a distance of twenty yards, was a strong stockade someseven feet in height, formed of young trees, pointed at the upperend, squared, and fixed firmly in the ground. The house itself,although far more spacious and comfortable than the majority ofbackwood farmhouses, was built in the usual fashion, of solid logs,and was evidently designed to resist attack.

  William Welch had settled ten years before on this spot, which wasthen far removed from the nearest habitation. It would have been avery imprudent act, under ordinary circumstances, to have establishedhimself in so lonely a position, so far removed from t
he possibilityof assistance in case of attack. He settled there, however, justafter Pontiac, who was at the head of an alliance of all the Indiantribes of those parts, had, after the long and desperate siege ofFort Pitt, made peace with us upon finding that his friends, theFrench, had given up all thought of further resistance to theEnglish, and had entirely abandoned the country. Mr. Welch thought,therefore, that a permanent peace was likely to reign on thefrontier, and that he might safely establish himself in the charminglocation he had pitched upon, far removed from the confines ofcivilization.

  The spot was a natural clearing of some forty acres in extent,sloping down to the water's edge, and a more charming site couldhardly have been chosen. Mr. Welch had brought with him three farmlaborers from the East, and, as time went on, he extended theclearing by cutting down the forest giants which bordered it.

  But in spite of the beauty of the position, the fertility of thesoil, the abundance of his crops, and the advantages afforded by thelake, both from its plentiful supply of fish and as a highway bywhich he could convey his produce to market, he had more than onceregretted his choice of location. It was true that there had been noIndian wars on a large scale, but the Indians had several timesbroken out in sudden incursions. Three times he had been attacked,but, fortunately, only by small parties, which he had been enabled tobeat off. Once, when a more serious danger threatened him, he hadbeen obliged to embark, with his wife and child and his more valuablechattels, in the great scow in which he carried his produce tomarket, and had to take refuge in the settlements, to find, on hisreturn, his buildings destroyed and his farm wasted. At that time hehad serious thoughts of abandoning his location altogether, but thesettlements were extending rapidly toward him, and, with the prospectof having neighbors before long and the natural reluctance to give upa place upon which he had expended so much toil, he decided to holdon; hoping that more quiet times would prevail, until other settlerswould take up land around him.

  The house had been rebuilt more strongly than before. He now employedfour men, and had been unmolested since his return to his farm, threeyears before the date of this story. Already two or three locationshad been taken up on the shores of the lake beyond him, a village hadgrown up thirty-five miles away, and several settlers had establishedthemselves between that place and his home.

  "So you are going out fishing this morning, Harold?" Mr. Welch said."I hope you will bring back a good supply, for the larder is low. Iwas looking at you yesterday, and I see that you are becoming afirst-rate hand at the management of a canoe."

  "So I ought to be," the boy said, "considering that for nearly threemonths I have done nothing but shoot and fish."

  "You have a sharp eye, Harold, and will make a good backwoodsman oneof these days. You can shoot nearly as well as I can now. It is luckythat I had a good stock of powder and lead on hand; firing away bythe hour together, as you do, consumes a large amount of ammunition.See, there is a canoe on the lake; it is coming this way, too. Thereis but one man in it; he is a white, by his clothes."

  For a minute or two they stood watching the boat, and then, seeingthat its course was directed toward the shore, they walked down tothe edge of the lake to meet it.

  "Ah, Pearson! is that you?" Mr. Welch asked. "I thought I knew yourlong, sweeping stroke at a distance. You have been hunting, I see;that is a fine stag you have got there. What is the news?"

  "About as bad as can be, Master Welch," the hunter said. "TheIroquois have dug up the tomahawk again and are out on the war-path.They have massacred John Brent and his family. I heard a talk of itamong some hunters I met ten days since in the woods. They said thatthe Iroquois were restless and that their chief, War Eagle, one ofthe most troublesome varmints on the whole frontier, had beenstirring 'em up to war. He told 'em, I heard, that the pale-faceswere pushing further and further into the Injun woods, and that,unless they drove 'em back, the redskin hunting grounds would begone. I hoped that nothing would come of it, but I might have knownbetter. When the redskins begin to stir there's sure to be mischiefbefore they're quiet again."

  The color had somewhat left Mr. Welch's cheeks as the hunter spoke.

  "This is bad news, indeed, Pearson," he said gravely. "Are you sureabout the attack on the Brents?"

  "Sartin sure," the hunter said. "I met their herder; he had been downto Johnson's to fetch a barrel of pork. Just when he got back heheard the Injun yells and saw smoke rising in the clearing, so hedropped the barrel and made tracks. I met him at Johnson's, where hehad just arrived. Johnson was packing up with all haste and was goingto leave, and so I said I would take my canoe and come down the lake,giving you all warning on the way. I stopped at Burns' and Hooper's.Burns said he should clear out at once, but Hooper talked aboutseeing it through. He's got no wife to be skeary about, and reckonedthat, with his two hands, he could defend his log hut. I told him Ireckoned he would get his har raised if the Injuns came that way;but, in course, that's his business."

  "What do you advise, Pearson? I do not like abandoning this farm tothe mercy of the redskins."

  "It would be a pity, Master Welch, that's as true as Gospel. It's thelikeliest clearing within fifty miles round, and you've fixed theplace up as snug and comfortable as if it were a farm in the oldprovinces. In course the question is what this War Eagle intends todo. His section of the tribe is pretty considerable strong, andalthough at present I aint heard that any others have joined, theseInjuns are like barrels of gunpowder: when the spark is once struckthere's no saying how far the explosion may spread. When one band of'em sees as how another is taking scalps and getting plunder andhonor, they all want to be at the same work. I reckon War Eagle hasgot some two hundred braves who will follow him; but when the newsspreads that he has begun his work, all the Iroquois, to say nothingof the Shawnees, Delawares, and other varmint, may dig up thehatchet. The question is what War Eagle's intentions are. He may makea clean sweep down, attacking all the outlying farms and waiting tillhe is joined by a lot more of the red reptiles before attacking thesettlements. Then, on the other hand, he may think himself strongenough to strike a blow at Gloucester and some other border villagesat once. In that case he might leave the outlying farms alone, as thenews of the burning of these would reach the settlements and put 'emon their guard, and he knows, in course, that if he succeeds there hecan eat you all up at his leisure."

  "The attack upon Brent's place looks as if he meant to make a cleansweep down," Mr. Welch said.

  "Well," the hunter continued thoughtfully, "I don't know as I sees itin that light. Brent's place was a long way from any other. He mighthave wished to give his band a taste of blood, and so raise theirspirits, and he might reasonably conclude that naught would be knownabout it for days, perhaps weeks to come. Then, again, the attackmight have been made by some straggling party without orders. It's adubious question. You've got four hands here, I think, and yourself.I have seen your wife shoot pretty straight with a rifle, so she cancount as one, and as this young un, here, has a good idea, too, withhis shooting-iron, that makes six guns. Your place is a strong one,and you could beat off any straggling party. My idea is that WarEagle, who knows pretty well that the place would make a stout fight,won't waste his time by making a regular attack upon it. You mighthold out for twenty-four hours; the clearing is open and there aintno shelter to be had. He would be safe to lose a sight of men, andthis would be a bad beginning, and would discourage his warriorsgreatly. No, I reckon War Eagle will leave you alone for the present.Maybe he will send a scout to see whether you are prepared; it's aslikely as not that one is spying at us somewhere among the trees now.I should lose no time in driving in the animals and getting well inshelter. When they see you are prepared they will leave you alone; atleast, for the present. Afterward there's no saying--that will dependon how they get on at the settlements. If they succeed there and getlots of booty and plenty of scalps, they may march back withouttouching you; they will be in a hurry to get to their villages andhave their feasts and dancing. If they are beaten off at
thesettlements I reckon they will pay you a visit for sure; they won'tgo back without scalps. They will be savage like, and won't mindlosing some men for the sake of having something to brag about whenthey get back. And now, Master Welch, I must be going on, for I wantto take the news down to the settlements before War Eagle gets there,and he may be ahead of me now, for aught I know. I don't give you noadvice as to what you had best do; you can judge the circumstances aswell as I can. When I have been to the settlements and put them ontheir guard, maybe I shall be coming back again, and, in that case,you know Jack Pearson's rifle is at your disposal. You may as welltote this stag up to the house. You won't be doing much hunting justfor the present, and the meat may come in handy."

  The stag was landed, and a minute later the canoe shot away fromshore under the steady stroke of the hunter's powerful arms. Mr.Welch at once threw the stag over his shoulders and, accompanied byHarold, strode away toward the house. On reaching it he threw downthe stag at the door, seized a rope which hung against the wall, andthe sounds of a large bell, rung in quick, sharp strokes, summonedthe hands from the fields. The sound of the woodman's ax ceased atonce, and the shouts of the men, as they drove the cattle toward thehouse, rose on the still air.

  "What is the matter, William?" Mrs. Welch asked as she ran from thehouse.

  "I have bad news, my dear. The Indians are out again, and I fear wemay have trouble before us. We must hope that they will not come inthis direction, but must be prepared for the worst. Wait till I seeall the hands and beasts in the stockade, and then we can talk thematter over quietly."

  In a few minutes the hands arrived, driving before them the horsesand cattle.

  "What is it, boss?" they asked. "Was that the alarm bell sureenough?"

  "The Indians are out again," Mr. Welch said, "and in force. They havemassacred the Brents and are making toward the settlements. They maycome this way or they may not; at any rate, we must be prepared forthem. Get the beasts into the sheds, and then do you all take scythesand set to work to cut down that patch of corn, which is high enoughto give them shelter; there's nothing else which will cover themwithin a hundred yards of the house. Of course you will take yourrifles with you and keep a sharp lookout; but they will have heardthe bell, if they are in the neighborhood, and will guess that weare on the alert, so they are not likely to attempt a surprise. Shutone of the gates and leave the other ajar, with the bar handy to putup in case you have to make a run for it. Harold will go up to thelookout while you are at work."

  Having seen that all was attended to, Mr. Welch went into the house,where his wife was going about her work as usual, pale, but quiet andresolute.

  "Now, Jane," he said, "sit down, and I will tell you exactly howmatters stand, as far as Pearson, who brought the news, has told me.Then you shall decide as to the course we had better take."

  After he had told her all that Pearson had said, and the reasons forand against expecting an early attack, he went on:

  "Now, it remains for you, my dear, to decide whether we shall stayand defend the place till the last against any attack that may bemade, or whether we shall at once embark in the scow and make our waydown to the settlements."

  "What do you think, William?" his wife asked.

  "I scarcely know, myself," he answered; "but, if I had quite my ownway, I should send you and Nelly down to the settlements in the scowand fight it out here with the hands."

  "You certainly will not have your own way in that," his wife said."If you go of course I go; if you stay I stay. I would a thousandtimes rather go through a siege here, and risk the worst, than godown to Gloucester and have the frightful anxiety of not knowing whatwas happening here. Besides, it is very possible, as you say, thatthe Indians may attack the settlement itself. Many of the peoplethere have had no experience in Indian war, and the redskins arelikely to be far more successful in their surprise there than theywould be here. If we go we should have to leave our house, our barns,our stacks, and our animals to the mercy of the savages. Your capitalis pretty nearly all embarked here now, and the loss of all thiswould be ruin to us. At any rate, William, I am ready to stay hereand to risk what may come if you are. A life on the frontier isnecessarily a life of danger, and if we are to abandon everything andto have to commence life afresh every time the Indians go on thewar-path, we had better give it up at once and return toMassachusetts."

  "Very well, my dear," her husband said gravely. "You are a truefrontiersman's wife; you have chosen as I should have done. It is achoice of evils; but God has blessed and protected us since we cameout into the wilderness--we will trust and confide in him now. At anyrate," he went on more cheerfully, "there is no fear of the enemystarving us out. We got in our store of provisions only a fortnightsince, and have enough of everything for a three-months' siege. Thereis no fear of our well failing us; and as for ammunition, we haveabundance. Seeing how Harold was using powder and ball, I had anextra supply when the stores came in the other day. There is plentyof corn in the barn for the animals for months, and I will have thecorn which the men are cutting brought in as a supply of food for thecows. It will be useful for another purpose, too; we will keep a heapof it soaked with water and will cover the shingles with it in caseof attack. It will effectually quench their fire arrows."

  The day passed off without the slightest alarm, and by nightfall thepatch of corn was cleared away and an uninterrupted view of theground for the distance of a hundred yards from the house wasafforded. When night fell two out of the four dogs belonging to thefarm were fastened out in the open, at a distance of from seventy toeighty yards of the house, the others being retained within thestockade. The garrison was divided into three watches, two men beingon the alert at a time, relieving each other every three hours. Mr.Welch took Harold as his companion on the watch. The boy was greatlyexcited at the prospect of a struggle. He had often read of thedesperate fights between the frontier settlers and the Indians, andhad longed to take a share in the adventurous work. He could scarcelybelieve that the time had come and that he was really a sharer inwhat might be a desperate struggle.

  The first watch was set at nine, and at twelve Mr. Welch and Haroldcame on duty. The men they relieved reported that all was silent inthe woods, and that they had heard no suspicious cries of any kind.When the men had returned to their room Mr. Welch told Harold that heshould take a turn round the stockade and visit the dogs. Harold wasto keep watch at the gate, to close it after he went out, to put upthe bar, and to stand beside it ready to open it instantly if calledupon.

  Then the farmer stepped out into the darkness and, treadingnoiselessly, at once disappeared from Harold's sight. The latterclosed the gate, replaced the heavy bar, and stood with one hand onthis and the other holding his rifle, listening intently. Once hethought he heard a low growling from one of the dogs, but thispresently ceased, and all was quiet again. The gate was a solid one,formed of strong timbers placed at a few inches apart and bolted tohorizontal bars.

  Presently he felt the gate upon which his hand rested quiver, as ifpressure was applied from without. His first impulse was to say, "Isthat you?" but Mr. Welch had told him that he would give a lowwhistle as he approached the gate; he therefore stood quiet, with hiswhole attention absorbed in listening. Without making the least stirhe peered through the bars and made out two dark figures behind them.After once or twice shaking the gate, one took his place against itand the other sprang upon his shoulders.

  Harold looked up and saw a man's head appear against the sky. Dim aswas the light, he could see that it was no European head-gear, a longfeather or two projecting from it. In an instant he leveled his rifleand fired. There was a heavy fall and then all was silent. Haroldagain peered through the bars. The second figure had disappeared, anda black mass lay at the foot of the gate.

  In an instant the men came running from the house, rifles in hand.

  "What is it?" they exclaimed. "Where is Mr. Welch?"

  "He went out to scout round the house, leaving me at the gate,"Harold sai
d. "Two men, I think Indians, came up; one was getting overthe gate when I shot him. I think he is lying outside--the other hasdisappeared."

  "We must get the master in," one of the men said. "He is probablykeeping away, not knowing what has happened. Mr. Welch," he shouted,"it is all safe here, so far as we know; we are all on the lookout tocover you as you come up."

  Immediately a whistle was heard close to the gate. This wascautiously opened a few inches, and was closed and barred directlyMr. Welch entered.

  Harold told him what had happened.

  "I thought it was something of the sort. I heard Wolf growl and feltsure that it was not at me. I threw myself down and crept up to himand found him shot through the heart with an Indian arrow. I wascrawling back to the house when I heard Harold's shot. Then I waitedto see if it was followed by the war-whoop, which the redskins wouldhave raised at once, on finding that they were discovered, had theybeen about to attack in force. Seeing that all was quiet, Iconjectured that it was probably an attempt on the part of a spy todiscover if we were upon the alert. Then I heard your call and atonce came on. I do not expect any attack to-night now, as thesefellows must have been alone; but we will all keep watch till themorning. You have done very well, Harold, and have shown yourself akeen watchman. It is fortunate that you had the presence of mindneither to stir nor to call out when you first heard them; for, hadyou done so, you would probably have got an arrow between your ribs,as poor Wolf has done."

  When it was daylight, and the gate was opened, the body of an Indianwas seen lying without; a small mark on his forehead showed whereHarold's bullet had entered; death being instantaneous. His war-paintand the embroidery of his leggings showed him at once to be anIroquois. Beside him lay his bow, with an arrow which had evidentlybeen fitted to the string for instant work. Harold shuddered when hesaw it and congratulated himself on having stood perfectly quiet. Agrave was dug a short distance away, the Indian was buried, and thehousehold proceeded about their work.

  The day, as was usual in households in America, was begun withprayer, and the supplications of Mr. Welch for the protection of Godover the household were warm and earnest. The men proceeded to feedthe animals; these were then turned out of the inclosure, one of theparty being always on watch in the little tower which they haderected for that purpose some ten or twelve feet above the roof ofthe house. From this spot a view was obtainable right over theclearing to the forest which surrounded it on three sides. The otherhands proceeded to cut down more of the corn, so as to extend thelevel space around the house.