I know not when, during all my army life, I was more deeply impressed with the awful solemnity of war, than as I watched these volunteer soldiers land on the Jersey sh.o.r.e, and tramp away through the dust. In those ranks were sick and wounded scarcely able to keep up; occasionally one would crawl aside but the moment he was able would join some new body, and resume the march. There were many still pale and emaciated from the horrors of the past winter, some in rags, others practically barefooted; only occasionally would troops appear in what might be termed uniform, although each separate command was distinguishable by some insignia. It was a rough, motley concourse, yet, thanks to Baron de Steuben, drilled into military compactness, and well officered. In column after column, I could perceive the evidence of his work, the men standing erect and soldierly, obeying their orders with veteran precision. This, however, was most noticeable among those of the Continental Line, the men who had fought on other fields, marched in other campaigns, and braved the suffering at Valley Forge. The militia was little more than an organized mob, indifferently armed, and loosely commanded. To me the mounted men, and the artillery, appeared most efficient, although I appreciated to the full the sterling fighting qualities of the footmen.
They were animated by a stern purpose which yielded power. Such as these were not to be trifled with. Others might scoff at their raggedness of line, their carelessness of discipline, their nondescript garments, and variety of equipment, but to one who had seen such in battle--who had been with them at Trenton, Brandywine, and Germantown--they were warriors not to be despised, stern, grim fighters, able to hold their own against England"s best drilled battalions. I watched them file past--Wayne"s, Varnum"s, Scott"s brigades, and Jackson"s and Grayson"s regiments--marking the brown, dust-caked faces, the eager eyes, the st.u.r.dy, tireless tread, the well oiled muskets. Boys, men, graybeards, all alike exhibited in their faces the same expression. They were antic.i.p.ating battle against a hated foe, and counted hardship as nothing compared with the joy of conflict. Every step brought them closer to the grapple of arms--to that supreme test of strength, courage, endurance, for which they had left their homes. They might be poorly drilled, ill-dressed, variously armed, yet these were fighting men.
It was at midnight when Morgan led us up the steep bluff, and out upon the sandy road. We advanced silently, and in straggling column through the darkness, pa.s.sing the embers of camp-fires for several miles, the rec.u.mbent soldiery of other commands sleeping on the ground. At Hopewell, Washington was holding another council with his officers. As we swung past we could perceive his tall figure standing in the glow of a fire, and there arose from the lips of our men a sudden, involuntary cheer, breaking strangely upon the solemn silence of the night. The group about him were startled and looked about, and he paused a moment shading his eyes.
"What troops are those?" he asked, his voice cutting across the distance.
A hundred answered him:
"Morgan"s riflemen!"
"Good, my lads!" and even at that distance I could see his face brighten.
"There will be work for you at dawn."
With a rolling cheer, echoing down our ranks from front to rear, we answered, swinging the guns over our heads, as we swept forward into the dark night. There might be discussion, dissension about that council fire, but there was none in the hearts of those who were going out to die. Already rumors were flying about regarding Lee"s unwillingness to engage in battle. I saw him as I trudged past, standing beside Wayne, the firelight on his face, although his head was bowed. Even to our cheers he never once glanced up, and, as we pa.s.sed beyond the radius of light, I laid my hand upon the mane of Morgan"s horse.
"Is it true that Charles Lee thinks we should let Clinton go without fighting?" I asked soberly. "That was rumored at the ferry."
""T is true enough," he answered, his eyes upon the dark column of plodding men. "And he seems to have others with him. I know not what has put the coward into the fellows of late. Saint Andrew! the odds are no greater than we have met before. But there"ll be no fighting, lad, I fear, unless Washington takes the bit in his teeth, and orders it. I"m glad the boys cheered him; "twill give the man new heart."
"You favor the joining of issue?"
"Why not? Were we ever in better fettle? A retreating army is always half whipped, and we can choose our ground. Why, lad, "tis reported Clinton"s line stretches out full twelve miles, with train of baggage-wagons and battery horses, and camp-followers enough for a division. "Twill be easy work attending to them, and most of his troops are Dutch and Tories."
My horse was in ill condition, limping sadly, although I could not discover the cause, and I walked with the men, leading the animal, through the smouldering clouds of dust. It was a hot, still night, and Morgan marched us swiftly, with few pauses for rest. By daylight we came up with the New Jersey militia, lying at rest along the bank of the Millstone River, waiting their turn to ford that stream, and join Maxwell on the opposite sh.o.r.e. From where I stood I could see the thin lines of Continentals spreading out like a fan, as the skirmishers advanced up the opposite bluffs. Down the trampled bank, men were struggling with a light battery, and suddenly in the press of figures I came upon Farrell. He was mud from head to foot, his face streaked with it, but he looked up with beaming eyes as I spoke his name, and our hands clasped.
"I thought you would be over there with Maxwell," he said, pointing across at the black dots, now clearly distinguishable in the glow of sunshine.
"I was left behind, and came up just now with Morgan," I replied. "But I am anxious enough to be with my own fellows. What means that skirmish line, Farrell? Are we already in touch with Clinton?"
He swept the hair out of his eyes with his great fist.
"No one knows exactly, but the British are not far off, and are headed this way. A scout came through with the news two hours ago--Clinton has taken the road to Monmouth." He chuckled grimly, glancing at my face.
"And who think ye the lad was who told us?"
"Who?" my throat tightening.
"The same you was so anxious about a few days back."
"Mortimer! Eric Mortimer?"
"Aye, unless my eyes fail me already, it was the boy."
"You are sure? You saw him?"
"Well, I had a glimpse, as he came up the bank here from the ford, his horse dripping. It was dark still, and he only stopped to ask the road. I knew the voice, and the form--the lad is as slender as a girl--then he went by me, digging his horse with the spurs, and lying close. He had a Dragoon"s cape flapping from his shoulders, but "twas the boy all right.
Ah! there go the guns up the bank. Now, perhaps, they"ll let me take my fighting dogs across."
The way was open for me, at least, and I swung up into the saddle, and drove my horse down the slippery sh.o.r.e into the water. The stream was not deep, although the current flowed swiftly, and a moment later I had found Maxwell.
"Yes," he said to my first question, "we are going to fight, although it may not be anything more serious than skirmishing to-day. Washington has decided in spite of Lee, thank G.o.d, and we"ll have a go at the Red-coats.
Lafayette commands the advance, and Wayne will be up within a few hours.
We are to skirmish forward toward Monmouth Court House; Clinton has turned that way."
"You learned that from a scout?"
"Yes; he just came through; one of Charles Lee"s men, I understood--a blue-eyed, rosy-cheeked boy, who said his name was Mortimer. He had ridden from Cookstown, and was reeling in the saddle, but would go on.
Your men are over there, Major, beyond the clump of timber. In my judgment we"ll accomplish little to-day, for there is a heavy storm in those clouds yonder."
"How many men will we have when Wayne comes up?"
"About four thousand, with the militia. We are ordered to hang close to Clinton"s left, while Morgan circles him to the right. "Tis said the British have transports, at Sandy Hook, and are trying to get there; that was the word young Mortimer brought in."
The bath in the water seemed to have helped my horse, but I rode slowly up the valley toward the wood which served as my guide. Troops were strung along the sandy expanse of valley, the men mostly lying down, exhausted by their hard night"s march. These were of my own brigade, men of the Pennsylvania and Maryland Line, uniformed in well-worn blue and buff. Already the sun beat down hot upon them, the air heavy and dead. No breath of breeze stirred the leaves, or gra.s.s blades, and most of those lying there had flung aside their coats. Over all the western and southern sky extended a menacing bank of clouds, slowly advancing, huge thunder-heads, already jagged with forked lightnings, pushing up into the blue. Before I reached the skirmishers, great drops of rain fell, and then a downpour, utterly blotting out the landscape. Lightning flashed, the thunder unremitting, the rain a flood, water leaped down the side of the hill in cascades, and, blinded, I drew my horse back into the slight shelter of the wood, and waited, gripping him by the bit. Men ran back down the hill, seeking shelter from the fury of it, and I bent my head, soaked to the skin. For the first time I realized how tired I was, every muscle aching with the strain of the long night"s march, my head throbbing from the awful heat of the early morning. I sat down in the mud and water; my arm through the bridle rein, my head against the trunk of a tree, which partially protected my face from the beating rain. But there was no sleep possible.
My mind pictured the field of action, reviewed the events leading up to this hour, and, as surely, reverted to Claire Mortimer. She would have been left behind in Philadelphia, which ere this was doubtless occupied by our troops under Arnold. I had understood at the Ferry those were his orders, to march in the moment Clinton evacuated. She would be safe enough then, unless--unless she had again returned to Elmhurst. Yet if Eric was well there would be no occasion for the girl a.s.suming such a risk, as the Mortimer plantation must have been in the very track of the retreating army. Perhaps she was with them--but no; I recalled the rumor about our camps that the officers" wives and the loyalist ladies were to be transported to New York by water. Arnold would permit that, and no doubt this daughter of a colonel would be among them.
I had almost forgotten the st.u.r.dy downpour so intensely was I thinking, when a courier came spurring forward, blinded by the storm, yet riding recklessly. He must have seen the group of men huddled at the edge of the grove, for he drew up his horse, calling my name.
"Major Lawrence, I come from General Maxwell," he shouted between the crashes of thunder. "You are given command of the right of the line, and will press on regardless of the storm until the enemy is met in force.
Dragoons have been seen two miles east. You understand, sir?"
"Yes," leading forth my horse. "Come on, lads, it"s the top of the hill!
What about the artillery?"
"We may not be able to move the guns," he answered, "but you are to keep your powder as dry as possible and hold Clinton to the road. Dry powder will be sent as soon as the storm breaks. That"s all, sir."
I could scarce see the fellow as his horse whirled, and went splashing down the slope. Through the mist of rain the men gathered about were mere blotches.
"All right, you water-rats, come on!" I sang out cheerfully. "We"ll give the Red-coats the b.u.t.ts of our guns anyhow."
There was a faint cheer as the drenched figures sprang forward racing after me. Half of them had flung away their coats in the fierce heat, and their shirts clung soaked and dripping. Swinging them into some semblance of line, each man barely within sight of his neighbor, and picking up others as we advanced, we made the crest of the hill, and entered the open country beyond. Looking back, as the clouds broke, we could see the long lines of infantry forming in the valley below, with black specks here and there as staff officers rode with orders. Twice we ran up against small parties of hors.e.m.e.n, exchanging shots, but these fell back, leaving the road clear. By dark we were at Englishtown, hungry and thoroughly worn out, and there were halted, sleeping upon our arms. All I had in my haversack was a single hard biscuit, after munching which I lay down upon the ground and fell instantly asleep.
CHAPTER XXVII
THE FIGHT AT MONMOUTH
The next day--Sunday, the twenty-eighth of June, 1778--dawned with cloudless sky, hot, sultry, the warmest day of the year. Not a breath of air stirred the leaves, and in the tree branches above us birds sang gleefully. Before daybreak we, who had been permitted to sleep for a few hours, were aroused by the sentries, and, in the gray dawn, partook of a meagre breakfast. A fresh supply of ammunition was brought up and distributed among the men, and, before sunrise, we were in line, stripped for a hot day"s work, eagerly awaiting orders.
I can make no pretence at describing in any detail, or sequence, the memorable action at Monmouth Court House, but must content myself with depicting what little I saw upon the firing line of Maxwell"s brigade. We advanced slowly eastward over a gently rolling country, diversified by small groves. In advance was a thin line of skirmishers, and to left and right were d.i.c.kinson"s and Wayne"s men, their muskets gleaming in the sunlight. Early the rumor crept about among us that Lee had come up during the night with fresh troops, and a.s.sumed command.
Who led us was of but small consequence, however, as there was now no doubt in any mind but what battle was inevitable. Already to the south echoed a sound of firing where Morgan had uncovered a column of Dragoons.
Then a courier from d.i.c.kinson dashed along our rear seeking Lee, scattering broadcast the welcome news that Knyphausen and his Hessians, the van of the British movement, were approaching. With a cheer of antic.i.p.ation, the soldiers flung aside every article possible to discard, and pressed recklessly forward. Before we moved a mile my horse became so lame, I was obliged to dismount, and proceed on foot. Never have I experienced a hotter sun, or more sultry air. It was as though we were within a furnace; men struggled for breath, not a few dropped exhausted, the others straggling grimly forward, their faces streaked with dust and perspiration, their saturated clothing clinging to their bodies. Under these conditions rapid marching was impossible, yet by nine o"clock we had pa.s.sed the Freehold Meeting House, and were halted in the protection of a considerable wood, the men dropping to the ground in the grateful shadow. Maxwell came along back of our line, his horse walking slowly, as the general mopped his streaming red face. He failed to recognize me among the others until I stepped out into the boiling sun, and spoke:
"What is that firing to the right, General? Are the Jersey militia in action?"