In the Days of Poor Richard

  CHAPTER XVII

  WITH THE ARMY AND IN THE BUSH

  In January, 1777, Colonel Irons writes to his father from Morristown,New Jersey, as follows:

  "An army is a despotic machine. For that reason chiefly our men do notlike military service. It is hard to induce them to enlist for longterms. They are released by expiration long before they have beentrained and seasoned for good service. So Washington has found itdifficult to fill his line with men of respectable fighting quality.

  "Our great Commander lost his patience on the eve of our leaving NewYork. Our troops, posted at Kip's Bay on the East River to defend thelanding, fled in a panic without firing a gun at the approach of Howe'sarmy. I happened to be in a company of Light Horse with GeneralWashington, who had gone up to survey the ground. Before his eyes twobrigades of New England troops ran away, leaving us exposed to capture.

  "The great Virginian was hot with indignation. He threw his hat to theground and exclaimed:

  "'Are these the kind of men with whom I am to defend America?'

  "Next day our troops behaved better and succeeded in repulsing theenemy. This put new spirit in them. Putnam got his forces out of NewYork and well up the shore of the North River. For weeks we lay behindour trenches on Harlem Heights, building up the fighting spirit of ourmen and training them for hard service. The stables, cabins and shedsof Harlem were full of our sick. Smallpox had got among them. Coldweather was coming on and few were clothed to stand it. Theproclamation of Admiral Lord Howe and his brother, the General,offering pardon and protection to all who remained loyal to the crown,caused some to desert us, and many timid settlers in the outlyingcountry, with women and children to care for, were on the fence readyto jump either way. Hundreds were driven by fear toward the British.

  "In danger of being shut in, we crossed King's Bridge and retreated toWhite Plains. How we toiled with our baggage on that journey, many ofus being yoked like oxen to the wagons! Every day troops, whose termsof enlistment had expired, were leaving us. It seemed as if our wholeflying camp would soon be gone. But there were many like Solomon andme who were willing to give up everything for the cause and follow ourbeloved Commander into hell, if necessary. There were some fourthousand of us who streaked up the Hudson with him to King's Ferry, atthe foot of the Highlands, to get out of the way of the British ships.There we crossed into Jersey and dodged about, capturing a thousand menat Trenton and three hundred at Princeton, defeating the Britishregiments who pursued us and killing many officers and men and cuttingoff their army from its supplies. We have seized a goodly number ofcannon and valuable stores and reclaimed New Jersey and stiffened thenecks of our people. It has been, I think, a turning point in the war.Our men have fought like Homeric heroes and endured great hardships inthe bitter cold with worn-out shoes and inadequate clothing. A numberhave been frozen to death. I loaned my last extra pair of shoes to apoor fellow whose feet had been badly cut and frozen. When I tell youthat coming into Morristown I saw many bloody footprints in the snowbehind the army, you will understand. We are a ragamuffin band, but wehave taught the British to respect us. Send all the shoes and clothingyou can scare up.

  "I have seen incidents which have increased my love of Washington.When we were marching through a village in good weather there was agreat crowd in the street. In the midst of it was a little girl cryingout because she could not see Washington. He stopped and called forher. They brought the child and he lifted her to the saddle in frontof him and carried her a little way on his big white horse.

  "At the first divine service here in Morristown he observed an elderlywoman, a rough clad farmer's wife, standing back in the edge of thecrowd. He arose and beckoned to her to come and take his seat. Shedid so, and he stood through the service, save when he was kneeling.Of course, many offered him their seats, but he refused to take one.

  "We have been deeply impressed and inspirited by the address of a youngman of the name of Alexander Hamilton. He is scarcely twenty years ofage, they tell me, but he has wit and eloquence and a maturity ofunderstanding which astonished me. He is slender, a bit under middlestature and has a handsome face and courtly manners. He will be one ofthe tallest candles of our faith, or I am no prophet.

  "Solomon has been a tower of strength in this campaign. I wish youcould have seen him lead the charge against Mercer's men and bring inthe British general, whom he had wounded. He and I are scouting aroundthe camp every day. Our men are billeted up and down the highways andliving in small huts around headquarters."

  Washington had begun to show his great and singular gifts. One ofthem, through which he secured rest and safety for his shatteredforces, shone out there in Morristown. There were only about threethousand effective men in his army. To conceal their number, he hadsent them to many houses on the roads leading into the village. TheBritish in New York numbered at least nine thousand well seasonedtroops, and with good reason he feared an attack. The force atMorristown was in great danger. One day a New York merchant wasbrought into camp by the famous scout Solomon Binkus. The merchant hadbeen mistreated by the British. He had sold his business and crossedthe river by night and come through the lines on the wagon of a farmerfriend who was bringing supplies to the American army. He gave muchinformation as to plans and positions of the British, which was knownto be correct. He wished to enlist in the American army and do what hecould to help it. He was put to work in the ranks. A few days laterthe farmer with whom he had arrived came again and, after selling hiswagon load, found the ex-merchant and conferred with him in private.That evening, when the farmer had got a mile or so from camp, he wasstopped and searched by Colonel Irons. A letter was found in thefarmer's pocket which clearly indicated that the ex-merchant was a spyand the farmer a Tory. Irons went at once to General Washington withhis report, urging that the spy be taken up and put in confinement.

  The General sat thoughtfully looking into the fire, but made no answer.

  "He is here to count our men and report our weakness," said the Colonel.

  "The poor fellow has not found it an easy thing to do," the Generalanswered. "I shall see that he gets help."

  They went together to the house where the Adjutant General had his homeand office. To this officer Washington said:

  "General, you have seen a report from one Weatherly, a New Yorkmerchant, who came with information from that city. Will you kindly dohim the honor of asking him to dine with you here alone to-morrowevening? Question him as to the situation in New York in a friendlymanner and impart to him such items of misinformation as you may careto give, but mainly look to this. Begin immediately to get signedreturns from the brigadiers showing that we have an effective forcehere of twelve thousand men. These reports must be lying on your deskwhile you are conferring with Weatherly. Treat the man with good foodand marked politeness and appreciation of the service he is likely torender us. Soon after you have eaten, I shall send an orderly here.He will deliver a message. You will ask the man to make himself athome while you are gone for half an hour or so. You will see that thewindow shades are drawn and the door closed and that no one disturbsthe man while he is copying those returns, which he will be sure to do.Colonel Irons, I depend upon you to see to it that he has anopportunity to escape safely with his budget. I warn you not to lethim fail. It is most important."

  The next morning, Weatherly was ordered to report to Major Binkus fortraining in scout duty, and the morning after that he was taken outthrough the lines, mounted, with Colonel Irons and carefully lost inthe pine bush. He was seen no more in the American camp. The spydelivered his report to the British and the little remnant of an armyat Morristown was safe for the winter. Cornwallis and Howe put suchconfidence in this report that when Luce, another spy, came into theircamp with a count of Washington's forces, which was substantiallycorrect, they doubted the good faith of the man and threw him intoprison.

  So the great Virginian had turned a British spy into one of his mosteffec
tive helpers.

  Meanwhile good news had encouraged enlistment for long terms. Fourregiments of horse were put in training, ten frigates were built andsent to sea and more were under construction. The whole fighting forceof America was being reorganized. Moreover, in this first year theYankee privateers had so wounded a leg of the British lion that he wasroaring with rage. Three hundred and fifty of his ships, well ladenfrom the West Indies, had been seized. Their cargoes were valued at amillion pounds. The fighting spirit of America was encouraged also byevents in France, where Franklin and Silas Deane were now at work.France had become an ally. A loan of six hundred thousand dollars hadbeen secured in the French capital and expert officers from thatcountry had begun to arrive to join the army of Washington.