CHAPTER XVII
SETH HASTINGS ONCE MORE
If I were given to boasting I might set down many words describing what we said and did before moving upon Colonel Tyne’s camp, but it was such an insignificant affair that I would be ashamed to give any space to it, but for the fact that it is necessary to explain how we were able to equip the force completely and with the best of goods.
From having seen the men carousing in their tents with never a sentinel stationed anywhere around, and the officers befuddling their brains with liquor, we knew beyond a peradventure there could be no desperate fight, yet we were not prepared for that which followed.
After acquainting the general with what we had learned, Gabriel, Archie, and I fell back in the rear to join the Minute Boys, and a moment later the word to advance was given. We were then not over a mile and a half from the encampment, and I was surprised that no effort was made toward advancing in silence.
As usual General Marion and Captain Horry rode in advance at a sharp trot, and the remainder of the troop followed close behind them. Thus we went on, never drawing rein until we were in the very midst of the redcoats, who were running here and there in helpless panic like so many ants on whose nest you have put your foot.
It may seem like boasting, yet it is only the naked truth that we did not discharge a weapon nor draw a sabre until the fugitives were directly under the horses’ noses, and then our men forbore to strike those bewildered, imitation soldiers because it was more like murdering in cold blood, than warfare.
Bless you, they made no resistance whatsoever. There was never the slightest attempt, so far as I could see, to stand against us. If the officers did not lead in the retreat, it was because they were so befuddled with liquor that it was impossible for them to keep pace set by those who first fled. The gallant Colonel Tyne fell a prisoner to us because the scabbard of his sword, dangling between his drunken legs, sent him headlong, whereupon one of our troopers, bending from the saddle, literally hauled the half-stupefied officer on to his horse’s back, and, if you please, held him there while we rode yet farther across the encampment.
Had we been so minded, and had ammunition in plenty, we might have slain nine out of every ten of that mob without receiving a blow in return. Those who were not intoxicated with liquor, were so befuddled by fear as to be incapable of resistance. It was only possible for them to run, and the swiftness of their pace was measured by their temperance or excesses.
It is also true that we were literally forced to take prisoners when we understood that anything of the kind was to be avoided, for having overridden two or three squads of them, we found the cravens huddled together and shrieking for mercy when we returned, consequently there was nothing left save accept their surrender.
It was the greatest farce of an attack a man could dream of, and we were actually so ashamed of being able to do much as we pleased, that instead of pursuing those frightened wretches who were heading for the swamp just north of Tarcote, orders were given us to return and gather up the plunder.
“We will camp here this night,” Captain Horry said, after holding a brief conversation with General Marion immediately we were returned from the feint at pursuit. “We will camp here with the hope that some of those gallant Tories may have recovered from their drunken stupor sufficiently to give us a taste of their metal, for this time instead of avoiding an engagement, General Marion desires one, in order that we may get our hands in before paying a visit to Harrison.”
Well, we fell upon the encampment like a party of schoolboys, laughing and shouting in our glee, while the prisoners, guarded only by three men, watched us curiously.
Word was passed that all the members of the force should take whatsoever fancy might dictate, it being stipulated, however, that no man would be allowed to carry anything away save what he or his horse might wear. Once this was known our steeds were decked out with new saddles and bridles in a twinkling, while more than half of our party sported English uniforms taken in exchange for the rags which gave the name to our regiment.
The abundance of everything we found there made us fastidious, and you would see a trooper who an hour previous had been well content to use a musket the stock of which was tied together with cords, balancing this weapon or that in his hands to see which might be the best fitted for his use, or come across some grizzled woodsman trying to decide between a private’s crimson headgear and an officer’s lighter hat, that he might learn which was most becoming to his weather-beaten face.
There is no need for me to say that we were so forgetful of our precious selves as to fail in setting guards closely around the camp, and during the first two hours these sentinels were changed as often as once in every ten minutes, to the end that each fellow might have full opportunity with his comrades to get a new equipment.
It must have been midnight before we were done with the horse-play, and then we took possession of the canvas tents so generously provided by the king, but not for our comfort, and every member of the troop found himself housed more luxuriously than since the day Charleston was taken.
We Minute Boys arranged four of the tents in line to make a single large one where all could find shelter, and in addition, so plentiful were these luxuries, we set up a canvas roof for the horses, surprising those patient animals with the plentiful amount of provender which was dealt out to them.
To me it was very strange, when we had arranged quarters to suit ourselves and gathered up from the profusion of stores as much provisions as would have served twice our number a full week, to see an expression of something like disappointment on the faces of all. Never were soldiers provided with such luxuries as we at that time; never had the troops won such an easy victory, and yet there was something lacking, as we all felt. We were not bloodthirsty by any manner of means, but it almost shamed us that we had been allowed to work our will in the encampment, and what every member of our company felt was voiced by Archie Gordon when he said:
“If there had been only one bloody-back, or a single Tory, however crippled, who would have stood up and exchanged shots with us, I should be better satisfied this minute. To be living here like princes without having spent a single charge of ammunition is much like cheating, and while you fellows will find that I won’t shirk when it comes time to eat, these stores paid for by the king would taste a deal better if we had really earned them.”
[Illustration: “‘AND WE ARE TO LEAVE ALL THESE CAMP EQUIPMENTS?’”]
So much for our visit--it cannot be called an attack--upon Colonel Tyne. How we lads slept that night! When our beds had been the bare earth, and our blankets only so much of dew as fell from the heavens, we were up and stirring at the first crack of day. But here with a rain-defying covering over us, and a plentiful supply of straw beneath us, it was really painful to be forced to go out and attend to the regular camp duties. I had an idea that even the horses would have been better content had we left them to their repose, instead of disturbing them by pouring in front of each a full day’s supply of grain.
“It is too bad,” Archie said as he took upon himself the duties of cook by dexterously toasting slices of sweet bacon in front of the fire Jared Green had built, “that we are to leave all these luxuries so soon. I would truly love to learn by eight and forty hours’ experience how the darling soldiers of the king fare, when not running away from the enemy.”
“Then it is in your mind that we shall break camp at once?” Jacob Breen asked, as he threw himself at full length opposite a plate of bark in which Archie was depositing the bacon as fast as it was cooked, and slyly taking therefrom now and then a particularly choice slice when Master Gordon was not looking.
“It is in my mind, but not of my mind,” Archie replied. “General Marion is not the kind of a commander who dwaddles away his time in such a place as this. If peradventure we were in the Black Mingo with not enough of dry land on which a fellow might plant both of his feet at the same time, then would there be a possibility of our remaining undisturbed; but as it is, I am counting we will be lucky if it does not become necessary to eat this bacon while in the saddle.”
“And we are to leave all these camp equipments for the next bunch of Tories that comes along?”
“I am reckoning they will be burned, unless orders are given to the contrary.”
“And why should you destroy what so many of our soldiers up North are needing most woefully?” a cheery voice cried, and turning, Archie saw Captain Horry, who had come up from behind the tent and was sniffing at the air so heavily laden with the odor of fried bacon.
“The general said last night that nothing could be carried away, so it stands to reason he is counting on leaving all these fashionable articles of warfare, and it seems a pity to let a crowd of renegades in where honest men have spent the night.”
“I am reckoning, Master Minute Boy, that very much will be done toward saving this plunder, with the exception of what the men have already appropriated,” Captain Horry said with a laugh. “Already some of the troopers have been sent out with the hope of finding wagons in which the goods can be transported to Kingstree.”
“And why to that place?” Jacob Breen asked.
“Because word has been brought that Colonel Baker is there with considerable of a following, and it is believed he may be able to hold the place while we are keeping the redcoats busy in this section.”
“It is a big relief to know that the stuff is not to be left behind,” Archie said, “though I _would_ like to try the experiment of sleeping another night in such a shelter as that.”
“And so you may, lad,” the captain replied, helping himself to some of Archie’s bacon. “Even if the general was so disposed, it would not be possible to send forward these stores immediately, and there is little doubt but that we shall remain in camp three or four days before the quarters of the Minute Boys are disturbed.”
“Well, say, that’s great news, captain! Take more of the bacon--take it all, and I will keep right on toasting to repay you for the information. Three or four days here will be just like a dream, although I am not so sure but it will come all the harder for us when we strike once more such a nest in the swamp as the commander likes to pick out.”
Captain Horry had not paid us this visit simply from motives of curiosity, but in order to send two of our company back to the Davis plantation with word regarding the success, and that Master Davis might be urged to forward as many wagons for the transportation of the goods as he could come at conveniently.
It was simply to carry a message where there was naught of danger to be encountered, or honor to be won, and I who had listened to the conversation just set down, was careful not to make myself too conspicuous lest I be signalled out as one of the couriers, for, like Archie Gordon, I had a great desire to spend all the time possible in such an encampment as I had never before seen.
“Who will ride to the plantation?” Gabriel cried, and straightway Jacob Breen and Jared Green offered themselves as volunteers. Archie winking at me quizzically as the boys rose to their feet eager for the service, thus giving me to understand that he was no more inclined to absent himself from our snug quarters than I.
What a breakfast we made that morning, we Minute Boys! After our hunger was satisfied we ate for the sake of eating, until it seemed absolutely impossible to swallow another mouthful, and then, as do the hogs, we lay down to sleep, giving no heed to the fact that our company had not been called upon to furnish sentinels, as should have been the case. Under other circumstances we would have been jealous because of this apparent neglect, for we were eager to do our full duty as soldiers, but not one gave it thought, and we spent our time as idly as if we had been Tories instead of Minute Boys who had sworn to defend the Cause even to the extent of yielding up our lives.
Toward noon Gabriel and two or three other lads lounged over to the dwelling where General Marion had his quarters, but Archie and I remained within the tent, save at such times as it was necessary to look after the horses, for we were minded to take all the comfort we might, and because there was nothing better to do, we fell to talking about Seth Hastings, of the trap he laid, or the triumph which was probably his because we had gone into it like simples, until Archie said petulantly:
“The very name of that villain gives me a bad taste in my mouth, and it is the next thing to crime to talk about him while we are so snugly housed.”
“How much pleasure would you find in sitting here if so be we knew beyond a peradventure that the cur was within a dozen miles of us?” I asked laughingly, and he replied quickly:
“If there was one chance out of ten that he might be within thirty miles, and we were given permission to set off in pursuit of him, I would agree never to go into a camp like this so long as I might remain in the service.”
Just then we heard the thud of horses’ feet outside, and started up in no little surprise, for the animals were approaching rapidly, as if their riders were impatient to arrive at the earliest possible moment. Then looking out from the flaps of the tent, we saw that Jacob and Jared had returned.
“Were you afraid that we might get more than our share of the plunder that you have ridden so fast?” Archie asked, looking at the horses, which were covered with foam as if having been ridden at full speed.
“We were in a hurry to get back,” Jacob replied, as he dismounted, pulling off the saddle and bridle that his weary steed might roll at will upon the grass, “and we are bringing news which concerns all the Minute Boys,” he added, whereupon Archie came out of the tent quickly as he cried:
“You have heard regarding Seth Hastings?”
“Ay, so it would seem, although we may have mistaken some other for him.”
“Tell us what you know,” I cried impatiently. “Don’t stand there mouthing your words as if they were sweet to the taste.”
“It may be that in our eagerness to pay off scores with Seth Hastings I have jumped at conclusions and overleaped the mark; but of that you shall decide,” Jacob said hurriedly. “When we were come to the plantation and had described to Master Davis how easily we sent the Tories flying, he declared we deserved a rich reward for bringing such tidings. He gave it by telling us that at daybreak this very morning the smith, Master Reuben Rowe, had come to him declaring that a party of boys had the same as accused him of being in league with enemies to the Cause. Now it seems that Master Rowe had no intention of proving he was a patriot, but wanted rather to make it plain he was holding neutral, as he ever claimed to do. He told Master Davis that hearing the noise of firing during the night from the direction of the old negro’s shack, he set off to learn what might have been done; he was coming up the trail when we appeared, and stepped aside in the thicket lest we do him injury. Shortly after he came within sight, while he himself was hidden by the foliage, of five men and a boy, all armed and making their way cautiously toward the highway. These he followed until they struck across the country, avoiding the Davis plantation, going in the direction of Tarcote, and it was his belief that, having learned of Colonel Tyne’s encampment at that place, they were counting on joining him.”
“Therefore you see,” Jared interrupted, thinking it was proper he should bear his full share of the conversation, “that the lad we are so eager to lay hand on may be near about. Certain it is he was in the negro’s shack when we rode up so foolishly, and it is equally true the villain must go somewhere to find the king’s friends, for by this time he does not dare make himself known to any who serve the Cause. Jacob and I have almost come to believe that even at this moment Seth Hastings and his four Tory companions may be travelling this way all ignorant of the fact that our people are in possession of the encampment. A rich joke would it be if the scoundrel walked in here believing he might find those who would give him shelter and food because of his treason.”
I was aflame on the instant. I could see nothing untrue or strained in this story of Master Rowe’s that he was anxious to prove he had not given aid to the Tories, because, once suspected of so doing, Master Davis would have made reprisals beyond question. Therefore it was I believed his story implicitly.
Perhaps because I wanted to believe such a thing, it seemed to me positive Tarcote was Seth Hastings’s destination, and unless he ran across some of those whom we had driven out of the encampment, then was there good chance he might come on all ignorant of what had taken place, until getting a glimpse of us who were in possession.
“We must tell Gabriel and the rest of the company,” I said excitedly. “Wait here and I will fetch them.”
Then I ran with all speed to the commander’s quarters, finding there Gabriel and half a dozen of my companions, whom I summoned without loss of time by saying:
“Jacob and Jared have brought in great news. Come at once to our quarters!”
They could understand full well from my appearance that something of moment was in the wind, and I had no reason to complain of their delay.
Five minutes later the Minute Boys were gathered, and Jacob repeated his story. My comrades were quite as highly excited as was I, and never one of them doubted the truth of the information, or that it related to the lad we were so eager to get into our clutches.
In a twinkling, forgetting that because of having walked into the trap which the traitorous cur laid for us we had vowed never to go out as a company of Minute Boys on our own account, we at once began to argue as to how we might turn this news to advantage. More than one believed we should set out in skirmish line, advancing two or three miles from the encampment in the direction from which we believed the cur would come, and there await him.
I was of this number. If the scoundrel came up until having seen our people, he would make his escape, and we would be culpable because of having lingered in camp without taking some steps toward welcoming him in proper fashion.
Unfortunately as it then seemed--and I still hold that the disaster which finally came to us might have been averted if we had set off in search of Seth Hastings at once--the day was destined to be one of excitement, for before we could decide upon a plan satisfactory to all, two men, well known to be friends to the Cause, rode into camp with information of the highest importance.
It was rumored among the people of Georgetown, so the newcomers said, that Lord Cornwallis had begged Tarleton to make an end of General Marion, with the result that the infamous butcher had arisen from a bed of sickness brought on by his own excesses, with a vow that he would capture the “scurvy Swamp Fox,” and at once sent word to his legion, which was before Camden, with orders to meet him on the Wateree River, from whence he would set out to capture our general.
We lads did not hear this report made, but several of the troopers were present at the interview, and reported that our general said in reply:
“We will make Colonel Tarleton’s commission as easy of accomplishment as possible, so far as the whereabouts of the ‘Swamp Fox’ is concerned.”
Of course this was the same as saying that General Marion intended to set off to meet the butcher Tarleton half-way.
We Minute Boys were greatly perplexed immediately all this was made known, for if the troopers were to break camp then would our plan for capturing Seth Hastings come to naught, although Archie boldly declared we had the right, under all the circumstances, to separate ourselves from the “ragged regiment,” if such should be our desire, and the pity of it is, as I look back now, that we did not listen more attentively to his advice.
We were yet discussing this information when some of the troopers who had been sent out as scouts returned, bringing word that a large number of Britishers were on the road from Camden, evidently destined for Georgetown. It had not been possible to discover what troops these might be, but, taken in connection with the information already received, they were probably a portion, if not the whole, of Tarleton’s Legion. This therefore confirmed the news already received.
Immediately our people set about making ready for a move without waiting for word or command, because the reply which the general gave to those who told him of Tarleton’s purpose was sufficient to show his intention.
Of course, had we lads been long enough in the service to realize better what a soldier’s duties are, there would have been no question in our minds as to what must be done, but as it was, holding ourselves as an independent command, and believing it remained with our leader to say whether he would obey orders of the general or not, a discussion arose as to what we should do.
Seeing that Gabriel was pained because we had even the slightest idea of breaking away from his brother, I did not take any very great part in the discussion, which at one time seemed about to terminate in favor of Archie Gordon’s proposition, which was that our sole duty should be to find the lad who would have worked us so much harm.
However, Gabriel’s prayers, for he did condescend to beg of his comrades, finally prevailed, and we agreed to do that which should have been plain before us at the outset, for, having joined General Marion’s force at our own good pleasure, we had no right to leave it for private ends.
It is necessary I set down here the fact that at this time, when we were making ready to march toward Tarleton lest he should have difficulty in finding us, the “ragged regiment” increased wondrously in size. It is not possible to state the exact number of men comprising it, but I should say we were not less than six hundred strong, all mounted and well armed, thanks to Colonel Tyne’s stores, and with a fairly good supply of ammunition.
Because we had not as yet been repulsed, but had found it much the same as child’s play to take possession of any encampment we chanced upon, our people were confident we could successfully cope with a force two or three times as large as our own. Therefore were we overconfident, which is sometimes as much of a crime as cowardice.
However eager he was to come up with Tarleton, General Marion did not intend to leave so much property behind him for the benefit of the Tories whom we knew must be lurking near about, nor was he minded to destroy it.
Six of our people were ordered to remain until wagons should be sent, so that as many of the goods as possible might be carried to Kingstree. It was easier to give such a command than to carry it out, for with only six to guard what must be tempting bait for those whom we had despoiled, it would not be any desperate venture to overcome them, and I questioned very seriously whether the half-dozen brave fellows who had volunteered for such dangerous service would ever be seen by us again.