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

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XIX.

  IN AN AMERICAN PRISON.

  Upon the morning after the victory of Camden Lord Cornwallisdispatched Colonel Tarleton with the light infantry and the Germanlegion, 350 men in all, to attack Colonel Sumpter, who, with 800 menand two pieces of cannon, had, upon hearing late at night of GeneralGates' defeat, marched away at all speed. Thinking himself out ofdanger he halted at midday to rest his men. The British came uponthem by surprise. One hundred and fifty were killed or wounded and300 made prisoners. The rest scattered as fugitives. Two guns, onethousand stand of arms, and all the stores and baggage were taken,and 250 prisoners, some of them British soldiers and the rest loyalmilitiamen, whom Sumpter had captured near Camden, were released.

  Lord Cornwallis, after obtaining supplies for his troops and takingsteps for the pacification of the State, was about to move forwardinto North Carolina, when he received news of the destruction of acolumn under Major Fergusson. This officer, with a detachment of 150British regulars and 800 provincials, was attacked by 5000 mountedpartisans, most of them border men accustomed to forest fighting.Fergusson took up a position on a hill called King's Mountain. Thisfrom its height would have been a good position for defense, butbeing covered with wood it offered great opportunities for theassailants, who dismounted and fought behind trees in accordance withthe tactics taught them in Indian warfare. Again and again theEnglish charged with the bayonet, each time driving their assailantsback, but these instantly recommenced their destructive fire fromtheir shelter behind the trees. In little over an hour from thecommencement of the fight 150 of the defenders were killed and manymore wounded. Still they repulsed every attack until their commanderfell dead; then the second in command, judging further resistance invain, surrendered.

  On the news of this misfortune Lord Cornwallis fell back, as thewestern frontiers of South Carolina were now exposed to theincursions of the band which had defeated Fergusson. In the retreatthe army suffered terribly. It rained for several days withoutintermission. The soldiers had no tents, and the water was everywhereover their shoes. The continued rains filled the rivers and creeksprodigiously and rendered the roads almost impassable. The climatewas most unhealthy, and for many days the troops were without rum.Sometimes the army had beef and no bread, sometimes bread and nobeef. For five days it was supported on Indian corn, which wascollected in the fields, five ears being served out as a dailyallowance to each two soldiers. They had to cook it as they could,and this was generally done by parching it over the fire. One of theofficers of the quartermaster's department found some of the loyalmilitia grating their corn. This was done by breaking up a canteenand punching holes in the bottom with their bayonets, thus making akind of rasp. The idea was communicated to the adjutant general andafterward adopted for the army.

  The soldiers supported their hardships and privations cheerfully, astheir officers were no better provided than themselves and the fareof Lords Cornwallis and Rawdon was the same as their own.

  The toilsome march came to an end at last, and the army had restafter its labors. The only other incident of importance whichoccurred was an action between a force under Colonel Tarleton and oneof considerably superior strength under General Sumpter, stronglyposted on a commanding position. The British attack was repulsed, butGeneral Sumpter, being badly wounded, was carried off the fieldduring the night, and the force under his command at once dispersed.

  No other event occurred, and the army passed its time in winterquarters till the spring of 1781. During this winter the enemies ofGreat Britain were re-enforced by the accession of the Dutch. At thistime the efforts which England was called upon to make were indeedgreat. In Europe France, Spain, and Holland were banded against her;in India our troops were waging a desperate war with Hyder Ali; whilethey were struggling to retain their hold on their American colonies.Here, indeed, the operations had for the last two years languished.The re-enforcements which could be spared were extremely small, andalthough the British had almost uniformly defeated the Americans inevery action in which there was any approach to equality between theforces engaged, they were unable to do more than hold the ground onwhich they stood. Victorious as they might be, the country beyond thereach of their rifles swarmed with their enemies, and it becameincreasingly clear to all impartial observers that it was impossiblefor an army which in all did not amount to more than 20,000 men toconquer a continent in arms against them.

  Harold was not present at the later events of the campaign of 1780.He and Jake had been with the column of Major Fergusson. PeterLambton had not accompanied him, having received a bullet wound inthe leg in a previous skirmish, which, although not serious, hadcompelled him to lay up for a time.

  "Me no like de look ob dis affair, Massa Harold," Jake said, as theAmericans opened fire upon the troops gathered at the top of King'sMountain. "Dese chaps no fools; dey all backwoodsmen; dey know how tofight de redskins; great hunters all ob dem."

  "Yes," Harold agreed, "they are formidable opponents, Jake. I do notlike the look of things. These men are all accustomed to fighting inthe woods, while our men have no idea of it. Their rifles areinfinitely superior to these army muskets, and every man of them canhit a deer behind the shoulder at the distance of 150 yards, while atthat distance most of our men would miss a haystack."

  The scouts and a few of the provincials who had been accustomed toforest warfare, took up their position behind trees and fought theadvancing enemy in their own way. The mass of the defenders, however,were altogether puzzled by the stealthy approach of their foes, whoadvanced from tree to tree, seldom showing as much as a limb to thefire of the defenders, and keeping up a deadly fire upon the crowd ofsoldiers.

  Had there been time for Major Fergusson, before being attacked, tohave felled a circle of trees and made a breastwork round the top ofthe hill, the result might have been different. Again and again theBritish gallantly charged down with the bayonet, but the assailants,as they did so, glided away among the trees after firing a shot ortwo into the advancing troops, and retreated a hundred yards or so,only to recommence their advance as soon as the defenders retiredagain to their position. The loss of the assailants was very slight,the few who fell being for the most part killed by the rifles of thescouts.

  "It am no use, Massa Harold," Jake said. "Jest look how dem poorfellows am being shot down. It's all up wid us dis time."

  When upon the fall of Major Fergusson his successor in commandsurrendered the post, the defenders were disarmed. The Kentucky men,accustomed only to warfare against Indians, had no idea of the usagesof war and treated the prisoners with great brutality. Ten of theloyalist volunteers of Carolina they hung at once upon trees. Therewas some discussion as to the disposal of the rest. The border men,having accomplished their object, were anxious to disperse at once totheir homes. Some of them proposed that they should rid themselves ofall further trouble by shooting them all. This was overruled by themajority. Presently the prisoners were all bound, their hands beingtied behind them, and a hundred of the border men surrounded them andordered them to march across the country.

  Jake and several other negroes who were among the captives wereseparated from the rest, and, being put up at auction, were sold asslaves. Jake fell to the bid of a tall Kentuckian who, without aword, fastened a rope round his neck, mounted his horse, and startedfor his home. The guards conducted the white prisoners to Woodville,eighty miles from the scene of the fight. This distance wasaccomplished in two days' march. Many of the unfortunate men, unableto support the fatigue, fell and were shot by their guards; the reststruggled on, utterly exhausted, until they arrived at Woodville,where they were handed over to a strong force of militia gatheredthere. They were now kindly treated, and by more easy marches weretaken to Richmond, in Virginia, where they were shut up in prison.Here were many English troops, for the Americans, in spite of theterms of surrender, had still retained as prisoners the troops ofGeneral Burgoyne.

  Several weeks passed without incident. The prisoners were stronglyguarded a
nd were placed in a building originally built for a jail andsurrounded by a very high wall. Harold often discussed with some ofhis fellow-captives the possibility of escape. The windows were allstrongly barred, and even should the prisoners break through thesethey would only find themselves in the courtyard. There would then bea wall thirty feet high to surmount, and at the corners of this wallthe Americans had built sentry-boxes, in each of which two men werestationed night and day. Escape, therefore, seemed next toimpossible.

  The sentries guarding the prison and at the gates were furnished byan American regiment stationed at Richmond. The wardens in the prisonwere, for the most part, negroes. The prisoners were confined atnight in separate cells; in the daytime they were allowed, in partiesof fifty, to walk for two hours in the courtyard. There were severallarge rooms in which they sat and took their meals, two sentries withloaded muskets being stationed in each room. Thus, althoughmonotonous, there was little to complain of; their food, if coarse,was plentiful, and the prisoners passed the time in talk, playingcards, and in such games as their ingenuity could invent.

  One day when two of the negro wardens entered with, the dinners ofthe room to which Harold belonged, the latter was astounded atrecognizing in one of them his faithful companion Jake. It was withdifficulty that he suppressed an exclamation of gladness andsurprise. Jake paid no attention to him, but placed the great tindish heaped up with yams, which he was carrying, upon the table, and,with an unmoved face, left the room. A fortnight passed without aword being exchanged between them. Several times each day Harold sawthe negro, but the guards were always present, and although, when hehad his back to the latter, Jake sometimes indulged in a momentarygrin or a portentous wink, no further communication passed betweenthem.

  One night at the end of that time Harold, when on the point of goingto sleep, thought he heard a noise as of his door gently opening. Itwas perfectly dark, and, after listening for a moment he laid hishead down again, thinking that he had been mistaken, when he heardclose to the bed the words in a low voice:

  "Am you asleep, Massa Harold?"

  "No, Jake," he exclaimed directly. "Ah, my good fellow! how have yougot here?"

  "Dat were a bery easy affair," Jake said. "Me tell you all about it."

  "Have you shut the door again, Jake? There is a sentry coming alongthe passage every five minutes."

  "Me shut him, massa, but dere aint no fastening on dis side, so Jakewill sit down wid him back against him."

  Harold got up and partly dressed himself and then sat down by theside of his follower.

  "No need to whisper," Jake said. "De walls and de doors bery thick;no one hear. But de sentries on de walls hear if we talk too loud."

  The windows were without glass, which was in those days an expensivearticle in America, and the mildness of the climate of Virginiarendered glass a luxury rather than a necessity. Confident that eventhe murmur of their voices would not be overheard if they spoke intheir usual way, Jake and Harold were enabled to conversecomfortably.

  "Well, massa," Jake said, "my story am not a long one. Dat man datbought me he rode in two days someting like one hundred miles. It wora lucky ting dat Jake had tramp on his feet de last four years, elsesoon enough he tumble down, and den de rope round him neck hang him.Jake awful footsore and tired when he git to de end ob dat journey.De Kentucky man he lib in a clearing not far from a village. He hadtwo oder slaves; dey hoe de ground and work for him. He got grown-upson, who look after dem while him fader away fighting. Dey not afraidob de niggers running away, because dere plenty redskin not far away,and nigger scalp jest as good as white man's. De oder way dere worplenty ob villages, and dey tink nigger git caught for sure if he tryto run away. Jake make up his mind he not stop dere bery long. DeKentuckian was a bery big, strong man, but not so strong as he wasten years ago, and Jake tink he more dan a match for him. Jake prettystrong himself, massa?"

  "I should think you were, Jake," Harold said. "There are not manymen, white or black, who can lift as great a weight as you can."

  "For a week Jake work bery hard. Dat Kentuckian hab a way ob alwayscarrying his rifle about on his arm, and as long as he do dat dere nochance ob a fair fight. De son he always hab a stick, and he mightyfree wid it. He hit Jake seberal times, and me say to him once,'Young man, you better mind what you do.' Me suppose dat he not likede look dat I gib him. He speak to his fader, and he curse and swearawful, and stand wid de rifle close by and tell dat son ob his tolarrup Jake. Dat he do, massa, for some time. Jake not say noting,but he make a note ob de affair in his mind. De bery next day de songo away to de village to buy some tings he want. De fader he come outand watch me at work; he curse and swear as usual; he call me lazyhound and swear he cut de flesh from my back; presently he come quiteclose and shake him fist in Jake's face. Dat was a foolish ting todo. So long as he keep bofe him hands on de gun he could say what helike quite safe, but when he got one hand up lebel wid Jake's nose,dat different ting altogether. Jake throw up his hand and close widhim. De gun tumble down and we wrastle and fight. He strong man forsure, but Jake jest a little stronger. We roll ober and ober on deground for some minutes; at last Jake git de upper hand and seize dewhite man by de t'roat, and he pretty quick choke him life out. Denhe pick up de gun and wait for de son; when he come back he put abullet t'rough him. Den he go to de hut and git food and powder andball and start into de woods. De oder niggers dey take no part in deaffair. Dey look on while the skirmish lasts, but not interfere oneway or oder. When it ober me ask dem if dey like to go wid me, butdey too afraid ob de redskins; so Jake start by himse'f. Me habplenty ob practice in de woods and no fear ob meeting redskins,except when dey on de warpath. De woods stretch a bery long way allober de country, and Jake trabel in dem for nigh t'ree weeks. Heshoot deer and manage bery well; see no redskin from the first day tode last; den he come out into de open country again, hundreds obmiles from de place where he kill dat Kentuckian. He leab his gunbehind now and trabel for Richmond, where he hear dat de whiteprisoners was kept. He walk all night and at day sleep in de woods orde plantations, and eat ears ob corn. At last he git to Richmond. Denhe gib out dat him massa wanted him to fight on de side ob de Englishand dat he run away. He go to de prison and offer to work dere. Deytink him story true, and as he had no massa to claim him dey say heState property, and work widout wages like de oder niggers here; deyall forfeited slaves whose massas had jined de English. Dese peopleso pore dey can't afford to pay white man, so dey take Jake aswarden, and by good luck dey put him in to carry de dinner to de beryroom where Massa Harold was."

  "And have you the keys to lock us up?"

  "No, massa, de niggers only cook de dinners and sweep de prison andde yard, and do dat kind ob job; de white wardens--dere's six obdem--dey hab de keys."

  "Then how did you manage to get here, Jake?"

  "Dat not bery easy matter, Massa Harold. Most ob de wardens drinklike fish; but de head man, him dat keep de keys, he not drink. Forsome time Jake not see him way, but one night when he lock up deprisoners he take Jake round wid him, and Jake carried de big bunchob keys--one key to each passage. When he lock up de doors here andhand de key to Jake to put on de bunch agin, Jake pull out a hair obhim head and twist it round de ward ob de key so as to know him agin.Dat night me git a piece ob bread and work him up wid some oil tillhe quite like putty, den me steal to de chief warden's room, and derede keys hang up close to him bed. Jake got no shoes on, and he stoleup bery silent. He take down de bunch ob keys and carry dem off. Hegit to quiet place and strike a light, and search t'rough de keystill he find de one wid de hair round it; den he take a deepimpression ob him wid de bread; den he carry back the keys and hang'em up. Jake not allowed to leabe de prison. We jest as muchprisoners as de white men, so he not able to go out to git a keymade; but in de storeroom dere's all sorts ob tools, and he git holdob a fine file; den he look about among de keys in de doors ob all destorerooms and places which wor not kept locked up. At last he find akey jest de right size, and dough de wards were a little di
fferentdey was ob de right shape. Jake set to work and filled off de knobsand p'ints which didn't agree wid de shape in de bread. Dis morning,when you was all out in de yard, me come up quietly and tried de keyand found dat it turned de lock quite easy. Wid a fedder and some oilme oil de lock and de key till it turned widout making de least,noise. Den to-night me waited till de sentry come along de corridor,and den Jake slip along and here he is."

  "Capital, Jake!" Harold said. "And now what is the next thing to do?Will it be possible to escape through the prison?"

  "No, Massa Harold, dere am t'ree doors from de prison into de yardand dere's a sentry outside ob each, and de main guard ob twenty menare down dere, too. No possible to git out ob doors widout de alarmbeing given."

  "With the file, Jake, we might cut through the bars."

  "We might cut t'rough de bars and git down into de courtyard; dateasy enough, massa. Jake could git plenty ob rope from de storeroom,but we hab de oder wall to climb."

  "You must make a rope-ladder for that, Jake."

  "What sort ob a ladder dat, massa?"

  Harold explained to him how it should be made.

  "When you have finished it, Jake, you should twist strips of any sortof stuff, cotton or woolen, round and round each of the wooden steps,so that it will make no noise touching the wall as we climb it. Thenwe want a grapnel."

  "Me no able to make dat, massa."

  "Not a regular grapnel, Jake, but you might manage something whichwould do."

  "What sort ob ting?" Jake asked.

  Harold sat for some time in thought.

  "If the wall were not so high it would be easy enough, Jake, for wecould do it by fastening the rope within about three inches of theend of a pole six feet long and three inches thick. That would neverpull over the wall, but it is too high to throw the pole over."

  "Jake could t'row such a stick as dat ober easy enough, massa--nodifficulty about dat; but me no see how a stick like dat balancemassa's weight."

  "It would not balance it, Jake, but the pull would be a side pull andwould not bring the stick over the wall. If it were only bamboo itwould be heavy enough."

  "Bery well, Massa Harold; if you say so, dat's all right. Jake cangit de wood easy enough; dere's plenty ob pieces among de firewooddat would do for us."

  "Roll it with strips of stuff the same way as the ladder steps, so asto prevent it making a noise when it strikes the wall. In addition tothe ladder we shall want a length of rope long enough to go from thiswindow to the ground, and another length of thin rope more than twicethe height of the wall."

  "Bery well, Massa Harold, me understand exactly what's wanted; butit'll take two or t'ree days to make de ladder, and me can only workob a night."

  "There is no hurry, Jake; do not run any risk of being caught. We mustchoose a dark and windy night. Bring two files with you, so that we canwork together, and some oil."

  "All right, massa. Now me go."

  "Shut the door quietly, Jake, and do not forget to lock it behindyou," Harold said, as Jake stole noiselessly from the cell.

  A week passed without Jake's again visiting Harold's cell. On theseventh night the wind had got up and whistled around the jail, andHarold, expecting that Jake would take advantage of the opportunity,sat down on his bed without undressing, and awaited his coming. Itwas but half an hour after the door had been locked for the nightthat it quietly opened again.

  "Here me am, sar, wid eberyting dat's wanted; two files and some oil,de rope-ladder, de short rope for us to slide down, and de long thinrope and de piece ob wood six feet long and thick as de wrist."

  They at once set to work with the files, and in an hour had sawnthrough two bars, making a hole sufficiently wide for them to pass.The rope was then fastened to a bar, Harold took off his shoes andput them in his pocket and then slid down the rope into thecourtyard. With the other rope Jake lowered the ladder and pole tohim and then slid down himself. Harold had already tied to the pole,at four inches from one end, a piece of rope some four feet long, soas to form a loop about half that length. The thin rope was putthrough the loop and drawn until the two ends came together.

  Noiselessly they stole across the yard until they reached theopposite wall. The night was a very dark one, and although they couldmake out the outline of the wall above them against the skyline, thesentry-boxes at the corners were invisible. Harold now took hold ofthe two ends of the rope, and Jake, stepping back a few yards fromthe wall, threw the pole over it. Then Harold drew upon the ropeuntil there was a check, and he knew that the pole was hard upagainst the edge of the wall. He tied one end of the rope-ladder toan end of the double cord and then hauled steadily upon the other.The rope running through the loop drew the ladder to the top of thewall. All this was done quickly and without noise.

  "Now, Jake, do you go first," Harold said. "I will hold the ropetight below, and do you put part of your weight on it as you go up.When you get to the top, knot it to the loop and sit on the walluntil I come up."

  In three minutes they were both on the wall, the ladder was hauled upand dropped on the outside, while the pole was shifted to the insideof the wall; then they descended the ladder and made across thecountry.

  "Which way we go, massa?" Jake asked.

  "I have been thinking it over," Harold replied, "and have decided onmaking for the James River. We shall be there before morning and canno doubt find a boat. We can guide ourselves by the stars, and whenwe get into the woods the direction of the wind will be sufficient."

  The distance was about twenty miles, but although accustomed toscouting at night, they would have had difficulty in making their waythrough the woods by morning had they not struck upon a road leadingin the direction in which they wanted to go.

  Thus it was still some hours before daylight when they reached theJames River. They had followed the road all the way, and at the pointwhere it reached the bank there was a village of considerable size,and several fishermen's boats were moored alongside. Stepping intoone of these, they unloosed the head-rope and pushed out into thestream. The boat was provided with a sail. The mast was soon steppedand the sail hoisted.

  Neither Harold nor Jake had had much experience in boat-sailing, butthe wind was with them and the boat ran rapidly down the river, andbefore daylight they were many miles from their point of starting.The banks of the James River are low and swampy, and few signs ofhuman habitation were seen from the stream. It widened rapidly asthey descended and became rougher and rougher. They therefore steeredinto a sheltered spot behind a sharp bend of the river and anchored.

  In the locker they found plenty of lines and bait, and, setting towork, had soon half a dozen fine fish at the bottom of the boat. Theypulled up the kedge and rowed to shore and soon made a fire, findingflint and steel in the boat. The fish were broiled over the fire uponsticks. The boat was hauled in under some overhanging bushes, and,stretching themselves in the bottom, Harold and Jake were soon fastasleep.

  The sun was setting when they woke.

  "What you going to do, sar?" Jake asked. "Are you tinking obtrabeling by land or ob sailing to New York?"

  "Neither, Jake," Harold answered. "I am thinking of sailing down thecoast inside the line of keys to Charleston. The water there iscomparatively smooth, and as we shall be taken for fishermen it isnot likely that we shall be overhauled. We can land occasionally andpick a few ears of corn to eat with our fish, and as there isgenerally a breeze night and morning, however still and hot the day,we shall be able to do it comfortably. I see that there is an ironplate here which has been used for making a fire and cooking onboard, so we will lay in a stock of dry wood before we start."

  The journey was made without any adventure. While the breeze lastedthey sailed; when it fell calm they fished, and when they hadobtained a sufficient supply for their wants they lay down and sleptunder the shade of their sail stretched as an awning. Frequently theypassed within hail of other fishing-boats, generally manned bynegroes. But beyond a few words as to their success, no questionsw
ere asked. They generally kept near the shore, and when they saw anylarger craft they either hauled the boat up or ran into one of thecreeks in which the coast abounds. It was with intense pleasure thatat last they saw in the distance the masts of the shipping inCharleston harbor.

  Two hours later they landed. They fastened the boat to the wharf andmade their way into the town unquestioned. As they were walking alongthe principal street they saw a well-known figure saunteringleisurely toward them. His head was bent down and he did not notice,them until Harold hailed him with a shout of "Halloo, Peter, oldfellow! How goes it?"

  Peter, although not easily moved or excited, gave a yell of delightwhich astonished the passers-by.

  "Ah, my boy!" he exclaimed, "this is a good sight for my old eyes.Here have I been a-fretting and a-worrying myself for the last threemonths, and cussing my hard luck that I was not with you in thataffair on King's Mountain. At first, when I heard of it, I says tomyself, 'The young un got out of it somehow. He aint going to becaught asleep.' Waal, I kept on hoping and hoping you'd turn up, tillat last I couldn't deceive myself no longer and was forced toconclude that you'd either been rubbed out or taken prisoner. About amonth ago we got from the Yankees a list of the names of them they'dcaptured, and glad I was to see yours among 'em. As I thought as howyou weren't likely to be out as long as the war lasted, I wasa-thinking of giving it up and going to Montreal and settling downthere. It was lonesome like without you, and I missed Jake's laugh,and altogether things didn't seem natural like. Jake, I'm glad to seeye. Your name was not in the list, but I thought it likely enoughthey might have taken you and set you to work, and made no account ofye."

  "That is just what they did; but he got away after settling his scorewith his new master, and then made for Richmond, where I was inprison; then he got me loose, and here we are. But it is a longstory, and I must tell it you at leisure."