CHAPTER XII.
From Lexington our little party went on at once to Concord. There theysaw the monument, and near it the graves of the two British soldiers ofwhom the Captain had spoken as having fallen in the fight.
"The British entered Concord in two divisions," he said; "one by themain road, the other passing over the hill north of it. Captain Beeman,of Petersham, and other Tories had given them information in regard tothe stores secreted in Concord, and Captain Parsons with six companieswas sent to destroy them."
"Sent where, Papa?" asked Lulu.
"To the house of Colonel Barrett," replied her father. "Captain Lawrie,with three companies was stationed at the North Bridge, just here. Themonument stands upon the very spot where the British stood, and on yonplain across the river is where the American militia were when the fireof the British killed Hosmer and Davis.
"Colonel Smith, in the village, heard the firing, and sent areinforcement to Lawrie's help; but seeing that the militia wereincreasing in numbers, they turned about and joined in the retreat.Then the party under Captain Parsons, who, you will remember, had goneto Colonel Barrett's to destroy the secreted stores, returned, and wereallowed by the militia to pass the bridge unmolested."
"Why didn't they attack them, Captain?" asked Eva, "weren't they strongenough?"
"Yes; but war had not yet been declared, and the colonists had beenenjoined to act only on the defensive and let Great Britain be theaggressor.
"Besides, the militia at Concord had not yet heard of the slaughterof their brethren at Lexington. They themselves had just killed threeBritish soldiers, to be sure, but it was purely in self-defence."
"The British started back to Boston pretty soon after that, didn'tthey, Papa?" asked Lulu.
"Yes; Colonel Smith thought it prudent, seeing how rapidly the militiawere gathering, to return at once, and a little after twelve o'clockbegan his retreat toward Lexington, covering his main column by strongflanking guards.
"As you may suppose, the people had become intensely excited by thistime, and I dare say very many were burning to avenge the slaughter oftheir comrades. They no longer adhered to the cautious counsels giventhem at Concord, and secreting themselves behind barns and fences,fired upon the British troops as they passed. All along the line ofmarch to Lexington the British were terribly galled in this way. Gunswere fired with sure aim from every house, barn, and stone wall. As wenoticed in coming here the road between this town and Lexington passesthrough a hilly country, as well calculated as possible for such work.At almost every wooded defile numbers of the British were picked off byconcealed marksmen, and at Hardy's Hill there was a severe skirmish.
"There was no longer any military order among the Americans, but eachman fought as he deemed best. Some of them were killed by the Britishflankers coming suddenly upon them in their places of concealment, buttheir numbers were comparatively small.
"Several of the British were shot near the battle-ground of the morningat Lexington, and Colonel Smith was badly wounded in the leg at Fiske'sHill, near the town."
"So they didn't have a very good time on their march back to Boston,"remarked Max.
"No, very far from it," replied his father. "You will remember they hadbeen marching the night before, marching and fighting pretty much allthat day, and attacked every now and then by a concealed foe, who shotdown one after another; they became at last so fatigued that they musthave surrendered to the Americans if reinforcements had not reachedthem.
"I have said a request for help had been sent to General Gage fromLexington early in the morning, and he had responded with about ninehundred men under Lord Percy,--three regiments of infantry and twodivisions of marines. These left Boston about nine o'clock in themorning and marched toward Lexington.
"As they passed through Roxbury they played 'Yankee Doodle' inderision, having before used it as a Rogue's March."
"Papa," Gracie asked, "did the Roxbury people know about the fight atLexington and Concord?"
"They had heard vague rumours of a fight at Lexington, and the marchingin that direction of these Boston troops confirmed their worst fears."
"What an excitement the marching of those British troops must havecaused all along the way as they went!" exclaimed Eva.
"Yes," replied Captain Raymond, "one of their officers said, 'they [theAmericans] seemed to drop from the clouds.'"
"Percy's brigade met them about half a mile from Lexington. He formeda hollow square, and for its defence, planted a cannon on high groundnear Monroe's tavern, and received into his enclosure the weariedtroops of Smith. Some of them were so heated and worn out that theylay exhausted and panting upon the ground, their tongues hanging out oftheir mouths, as a dog's does when he is tired and overheated.
"But Percy did not dare allow them to rest long, for the militiahad gathered from all quarters, and the woods were swarming withminute-men. They were given a little refreshment, a brief rest, thenhurried on their way, committing as they went deeds of ruffianism ofwhich they had reason to be heartily ashamed; property was destroyed,houses were plundered, and several innocent persons were murdered.
"Of course the Americans were filled with indignation as well as grieffor the sufferings of friends and neighbours, some of them their nearkindred."
"Yes; oh, it was just dreadful, Papa!" exclaimed Gracie, her eyesfilling with tears. "I think the British of those days were very, verycruel."
"Very true," replied her father; "there were very many deeds of bloodand violence, for which there was no excuse, committed by them duringthat war. Rawdon, Tarleton, and even Cornwallis showed themselves menof savage cruelty."
"Yes," exclaimed Rosie, "I perfectly detest and abhor that brutalTarleton! No Indian was ever more heartless and cruel than he!"
"I think that is true," the Captain said. "He treated Americanprisoners so unfortunate as to fall into his hands, with most inhumancruelty; also he was so vain, conceited, and untruthful that in a'History of the Campaigns of 1780 and 1781 in the Southern Provinces ofNorth America,' which he wrote after his return to England, he distortsevents for his self-glorification to such a degree as has seldom beenparalleled. Yes, take him all together he was, I think, one of the mostdespicable characters of the Revolution."
"I have always been so glad over his defeat by Morgan at the battle ofthe Cowpens," said Eva, "and have always admired the reminders of itgiven him by some of the Southern ladies, particularly of the woundon his hand that Colonel Washington gave him in chasing him from thatbattle-field."
"Yes, I remember," said Rosie. "The ladies were great admirers ofColonel Washington, talked a great deal about him, and at least two orthree times gave that vain, boastful, cruel Tarleton a rub about thatwound."
"Yes," said the Captain, "those sallies of wit were expended on him bytwo sisters,--daughters of Colonel Montfort, of Halifax County, NorthCarolina. When Cornwallis was there on his way to Virginia, ColonelWashington was the subject of conversation one evening; and Tarleton,nettled doubtless by the admiration freely expressed by the ladies,began talking against him, saying that he was an illiterate fellow,hardly able to write his own name.
"The remark was made in the presence of Mrs. Willie Jones, one of thesisters I have spoken of, and she replied, 'Ah, Colonel, you ought toknow better, for you bear on your person proof that he knows very well_how to make his mark_.'"
"I shouldn't have liked to be in his place," remarked Max. "I dare sayhe felt like shooting Mrs. Jones for her compliment."
"That is not at all unlikely," said his father. "It is said that whenher sister, Mrs. Ashe, twitted him in like manner, he showed histemper plainly. He had been talking again, sarcastically of ColonelWashington, in her presence, and finally said with a sneer, 'I wouldbe happy to see Colonel Washington.' To which she instantly replied,'If you had looked behind you, Colonel Tarleton, at the battle of theCowpens, you would have enjoyed that pleasure.'"
"That was just good for him!" exclaimed Lulu. "I wonder what he said toit,--if he answe
red her at all."
"He was very angry (for no doubt the words stung him) and laid his handon the hilt of his sword, while he regarded her with a frown," repliedthe Captain. "But General Leslie, his superior officer said, 'Say whatyou please, Mrs. Ashe; Colonel Tarleton knows better than to insult alady in my presence.'"
"Did Tarleton ever insult a lady, Papa?" asked Gracie.
"I have read that he once insulted an American woman,--one who waslarge and strong,--and that she knocked him down upon the floor, seizedhim by the throat, and choked him till he was black in the face;she probably would have killed him if some one had not come to hisassistance and pulled her off."
"Surely he must have been proud of _that_ encounter," laughed Max.
Elsie Yachting with the Raymonds Page 12
