CHAPTER XXIV
_Crossing the Delaware_
The men, divided into small squads, marched down to the boats,--largeunwieldy scows, which had been hauled up against the shore,--and eachboat was speedily filled to its utmost capacity. The most experiencedseized the oars; three or four Marblehead fishermen armed with longpoles took their stations forward and aft along the upper side of theboat, with one to steer and one to command; and then, seizing afavorable opportunity, the boat was pushed off from the shore, andthreading its way in and out between the enormous ice-cakes grindingdown upon her, the difficult and dangerous passage began. Should theheavily laden boat be overturned, very few of its occupants would beable to reach the shore. Once on the other side, the fishermen tookthe boat back, and the weary process was gone over again. Fortunatelyit was yet bright moonlight, though ominous clouds were banking up inthe northeast, and everything could be clearly seen; each boat wasperfectly visible all the way across to the eager watchers on theshore, and a sigh of relief went up after each fortunate passage. Inthis labor Seymour and Bentley, and in a less degree Philip Wilton,aided Colonel Glover's men; Seymour having the helm of one boatcontinuously, Bentley that of another.
About half-past nine it was reported to General Washington that all ofthe first division had crossed, and the boat was now ready for himaccording to his orders. The largest and best boat had been selectedfor the commander-in-chief, one sufficiently capacious to receive hishorses and those of his staff who accompanied him. Seymour was tosteer the boat; Bentley stood in the bow; Colonel Glover stationedhimself amidships, with three or four of his trustiest men, tosuperintend the crossing, and all the oars were manned by the hardyfishermen instead of the soldiers. The general dismounted and walkedtoward the boat, leading his horse. Just as he was about to enter, anofficer on a panting steed rode up rapidly, and saluted.
"General Washington?"
"Yes, sir."
"A letter, sir!"
"What a time is this to hand me letters!"
"Your excellency, I have been charged to do so by General Gates."
"By General Gates! Where is he?"
"I left him this morning in Philadelphia, sir."
"What was he doing there?"
"I understood him that he was on his way to Congress."
"On his way to Congress!" said the general earnestly, with muchsurprise and disgust in his tone. And then, after a pause, he brokethe seal and read the letter, frowning; after which he crumpled thepaper up in his hand, and then turned again to the officer. "How didyou find us, sir?"
"I followed the bloody footprints of the men on the snow, sir."
"Poor fellows! Did you learn anything of General Ewing or GeneralCadwalader?"
"No, sir."
"And General Putnam?"
"He bade me say that there were symptoms of an insurrection in thecity, and he felt obliged to stay there. He has detached six hundredof the Pennsylvania militia, however, under Colonel Griffin, to advancetoward Bordentown."
"'T is well, sir. Do you remain to participate in our attack?"
"Yes, sir, I belong to General St. Clair's brigade."
"You will find it over there; it has not yet crossed. Now, gentlemen,let us get aboard."
The general stepped forward in the boat, where Bentley, an enormouspole in his hands, was stationed, and the remainder of the party soonembarked. The order was given to shove off. The usual difficultiesand the usual fortune attended the passage of the boat with itsprecious freight, until it neared the east bank, when one of thelargest cakes that had passed swiftly floated down upon it.
"Pull, men, pull hard!" cried Colonel Glover, as he saw its huge bulkalongside. "Head the boat up the stream, Mr. Seymour. Forward,there--be ready to push off with your poles." As the result of theseprompt manoeuvres, the oncoming mass of ice, which was too large to beavoided, instead of crashing into them amidships and sinking the boat,struck them a quartering blow on the bow, and commenced to grind alongthe sides of the boat, which heeled so far over that the water began totrickle in through the oar-locks on the other side.
"Steady, men," said Glover, calmly. "Sit still, for your lives."
Bentley had thrown his pole over on the ice-cake promptly, and was nowbearing down upon it with all the strength of his powerful arms. Butthe task was beyond him; the ice and the boat clung together, and theice was reinforced by several other cakes which its checked motionpermitted to close with it. The vast mass crashed against the side ofthe boat; the oar of the first rower was broken short off at theoar-lock; if the others went the situation of the helpless boat wouldbe, indeed, hopeless. The general himself came to the rescue.Promptly divining the situation, he stepped forward to Bentley's side,and threw his own immense strength upon the pole. Great beads of sweatstood out on Bentley's bronzed forehead as he renewed his efforts; thestout hickory sapling bent and crackled beneath the pressure of the twomen, but held on, and the boat slowly but steadily began to swing clearof the ice. These two Homeric men held it off by sheer strength, untilthe boat was in freewater, and the men, who had sat like statues intheir places, could once more use their oars. The general stepped backinto his place, cool and calm as usual, and entirely unruffled by hisgreat exertions. Bentley wiped the sweat from his face, and turned andlooked back at him in admiration.
"Friend Bentley," he said quietly, "you are a man of mighty thews andsinews. Had it not been for your powerful arms, I fear we would havehad a ducking--or worse."
"Lord love you, your honor," said the astonished tailor, "I 've met mymatch! It was your arm that saved us. I was almost done for. I neversaw such strength as that, though when I was younger I would have donebetter. What a man you would be for reefing topsails in a gale o'wind, your honor, sir!" he continued, thrusting his pole vigorouslyinto a small and impertinent cake of ice in the way. The general wasproud of his great strength, and not ill pleased at the genuine andhearty admiration of this genuine and hearty man.
A few moments later they stepped ashore, and a mighty cheer went upfrom the men who had crowded upon the banks, at the safety of theirbeloved general. Greene met him at the landing, and the two menclasped hands. The general immediately mounted his powerful whitehorse, and stationed himself on a little hillock to watch the landingof the rest of the men, engaging General Greene in a low conversationthe while.
"Do you know, Greene, that Gates has refused my entreaty to stop oneday at Bristol, and take command of Reed's and Cadwalader's troops andhelp us in the attack! I did not positively order him to do so; onlyrequested him to delay his journey by a day or two. I can't understandhis action. A letter was handed me just before we crossed byWilkinson, telling me that he had gone on to Congress."
"To Congress! What wants he there? Oh, general, it seems as if youhad to fight two campaigns,--one against the enemy, and the otheragainst secret, nay open, attempts to minimize your authority and checkyour plans."
"It seems so, Greene; but with a just cause to sustain, and theblessing of God to help our efforts, we cannot ultimately fail, though,indeed, it may be better that I give place to another man, more able tosave the country," went on the general, solemnly.
"Forbid it, Heaven!" cried Greene, passionately. "We, at least, in thearmy, know to whom has been committed this work; ay, and who has doneit, and will do it, too! We will stand by you to the last. Could younot feel in the cheers of those frozen men, when you landed, the lovethey bear you?"
"Yes, I know that you are with me, and they too. 'T is that alone thatgives me heart. Did you publish the orders about the capture of thetransport?"
"Yes, sir, and it put new heart in the men, I could see. I wish we hadthe supplies, the clothing especially, now. It grows colder everymoment."
"Ay, and darker, too; I think we shall have snow again before we getthrough with the night. I wonder how the others down the river havegot along. But who comes here?" continued the general, as two menwalked hastily up to him and saluted.
"Well, sir?" he said to the first.
"Message from General Ewing, sir."
"Did he get across?"
"No, sir, the ice was so heavy he bade me say he deemed it useless totry it."
"One piece removed from the game, General Greene," said Washington,smiling bitterly. "Now your news, sir?" to the other.
"General Cadwalader got a part of his men across, but the ice banks soagainst the east side that not a single horse or piece of artillerycould be landed, so he bade me say he has recrossed with his men, sir."
"And there's the other piece gone, too! Now, what is to be done?"
General Sullivan, having crossed with the last of his division, at thismoment rode up.
"The troops are all across, general," he said.
"Well done! What time is it, some one?"
"Half after eleven, sir," answered a voice.
"Very well, indeed! We have now only to wait for the guns. But,gentlemen, I have just heard that Ewing made no attempt to cross, andthat Cadwalader, having tried it, failed. He could get his men over,but no horses and guns, on account of the ice on the bank, andtherefore he returned, and we are here alone. What, think you, is tobe done now?"
There was a moment's silence.
"Perhaps we would better recross and try it again on a more favorablenight," finally said De Fermoy, in his broken accents.
"Yes, yes, that might be well," said one or two others, simultaneously.The most of them, however, said nothing. The general waited a moment,looking about him.
"Gentlemen, it is too late to retreat. I promised myself I would notreturn without a fight, and I intend to keep that promise. We willcarry out the plan ourselves, as much of it at least as we can. Itrust Putnam got Griffin off, and that his skirmishers may draw out VonDonop. But be that as it may, we will have a dash at Trenton, and tryto bag the game, and get away before the enemy can fall upon us inforce. General Greene, you, of course have sent out pickets?"
"Yes, sir, the first men who crossed over, a mile up the road, on thehill yonder."
"Good! Ha, what was that? Snow, as I live, and the moon 's gone, too!How dark it has grown! I think you might allow the men to light firesin those hollows, and let them move about a little; they will freeze todeath standing still--I wonder they don't, anyway. How unfortunate isthis snow!"
"Beg pardon, your excellency?" said the first of the two messengers.
"What is it, man? Speak out!"
"Can we stay here and take part in your attack, sir?"
"Certainly you may. Fall in with the men there. Where are yourhorses?"
"We left them on the other side, sir."
"Well, they will have to stay there for this time, and you 'll have togo on foot with the rest."
"Thank you, sir," said the men, eagerly, darting off in the darkness.
"That's a proper spirit, isn't it? Well, to your stations, gentlemen!We have nothing to do now but wait. Don't allow the men to lie down orto sleep, on any account."
And wait they did, for four long hours, the general sitting motionlessand silent on his horse, wrapped in his heavy cloak, unheeding, alike,the whirling snow or the cutting sleet of the storm, which grew fiercerevery moment. He strained his eyes out into the blackness of the riverfrom time to time, or looked anxiously at the troops, clustered aboutthe fires, or tramping restlessly up and down in their places to wardoff the deadly attack of the awful winter night, while some of themsought shelter, behind trees and hillocks, from the fury of the storm.Filled with his own pregnant thoughts, and speaking to no one, hewaited, and no man ventured to break his silence. At half after threeGeneral Knox, whose resolute will and iron strength had been exerted tothe full, and whose mighty voice had been heard from time to time abovethe shriek of the fierce wind, was able to report that he had got allthe artillery over without the loss of a man, a horse, or a gun, andwas ready to proceed. The men were hastily assembled, and, leaving astrong detail to guard the boats, at four o'clock in the morning thelong and awful march to Trenton was begun, the general and his staff,escorted by the Philadelphia City Troop, in the lead. The storm was atits height. All hopes of a night attack and surprise had necessarilyto be abandoned. Still the general pressed on, determined to abide theissue, and make the attack as soon as he reached the enemy. It was thelast effort of liberty, conceived in desperation and born in the throesof hunger and cold! What would the bringing forth be?
For Love of Country: A Story of Land and Sea in the Days of the Revolution Page 25
