The Loyalist

by James Francis Barrett

  Produced by David Garcia, Martin Pettit and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

  THE LOYALIST

  _A Story of the American Revolution_

  BY

  JAMES FRANCIS BARRETT

  Publisher's logo]

  P. J. KENEDY & SONSNEW YORK

  COPYRIGHT, 1920, BYP. J. KENEDY & SONS, NEW YORK

  _Printed in U. S. A._

  TO MY SISTERAS A SLIGHT TOKEN OF LOVE AND ESTEEM

  FOREWORD

  Historical facts constitute the background of this story. Its hero andits heroine are, of course, fictitious; but the deportment of GeneralArnold, the Shippen family, the several military and civic personagesthroughout the story is described, for the most part, accurately and inconformity with the sober truths of history. Pains have been taken todepict the various historical episodes which enter into the story--suchas the attempted formation of the Regiment of Roman Catholic Volunteers,the court-martial of Major General Arnold, the Military Mass on theoccasion of the anniversary of American Independence--with as muchfidelity to truth as possible. The anti-Catholic sentences, employed inthe reprimand of Captain Meagher, are anachronisms; they are identical,however, with utterances made in the later life of Benedict Arnold. Theinfluence of Peggy Shippen upon her husband is vouched for by eminentauthority.

  Due appreciation and sincere gratitude must be expressed to thoseauthors from whom much information has been taken,--to John GilmaryShea, in his "History of the Catholic Church in the United States"; toMartin I. J. Griffin's "Catholics and the American Revolution"; to F. J.Stimson's excellent work, "Memoirs of Benedict Arnold"; to John Fiske's"American Revolution," and to the many other works which have freelybeen made use of in the course of this writing. Cordial thanks are alsodue to those who have generously assisted by suggestions and criticisms,and especially to those who have devoted their valuable moments to therevision of the proof sheets. J. F. B.

  THE LOYALIST

  PART ONE

  CHAPTER I

  "Please continue, Peggy. You were telling me who were there and whatthey wore. Oh, dear! I am so sorry mother would not give me leave to go.Was it all too gay?"

  "It was wonderful!" was the deliberate reply. "We might have danced tillnow had not Washington planned that sudden attack. We had to leavethen,--that was early this morning,--and I spent the day abed."

  It was now well into the evening and the two girls had been seated forthe longest time, it seemed, on the small sofa which flanked the eastwall of the parlor. The dusk, which had begun to grow thick and fastwhen Marjorie had come to visit Peggy, was now quite absorbed intodarkness; still the girls had not lighted the candles, choosing toremain in the dark until the story of the wonderful experience of thepreceding day had been entirely related.

  The grand pageant and mock tournament, the celebrated Mischienza,arranged in honor of General Howe, who had resigned his office asCommander-in-chief of His Majesty's forces in America to return toEngland, there to defend himself against his enemies in person, asGeneral Burgoyne was now doing from his seat in Parliament, was an eventlong to be remembered not alone from the extravagance of its display,but from the peculiar prominence it afforded the foremost families ofthe city, particularly that of the Shippens.

  Edward Shippen was a gentleman of rank, of character, of fortune, amember of one of the oldest and most respected families in the city ofPhiladelphia, whose ancestor, of the same name, had been Mayor of thecity nigh an hundred years before. He belonged to the Society ofFriends, or Quakers, and while he took no active interest on either sideduring the years of the war, still he was generally regarded as one ofthe sympathizers of the Crown. Because of the social eminence which thefamily enjoyed and the brilliance and genial hospitality whichdistinguished their affairs, the Shippens were considered the undisputedleaders of the social set of Philadelphia. The three lovely MissesShippen were the belles of the more aristocratic class. They weretoasted frequently by the gay English officers during the days of theBritish occupation, for their father's house was often the rendezvous ofthe titled celebrities of the day.

  "And was your Captain there, too?" continued Marjorie, referring, ofcourse, to Captain Monstresor, the engineer of the undertaking, anerstwhile admirer of Mistress Peggy.

  "You must know, my dear, that he arranged the spectacle. I saw little ofhim until the dance. In truth, he seemed more popular than General Howehimself."

  Marjorie sat up.

  "Tell me! Did the tournament begin the program?"

  "No!" replied Peggy. "The military procession of boats and barges withLords Howe and Rawdon, General Howe and General Clinton, opened theevent in the late morning, sailing up the river to the Wharton House,the scene of the tournament."

  Marjorie nodded.

  "The noise of the guns was deafening. When the flotilla arrived atWalnut Grove, which was lined with troops and bedecked brilliantly withflags and bunting, the pageant opened."

  "Where were you in the meantime?" asked Marjorie, careful to lose nodetail.

  "We were seated in the pavilions,--seven ladies in each,--clothed inTurkish garments, each wearing in her turban the favor to be bestowed onher victorious knight."

  "And who was your knight?"

  "The Honorable Captain Cathcart," quickly replied Peggy, her eyesbeaming with a smile of evident satisfaction and proud joy.

  "Lord Cathcart, whom I met here?"

  "The same," answered Peggy. "He was the leader of the 'Knights of theBlended Rose.'"

  "What an odd name!" she exclaimed.

  "I know it. They were named after their device. They were dressed inwhite and red silk, mounted on gray horses and attended by esquires.They were preceded by a herald who bore their device, two rosesintertwined above the motto, 'We droop when separated.' My knight rodeat the head, attended by two British Officers, and his two esquires, theone bearing his lance, the other his shield emblazoned with hisdevice--Cupid astride a lion--over the motto, Surrounded by love.'"

  "You little Tory," interrupted Marjorie. "I shall tell GeneralWashington that you are disloyal and have lent your sympathy to aBritish Officer."

  "I care little. The Yankees are without refinement----"

  "Don't you dare say that," snapped Marjorie, her whole being animatedwith sudden anger. "It is untrue and you know it. They are patriotsand----"

  "Forgive me, dear," murmured Peggy, laying her hand on the arm of herirate friend. "I said that only in jest. I shan't continue if you arevexed."

  There was silence.

  "Please! I am not angry," Marjorie pleaded. "Do continue."

  "I forget my story now. What did I tell? There was so much that I amconfused."

  "The Knights of the Rose!" suggested Marjorie.

  "Oh, yes! Well, this body of knights made the circuit of the square andthen saluted their ladies. On a sudden, a herald advanced with aflourish of trumpets and announced that the ladies of the Blended Roseexcelled in wit, beauty, grace, charm and accomplishments those of thewhole world and challenged a denial by deeds of arms. Whereupon acounter sound of trumpets was heard from afar and another heraldgalloped before a body of knights in black and orange silk with thedevice--a wreath of flowers surrounding a burning heart--over the motto,'Love and Glory.' These were the Knights of the Burning Mountain, whocame to dispute the claim of the Knights of the Blended Rose."

  "It must have been gorgeous!" exclaimed Marjorie, clasping her handsbefore her.

  "Indeed it was. Well, after several preliminaries, the encounter tookplace, the knights receiving their lances together with their shieldsfrom their esquires, whereupon they saluted and encountered at fullspeed, shivering their spears against the shield of their adversaries.They next
encountered and discharged their pistols and then fought withswords. Again the two chiefs of the warring factions, Captain Cathcartof the Blended Rose and Captain Watson of the Burning Mountain, met inmid field to try their arms as champions of their respective parties.They parried and thrust with true knightly valor until Major Grayson, asmarshal of the field, intervened at the critical moment, declaring theladies of both parties to be fully satisfied with the proofs of love andthe feats of valor displayed by their knights. He then commanded thecombatants to desist. Thus ended the tournament."

  "How wonderful!" sighed Marjorie. "I would I had been present. And yourknight was the hero?"

  "Of course," replied Peggy with a smile. "I am sure that he would haveworsted Captain Watson, had not the Major stepped in. But the banquetwas splendid."

  "And Captain Cathcart!" reminded Marjorie, with a slight manifestationof instinctive envy.

  "Why! He attended me, of course," was the proud response. "Each knightescorted his lady through the triumphal arches erected in honor of theGenerals who were present, along the long avenue lined on both sideswith the troops and the colors of the army. At the third arch, which wasdedicated to General Howe and which bore on its top a huge flying figureof Fame, we entered the great Hall. There refreshments were served andthe dancing began. It continued until midnight. The windows were thenthrown open and we witnessed the wonderful display of fireworks. Andthen the supper!

  "Gorgeous, of course!" exclaimed Marjorie.

  "Gorgeous, indeed!" Peggy repeated--"a great room, with fifty or morepier glasses, draped with green silk and hundreds of varieties offlowers of as many hues and shades. An hundred branches of lights,thousands of tapers, four hundred and thirty covers, and there must havebeen more than twelve hundred dishes. The attendants were twenty-fourblack slaves garbed oriental fashion with silver collars and bracelets.And then we danced and danced until dawn, when we were interrupted bythe sound of distant cannon."

  "And then your knights were called to real war," remarked Marjorie.

  "For the moment all thought this to be part of the program, the signalfor another great spectacle. Suddenly everything broke into confusion.The officers rushed to their commands. The rest of us betook ourselvesas best we could. We came home and went to bed, tired in every bone.Mother is sorry that I attended, for she thought it too gay. But I wouldnot have lost it for the world."

  And perhaps her mother was right. For Peggy was but eighteen, theyoungest of the Shippen family. The other girls were somewhat older, yetthe three were considered the most beautiful debutantes of the city, theyoungest, if in anything, the more renowned for grace and manner. Herface was of that plumpness to give it charm, delicate in contour, richwith the freshness of the bloom of youth. Her carriage betrayedbreeding and dignity. And all was sweetened by a magnetism and vivacitythat charmed all who came within her influence. Still her attitude wasthe more prepossessing than permanent.

  Like her father, she was a Quaker in many of her observances. To thatcreed she adhered with a rigorous determination. She had so oftenmanifested her political sympathies, which were intensified to anirrational degree as appeared from passionate disclosures, that herfather was led to observe that she was more a Tory at heart than GeneralHowe himself.

  Her companion, Marjorie Allison, was about her own age, but as intenselyAmerican as she was English. Her parents had always lived inPhiladelphia, as their parents had before them, coming originally fromthe Mother country to which they were now opposed in martial strife. Thethrill of patriotism for the cause of the infant republic, whichthrobbed violently within her breast, had been inspired to enthusiasmmore by the intense antipathy for the Church of England than for thegovernment itself. This antipathy was kept alive and invigorated by thedoleful memory of the privations and adversities endured by herancestors from the agents of this same government because of theirCatholic worship and their heroic efforts to follow their religiousconvictions.

  The sympathies of the Allisons were undivided. They were notoriousWhigs, ardent champions of the rights which the new government sostrongly asserted, and which they had pledged themselves stoutly todefend; ardent champions of the eternal principles on which the newrepublic was built. The psychology of the Allisons' allegiance did notdiffer from that of innumerable other families. Usually, strange torelate, society, while constantly moving forward with eager speed, isjust as constantly looking backward with tender regrets. But no regretswere here. Religious persecution leaves no tender memories in its trail.Dissatisfaction with the past is seldom rendered more memorable than bythe fanatic attempt to separate the soul from its God.

  Marjorie and Peggy had been friends from girlhood. They understood eachother very well. Each knew and appreciated the other's peculiarities,her virtues and her foibles, her political propensities and religiousconvictions. They never discussed their religious differences. Theyavoided such a clash out of respect for each other's convictions. Notso, however, in matters relating to the form of government. Marjorie wasa Whig, an ardent champion of the rights of the Colonists, while hermore aristocratic friend was Tory in her sentiments, moderate, it istrue, but nevertheless at times much inclined to the extreme.Notwithstanding these differences, their friendship had been constantand they had always shared their joys and sorrows.

  The days of the British occupation of the city had been glorious onesfor Peggy and her sisters. The love of display and finery which wascharacteristic of them was satiated by the brilliance and the gayety ofthe winter season during which the titled British Officers were fetedand entertained extravagantly. None outshone the Shippens in themagnificence of their entertainments. Their house was ever open inhospitality, and more than once it had been whispered about that theirresources had reached the point of exhaustion.

  At these functions Marjorie found herself a welcome guest. For Peggytook care that her little friend was never overlooked, even if on oneoccasion a pang of regret sent her to bed with copious tears when thefavor for the evening had been bestowed upon her fair guest. Marjorie,however, maintained a mature composure and a marked concern, as was herwont, throughout it all, and Peggy again reassured herself that hermisgivings were without foundation. For Marjorie disliked the titledgentry. They were without exception hostile to the faith to which she sosteadfastly adhered. She bore with them merely for the pleasure whichshe derived from the coterie made brilliant by their participation.

  And so the winter passed, giving way to lovely, spring, whose gentlezephyrs dispelled the cold, the ice and the snow that had sent theBritish into the ballrooms for protection, and had afflicted anddistressed the patriots at Valley Forge. With the advent of favorableweather, operations began anew; the hopes and the courage of thecolonists were now exalted to the highest pitch. The disasters of LongIsland and Fort Washington had been offset by the victory at Saratoga.While the British had taken and held the important cities of New Yorkand Philadelphia as well as the town of Newport, still they had lost anarmy and had gained nothing but the ground on which they were encamped.

  Now, at the beginning of the fourth period of the war, the joyful newswas heralded far and wide that the government of France had formallyacknowledged the independence of the United States and that help was onthe way to assist the Colonists in their struggle. At the same time theconciliatory measures of Lord North in Parliament gave indication tothe patriots that the British Government was weakening. The joy of theWhigs knew no bounds, and Marjorie was beside herself as she related theglad tidings over and over again. The fourth epoch of the war auguredwell for the success of the cause.

  II

  In all the Colonies there was at this stage of the war no city moreimportant than Philadelphia. Whatever there was among the Colonists ofwealth, of comfort, of social refinement, of culture and of courtlymanners was here centered. Even the houses were more imposing thanelsewhere throughout the country. They were usually well constructed ofstone or brick with either thatched or slated roofs. They were suppliedwith barns bursting with the opulence of
the fields. The countrysideround about was teeming with fatness. Indeed, in all the colonies noother place was so replete with affluence and comfort.

  Nor was it without its gentry, cultured and dignified. Its inhabitantswere, for the most part, made up of members of old Quaker families andothers faithful to the Church of England and devoted to the politicalprinciples of the Mother country,--the proud possessors of wealth andthe exemplars of the most dignified deportment. Already were its fairsex renowned abroad as well as at home for their "beauty, grace andintelligence." They moved with all the gayety and charm of court ladies.The wealth and luxury of a capital city were there; for even in theinfancy of the republic, Philadelphia had attained a distinction,unique and preeminent. What was more natural, then, than that theirallegiance should be divided; the so-called fashionable set adhering tothe crown; the common townsfolk, the majority of whom were refugees froman obnoxious autocracy, zealously espousing the colonists' cause, andthe middle class, who were comprised of those families holding a more orless neutral position in the war, and who were willing to preserve theirestates and possessions, remaining undecided, and in their mannermaintaining good offices with both sides throughout the strife.

  The British Army took possession of the city, after its victoriousencounter on the Brandywine, on the twenty-sixth of September, 1777. SirWilliam Howe selected for his headquarters the finest house in the city,the mansion which was once the home of Governor Richard Penn, grandsonof William Penn. Here General Howe and his staff of officers passed agay winter. They were much more interested in the amusements, thegayeties, the dissipations carried on in this old Quaker City than inany efforts to capture the army of General Washington.

  The infatuate populace, indifferent to the progress of the Revolution,unaffected for the most part by the righteousness of the cause of theColonists, became enamored of the brilliance and the fashion and thedisplay of the English nobility. They cordially welcomed General Howeand his young officers, electing them the leaders and the favorites inall the social gayeties and amusements of the season. Such was theluxury and dissipation of the British in the city, at dinner parties,cock-fights, amateur theatrical performances, that Dr. Franklin was ledto remark in Paris that General Howe had not taken Philadelphia as muchas Philadelphia had taken General Howe.

  The general plan of campaign for the year 1777 did not include thecapture of Philadelphia. Howe had been ordered to march from New York,which he had taken the preceding August, to the vicinity of Albany.There he was to join forces with the army from Canada under GeneralBurgoyne, which was to penetrate northern New York. Why he elected tomarch against Philadelphia and be obliged to retrace his steps in orderto reach Burgoyne was unknown at the time. The total collapse ofBurgoyne's expedition at Saratoga and the menace of the American Armyunder General Washington obliged him to alter his plan and to remain inthe vicinity of Philadelphia, which city he made his headquarters forthe winter.

  In the meantime the army of General Washington, which had beencontinually harassing the English forces, went into winter quarters inclose proximity, at Valley Forge, a bare twenty miles distant, northwestof the city. Here the little army of the Colonists menaced the positionof the British while enduring with heroic fortitude the severities ofthe winter season. Shoeless and shivering, the soldiers prepared thesewinter quarters of cold huts, rudely constructed; themselves overcoatedin torn blankets, with stuffed straw in their boots for want ofstockings. Their food was as scarce as their clothing and at one timemore than two thousand men were reported unfit for duty because barefootand otherwise naked. Many a night the men were compelled to remainseated by the fire for want of blankets. Day by day the supply of fueldiminished, and the neighborhood became more destitute of trees andtimber.

  The morale of the troops seemed to feed on misfortune; but their hopesand courage were suddenly intensified when the news of the Alliance withFrance reverberated throughout the camp to the booming of cannon and theshouts of the whole army. There was no respite, however. While the enemywas living in luxury and comfort in the gay city, the Continentals underthe patience of Washington, and the military genius of Von Steuben, werebeing rounded into a toughened and well drilled fighting machine, strongin organization and bold in spirit, a worthy match for the rapid andaccurate movements for which the better equipped British army wasbecoming famous.

  That Sir William Howe found it easier to loiter in Philadelphia than toplay a strategic game against Washington in the depths of an Americanwinter, was due no less to the want of decision which characterized allof his actions than to the stupid mismanagement with which the campaignof 1777 was directed. The British had gained the two most importantAmerican cities, New York and Philadelphia, but the entire American armywas still in the field. The acquisition of territory was of no militaryimportance while the forces of the enemy remained intact and wellorganized. Moreover, Burgoyne was left to his fate and at Saratoga anarmy was lost.

  Nor was any advantage to be derived from the possession of the Americancapital. Washington's position at Valley Forge had held the British incheck all winter. And whatever of work the Congress was required to docould as well be done at York as at Philadelphia. As a basis formilitary operation the city was without value, for it was difficult todefend and hard to supply with foodstuffs. But it was rich,extravagant, fashionable, a "place of crucifying expenses," and itsfine houses, good pavements, and regular arrangement of streets,impressed Howe as the most fitting place for the British Army toestablish winter quarters. And so they sat down to wait for spring.

  III

  "We shall never forget the splendor of it all; it was wonderful!"exclaimed Peggy with a deep sigh.

  "A farewell party!" said Marjorie. "Undoubtedly the gallant Britishersoutdid themselves. Howe leaves soon, does he not?"

  "Yes. Next week."

  "Which means that the period of entertaining is about to come to anend."

  "I suppose. But wasn't the winter glorious? I shall never forget it."

  A smile covered her face, dotting her cheeks with two tiny dimples. Sheheld her hands together over her knees while she sat quite motionless,her eyes looking out into the darkness of the room.

  Presently she bethought herself.

  "Let us light the tapers!" she announced, jumping up from the sofa.

  "It is late," Marjorie remarked, as she, too, prepared to arise. "I mustleave for home."

  "Stay! It is still early. Soon we shall be obliged to settle intoquietude. Dark days are before us."

  "Why!" Marjorie exclaimed. "I should think that the future augurs well.I do wish the soldiers would evacuate the city."

  "When General Howe leaves, all may as well leave with him."

  "When does he leave, did you say?" impatiently asked her true Americanfriend.

  "Next week, I understand. The great Mischienza, you know, was arrangedin his honor as a farewell celebration."

  "General Clinton, I presume, will succeed. He seems the most logicalchoice."

  "Yes. He already has been appointed to the supreme command."

  "I hope he decides to evacuate."

  "I do not know. Perhaps," was the sole response.

  But it already had been decided. Upon the departure of General Howe,instructions were forwarded from the ministry to Sir Henry Clinton, thenew Commander-in-chief, to evacuate the city at once. The imminentarrival of the French fleet, together with the increasing menace of theContinental Army at Valley Forge, constituted a grave peril to theisolated army of the British. Hence it was determined that the capitalcity must be abandoned.

  Clinton intended to transfer his army to New York by water in order thatthe bulk of his forces might be concentrated for the spring campaign. Onaccount of the vast number of Tories who, apprehensive of their personaleffects, had begged to be transferred with him, he was obliged to foregohis original intention of sailing by water in favor of a march overland.Accordingly on the morning of June 18, 1778, the rear-guard of theBritish marched out of the city and on that same aft
ernoon the Americanadvance entered and took possession with Major General Benedict Arnold,the hero of Saratoga, as Military Governor.

  The joy of the Whig populace knew no bounds. No longer would theshadows of dark despair and abandoned hope hang like a pall over thecapital city. No longer would the stately residences of the Tory elementbe thrown open for the diversion and the junket of the titled gentry. Nomore would the soldiery of an hostile army loiter about the streetcorners or while away the hours at the Taverns or at the Coffee Houses.The Congress was about to return. The city would again become thepolitical as well as the civic center of American affairs. The peoplewould be ruled by a governor of their own accord and sympathy.Philadelphia was to enter into its own.