by Oliver North
By 4:00 we had completed only eleven ranks and a brief rain shower caused another delay. Some of those who were yet to compete began to grumble they would be at a disadvantage as darkness descended. After a quick parley, it was decided to run the final fifty through the course starting at 8:00 Saturday morning.
Though the competition was suspended, the crowd remained, much to the pleasure of Major Charles Smith, the tavern owner. He and his wife were still serving tin cups of rum and cider to a large group of paying customers when Casey and I departed for home.
When we arrived at the gate, Pieter came out with a lantern. He took the animals to the barn and I went into the house to write a note to my father.
At home in Winchester,
April 28th, 1775
Dear Father,
At the invitation of Captain Morgan, and with your blessing, I have accepted the post as Adjutant for his Rifle Company. Though it is uncertain when we shall be called to service, if I am not at home when you and Paul return, it means we have been called elsewhere.
Please keep me in your prayers, as you and Paul shall be in mine.
Most respectfully, your son,
Nathanael
When the competition resumed on Saturday morning, it proceeded flawlessly, in large part because Captain Morgan barred the consumption of any liquids other than tea, coffee, or water until the competition was over. By noon, all fifty remaining candidates completed the course and Major McDonald, Rev. Thruston, Captain Morgan, and I retired to a table in Major Smith’s establishment with the ten evaluators. A guard was posted outside the door with instructions to prevent anyone from entering without permission.
Our task was made simpler by eliminating any competitor who took more than ten minutes to complete the mile run and any who missed a target. That process winnowed the competitors to one hundred and twelve. The final dozen were determined by measuring the accuracy of their three shots on each target.
By 4:00 we had our roster of one hundred Riflemen. Captain Morgan told me to list them in alphabetical order on a single sheet of paper and make a single copy. Once I did so, he signed them both, then folded one sheet, and placed it in his pocket.
At this point, Rev. Thruston stepped up and said to all in the room, “Nathanael, when I give the word, Major McDonald will take the other copy, label it as ‘Captain Morgan’s Rifle Company,’ tack it to the board outside, and post a guard so no one removes it.”
Muster Roll of Captain Morgan’s Rifle Company
1. Adams, Mosby
2. Alford, John
3. Anderson, Daniel
4. Anderson, Paul
5. Anderson, Robert
6. Armstrong, Porter
7. Baker, Stuart
8. Ball, William
9. Bramingham, Curtis
10. Boykin, William G.
11. Brown, John
12. Brown, William
13. Bruin, Peter
14. Burns, John
15. Cackley, Benjamin
16. Chapman, Thomas
17. Churchill, Robert
18. Clay, John
19. Clay, Steven
20. Cochran, John
21. Colbert, Richard
22. Curtis, Adam
23. Dalton, Christopher
24. David, Martin
25. Davis, Daniel
26. Donaldson, John
27. Dooland, Patrick
28. Durst, Daniel
29. Eisenbach, Robert
30. Enders, Conrad
31. Feely, Timothy
32. Fickhis, William
33. Fitzpatrick, Solomon
34. Flood, William
35. George, Spencer
36. Gordon, Jeremiah
37. Greenway, George
38. Greenway, William
39. Griffith, David
40. Grim, Charles
41. Grubb, Benjamin
42. Harbinson, Matthew
43. Harbison, John
44. Hayes, Mark
45. Heiskill, Adam
46. Heth, William
47. Hoffman, Henry
48. Humphrey, William
49. Hunt, Oliver
50. Jacobs, Rowland
51. Katz, Martin
52. Kilgannon, Thomas
53. Killian, Patrick
54. Kurtz, Adam
55. Kurtz, Frederick
56. Lauck, Solomon
57. Leibendgut, Jacob
58. Leibendgut, James
59. Leibendgut, Joseph
60. McCord, Arthur
61. McGowan, Henry
62. McGuire, John
63. McGowan, Henry
64. McIntire, Benjamin
65. McIntosh, Walker
66. Mead, John
67. Merchant, George
68. Michaels, Timothy
69. Mitchell, Robert
70. Moore, John
71. Morris, Gerald
72. Newman, Nathanael
73. Norris, Cornelius
74. Porterfield, Charles
75. Rhodes, Armstrong
76. Riddle, Jeremiah
77. Roderick, Benjamin
78. Rogers, John
79. Rothroe, Benjamin
80. Rutledge, William
81. Sanders, George
82. Schultz, John
83. Secrest, Charles
84. Seedes, Edward
85. Simmons, Thomas
86. Smoot, John
87. Sperry, Jacob
88. Stephens, John
89. Stratton, Seth
90. Stuart, Michael
91. Sullivan, Brendan
92. Tait, Caperton
93. Tochterman, Peyton
94. Ware, Jacob
95. Wheeler, Jesse
96. White, Elijah
97. White, Robert
98. Williams, Thomas
99. Wilson, David
100. Wolfe, Peter
Then, to all in the room—including the ten “evaluators”—he said, “Thank you, Major McDonald, Rev. Thruston, and all of you who helped make this effort a success. I truly believe we have selected the best Riflemen in this region of Virginia to fight for our liberty in the coming war against the British Crown. I recognize many of those on this list from having served in combat with them.
“There is no way to test a man for what he will do in the midst of great danger. Courage cannot be taught. Neither commitment nor tenacity can be evaluated before it is tested in the face of privation. But from what I have seen in the last two days there is a full measure of these virtues in the Riflemen we have selected.”
Turning to the ten evaluators, Captain Morgan said, “Thank you for the time you have spent here for the past two days. As you leave, remember to protect the names of those we have selected. Mr. Newman, my Adjutant, and I have the only copies. We will post a single copy out front. Do what you can to discourage anyone from copying the list because they and their families may be in jeopardy from Loyalist Sympathizers when our Rifle Company is called to service.”
As they exited, Major Smith entered the room from behind the bar and said to Captain Morgan, “Sir, you have a visitor at the back door who asks permission to enter.”
The captain, never an admirer of the tavern or its owner said, “Who is it?”
“It’s Mr. Patrick Henry.”
Morgan instantly said, “Please sir, admit him immediately,” and we all rose.
Mr. Henry, entered the room and said, “Please forgive me for interrupting. I watched from afar what you have been doing and I wanted to commend you.”
“Please be seated, sir,” said Major McDonal
d, the senior officer in the room as I went to fetch a cup of cool cider to set before our unexpected guest.
“May I ask, sir, what brings you here?” Captain Morgan asked.
“Congress has been called to convene in Philadelphia in a few days and I am hastening to meet with those who will decide on our Virginia delegation. Today I am on my way to Berkley County to confer with Horatio Gates. Tomorrow I will meet with Colonel Washington at Mount Vernon in hopes he will go to Philadelphia, for I cannot.”
“But you are one of our Virginia representatives,” interjected Major McDonald.
“Yes,” Mr. Henry replied with a nod, “but for now I must remain in command of our units pursuing the thief Lord Dunmore.”
After a few more minutes of conversation, Mr. Henry rose, turned to me, and said, “You are Nathanael Newman?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I must tell you, your father and brother are two of my most loyal and effective officers. When I see them later this week, I will tell them how pleased I am you are serving with Captain Morgan.”
As Mr. Henry headed for the back door by which he’d entered, Rev. Thruston said, “Sir, if you are amenable, let us pray for you and the members of our Continental Congress.”
Rev. Thruston prayed, “Lord of all, we beg You to protect Mr. Henry and all of us in the desperate days ahead. And when the coming contest is over, let us have our God-given rights restored and that future generations will say of us, we fought the good fight, finished the contest, and kept the faith.”
Mr. Henry replied, “Thank you, Reverend, and my thanks to all of you.” Then, turning to Captain Morgan, he said, “I heard your warning about protecting the identity of those who have qualified to become members of your Rifle Company. Your admonition is appropriate. Every Patriot on that list will be hunted, hounded, and hung by the British if we lose.”
Endnotes
1.Paper-wrapped cartridges containing pre-measured amounts of black powder, a “wad” and a lead ball were commonly used by soldiers carrying “smooth bore” muskets. Pre-wrapped cartridges could be loaded and fired from muskets every 15–20 seconds because the shooter could quickly reload. Since muskets were only lethal out to 60 to 75 yards, accuracy was less important than how quickly a formation of soldiers could deliver “volley fire” into enemy ranks.
Rifles with “lands and grooves” inside a four-foot-long barrel—required nearly four times as long to load—or “charge” as a musket. A Rifleman had to measure an amount of gunpowder [based on the caliber of his rifle and range to the target]; pour the powder down the barrel; press a tight-fitting lead ball down the barrel atop a cloth “patch” and the powder; ram the ball “home”; cock the rifle; sprinkle some black powder into the rifle’s frizzen pan; cock the weapon and fire. Riflemen rarely used paper-wrapped cartridges because the lands and grooves inside the barrel made loading so much more time consuming.
James Newman had shown his sons how to make paper-wrapped rifle charges containing enough powder to send a lethal bullet 300 yards down-range, hit a target 200–300 yards away, inflict lethal damage on an enemy soldier [usually an officer], and reload in less than a minute.
2. Nitre: archaic term for saltpeter or ammonium nitrate, an essential ingredient for making black powder when mixed with sulfur and charcoal.
Chapter Seven
THE LONG MARCH TO BOSTON
The days since Mr. Henry’s April 29th warning about being “hunted, hounded, and hung by the British if we lose” have been full of preparations to prevent that very outcome. Much of May and June 1775 has been spent getting seed in the ground in what appears to be a very dry planting season and the very strong likelihood of war against what many of us call “our mother-country.”
Herewith, the most relevant entries in the journal Captain Morgan ordered me to keep:
Thursday, May 4th, 1775: A Trusted Courier delivered a message to Rev. Thruston, the Chairman of our Frederick County Committee of Safety from Mr. Patrick Henry, dated Tuesday, May 2nd. Capt. Morgan instructed me to record it in our Rifle Co. Journal:
To my Dear Patriot friends in Frederick County,
Lord Dunmore has pledged to pay £330 for the gunpowder and weapons he seized from our Williamsburg Armory on the night of 20–21 April. I regard this to be a wholly inadequate response to our demand that he return the seventeen barrels of powder, twenty-three muskets, and fifteen pistols he stole and placed aboard HMS Magdalen. We need our gunpowder and firearms more than His Majesty’s money.
Members of the Williamsburg Committee of Safety have informed me Governor Dunmore has fortified his palace in Williamsburg with Royal Marines and two naval cannons. It is also suspected he has secretly dispatched his family to refuge at his personal estate, Porto Bello.1
According to these reports, he is also fortifying this place and has surrounded it with Royal Marines and a large contingent of armed Royalists.
I initially planned to call on Captain Morgan’s new Frederick County Rifle Company for support in capturing the Governor and his Royal officials. That will no longer be necessary for nearly 800 Patriot volunteers from neighboring counties now reinforce my Hanover County Militia. We are now in a comfortable encampment less than a day’s march from Williamsburg. Correspondents and messengers indicate another 2,500 Patriots are prepared to join us if needed.
While I still believe it would be preferable to seize the initiative, I am being counseled by Messrs. Thomas Nelson, Richard Henry Lee, and Thomas Pendleton to break off this engagement and proceed to Philadelphia as a Virginia delegate when Congress convenes on May 10th.
I shall keep you apprised,
Patrick Henry
Sunday, May 7th, 1775: At Sunday morning service, Rev. Thruston read Governor Dunmore’s Royal Proclamation dated May 6th in which he declared “. . . a certain PATRICK HENRY, of the county of Hanover and a number of his deluded followers have put themselves in a posture for war . . .” He then directed “. . . all persons, upon their allegiance, not to aid, abet, or give countenance to the said PATRICK HENRY or any other persons concerned in such unwarrantable combinations; but, on the contrary, to oppose them, and their designs by every means . . .”
After reading the entire proclamation, Rev. Thruston continued, “This is an illegal death warrant issued by John Murray, Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor against Mr. Patrick Henry. Our governor hereby forfeits any authority over the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Then opening his Bible, he said, “As for Mr. Patrick Henry, his refuge is in David’s Psalm 26:
Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.
Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
For thy loving kindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.
I have hated the congregation of evildoers; and will not sit with the wicked.
I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord:
That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:
In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord.
After reading the Psalm, Rev. Thruston concluded, “I urge you to pray for all who stand against tyranny. I am able to let you know a piece of good news. Mr. Patrick Henry is now on his way to Philadelphia, accompanied by ten armed Patriot horsemen. There, he will join Virginia delegates, Messe
r’s Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Nelson Jr., Edmund Pendleton, Peyton Randolph, Col. George Washington, and George Wythe who were already there when Continental Congress re-convened on the 5th.”
Monday, May 8th, 1775: Capt. Morgan and I were inspecting the reconstruction of the powder magazine at Cedar Creek, when Rev. Thruston rode up to inform us that one of the first measures passed after Congress re-convened was a plan to improve the Trusted Courier Service throughout the thirteen provincial capitals. In keeping with the idea Mr. Benjamin Franklin had before the British dismissed him as Colonial Postmaster General, the Congress agreed each colony would establish and maintain a “station” every twenty-five miles on the 1,600 miles of “post roads” Mr. Franklin surveyed back in 1763. Each station is to have “a stable, not fewer than eight swift mounts, forage, water, a farrier, a place of rest, and victuals for couriers.” The goal, as the Reverend explained it, is to be able to deliver mail 200 miles each day. Then, he added with a smile, “They also intend to make Mr. Franklin ‘Continental Postmaster General’ as soon as they can find the funds to pay him.”2
Friday, May 19th, 1775: The drought is hard upon us. Not a drop of water has fallen from the sky in weeks. This afternoon, Mr. Isaac Zane, owner of Marlboro Plantation and the Marlboro Iron Works stopped at our home. Though he was raised and educated as a Quaker, he is also a member of our Frederick County Secret Committee of Safety. He came to thank Pieter for his advice on planting forage instead of tobacco.
Saturday, May 20th, 1775: Shortly after dawn this morning, Captain Morgan’s Negro slave, Josiah, appeared at our door bearing a note from the Captain summoning me to a meeting at his farm at noon with Rev. Charles M. Thruston, Isaac Zane, Maj. Angus McDonald, Samuel Beall, Alexander White, and George Rootes.
My curiosity was piqued by the instruction, clearly in a different hand (I later learned was Mrs. Morgan’s), “If possible, please bring your father’s copy of Spilsbury’s 1763, ‘New Map of North America.’”
Perhaps because he is a surveyor and an architect driven by curiosity, my father has a large collection of maps all carefully labeled and catalogued by date, rolled, and stored on shelves here in his office. I quickly found the requested map sheet, noted its very fine scale, and took it, along with a magnifying glass, to the meeting.
