The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1822-08-21
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l blowing ila,sation is literally true,
3nf The celebration took place nearly
- ae s,iie ia which tits related.
GdksciafiOa cffhe An Of July al HOME;
! ny AN OLD SOLDIER.
| Messr% Editors, ~ Ell
Whle vssioos parts Of these United States
| are postIng forth in ora,ions, songs and toss,s
! ~ ceumemorsion oil that day which gave
birtun republic, end while hits end
dalse s'ho With shooss Of joy and scelsma,ions
| OF tr)uhph for our denversncc from the
shdctie' of foreign despos; permi, On old
'evolu'isnary soldier, through the medium Of
your payer to talk I,,tle about himsell--'to
fight hsoates over again, end shoulder his
c;c.ch and show how fields are won." You
maseA1how, sm no echolsv.-I'm not gifted
in the set fotns Of speech, now in fsshion--
bu, tslk tigh, on, just ss The spirit mean
the spirit Of '76) gives mo uicrsnce. l did,
iadeed once &C, out 10 be a scholsr--scquftd
| a sms,,esine of Latin, and almost conquered
toe Greek slphabet. Al any rate ! carried
the ousworks and captured the font and rear
guards, ALPHA and omega, and do verify be.
licve, that had IL not been for the breaking
on, Of The revolution, nigh, have mustered
veiy well to have been made over into pet
iliogeer, o pcdsgogue, OF qusck doctor.
Whist might have made had not entered
the army, the Lord only knows; but / haze
ever been of the opinion, THAI was not born
TO move iD that humb station, in which my
evil stars have placed me: Do, this is oil
no,hipg--snd why should ] care, so long us
have one OF the best pocts in he world OF my
side--vho says, "full many a ilower i, born
10 blush unseen, urd waste Tvs sweetness on
the desert air." You see, sirs, have reed
little and have got good memory, end that
makes me believe l might have made schci.
ar, had not gone off a, bali bent, and .mis6'ed
from which .un!ucky accident l have never
yet fully recovered. In short am nothing
but poor lame soldier and q pensioner, thank
God and my counuy; and this IS much better
than po,hing.-Gen. ST. Clair and l have had
a hard day OF it, thank fortune (: Ibe has got
his discbargc and gone home--bc lived in
,he woods and died in the woods--he lived
poor and died poor--and ], thank heaven, sm
just like him, except that never command
I'd on ARMY. But, alas from my rambling,
I fpd as Dr.. FrankIin says, that I I'm gtow-
ing old. did, indeed, intend 10 say tome.
thing considr able about the wars, snd what
Gen. Washington aud suffered through
seven years iug--bot am on, TO stray from
he ground, and find cannot keep my eye
acily on the gun ss ! us'd 10 do. think,
',wevrr,J snali be justified in tho opinion OF
the world, u IN tAikiog OF myself ] should
ooest and svssser q li,lle, and ss they us'd 10
,ay in the army, le, of gun nov and then
iof Vt 1 do not mistake, have heard il said
That Cicero, or some such true American
who lived long while before the dark .pges,
usd TO say, that Old men, and especially old
revolutionary sold cfs, have soft OF tight end
ptiviiegs gwen them TO talk about themselves,
and 10 say almost what they pisse--more es-
pecsly ,if they he'd been good soldiers, and
had served dotins the wa'. a.,, ,... ~.
To come 10 tho point, then, am now CD
years old, ana though say it, bavs SEGA as
much service end as hard fortune as any man
of 10Y years. began my military career
with .,hc bai:ic OF Bunker Hill; and q bard
ioughi bsitio IL was, ss Iny one could wish 10
see--but have this con onsolatiop---l know full
well, ,ba, brought down British grenss'ier
at the distance oi twenty yards and laid him
sprswiing on The ground. This say was
some comfort 10 me for heiors ] pepper'd.
him, plainly saw him pick off three Yam
kec. boys in succession. In this &C, he dis.
covered the coward, for he concealed himself
behind q large tree, and ss opportunity pre-.
scn,ed, he pseped and took of his man, as g
fox would take hens from the roost. Hcav.
en- psotect me ! never ielt thirst for blood
until this moment: and l wss resolved TO Icy
him low. ! made Two shots at him which
proved ineffsctusi, because the time Of his
appear shcc from behind the tree was raj her
100 short tor me to take delibcrs,e aim. Bot
the third time, sh beware, of the !bnd time,
I tumbied him over for took sim in sea.
ION, no, ., the man himself but ct the place
Of his appeHsncc, and SO ,oon as he present.
ed, pulI'd, and down he fell | cannot 'ell
whs, you call it, bot just q, that momsn, !
felt q sort OF check 81 my heart, ns though
had shed human blood; but !, was oil gone
so soon IS I recollec,ed, ths, this fellow had
come three thousand miles TO destroy my kin
dred end friends. q lieaveo this was Q
day Of blood sod hard hshiog i was day
which the Brtoos have remembered with
sorrow " for many gsllsn, gentleman lay
rAsoio~ IN ~ c.o,nh Xou ouust Know