Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1859-09-17


o British. Once more they were the possessor
/, of the field But the havoc had been terrible
S Mangled corses lay CHASTITY in their gore. Tn
Q wounded were plentifully strewn about tn
field their groans and exclamations rent tn
air. The scene was well worthy of the mos
5 momentous of revolutionary battles-th'
, battle of Camden. Joshua's heart sickenet
as he behed his comrades in arms, PROSTATE
upon the field. But the stern decree of fate
decided that the patriots should add one more
sacrifice to those already made for liberty.
The battle over the victors had the privilege
to plumber the slain that most diabolibal Of
warlike practices. Many corpse was robbed
of triling pittance, that he had treasured
up for the purpose of defraying his incidental
expenses or procuring him some little luxury,
which the army could not-through extreme
poverty-furnish. Perhaps the gift of a
mother, who bestowed a last pittance upon
her favorite son, before he went forth to battle
for the cause she held so dear. A vigilant
eye was kept upon the captive least he should
take advantage of the confusion to make his
escape. But there was no need of this pre-
caution, for with the defeat of the Americans,
fed the last hope of freedom in the patriots
breast. The file of soldiers that had Joshua
in their charge wandered about from place to
place. Turning over the dead bodies and TAX
ing from them the valuables they possessed.
Tho wounded were treated in the same dis
gusting manner, and the cry for mercy and
for medical assistance fell unheeded on the
ear of the ruthless victor. Beneath a wide
spreading oak lay two wounded men-they
were brothers. As the little party advanced
toward them, in their forage for plunder,
Joshua behed that the one sitting up was q
Delawarian with whom he was well acquainted
the other lying by his side was barely
breathing. The captive would fain have
eluded the gaze of the wounded patriot, but
there was no retreat The gold ofthe wound
ed men was of too much importance to let
them pass by consequently he was brought
in close proximity to them.
''Traitor! has Delawarean so far forgot
his noble little State, and the cause of hu-
manity, of liberty, of the rights of man, to
be found deserting his comrades in arms, and
fighting with a dastardly onemy!' was the
first salute he received from the wounded
man.
Joshua would have replied and exhonorated
himself from the imputation, but he was adj
monished that silence on his part was the bet
ter part of prudence. The wounded man
4 llnV 10 pniu /,
clning position, but he was too much exhaust !
cd to gain his feet-he fell back helplessly
upon the ground. What would Joshua have
given to have had the priviegeto renderwhat
assistance he had in his power to that man
But no, he must stand idly by and see him
suffer without the helping hand Of friend or
foe. The dying man looked around with n
ghastly glare; his brother caught him aflec-
tonately by the hand. That look was his
last. His illmy eyes grew dim and his lifeess
body lay stretched upon the ground. For
his brother gazed upon his lifeless
corpse. His pallid face became flushed and
his eyes rolled wildly about. He would first |
gaze upon the corpse and then upon the cap |
tive.
At length as if seized with sudden parox-
ism of despair, he drew pistol from an inside
pocket of his coat, and before the soldiers
could stop him, fred at Joshua, exclaiming: |
"son of perdition, traitor to your country, die
tile death of q dogln and fell back upon the
ground. The unerring aim of the dying man
had directed the bullet with too much certain
ty-it entered the right breast of the captive;
he fell unconsciously upon the ground. The
soldiers looked upon the tragedy as an every
day occurrence. The brothers lay dead side
by side, and few feet in advance lay Joshua
weltering in his gore. He breathed. but lay
of surrounding circumstan-
ces.
The soldiers looked upon him as dying
man. and went on their way plundering.
How long Joshua lay in this situation he could
not tell when he came to himself, he was
laying upon bed in a room in farm house.
Some ten or fifteen days had elapsed since
the battle of Camden, and weak as he was,
he induced his nurse-a girl about fifteen
wears of age-to recite all the circumstances
connected with his being taken from the bat
Tie field, and what had become of the Ameri- |
.a q 'aif.
il.e sai briefly that after the battle was
over, the Americans were granted permission
to bury their dead and take care of the
wounded. That while they were engaged on |
this philanthropic mission, he had been found |
among the dead under tree; that it was dis
covered that he breathed and he was remov-
cd ia where he was removed to where he was; |
the house of a good whig-where nothing OF
interest had transpired, except his return to
consciousness and possibility of recovery. !
The invalid asked great many questions
concerning the fate of the American army.
The answer to which, gave him to understand
that a general defeat had cnsued the battle
and that the patriot army was very much cut
nm had retreated in various directions, and
probably could never be collected together
again.
Among the sad news the death of the gal
liant Baron De Kalb was to be recorded.
Daily the young man gained strength; the
good nursing and kind attention he received
from his new friends soon enabled him to
walk about. Thoughts of homo and all its
endearments would steal over his mind. lie
knew full well that he could render no more
service to the cause Of freedom, and as soon
as he had gained strength enough he deter