Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-03-29
THE BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN.
IA Story of the Revolutionary War.
BY GEORGE LIPPARD,

IA Story of the Revolutionary War,
BY GEORGE LLPPARD.
That rife blaze, flashing through the
mist, is the first shot of the battle day
of Germantown. And that dead man,
dung along the porch in all the ghastli-
ness of sudden death-cold and stiff
there, while his sister awakes from her
,.stnless sleep to pray for him, three
ssalous and miles away-is the first dead
man Of that day Of horror
They break from the folds of the
~nist, the men of Brandywine-foot
> soldier and troopers come laundering
sap the hill. God of Battles, what a
z scene The whole road, further than
: sae eye could see, further than the ear
5 Aurrying over Chestnut hill, hurrying
sAeng the valley between Chestnut hill
and Mount Airy, sweeping up the hill
Of Aliens house, rushing forward in
ane dense column, with the tall form of
Sullivan at their head, while the war
=sheut of Anthony Wayne is borne
aeng by the morning breeze. There,
rising from rank to rank, speeding from
battalion to battalion, from column to
column, a form of majesty sweeps by,
amounted on steed of iron gray, way
ing encouragement to the men, while
every lip repeats the whisper, and
every heart beats at the sound, echoed
like a word of magic along the line:
&' There he rides-how grandly his form
s4ewers in the mist: it's Washington
it's Washington p and the whole army
take up the sound 1t is Washing
tent"
The descent was like the path of a
hurricane. The light of the breaking
day, streaming dimly through mist and
gloom, fell over the forms of the patri-
OF band as they swept down the hill,
every man with his musket ready for
the charge, every trooper with his
sword drawn, every eye fixed upon the
shroud of mist in front of their path,
IA the vain effort to gaze upon the posi-
ton Of the advance post Of the enemy
B mile below, every heart throbbing
wildly with the excitement of the COM
ing contest, and all prepared for the
keen encounter-the fight, hand to
hand, foot to foot, the charge of death,
and the sweeping hail Of the iron can
$ non ball and the leaden bullet.
Sullivan's men have passed, they are
down the hill, and you see them below
rank after rank disappearing In the
; pail of the enveloping mist. Here they
: com ca band brave and true, band
ages, with rrsted muskets and tattered
apparel, yet with true hearts and stout
hands. These are the men of Paoi
And there, riding in their midst, as
though his steed and himself were but
one animalEso well he backs that
steed, SO like is the battle fever of
horse, with the waving name and CLAIR
nag eyes, to the wild rage that stamps
the warriors face-there in the midst
of the Men of ,Paoli, rides their leader
Mad Anthony Wayne
And then his voice-how it rings out
apon the morning air, rising above the
chatter of arms and the tramp of steeds,
rising in mighty shout: "On, boys,
oni In a moment we'll have them!
On, comrades, on-and remember Pa
xo4i.''
And then comes the band with the
gallant Frenchman at their head; the
brave Conway-brave though unfortu-
nate-also rushing wildly on in the
train of the hunt Your eye sickens
AS you gaze over file after file of brave
men, with mean apparel and meaner
arms, some half clad, others nearly
barefoot, yet treading gayly over the
ainty ground; some with fragments of
81 ceat On their backs, others without
covering for their heads, all marked by
wounds, all thinned by hunger and dis
. ease, yet every man of them is firm,
every hand is true, as it clutches the
.musket with an eager grasp.
The band of Pulaski sweeps past, ca
ger for the hunt of death, and as they
= spur their steeds forward terrible
a confusion arises far ahead.
There is flashing of strange fires
= through the folds of mist, lifting the
saow-white pail for a moment-there is
: rolling of musketry, rafting like the
: shunderbolt ere it strikes-there is the
: tramp of hurrying legions, the far-off
shout of the charging Continentals, and
the yels and shouts of the surprised
/. fOemen
Sullivan is upon the camp of the
enemy, upon them with the terror of
badl and bayonet. They rush from
their cannon, they form hastily across
the road, in front of their baggage,
each relocated trooper seeks his steed,
each footman grasps his musket. and