The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1876-08-10
THE AMERICAN ARMY OF TWO
Two Girls, ~ Drum and a Fife
A True story.

| z
A True story.
1t was about nine o'clock in the
morning when the ship first appeared.
At once there was the great excitement
in the village. It was British war
ship. What would she do? Would she
tack about in the bay to pick up stray
coasters as prizes, or would she land
soldiers to burn the town? In either
case there would be trouble enough.
The sight of British war ship in Bos-
ton Bay was not pleasant. We were
poor then, and had no monitors to go
ont and sink the enemy or drive him
off and the good people in the little
village of Scituate harbor iwere in great
distress over the strange ship that had
appeared at the north of the harbor.
About two o'clock the tide reached
high water mark, and. to the dismay of
the people, the ship let go her anchor,
swung her yards round, and lay quiet
abont half mile from the first cliff.
They were going to land to burn the
town. With their spy glasses the peo>
pie could see the boats lowered to take
the soldiers ashore. All! then there
was confusion and uproar. Every horse
in the village was put into some kind Of
a team, and the women and children
we're hurried off to the wood behind the
town. The men would stay and offer as
brave resistance as possible. Their
guns were light and poor, but they
could use the old fish houses as forts and
perhaps make brave fight of it. If
worse come to worse they could at
least retreat and take to the shelter of
the woods.
1t was splendid sight. Five large
boats, manned by sailors, and filled
with soldiers in gay red coats. How
their guns glittered in the sun! 1t was
courageous company come with a
war-ship and cannon to fight the helps
less fishermen.
So Rebecca and Sarah thought, as
they sat up in the lighthouse tower
| looking down Oh the procession o
boats as it went past the point and en-
| tered the harbor.
"Ohl If only were man?' cried
Rebecca
"What could you do? See what q
lot of them! and look at their guns?"
Il don't care I'd fight. I'd use Ia
theirs old ot-gun-anyhow. Think
of uncle's new boat and the sloopr'
Eyes, and all the boats"
"It's too bad, int it?'
Eyes; aul to think we must sit here
--"ooL w
help"
.Oh, look! The sloop's on fire."
"Come, can't stay and see any more.
The cowardly Britishers to burn the
boats! Why don't they go down town
and fight like"
"Come, let's get the drum. It'll do
no harm: and perhaps"
"Well, let's There's the fife, too; we
might take that with u.s.
they took to the water side, and with
the drum, ran as fast as they could to-
wards the mainland Presently they
reached the low heaps of sand that
showed where spit joined the fields aud
woods.
''All right; but we mustn stand still.
We must march along the shore towards
the light"
"Won't they see us?"
"No; well walk next the water on the
outside beach,"
ooh, yes; and they'll think it's sol>
diers going down the point to head em
off"
"Just so, Come, begin! One, two
one, to"
Drum! drum! drum!!!
Squeak! squeak! squeak!l!
"Ha! hap'
The fife stopped.
Don't laugh. You'll spoil every
thing, and can't pucker my lips"
Drum, drum!! drum!!
Squeak! squeakl squeak!!!
The men in the town heard it and
were amazed beyond measure. Had
the soldiers arrived from Boston? What
did it mean? Who were coming?
Louder and louder on the breeze
came that roll of sturdy drum and the
sound of brave fife. The soldiers in
the boats heard the noise and paused in
the work of destruction. The officers
; ordered everybody into the boats in the
greatest haste. The people were rising!
They were coming down the point with
cannons, to head them off! They
would all be captured, and perhaps
hung by the dreadful Americansl
How the drum rolled! The fife
changed its tune. It played yankee
Doodle" horrid tune! Hafk! The
men were cheering in the town; there
were thousands of them in the woods
along the shore!
How the Britishers scrambled into
their boats One of the brave officers
was nearly left behind on the burning
sloop. Another fell overheard and wet
his good clothes, in his haste to escape
| from the American army marching
down the beach, million strong! How
the sailors pulled! No fancy rowing
now, but desperate haste to get to the
ship.
How the people yelled and cheered'
Oh the shore! Fifty men or more
jumped into boats to prepare for the
chase. Ringing shots began to crack
over the water
Louder and. louder rang the terrible
drum. Sharp and clear rang out the
cruel fife.
The boats swept swiftly on the out