Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1883-06-06
GEN. SCOTT'S NARROW ESCAPE.


SlllppeWd, Ill lolf, Is taken.
One evening after our rubber, | said
to the general, "There is one question |
have often wished to ask you, but have
been restrained by the fear that it
might be improper" The general
drew himself up and said in his en-
phatic manner: "Sir, you are incapa-
BILE of asking an improper question" |
said: "You are very kind; but if my
inquiry is indiscreet am sure you will
allow it to pass unanswered"
81 hear you, sir" he replied
"Well, then, general, did anything
remarkable happen to you on the morn
ng of the battle of the Chippewas?'
After brief but impressive silence,
ne said; "Yes, sir; something did
happen to me-something very re-
markable, and / will now, for the third
time in my life, repeat the story; The
4th day of July, 1914, was one of eX-
treme heat On that day my brigade
skirmished with a British force COM
manded by General RIAL, from an early
hour in the morning till late in the af.
ternoon. We had driven the enemy
down the river some twelve miles to
Streets creek, near Chippewa, where
we encamped for the night, our army
occupying the west, while that of the
enemy was encamped on the east side
of the creek. After our tents had
been pitched | observed a flag borne
by a man in peasants dress approach
ing my marquee. He brought letter
from lady who occupied a large
mansion on the opposite side of the
creek, informing me that she was the
wife of member Of Parliament, who
was then at Quebec: that her children,
servants and young lady friend were
alone with her in the house; that Gen
eral RIAL had placed sentinel before
her door, and that she ventured, with
great doubts of the propriety of the
request to ask that would place a
sentinel upon the bridge to protect her
against stragglers from our camp. |
assured the messenger that the lady's
request should be complied with. Early
the next morning the same messenger,
bearing a white flag, reappeared with a
note from the same lady, thanking me
for the protection she had enjoyed,
adding that, in acknowledgment of my
civilities, she begged that | would, with
such members of my staff as | chose to
bring with me, accept the hospitalities
of her house at a breakfast which had
been prepared with considerable atten-
ton, and was quite ready. Acting
upon IN impulse which | have never
been able to analyze or comprehend, |
called two of my aids, Lieutenants
Worth and Watts, and returned to the
mansion already indicated. We met
our hostess at the door, who ushered
us into the dining-roOm where break
fast awaited us, and where the young
lady previously referred to was already
seated by the coffee urn. Our hostess
asking to be excused for few min
utcs, the young lady Immediately
served our coffee. Before we had bro
ken our fast, Lieutenant Watts rose
from the table to get his bandana (that
being before the days of napkins),
which he had left in his cap on a side
table by the window, glancing through
which he saw Indians approaching the
house on one side and red-coats ap-
proaching it on the other, with an evi-
dent purpose of surrounding it and us,
and instantly exclaimed: General, we
are betrayed Springing from the ia
bic and clearing the house | saw our
danger, and, remembering Lord Ches-
terlield had said: "Whatever it is
proper to do it is proper to do well"
and as we had to run, and my legs
were longer than my companions, |
soon outstripped them. AS we made
our escape we were fired at, but got
across the bridge in safety.
81 felt SO much shame and mortifca-
tion at having 50 nearly fallen into
trap that | could scarcely fix my mind
upon the duties which now demanded
my undivided attention. knew that
| had committed great indiscretion in
accepting the singular invitation, and
that if any disaster resulted from It |
richly deserved to lose both my COM
mission and character. | constantly
found myself wondering whether the
lady really intended to betray us, or had
been accidentally observed. The ques-
tion would recur, even amidst the ex-
citement of battle. Fortunately, how
ever my presence and services in the
field were not required until Generals
Porter and Ripley had been engaged at
intervals for several hours, so that
When my brigade, with Towson's artil-
lery, We're ordered to cross Streets
creek, my nerves and confidence had
become measurably quieted and re-
stored.
81 need not describe the battle of
Chippewa. That belongs to, and is
part of, the history Of our country. 1t
is sufficient to say that at the close of
the day we were masters of the posi-
tion, and that our arms were in no
way discredited. The British army had