The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1901-06-05

COWS p2SIuTeu- OOu YOU huOW e4AetG
this army is camped on the COW pens Of
a very worthy man named Hannah? And
these rails are the last that are left OF
his pens. y
Behind Us flowed the vide, deep and
unfordable Broad river, retreat thus be-
ing cut off en- case Of defeat. Iasked the
meaning of this strange military ma
neuver which meant either victory or
destruction, and again the explanation
was ready:
More than half of our men are mill
tia, and you can never tell whether
militia will run like rabbits or fight
like devils All early signs fail, and
General Morgan says it's cheaper to
have the river behind Us and make 'em
fight than to station regulars in the
rear to shoot down the towards. .
Presently saw General Morgan him.
self passing among the men and prepar-
inc for the expected attack in the morn
ing. This was one of our real heroes,
fighter and leader and no politician, a
man whom the great Washington es-
teemed and loved to reward. had seen
him at Saratoga and elsewhere, and his
figure as we'll as his name always drew
attention. Over six feet high and built
in proportion, with a weight OF 200
pounds, and large, fne open face, he
was a type Of the true American. the
best of all men in mind and body.
There was plenty of provender in the
camp, and gave Old Put the first solid
meal that had come to him in several
days. 1 wanted him to be in good trim
for the morrow, for he and l were to
take our proper place with Washing
tons cavalry, to which we belonged,
only handful of men, but able and
true and capable of doing great things
in the nick of time. There had been
some question about the bandage on my
head, which l wore as precautlon
against taking cold in the scalp wound,
bat I showed that it was only trife,
and Colonel Washington rightfnlly re-
marked that such a slight wound would
only increase a mans efficiency on the
battlefield. Then he presented me with
a fine saber, which needed badly, and
told me to lie down on the ground and
go to sleep, but 1 could not sleep just
then, and with the freedom of our colo
NAL armies roamed about the encamp-
ment.
The campfres hared up in the cold
January darkness. The men sat around
them, talking and playing cards with
old greasy cards or singing the songs
of the hills and the woods. Some of the
soldiers were asleep on their blankets
Or the bare ground, for we We're always
ragged and unhoused army at the
best, and only few of the officers had
tents
A sharp breeze came from across the
river, and the flames bent to it, their
light Pickering over wild, brown faces
that knew only the open air, wind,
rain, hail or whatever came. Most OF
them still carried their curved and
carved powderhorns and their bullet
pouches, inseparable companions, over
their shoulders, and their long, slender
barreled rifles, so unlike the British
muskets, lay at their sides.
Smoke rose from the fires and blew
in the faces of the men, deepening the
brown and giving them another shade
Of the Indian. a curse mingled now
and then with the singing and the talk
of the card PLAYERS, and from the bor-
ders Of the camp came the stamp of the
horses and an occasional neigh. In the
darkness, half lighted by the reeling
fires, the camp became camp Of wild
men, whose faces the wavering light
nodded into whatever grotesque images
it chose.
We were but a little army, only 900
strong, but many Of US had come great
distances and from places wide apart
An arc of 1000 miles would scarce cover
all our homes There were the militia,
South Carolinians and Georgians, raw
troops, whom one can never trust; then
the little remnant of the brigade that
De Kalb had led on the fatal day of
Camden, splendid soldiers whose line
the whole British army could not break,
the survivors now eager to avenge the
disgrace their brethren suffered on that
day; then the stanch Virginia troops,
that we knew would never fail, and near
them our two or three score of cavalry
men under Washington-a little army,
say again, but led by such leaders as
Morgan, Washington Howard and
Pickens. Down the slopes the sentinels
were on watch. but there was no fear Of
a surprise, for the scouts were just
bringing IL word that Tarleton could
not come before daylight, and then,
owing to the slope and the open ground,
his approach would be seen for a great
distance
The new men talked the most, some
about the coming battle, eagerly, volu-
bly,. others about things the farthest
from 1t, but III the same eager, voluble,
unreal tone The veterans were silent
mostly, and already with the calm and
hardihood OF long usage were seeking
the rest and sleep which they knew
they would need A tall. thin man,