The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1901-04-05

VI Ine Ddfe BrOuuu, lOr we were Always
a ragged and unhoused army at the
best, and cnly few of the officers had
tents.
A shPrp breeze came from across the
river, and the flames bent to it, their
light fiickering 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 lnseparable companions, over
their shoulders. and their long, slender
barreled rifles, so unlike the British
nuskets, 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 little army, only 900
strong, but many of US had come great
distances and from places wide apart
An arc OF 200 miles would scarce cover
all our homes There were the militia,
South Carolinians and Georgians, raw
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 ii little army,
| say again, but led by such leaders as
Morgan, Washington Howard and
Pickensl Down the slopes the sentinels
were on watch, but there was no fear of
a surprise. for the scouts were just
bringing III word that Tarleton could
not come before daylight. and then
owing to the slope and the open ground,
his approach would be seen for great
distance
The new men talked the most. some
about the coming battle, eagerly. volu
bly,. others about things the farthest
from it. but in the same eager voluble,
unreal tone The veterans were silent
mostly. and already with the calm and
the rest and sleep which they knew
they would need A tall. thin man,
with a wild face, whom took to be
one of the preachers at the great revival
meetings so common on the border,
rose in the midst of the camp and be-
gan to speak Some listened. and some
went on with the talking and card play
ing. Icould hear the rustic of tho paste
board as the cards were shuff1ed. He
was fighting preacher, for he exhorted
them to strike with all their strength
in the coming battle and if they must
die to die like Christian heroes. He
prayed to God for the success of our
arms, then stepped down from the
stump on which he had stood and dis
appeared from my sight. He fought in
the front line of the South Carolina
militia the next day.
sought my own place In our troop
and lay down upon one half of my
blanket, with the other half above me-
Old Put gnawed at some fodder beside
me.
"Wake me up in the morning when
you see the first red gleam of the Brit
ish coats, old comrade," / said, and
knowing that he would do it, closed
my eyes.
But sleep would not come just yet
and opened my eyes again to see that
the fires were sinking and the darkness
was coming down nearer to the earth
Half the men were asleep already; the
others were quiet, seeking sleep, and
the steady breathing of near 1000 men
in close space made strange whis-
tling noise like that of the wind A
fiaring blaze would throw streak of
light across a sleeping soldier, showing
only head or leg or an arm, as if
the man had been disjointed. would
hear the faint rattle of q sentry's fire.
lock and the heavy hoof of horse as he
crowded his comrades for room. An
officer in dingy uniform would stalk
across the field to see that all was right,
and over us all the wind moaned and
the darkness gathered close up to the
edge of the dying fires. Weakness over
powered my excited brain and nerves,
and slept.