Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1904-07-19

whom he had secuted was intOlera
bic. He had been. he now felt. more
than c,lpal le in noglecting many warn
ingS Of attaCi ard had lamentably fail
I'd in his G..,y IS soldier in refrain
.gg frGm taking the cOmmonest pre-
cau;i:.m.; ;.s@:s.iist surprise. He had re
fused 10 hrcd the urgent representa-
tiOns of Won Dcc!.ow and other of his
high officers. Now his honor was n
stake: so he raslly made up his mind
to charge.
I'VE will retakc the town. All who
are my grcnadiers, forward! he cried
intrepidly.
The men. with fixed bayonets. ad
vanccd bravely. and lie led them gal
lantly forward. sword in hand. The
Americans fired Il volley. Forests bat
terry, which enfiladed them. poured In
deadly fire. Rahl in the advance
upon his horse. received fatal wound
and fell to the ground. The Cont
nentals. cheering madly, charged for
NdIu Will uACu AhS AANc
slams stopped. hesitated. wavered
Their chief was gone. The battle was
lost. They broke and fled. Disregard
ing the commands and appeals of their
officers. they turned quickly to the
right and r.n OFF into the face of
Hands riflemen. who received them
with another volley. Many of them
fell. A body of Virginia troops. led by
Talbot. now .ained their left flank. the
Philadelphia city troop encircled their
rear. The helpless men stopped, COM
pletely bewlGered. huidled together In
Il confused mass Washington. seeing
imperfcctly and thinking they were
forming again. ordered the guns from
Forests battery. which had been load
ed with canister, to be discharged upon
them at once.
"Sir, they have struck" cried Sey-
mour the keen eyed. preventing the
men from firing.
Struck" cried the general in sur
prise.
Yes, sir. Their colors are down."
$50 they are" said Washington,
clasping his hands and raising his eyes
to heaven. Then. putting spurs to his
horse. he galloped over toward the
men. The firing had ceased In every
direction. and the day was his own.
The three regiments were surrendering
mt discretion. two to him and the other
TO Lord Stirling. AS Major Wilkinson
galloped up from the lower division
for instructions Colonel Rail. pale and
bleeding and supported by two ser
geants. presented his sword. which
Washington courteously declined to re-
ceive. The general then gave orders
that every care and assistance should
he afforded the unfortunate soldier,
who died the next day in a room in
Potts tavern.
This is indeed n glorious day for our
country" said the general to Seymour.
1t was. in fact, the turning point in
the history Of the nation. The captives
numbered nearly 1,OU men, with LOO
stand of arms, six ~fieldpieces. twelve
drums and four colors, including the
gorgeous banner of the Anspachers,
the Won Lossburg regiment.
OF the Continentals only two We're
killed and four wounded. while up
ward of hundred Of the Hessians
We're killed and wounded, among the
killed being Rail and Won Dechow, the
first and second in command. The
whole of this brilliant affair scarcely
occupied an hour.
AS none of the other divisions had
got across. it was scarcely safe for
Washington to remain OH the east side
of the river in the presence Of the
vastly superior forces Of the enemy,
which would be concentrated upon him
without delay. So. after giving the
men much needed rest, securing
their booty and burying the dead, the
evening found the little army, with its
prisoners. retracing Its steps toward
tie II, all its former camping
ground.
But with what different feelings the
hungry, wOrnOut. catered mass or
men marched along in the bitter night.
The contrast between the well clothed
and we'll fed Hessians and their cap
tors WAS surprising but not less strik-
ing than that between their going out
and coming in. Little rocked the fro
Zen men of the hardships Of the way.
They had shown the world that they
possessed other capabilities than facli'
ity in retreating. and no American ar
my, however small or feeble. would
ever again be despised by any foe.
The return passage was made with
out incident. save that just on the crest
of the hills leading down to the ford
the general. who was in advance
again, NOTICED suspicious looking
snow covered mound by the roadside.
Riding up to it, one of his aids dis
mounted and uncovered the body OF
man. Il Continental soldier, frozen to
death. The cold weapon was grasped
tightly in the colder hand. a little
farther on there was another body
asleep in the snOw-anOther soldier!
The last was that man of the head
quarters guard who had spoken OF his
little children at home on Christmas
day. They would wait long time be-
fore they saw him again. He had been
willing to fight the whole English
army. All, well, a sterner foe than
any who marched beneath the red
flag Of Great Britain had grappled with
him, and he had been defeated-but he
had won his freedom!
For forty hours now that little band
Of men had marched and fought. ana
when it reached its camp at midnight
the whole army was exhausted. The
only man among them all who pre-
served his even calmness and was ap-
parently unaffected by the hardships
Of the day was the commander himself
the iron man. Late into the night he
dictated and wrote letters and orders.
to be dispatched in every direction IN
the morning. The successful issue or
his daring adventure entailed yet fur
ther responsibilities, and the campaign
was only just begun. As for himself,
the world now knew him for soldier.
And withered old man in the palace
of the Sans SOuci in Berlin, who had
himself known victories and defeats,