Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-07-06
THE RIVALS.
A Story of the Times of Aaron Burr and
Alexander Hamilton.
BY JERE CLEMENS.
CHAPTER vIII-CoNTINUED.

one: and Colonel Burr was surrounded
by difficulties at the outset that called
forth all his energies. The men were
raw and inexperienced. The junior Of
ficers, taken mostly from the city, were
destitute Of military knowledge, and
effeminate in their habits. Transferred
at once from the indulgent sway OF
Malcolm to the rigid discipline OF
man who was every inch soldier
and expected every one under his COM
mand to become like himself, the
change operated, as such changes al
most always do, most favorably upon
the men, and unfavorably upon the OF
ficers. The soldiers submitted cheer
fully to the long drills, the severe IN
spections, and the strict enforcement OF
every military regulation, when they
saw that their officers were subjected
to the same treatment. They respected
the commander who was not above in
specting every pound of their rations
and every article Of their clothing, In Or
der to convince himself that they were
not imposed upon in either respect: and
they absolutely loved him when they
saw him making daily visits to the hos
pital, to examine the condition OF the
sick and afford them every comfort 1t
was possible to obtain. This great
step gained, he turned his attention to
the officers, whose murmurs he had
hitherto pretended not to hear. They
were now subjected to rigid exami-
nation and at it's conclusion he very
quietly ordered portion Of them home
intimating that they had chosen the
wrong profession, and had better remain
there This bold step was Illegal, and
he knew 1t; but 1t was demanded by
the necessities of the times; and Cen
eraI Conway, under whose command
he then was, cordially approved 1t.
Thenceforward his task was easy. The
remaining officers and the men went
about their duties with a determination
to perform them we'll. His ranks filled
up, order reigned, and he had the sat
isfaction OF writing to General Putnam
that there was not a better disciplined
regiment in the service.
Just as he had brought his soldiery
to this satisfactory state of efficiency,
a rumor reached him that a British
force, two thousand strong, had march,
ed out of New York and were within
thirty miles of his position. Rejoiced
at the opportunity thus offered Of rem
dering the signal service to the cause
he put his men In motion to meet them
On the march he was met by an ex-
press from General Putnam, advising
him to remove the public stores In his
possession and retreat to the noun
tains.
AS the dispatch was in the form OF
advice, and contained no positive order,
Colonel Burr determined to disregard
it. A hard march Of sixteen miles
brought him by sundown to Paramus'
where a body of militia had assembled,
who in their ignorance of military mat
tiers, were wasting time and labor In
building a breastwork Of fence rails.
Uniting his own troops with the mill
tia, and putting a stop to the useless
work in which they were engaged, he
posted the whole command in an ad-
vantageous position, gave strict injunc-
tions to guard against surprise, and
proceeded himself, at the head of sew
enteen picked men, to ascertain the
numbers and position Of the enemy.
About ten o'clock at night he learned
from a countryman that he was within
a mile of their picket guard. His men
by this time were so much wearied that
he thought 1t best to give them some
repose, and leading them into thick
wood, he left them there and proceeded
alone to reconnoiter He soon discov-
cred that the information received from
the countryman was correct, and furth-
er, that the picket Of the enemy, entire
ly unapprehensive of danger, were fast
asleep, and guarded by two sentries
only. The British, unconscious Of the
near neighborhood of a hostile force
had laid down to sleep, leaving their
camp fires burning. BY crawling close
up to the sentries, and bringing their
bodies between him and the blazing
fires, he was able to mark exactly their
position, and to obtain a very correct
knowledge of the numbers of the sleep
ing guard. His observation satisfied
him that the picket might easily be
captured or destroyed. Quickly re-
turning to his own men, who had fall
len asleep, overcome by fatigue, he
reused them from their slumbers, and
briefly explaining his object, ordered
them to follow in perfect silence. Not
withstanding all the celebrity he could
exert, by the time they arrived at the
picket camp the fire had burned so
low that the forms of the sentries could
not be distinguished. Still he was sure
he had marked the place too we'll to be
mistaken. A whispered order was
passed along the line, and throwing
himself on the ground, after the Indian
fashion, he crawled toward his object
The rustling of a bush within five
PAGES Of him, attracted the attention oil
one of the sentries; his musket was
brought suddenly down, and the stern
challenge. who goes there?' echoed
through the woods. The answer
was leaden messenger from
Burrs pistol and the unfortunate SOL
der sank to rest upon his post. AL
most at the same moment the order to
charge" rang loud and clear from his
lips. Before the drowsy Britons gained
their feet, the Americans were among
them. In their astonishment, there was
no thought of resistance. Only one
man attempted to use his arms. He
was bayoneted on the spot, and the re-
mainder-twenty- y-seven privates, two
non commissioned and one commits
stoned officer-surrendered themselves
prisoners of war.
Dispatch is the soul of military oper-
ations The great Napoleon, after his
Italian campaigns declared that he hac
beaten the overwhelming numbers thai
were sent against him solely because
their generals did not understand the
value Of minutes. Nothing was evel
lost by Aaron Burr for the want of ac'