The Washington herald., 1912-05-26

I
Dunmore, while, stimulated by the hope
of pillsge, many rowdies and wharf
loafers, too, joined with his command
/ A small part of the Norfolk and Prin-
cess Ann militia was compelled to bear
arms with him, and a party of fugitive
slaves were armed with guns and cut
lasses by his directions. Thus he gath
cred a force of near 1000, and, feeling
strong enough to accomplish some
thing, determined to march against q
| detachment of regulars and minute
men whom he heard were on the way
to attack him. So, taking up a strong
position at the Great Bridge, on the
north side of the Elizabeth River, he
placed himself directly in the route of
| the Colonial troops. Here, too, he
erected a fort on an island, surrounded
! BY a marsh, and connected with the
north and south by a, long, narrow
causeway. A Maj. Leslie was station
ed here with about 100 regulars of the
| Fourteenth Regiment, while the slaves
and Tories were placed in advance, on
highland formed by the river, and
under the shelter of few old houses.
When Jack and the trapper arrived at
, Hampton, they found the militiamen
] in a high state of excitement over the
coming campaign, so, disregarding the
order of Lord Fairfax to bring him
back, Immediately, the answer to his
message, they needed small persuasion
to become a portion of Col. Wood
ford's Continentals. II was not long
| before they were ordered to advance
upon the British works at Great Bridge,
so, crossing the bay in boats, the force
landed above Norfolk, and marched,
with much spirit, to attack Lord Dun
more.
We'll, WELL" said Jack, to a Ranger,
as they hurried along the muddy roads.
Little did think that the very person
under whom / served in the Indian wars
would now be my enemy. 1t shows
how events change ones master"
And rightly" replied the sunburned
militiaman. Il feel that if We but
trounce this arrogant knave once, we
will speedily put an end to the war.
Even now We might come to terms If
the English would but consent &c re-
duce our taxation and listen to some Of
our grievances with a willing ear"
1T seems that we are delayed a great
deal, and the reason for It is that the
wagon horses have strayed," said an
other militiaman. Il understand that
2I5 light troops under Col Scott have
been sent to Suffolk in order to cut off
Lord Dunmore from an attempt to de-
stroy the provisions collected there"
A number Of men could now be seen
coming down the road, which was hid
den by some pine trees.
some pine trees.
There they are now" said an officer,
for they found that Dunmore had re-
tired toward Great Bridge, when they
had come to Suffolk, and so, it is their
intention to Join with US in our attack
upon the Governors fortihcations"
Shortly after this, the little army
came in view of the British defenses at
Great Bridge, which they could easily
see to be quite formidable. Logs had
been felled and piled up to form a
strong breastwork, while earth and
brambles had been utilized to hll in the
holes between them. From behind this
the British opened a scattering FIRE, as
soon as the American troops came into
view, and, although several volleys rang
out, no one was hit and little damage
came from the poor craftsmanship of
the RoyalIst troops. Meanwhile Col.
Woodford ordered the immediate con-
struction of fascine battery, under the
direction of a Col. Bullet BuI, as he
had no cannon with him, he had to
await the arrival of some troops from
North Carolina, who were on the
march to join him, before mounting the
works with any guns. Thus, for nine
days the two little armies confronted
each other, while incessant Sharp-shoot-
ing took place with small damage to
either side
On the fifth day of the siege, as Jack
was lying upon his stomach firing at
the heads of some OF the troops as they
showed above the parapet, Old Flint
lock approached him with a rather seri-
Gus look upon his countenance, and
said:
My boy, I'm lookin'for volunteers
tew storm a leetle fort, lower down tn
river, held by Tories and some negro
slaves, an built by tn Governor in or
der tew protect his line Nv supplies.
Two companies Nv ContinentslS hev
been ordered out tew surprise it, an
ef you want tew do leetle night work,
why, here's yer chance"
Jack jumped from the ground with
alacrity. why. I'll volunteer in a
minute, Flintlock,' he said. when do
Bout 3 in tn mornin'," replied the
trapper. Meet US at tn big tree in tn
rear Nv camp on tn lower road"
So, at the time appointed, Jack was
at the proper place and there found two
companies of Virginians-as Old Flint
lock had said-under the command of
a Col. Stephens. Urging them to keep
perfectly quiet, the officer in charge
marched them down the river to
place some distance below the fort, and,
in the early gray of the dawn, the SOL
diers were transported in canoes to a
position in some woodland, just in the
rear of the English works. Here they
were ordered to creep up as near as
they could to the fortihcstion, and, at
given signal, to charge over the breast
works and bayonet all who refused to
surrender
1t was only natural that this large
force of men should make considerable
noise as they crept through the under
brush, and, in spite OF every precau-
ton, they were discovered by the en-
emy, just as day began to break Then
sentinels on the lookout Immediately
gave the alarm, hot FIRE of grape and
canister opened upon the detachment,
and then, finding that he was discov-
cred, Col. Stephens gave the word to
rush the embankment. With a wild
yell the Continentals rose from the
brush, ran pell-mell to the side of the
fort, and, as they swarmed over the