The Story of American History Part 16

General Lincoln had moved with two thousand men to the rear of the British army. The outposts of Ticonderoga had been retaken, and the road to Canada was thus closed for help or retreat.

=195. The Hard-fought Battle near Saratoga.=--Burgoyne soon found that he must do something. About the middle of September he crossed to the west bank of the Hudson and came within two miles of the American camp at Bemis Heights. Here took place, on September 18, a hotly contested battle known as that of Freeman's Farm. If Gates had been an able general, probably the British army would have been crushed and the Burgoyne campaign ended then and there. As it was, the deadly fire of the riflemen inflicted a severe blow.

Gates did not follow up his advantage. The two armies glared at each other. There was no rest for either side. There was sharp skirmishing all along the lines. The nights were made hideous by the howls of large packs of wolves that were attracted by the partially buried bodies of those slain in the battle.

At last, on October 7, Burgoyne came out from his entrenched camp with fifteen hundred picked men and ten cannon. A b.l.o.o.d.y hand-to-hand battle was fought.

Gates had removed Arnold from his command. Angry and desperate, this impetuous but hard fighter placed himself at the head of a detachment of the Continental troops, and under a terrific fire led the men to battle. Mounted on a dark-brown horse, he rode at full gallop over the field. He was greeted with wild cheers. "Call that fellow back," said Gates, "or he will do something rash." With mad fury his men charged and drove the enemy at the point of the bayonet.

In the final retreat a wounded Hessian, lying on the ground, took aim and fired at Arnold. The bullet killed his horse and wounded the general in the same leg that had been hit by a musket ball nearly two years before, at the storming of Quebec. A thousand times better would it have been had the bullet gone through his heart!

As Arnold fell, one of his men rushed up and was just going to bayonet the soldier who had shot his beloved general; but Arnold cried, "In Heaven's name, don't kill him! He is a fine fellow!" This was the moment when the general whom Washington so much admired for his rash bravery should have died.

In less than an hour the British were driven back and retreated behind their entrenchments.

Some time afterward, when Arnold had turned traitor and captured an American officer, he asked him, "What will your people do with me if they catch me?"

"If my countrymen catch you," replied the fearless patriot, "they will first cut off your lame leg, which was wounded at Quebec and Saratoga, and bury it with the honors of war, and afterwards hang the rest of your body on a gallows."

Darkness alone stopped the battle. General Morgan, as he saw a brave Scottish officer riding everywhere along the line, said to one of his best marksmen: "That is General Fraser. I admire and honor him, but it is necessary that he should die. Take your station in yonder bushes and do your duty." Shortly afterwards, this splendid Scotchman, who said to an aid when warned of his peril, "My duty forbids me to fly from danger," fell mortally wounded.

=196. Effect of the Great Victory at Saratoga.=--Such was the battle of Bemis Heights, or Saratoga. It was really fought within a very few rods of the place where the battle of Freeman's Farm occurred.

The rest of the story is soon told. Burgoyne retreated through the storm to Saratoga. The attempt to escape was hopeless. He was hemmed in on every side. The "trap" which the best British officers had foreseen, had been sprung. There was only one thing to do, and that was to yield to the inevitable.

Burgoyne, with his army of about six thousand men, surrendered October 17, 1777.

The battle of Saratoga has justly been called "one of the decisive battles of history." It made a profound impression in Europe. It was the defeat of Burgoyne's army that convinced France that it was time to come to the help of the American colonies. It lifted the cloud of gloom which had settled upon the hearts of the American people, and which had wrung despondent words even from the hopeful Washington.

From the day of this memorable victory until liberty was fully realized, four years later, in the final surrender at Yorktown, no true American gave up the idea of final triumph.

CHAPTER XV.

WASHINGTON AND THE REVOLUTION.

=197. Boyhood and Youth of George Washington.=--During the infancy of our nation there were many staunch and n.o.ble patriots; but far above all stood, and stands to-day, the majestic figure of George Washington. He came upon the stage at just the right time to give the vigor of his manhood to the military service of his country, and the maturity of his judgment to the formation of the new government and later to the presidency. He was born in Virginia on February 22, 1732.

In those days the country was thinly settled, good schools were rare, and even the rich planters did not find it easy to have their children well disciplined in learning. The future president had only a plain education in reading, writing, and arithmetic. In his childhood he showed a martial spirit. While at school he was often the captain of a little military company with paper hats and wooden swords, and even in their marches and sham battles the boy exhibited somewhat of the soldierly bearing and honorable character that distinguished him later in life.

He took an interest in study and enjoyed reading good books. He wrote an excellent hand, and some productions in his superior penmanship have been kept to this day, showing remarkable neatness and accuracy. They comprise lessons in geometry, forms of business papers, and even some neatly written extracts in verse. He studied by himself book-keeping and mathematics, especially land surveying, which was much needed in that new country. These studies proved of great value to him in after years.

=198. Boyhood's Sports.=--Washington when a lad was robust, fond of athletic games, running, jumping, and wrestling. In these healthful sports he outdid his comrades. He could surpa.s.s them all in throwing a stone across the Rappahannock. The boys all liked him, for he was generous and open-hearted, and they used to make him a judge in their disputes.

He was especially given to horsemanship, and delighted to break in the dashing young colts, and even to train dangerous horses.

=199. Washington's Love for his Mother.=--When Washington was about eleven years old his father died, and the family was broken up. George's mother, like the mothers of most great men, had a strong, upright character and brought up her children exceedingly well. Like all worthy boys, he dearly loved his mother and was willing to be guided by her wishes.

When about fourteen, he had a great longing to go to sea. Ships of war sometimes anch.o.r.ed in the Potomac River, near his home. The officers used to visit his brother's estate at Mount Vernon, and the boy no doubt listened eagerly to their stories of naval battles and adventures.

He pa.s.sionately desired to become a sailor. His mother at last gave an unwilling consent. His trunk was packed and all was ready. But when the hour for parting came, the quiet entreaty of his mother, "Don't go, George," with tears running down her cheeks, changed his purpose.

This good mother lived until 1789, when she died at the age of eighty-two. Her lot was a rare one. She lived to see her son the most ill.u.s.trious of living men, with a spotless fame, and as much admired for the purity of his character as for the greatness of his deeds. It is said that she used to listen to praise of him in silence, and only answered: "Yes, George was always a good boy!"

=200. His Faithful Work as a Surveyor in the Virginia Wilderness.=--It seems strange now, as we look back on his early life, to see how Washington unconsciously prepared himself for his great future. He employed a trainer and took a severe course of lessons in skillful fencing and sword drill, and, besides, he made a careful study of military science and tactics.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GEORGE WASHINGTON.]

He became prominent as a young man of superb vigor, fond of study and work, and full of promise of great achievements. So Lord Fairfax, an eccentric n.o.bleman, who was a great fox hunter and who much admired his young friend's bold riding, selected him to survey the thousands of acres of forest land that the king had granted to him beyond the Blue Ridge. This was a pretty large undertaking for a boy of sixteen! But the youngster was enough of a man to do it. He and his a.s.sistant took each a horse, a gun, an axe, surveyor's tools, and camp outfit. They spent months in the vast forests and among the mountains; cutting their paths through woods, fording rivers, facing the drenching storms, surveying and measuring by day, and writing out the notes in the light of camp-fires by night; living on the game they shot,--wild turkeys, squirrels, rabbits, and deer; often meeting Indians.

All this was just the school to prepare him for coming duties and for the great career he never then dreamed of. Here he gained in a high degree the hardy virtues of courage, self-reliance, promptness in danger, quick and prudent foresight, and unflinching endurance under difficulties.

On his return, young Washington had done his work so well that the Governor appointed him public surveyor. It was a prominent office, and he filled it honorably. His surveys were so correct that it is said they are used even to this day.

Lord Fairfax lived many years after this. He was bitterly opposed to the war of the Revolution. One day he heard the people shouting and cheering near his home. He asked his old negro servant what it all meant, and he was told that Lord Cornwallis had surrendered to General Washington. At this the old man groaned, "Take me to bed, Joe; it is high time for me to die!"

=201. His Work as an Army Officer.=--Washington was twenty-three years old when he was appointed on the staff of General Braddock. We have read in Chapter VIII the story of this disastrous campaign. The choice proved the Governor's insight into Washington's remarkable character. His surprising bravery, his insensibility to fear amid the whistling of bullets, his coolness in danger, and his maturity of judgment, really saved the whole campaign and rescued Braddock's shattered forces from total ruin.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WASHINGTON CROSSING A RIVER ON A RAFT IN THE WILDERNESS DURING MID-WINTER.]

Shortly afterwards Washington withdrew for a while from military life.

In 1759, he married Mrs. Martha Custis, a young widow with two small children and a large fortune. A short time after their marriage Colonel and Mrs. Washington, or Lady Washington, as she was called, retired to Mount Vernon, a fine estate of eight thousand acres which he had inherited from his brother Lawrence. His many visitors who expected to see a heroic figure could not have been disappointed in his personal appearance.

Washington was a man of n.o.ble presence, six feet two in height, of dignified and courtly manners and a n.o.ble military air. With health and wealth, a happy home and all that makes life pleasant, he was enjoying his honors and the comforts of rural life.

=202. Advancement in Political Honors.=--So high was the trust reposed by all in Washington that he was now elected to the Virginia legislature, the House of Burgesses, a signal proof of popular confidence. He always studied the business of every day carefully, though he seldom made speeches. When he first entered and took his seat, in 1759, the Speaker of the House rose and in eloquent language returned thanks to him in the name of the colony for his services during the war.

Washington stood up to reply; blushed, stammered, trembled, and could not utter a word.

"Sit down, Mr. Washington," said the Speaker with a smile; "your modesty equals your valor, and that surpa.s.ses the power of any language I possess."

For the next sixteen years Washington's life pa.s.sed quietly and contentedly. Then was heard the distant thunder of the coming Revolution.

We may be sure that Washington studiously watched the course of events, and often went back to Mount Vernon from the public meetings with an anxious mind.

=203. Becomes Commander-in-Chief of the American Army.=--Soon a problem presented itself before the Continental Congress of which Washington was a member. Who shall be chosen Commander-in-Chief of our armies? Who shall be singled out for this most difficult task?

There was one man to whom all turned. On a motion of John Adams of Ma.s.sachusetts the choice was George Washington--"a gentleman from Virginia who is among us, and very well known to all of us." The choice was unanimous. It was a spontaneous tribute to his superior military experience and skill; to the strength and purity of his character, the ardor and unselfishness of his patriotism, and the perfect confidence which his whole career had inspired.

Washington, in the course of his brief and modest speech of acceptance, said his service would be freely given without salary, asking that only his expenses be paid, and of which he would keep a careful record. His expense-books, kept during the Revolution in his own neat handwriting, are still carefully preserved.

With the promptness which was a part of his self-training, he began at once his new duties. In a few days, as we have read in Chapter XII, he took command of the patriot army at Cambridge.

We know how Washington's well-planned siege shut up the British army in Boston all that summer and all the next winter until March, when his admirable strategy compelled the proud Howe to sail silently away. This achievement of the brave Virginia officer, and of his raw farmer-soldiers against the much larger force of British regulars, well deserved the gold medal given him by Congress.