The Rangers; or, The Tory's Daughter: A Tale Illustrative of the Revolutionary History of Vermont and the Northern Campaign of 1777Thompson, Daniel P. (Daniel Pierce)
History
The Rangers; or, The Tory's Daughter: A Tale Illustrative of the Revolutionary History of Vermont and the Northern Campaign of 1777
Thompson, Daniel P. (Daniel Pierce)
Vermont -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Fiction
On reaching its destination, the team was brought to a stand
immediately beneath the gallows, which was a naked cross-tree, set into
the ground like a sign-post, and wholly unprovided with platform, or
other of the usual adjuncts of such structures. The prisoner was then
ordered to stand up in the cart, when the noose at the end of the rope,
dangling from the arm above, was securely adjusted round his neck, and
every thing made ready for the awful moment.
Ira Allen, having mounted some object at hand, then addressed the people
in an eloquent exhortation on the duty and policy of a faithful and
unwavering adherence to the cause of the country, which he enforced
by giving a rapid sketch of the character and career of the wretched
traitor before them, as contrasted with those who had been true to that
cause, and especially those who had captured him.
“Of the four brave men,” he said, in conclusion, “who, at such odds
and risk, pursued and took the prisoner and his party, on that glorious
occasion, two are present, and in positions which amply testify the high
estimation that has been placed on their gallant conduct. The others,
the two Woodburns, who remained in the city, are--as I learn from
letters I have recently seen from them or their scarcely less heroic
young wives, left to conduct the affairs of their respective homes--now
in New Jersey, acting under the eye of their beloved Washington, whose
confidence in them in their different spheres of action--one as the
honored colonel of a regiment and the other as the most trusty and
adroit manager in the secret service--they consider their sufficient
reward, and one that was only wanting to crown that which, on the eve of
our memorable battle here, they received in their wives, and the wealth
obtained through the romantic disclosures of their dying relative, the
lamented Father Herriot. And of the party taken alive by those
gallant men, the tory leader, Peters, was exchanged for several of our
imprisoned officers, and at a bargain which secured us advantages not
to be obtained by stretching his worthless neck; and he has retired into
Canada, to sink into insignificance, despised and hated by those whom
his misrepresentations respecting the alleged easy conquest of our state
so completely deceived. Fitch, after having ransomed himself by the
payment of all he could raise, offered through his fear of a fate to
which, after all, he probably would not have been condemned, sneaked
back to his old haunts in Guilford, where he perished miserably by the
hand of one whom former wrongs, committed in acts of official cruelty
and extortion, had made desperate. And the other, and last of the
infamous trio, now stands before us, to make atonement for his crimes by
an ignominious death on the gallows.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account