The Story of the Thirteen ColoniesGuerber, H. A. (Hélène Adeline)
History
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies
Guerber, H. A. (Hélène Adeline)
United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Arnold was buried in England. While his victories are honored
in America, his treachery has made his name so disliked that it
is always coupled with the words "the traitor." The battles of
Saratoga, where he, Schuyler, and Morgan really won the victories
attributed to Gates, are kept in mind by history and by the
beautiful monument at Saratoga. There you can see four niches. Three
are occupied by statues of Gates, Schuyler, and Morgan; but the
fourth--which was to contain a statue of Arnold--must always remain
empty!
The sadness which filled all patriot hearts in the country at the
news of Arnold's treason was, however, soon made more bearable by
the welcome tidings of a victory in the South--the battle of Kings
Mountain (1780).
[Illustration: Battle of Kings Mountain.]
More than a thousand of the British troops took up their position on
the top of this mountain, and their leader then cried: "Well, boys,
here is a place from which all the rebels outside of hell cannot
drive us!" Still, a smaller number of patriots climbed up by three
different paths, and, hiding behind rocks and trees, killed many of
the British, and took the rest prisoners.
General Greene, taking command of the American forces in the South
after Gates's defeat at Camden, found himself at the head of a
ragged and almost famished army. But stout hearts beat beneath
tattered garments, and the forces under Morgan soon after won a
great victory at Cowpens (1781).
The cruel Tarleton was in command on this occasion, and during the
battle he was wounded by Colonel William Washington, a distant
relative of the general in chief. In speaking of the battle
afterwards, Tarleton scornfully remarked to an American lady that
Colonel Washington was so ignorant a man that he could not even
write his own name. As people who could not write in those days were
in the habit of making a rough mark instead of signing their names,
the lady archly said, pointing to his wound: "Ah, colonel, you bear
evidence that he can at least make his mark!" When Tarleton later
added that he wondered what Colonel Washington looked like, the same
lady slyly said: "Had you only looked behind you at Cowpens, you
might have had that pleasure."
LXXXI. TWO UNSELFISH WOMEN.
When the battle of Cowpens was over, and the few remnants of
Tarleton's force had fled to join Cornwallis, the latter marched
forward, hoping to catch up with Morgan's army and crush it with
his superior force before it could join Greene's forces. Both
armies were therefore anxious to reach the ford over the Ca-taw´ba
first, and tramped ahead as fast as possible, stopping to rest only
when the men were completely exhausted. But, in spite of the great
odds against him, Morgan finally managed to give Cornwallis the
slip, and, crossing at the ford, was soon joined by Greene. The two
generals continued the retreat, cleverly tempting Cornwallis to
follow, until finally the whole American army was safe beyond the
Dan River in Virginia.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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