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THE CAMP-FIRE IN THE SWAMP
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The history of the exploits of the partisan bands of Marion and Sumpter, in South Carolina, is perhaps, the most interesting
and romantic that the war of independence furnishes. The defeat of Gates, and the almost total annihilation of his army,
gave the entire command of the State to Lord Cornwallis; but though Marion or Sumpter had no force competent to oppose
the British in the open field, they had gathered a few men who were willing to undergo any privation,
for the sake of the independence of their country, and who cherished an undying hatred of the tyranny of the English rule.
These few were filled with the active spirit of their leaders.
The north-eastern part of the State of South Carolina was the field of Marion's operations. There the party under his command took refuge in the recesses of deep swamps, where the enemy would not dare to follow them. From these retreats they would sally out, whenever an opportunity offered to harass the enemy, and thus they kept the British in a constant state of alarm. The party, for several weeks, numbered only seventy men; and, at one time, hardships and dangers of various kinds reduced that number to twenty-five. Major Wemys, the British commander in that part of the country, wished to prevent the surrounding inhabitants from co-operating with Marion, and accordingly, burnt scores of houses on the Pedee, Lynch's Creek, and Black River. But these outrages, of course, only served to incite the owners to revenge, and many of them took refuge with Marion's party, in the swamp. For several months, they were obliged to sleep in the open air, and to fly from one post to another, as the occupation of one became too troublesome and dangerous. Unfurnished with the means of defense, they were obliged to take possession of the saws of the saw-mills, and make them into horsemen's swords. Often was Marion so distressed for ammunition, that he had only three rounds to each man of his party, with which he entered into an engagement. At other times, he brought his men into view when he had no ammunition, merely to make a show of his numbers. The fire was lighted in the swamp. It was on a sort of eminence that formed an island, surrounded by a deep morass. It was a usual resort of the party of Marion, and there he feared no foe. The trees around had been cut down, and trimmed, they formed seats for the men, who occupied them, here and there, in groups. They had evidently just returned from some excursions; for the men looked tired, and on the ground, near the fire, some guns and provisions were lying, the fruit of a nightly surprise and attack. They were a motley-looking set of men; scarce two of them dressed alike. Some were tall, brawny fellows, that looked as if they could cope with any one that stood before them. Others were as small and dried-up looking as Marion himself, who sat near the fire, talking to one of his men. Old, black-looking fire-locks and powder-horns were the principal weapons to be seen; here and there, a horseman's sword dangled from the owner's belt. The meal of hoe-cakes and sweet potatoes was cooking at the fire. No better fare could they procure till that night's expedition gave it to them. A colored individual was exercising the functions of cook, in keeping the hoe-cakes and sweet potatoes from burning, with a stick which he had in his hand. Several pine-knots served as lamps, for the time; and the effect of the light, glaring upon the scene, was truly singular. The fact of the meal being ready, having been communicated to the party, the General and his officers were first served, --- bark being the substitute for dishes. Each man then received his share, upon a piece of bark, and they fixed themselves, in messes of three or four, as near the fire as convenient, and proceeded to make way with the food. To one of these messes we will direct our attention. It was composed of the renowned Sergeant Macdonald and three others, --- men belonging to the horse of the party. "Have the scouts been sent out yet, sergeant?" asked one of the men. "No, the General's just goin' to do it," was the reply; and as Macdonald spoke, Marion gave a low whistle, which was answered by three of the men. He gave his orders to them in a low tone, and they proceeded, through the deep shade of the trees, to where the horses of the party were placed, under charge of two of the blacks. The men were soon mounted and off, and their comrades went on with their eating and talking, which the departure of the scouts had interrupted. "I wonder what the General's after now," said one of the group to which we before alluded. There must be something in the wind, of some importance." "You may be sure of that, Green," replied another of the group --- a tall, stout fellow, with a very red face, looking as if the sun had done its worst upon it. "You never see the little man so careful and quiet in his motions, but there's somethin' goin' on that'll give us work." "Well," said the Scotch sergeant, "I'll follow anywhere the Fox leads. But I think we'd better get some rest now, while there's a bit o' spare time." So saying the sergeant and his comrades stretched themselves upon the grassy carpet that covered the island; but not to sleep. The day was generally their time for sleeping; for in the night they could do the most execution with their small but active band. "Now I'll talk to ye," said Macdonald, as he stretched himself at length, with his head resting on one hand, while he brought his food to his mouth with the other. "Well, sergeant," remarked Green, "can't you tell us some of your adventures, or the General's, I don't care which, just to kill time till the scouts come in? You've been leadin' this rough and tumble sort of a life for some time with Marion, and you must have had some adventures worth tellin'. Besides, here's our friend Moran, here, has only been along with us since his house was burnt by the Britishers. He'd like to hear something of it, too." "Yes, sergeant," said Moran, "I'm anxious to hear about any nice tricks you've served them infernal d----ls that burnt the house over my head; any real good floggin' or tantalizin', or even cheatin', you've done them fellers, would do me good; for I expect to eat some of 'em right up, if I once get a chance." "Oh," returned the sergeant, "I've done many a nice thing for 'em, and Marion has done as many more; but I'll tell you one of my own doin', first, because I know more about it than I do of any of the General's. I think it was about a month ago, when the number of our men was reduced to somewhere about thirty; rather a small band for a general to command, you might say; but that's all there was, anyhow. "Well, we were driven to all sorts of shifts for gettin' somethin' to eat; and the large bodies of red-coats there was about, kept us cooped up all the time in the swamp. One day, --- I think it was pretty near dusk, --- I was out, with two others, seein' if I couldn't come across some provisions. We had been out all the afternoon, and not a mite had we got for our trouble. Nothin' in the shape of either eatin' or drinkin' articles come in my ken. "We was gettin' pretty desperate, I tell ye; it's like enough if we had come across fifty men, we would have stolen all they had with'em to eat. Well, we were ridin' on through the woods, just outside of the swamp, when, just about two hundred yards ahead of us, we thought we seed a smoke. "Of course, we expected there was a fire there, and perhaps, somethin' to fill our maws with. So we stopped our horses on the instant, and gettin' down from 'em, tied 'em to the trees. Then we walked sneakin'ly towards where we saw the smoke risin'; and when we got pretty near it, I climbed up a tree, to reconnoitre, while the two men kept watch below. There I could see the whole scene that was passin' where the smoke was risin'. "There was about ten of the red-coat infantry seated round a fire, while a servant was preparin' a meal for 'em. I knew that there must be a larger party of 'em pretty near, for they wouldn't dare to be there at that time in the day, with such a small number; but I didn't care if the whole British army were about; I was goin' to have some of their eatin'. So I took a pretty good look at 'em, to see how things stood, and I saw that they had no conveyance among 'em for cookin' things that were on the fire. Well, I knew that there ought to have been one somewhere; and I got down with the intention of goin' to see if I could find it. "I told the other two how things stood, and told one of 'em to stay with the horses, while I took the other along with me. We took our swords only with us; the guns we left to the care of the man who waited with the horses. We then stole carefully round where the fire was, --- lookin' ahead of us, to see whether they noticed us, --- till we got round nearly opposite to where we left the horses. Then we got nearer to the fire; we could almost hear what the red-coats were talkin' about. "Lookin' through the trees on one side of me, I spied a big tin box; it seemed to be bout two feet long, and one wide. That was what we were huntin' for, I knew at once. So we creeped on our hands and knees to it, and found it was nearly full of the nicest kind of eatin' and drinkin' things. I got up to take a look how things were round the fire, and found everything goin' on as if there was nobody about. My comrade and I took up the box, and walked around to where we left the horses. I had a sort of fear, as you may call it, that the servant might go to hunt the box, to get somethin' out of it; but he didn't, as it happened, and we got the box safely round to the horses. The man we left there had mounted, and had everything ready for a hard ride, if it should be necessary. "We mounted our horses and took our weapons; but I didn't intend to leave the party of red-coats in such a quiet way. I had a fine, fleet horse, and I knew there was none there could catch me, if I once got started. So I gave the box to the two men, and told 'em to ride straight for the camp, here in the swamp. They set out, and I waited till I saw they were pretty well out of reach; and then I fixed the rifle I had with me --- one of them never-fails, that you don't come across often. I rode to a place that was somewhat open and clear from underwood, where I could have a full view of the party of red-coats, yet be hid behind the low boughs of the trees. "The party were all standin' up, holdin' their cups in their hands; the leader was in the middle, close to the fire. I supposed they were just goin' to drink a toast --- and I was right. The one who seemed to be the principal man among 'em, raised his cup above his head, and cried out, at the top of his voice, 'Here's the health of our most gracious master, King George the third!' "As soon as I found there was goin' to be a toast drunk, I knew at once whose health it would be, because that was always the first toast of the red-coats. I looked around, to see if the coast was clear, and turned my horse's head in the direction my men had gone; and just as the leader had finished his toast, I sung out, at the top of my voice, 'Here's to the death of the tyrant!' and, on the instant, took aim at the head of the leader, and let fly. The sound of my voice, and the report of my rifle, made the whole party spring round, to see where it came from; but when they saw their leader fall dead, they were so frightened, that I believe if I had had a few more men with me, I could have taken the whole party prisoners. "I didn't stop any longer, though; for as soon as I saw the leader fall, and the state he red-coats were in about it, I give a loud laugh, and put spurs to my horse; and by the time they could get their guns and send a volley after me, I was out of their reach. I didn't fear pursuit, then; for I knew the woods a good deal better than they did, and they knew, as it was gettin' dark pretty fast, that our men would be about, and might pick off some more of 'em. I rode on, however, to the camp in this here place, where I found the men with the box of provisions. "That was one of my adventures, and I think I served 'em a pretty neat trick. I don't think I'd have shot that leader, though, if he hadn't been so braggy and noisy with that toast of his. I intended to fire in the air; but I couldn't stand the temptation of puttin' an end to his braggin'." "That was a bold feat," observed Moran; "but it served the red-coat d----ls exactly right. They burnt the house over my head, and drove my family to hunt a shelter where they could find one. You ought to have shot more of 'em;" and Moran looked very revengeful and savage. "Ah, well," replied the sergeant, "I hardly like to bring down game in that kind of a way. It's too much like murderin'. I like to meet the enemy in a fair field, if I can. But I've no doubt they'd have done as much for me as I done for their captain, if they had had the chance." "That they would," said Green emphatically. "Well, sergeant," said Moran, "I hope you're not run out yet. You must have some more of the same sort." "Oh, man, I could talk to you the whole night, about such doin's; but --- hist!" said the sergeant, stopping short, "What's the game now? The Swamp-Fox is stealin' round as if he smelt somethin'." Most of the party had stretched themselves on the ground; and some were taking a short nap, while others were passing the time away, talking with their comrades. All had their guns and other weapons lying beside them, prepared for any sudden emergency. Marion had left the group where he had been talking, and pretty soon he was seen stealing quietly around the outside of the encampment. It seemed as if he had caught the sound of some one approaching. All eyes that were awake were instantly directed to his movements, and a silence, only disturbed at intervals by the slight plash made by an alligator, diving, or the dismal hooting of an owl, pervaded the scene. Just as the General had got round to the place where the scouts had left the camp, he seemed to listen more intently for a while, and then slowly returned to his first position. The pattering of the hoofs of horses was then plainly heard by the listening men, and the scouts rode into the camp; their horses covered with mud, and foaming somewhat at the mouth. The men sprang from their horses, and gave them into the charge of the blacks, and immediately proceeded to give Marion the result of their reconnoitring. As soon as the General was possessed of the intelligence, he gave a cry --- an initiation of the cry of the swamp-fox --- and the whole party instantly sprang to their feet. The General called his few officers to him, and whispered his orders; they then went to ascertain if their men were prepared. The horses were brought out, and by far the largest part of the men were mounted. A few moments served to get everything in readiness, and, with the General at the head, and the other officers scattered through the line, the band left the encampment in single file, by the same way as the scouts had previously gone. At that place, no doubt, there was a safe passage over the morass that surrounded the island on which was the encampment. The night was dark, and the party had to carry two or three pine-knot torches with them, to light the way, as they rode through the bog and brake. After riding through the swamp in this manner, for about half an hour, they attained the solid ground of the wood that skirted the swamp. Here the order was given to halt, and the party were drawn up in closer order. The scouts were sent out to reconnoitre, while the General, through his officers, explained to his men how he wished them to act. The game was a detachment of the British troops, which had been ascertained to be about three hundred strong. They had been sent in pursuit of Marion, and they had encamped just outside of the wood that surrounded the swamp, upon the bank of a small stream. Marion had determined to surprise them; and although his own force was no more than half that of the enemy, he had the advantage in knowing the country better than they did. They had encamped in a very favorable position, with their front to the wood, and had their videttes posted to prevent surprise. The scouts returned to Marion and reported how matters stood; and, with a slight exhortation to his men to do their duty, and some additional orders to the officers, he gave the order to proceed. The torches were hid where they could be found when necessary, and the band moved silently, but quickly, through the wood. A small party was placed in the advance. They soon caught sight of the camp-fires of the British detachment. The videttes perceived them, and fired their guns; but they were upon the camp in a moment, before the alarm was fairly given. They rushed into the midst of the British like a hurricane, bearing down all before them, while the drum was heard beating, calling the enemy to arms. They left their camp and fled in every direction in the endeavor to escape from the sabres of Marion's men; while their pursuers shouted as they drove them before them. Uncertain how large the force was that had attacked them, their fears magnified it to twice the amount it really was. Some were killed, a few captured and the remainder were dispersed in every direction. The band of Marion soon returned to the enemy's camp, from the pursuit, and set to work to share the spoils in such a manner as to make them easy of carriage. A large quantity of arms and provisions of all kinds were captured, together with a few horses that had been left in the wood, near at hand. Part of the tents were set fire to by the owners, before they left, to prevent them from falling into the hands of the foe; but a few were saved, and these, also, the party took charge of. They then set out for their own encampment, with the spoils, and arrived there without further incident. |
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