Prelude to Glory, Vol. 5 Read online

  © 2001 Carter, Ron.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Deseret Book Company, P.O. Box 30178, Salt Lake City Utah 30178. This work is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church or of Deseret Book. Deseret Book is a registered trademark of Deseret Book Company.

  All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Prelude to Glory

  Volume 1: Our Sacred Honor

  Volume 2: The Times That Try Men’s Souls

  Volume 3: To Decide Our Destiny

  Volume 4: The Hand of Providence

  Volume 5: A Cold, Bleak Hill

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Carter, Ron, 1932– A cold, bleak hill / Ron Carter. p. cm. — (Prelude to glory ; v. 5) ISBN 1-57345-956-9 (Hardbound : alk. paper) 1. Pennsylvania—History—Revolution, 1775–1783—Fiction. 2. Howe, William Howe, Viscount, 1729–1814—Poetry. 3. Washington, George, 1732–1799—Fiction. 4. Brandywine, Battle of, 1777—Fiction. 5. Germantown, Battle of, 1777—Fiction. 6. Soldiers—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3553.A7833 C65 2001 813' .54—dc21

  2001003368

  Printed in the United States of America 72876-6809

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  This series is dedicated to the common people of long ago who paid the price.

  This volume is dedicated to my grandchildren, the twenty-three who have already arrived and the many more to follow.

  Table of Contents

  A Cold, Bleak Hill

  Preface

  Chronology of Important Events Related to This Volume

  Part One

  CHAPTER I

  CHAPTER II

  CHAPTER III

  CHAPTER IV

  CHAPTER V

  CHAPTER VI

  CHAPTER VII

  CHAPTER VIII

  CHAPTER IX

  CHAPTER X

  CHAPTER XI

  CHAPTER XII

  CHAPTER XIII

  CHAPTER XIV

  Part Two

  CHAPTER XV

  CHAPTER XVI

  CHAPTER XVII

  CHAPTER XVIII

  CHAPTER XIX

  CHAPTER XX

  CHAPTER XXI

  CHAPTER XXII

  CHAPTER XXIII

  CHAPTER XXIV

  CHAPTER XXV

  CHAPTER XXVI

  CHAPTER XXVII

  CHAPTER XXVIII

  CHAPTER XXIX

  CHAPTER XXX

  CHAPTER XXXI

  CHAPTER XXXII

  CHAPTER XXXIII

  Bibliography

  Acknowledgments

  A Cold, Bleak Hill

  December 22, 1777

  To The Hnble Henry Laurens, President, Congress of The United States:

  Sir:

  It is with infinite pain and concern that I must again dwell on the state of the Commissary’s department. I do not know from what cause this alarming deficiency or rather total failure of supplies arises, but unless more vigorous exertions and better regulations take place, and immediately, this Army must dissolve.

  Regarding the Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council and their declared wish that this army should attack the enemy, I can assure those Gentlemen that it is a much easier and less distressing thing to draw remonstrances in a comfortable room by a good fireside than to occupy a cold, bleak hill and sleep under frost and snow without clothes or blankets. However, although the Council seems to have little feeling for the naked and distressed soldiers, I feel superabundantly for them, and from my soul pity those miseries they are now suffering, which it is in my power neither to relieve nor prevent.

  George Washington

  Preface

  * * *

  The reader will be greatly assisted in following the Prelude to Glory series if the author’s overall approach is understood.

  The volumes do not present the critical events of the Revolutionary War in chronological, month-by-month, year-by-year order. The reason is simple. At all times during the eight years of the conflict, the tremendous events that shaped the war and decided the final result were happening simultaneously in two, and sometimes three, different geographical areas. This being true, it became obvious that moving back and forth from one battlefront to another would be extremely confusing.

  Thus, the decision was made to follow each major event through to its conclusion, as seen through the eyes of selected characters, and then go back and pick up the thread of other great events that were happening at the same time in other places, as seen through the eyes of characters caught up in those events.

  The reader will recall that volume 1, Our Sacred Honor, follows the fictional family of John Phelps Dunson from the beginning of hostilities between the British and the Americans in April 1775, through the Lexington and Concord battles, and then moves into the experiences of Matthew Dunson, John’s eldest son, who was a navigator in the sea battles that occurred later in the war. In volume 2, The Times That Try Men’s Souls, Billy Weems, Matthew’s dearest friend, survives the terrible defeats suffered by the Americans around New York and the disastrous American retreat to the wintry banks of the Delaware River. In volume 3, To Decide Our Destiny, Billy and his friend Eli Stroud follow General Washington back across the Delaware on Christmas night 1776, to storm and miraculously take the town of Trenton and then Princeton. Volume 4, The Hand of Providence, addresses the tremendous, inspiring events of the campaign for possession of the Lake Champlain–Hudson River corridor, wherein British General John Burgoyne, with an army of eight thousand, was sent by King George III to take Fort Ticonderoga, proceed to Albany, and in conjunction with the forces of General William Howe and Colonel Barry St. Leger, cut the New England states off from the southern states and defeat them one at a time. To oppose Burgoyne, the United States sent General Arthur St. Clair, with less than half the army commanded by General Burgoyne. The heroics of men on both sides, the battles, the unbelievable tricks, the startling performance of General Benedict Arnold, all seen through the eyes of Billy and Eli, are probably among the most gripping stories of the entire Revolution. Historians have long since included the events of the summer of 1777 in the single term Saratoga, and it is clear that this battle changed the history of the world.

  Volume 5, A Cold, Bleak Hill, addresses the events of the summer of 1777, following General George Washington as he seeks a way to stop General William Howe on the eastern seaboard. Caleb Dunson, age sixteen, the rebellious runaway son of John Dunson, has already joined Washington’s army and is rapidly learning the brutalities of camp life and war. Mary Flint, the beautiful, plucky widow of wealthy Marcus Flint, now destitute and seeking a new life, finds Eli and Billy, the only two persons she can look to for help and understanding, and love blossoms between Mary and Eli. The battles of Brandywine Creek and Germantown, both defeats for the Americans, followed by the “Paoli Massacre” and the political efforts of ambitious American officers Horatio Gates and Thomas Conway to undermine General Washington present trials unheralded. The bitter, heartbreaking story of Valley Forge, the darkest hours of the entire Revolution, is presented, with the ultimate rising of the Americans above all the terrible hardships, to march out of Valley Forge in June 1778, a new, inspired army, to continue their work of winning freedom and liberty for America.

  And, reader, again, be patient. Matthew and Kathleen are going to be reunited, and the wait will make it all the sweeter. Billy has given his heart to Brigitte
; however, she sees him only as a dear friend of the family. These wonderful young people are going through that painful but exciting time of finding each other and experiencing the blossoming of young love into mature love. It’s all yet to come.

  Chronology of Important Events Related to This Volume

  * * *

  1775

  April 19. The first shot is fired at Lexington, Massachusetts, and the Revolutionary War begins. (See volume 1)

  June 15. The Continental Congress appoints George Washington of Virginia to be commander in chief of the Continental Army.

  June 17. The Battle of Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill is fought, which the British win at great cost, suffering numerous casualties before the colonial forces abandon the hills due to lack of ammunition. (See volume 1)

  September. King George III of England and his cabinet agree upon a strategy for putting down the rebellion in the American colonies, as well as the British officers who shall command and the armed forces that will be necessary.

  1776

  February–March. Commodore Esek Hopkins leads eight small colonial ships to the Bahamas to obtain munitions from two British forts, Nassau and Montague. (See volume 1)

  March 17. General Sir William Howe evacuates his British command from Boston. (See volume 1)

  July 9. On orders from General Washington, the Declaration of Independence (adopted by the Continental Congress on July fourth) is read publicly to the entire American command in the New York area, as well as the citizens. (See volume 2)

  Late August–Early December. The British and American armies clash in a series of battles at Long Island, Kip’s Bay, Harlem Heights, White Plains, and Fort Washington. Though the Americans make occasional gains in the battles, the British effectively decimate the Continental Army to the point that Washington has no choice but to begin a retreat across the length of New Jersey. He crosses the Delaware River into Pennsylvania and establishes a camp at McKonkey’s Ferry, nine miles north of Trenton. (See volume 2)

  September 21. An accidental fire burns about one-fourth of the city of New York.

  October 11. General Benedict Arnold leads a tiny fleet of fifteen hastily constructed ships to stall the British fleet of twenty-five ships on Lake Champlain. The hope is that Arnold’s forces can at least delay the movement of thirteen thousand British troops south until the spring of 1777 and thus save George Washington’s Continental Army. (See volume 1)

  December 10. Benjamin Franklin travels to France to persuade the French government to support America in the Revolution.

  December 14. General William Howe closes the winter campaign, and the British troops retire into winter quarters. Howe stations General James Grant at Princeton with a small force of British soldiers. Colonel Carl Emil Kurt von Donop is given command of three thousand Hessians along the Delaware River opposite the American camp, and he quarters fourteen hundred of his men in Trenton under the command of Colonel Johann Gottlieb Rall.

  December 22. John Honeyman, an American spy posing as a British loyalist, is under orders from General Washington and makes a reconnaissance journey to Trenton, is later “captured” by the Americans, and reports his findings to Washington directly.

  December 25. Washington’s three-point attack of Trenton begins as he and his army cross the Delaware River at McKonkey’s Ferry at night and during a raging blizzard. General James Ewing attempts a crossing at the Trenton Ferry, and General John Cadwalader moves into position at Dunk’s Ferry.

  December 26. The Battle of Trenton is fought to a dramatic conclusion.

  December 29. Benjamin Franklin meets with Comte de Vergennes to discuss French aid for the Americans.

  December 31. Enlistments for the majority of soldiers in the Continental Army are due to expire at midnight.

  1777

  January 2. General Charles Cornwallis leads a British force of 8,000 men out of Princeton with orders to destroy what is left of Washington’s army. Colonel Edward Hand and a small force of 600 Pennsylvanian riflemen are dispatched to stop the British before they can reach Trenton.

  January 3. Washington and his army of over four thousand men endure a midnight march out of Trenton and into Princeton, where they surprise British colonel Charles Mawhood’s command shortly after sunrise. The Battle of Princeton is fought with surprising results.

  January 7. The Continental Army establishes winter quarters in Morristown, New Jersey.

  February 25. As the political relationships between England, France, and America tighten, Comte de Vergennes receives news regarding the outcome of the battles of Trenton and Princeton and plans a course of action for France.

  April 2. General William Howe advises Lord Germain, British Secretary of State for America, that he intends to abandon New Jersey in favor of taking Philadelphia, which is seen by the British as the capital city of the United States. Lord Germain agrees and instructs General Howe to assist General John Burgoyne in his mission to come south down the Hudson River.

  May 6. British General John Burgoyne arrives in Canada to begin his campaign down the Champlain–Hudson region.

  Late May. General Washington marches the Continental Army from winter quarters at Morristown south to Middlebrook, in the Watchung Mountains.

  June 12. General Arthur St. Clair arrives at Fort Ticonderoga to take command of the American forces.

  July 4. The British scale Mt. Defiance to mount cannon that are within range of Fort Ticonderoga.

  July 5. The Americans discover the presence of the cannon and recognize that the British are now capable of destroying the fort at will, together with the men therein.

  July 5–6. General St. Clair abandons Fort Ticonderoga to the British and retreats with his men, part of them moving south in boats to Skenesborough, the balance marching toward Hubbardton, intending to join the boats at Skenesborough.

  July 6. The British fleet sinks every American boat at Skenesborough and scatters the Americans.

  July 7. The Battle of Hubbardton is fought, in which the Americans make a good accounting until British reinforcements arrive, driving them from the field.

  July 9. Preparing to move his army to Philadelphia, General Howe loads his soldiers and equipment onto 260 ships in New York Harbor, where the fleet remains while waiting for favorable winds.

  July 16. General Howe receives an exuberant letter from General Burgoyne, who has taken Fort Ticonderoga on the Hudson. Howe decides it is not necessary to go north to assist Burgoyne and instead makes preparations to march on Philadelphia via the Delaware River.

  July 23. Favorable winds come in from the north, and General Howe sets sail from New York for Delaware Bay. General Washington is unable to determine if Howe intends to move north to assist Burgoyne or south to take Philadelphia.

  August 16. General John Stark leads his American New Hampshire militia against German Colonel Friedrich Baum in the Battle of Bennington and soundly defeats the German column and their reinforcements.

  August 19. General Horatio Gates arrives at Stillwater to replace generals Philip Schuyler and Arthur St. Clair as American commander of the Northern Army. Congress has ordered Schuyler and St. Clair to explain their actions in abandoning Fort Ticonderoga, and they are to report to General Washington, ostensibly to face courts-martial.

  August 25. After a series of baffling maneuvers, the intent of which has confounded historians ever since, the British fleet and army sails south past the Maryland Capes and Sinepuxent Inlet into Chesapeake Bay, landing finally at Head of Elk, on the northern tip of the Bay. The forty-seven days aboard ships in the summer heat of July and August leaves Howe’s men, horses, food, and supplies in terrible condition. He starts toward Philadelphia, and General Washington marches to meet him.

  September 11. The two armies collide at Brandywine Creek, where the Americans make a strong showing but are defeated. The Paoli Massacre immediately follows.

  September 18. The American Congress, convened at Philadelphia, anticipates the arrival of the British an
d flees to York, eighty miles to the west.

  September 19. The American and British forces clash at Bemis Heights, and the Battle of Freeman’s Farm is fought. Neither side claims victory.

  September 26. General Howe sends General Cornwallis to Philadelphia, and the British are able to occupy the city without firing a shot. A British feint had left Washington marching to protect American supplies at Reading, which he believed the British intended to seize.

  October 3. The American army attacks the British forces entrenched at Germantown. Through a series of American tactical errors and the presence of a thick fog that confounds his battle plan, Washington is again defeated and prepares to march to winter quarters in Valley Forge.

  October 7. The Battle of Barber’s Wheat Field is fought near Bemis Heights. General Benedict Arnold, against orders from General Horatio Gates and with spectacular leadership on the battlefield, leads the Americans to victory.

  October 17. General John Burgoyne surrenders his army to General Horatio Gates.

  October 22. General William Howe sends a letter to Lord Germain, resigning his office as commander in chief of the British forces in America.

  December 2. King George III is informed of the surrender of Burgoyne’s army, and Horace Walpole reports that “the king fell into agonies.”

  December 12. Benjamin Franklin, American ambassador to France, meets with Comte de Vergennes, French foreign minister, to persuade him, and eventually King Louis XVI, to enter the war on the side of the Americans.