Commodore Barney's Young Spies

CHAPTER XII.

SUSPENSE

It is now in my mind to set down what may be dry reading for some who chance to see this labor of love on which I am engaged, and yet if any one desires to know exactly why it was the Britishers could destroy the capital of our country, and come off very nearly scot-free, it is absolutely necessary to become familiar with all our means of defense at this time.

Therefore it is that I shall copy that which was published many years later, by Mr. Lossing in his "War of 1812," and in so doing the reader will ask how it is that I am writing this poor apology for a tale in the year of grace 1814, and yet putting into it facts which were made public many years later?

The answer to the riddle is not as puzzling as it would seem. I am now man grown, with children of my own. Many years ago I put together this story, and to-day, desiring that my own boys may read it, I am running over the leaves to add here or there that which may make plain what I, a lad of seventeen years, overlooked at the time, or believed to be of little importance. How strange it is that the same thing appears entirely different when viewed from the standpoints of a man and a lad!

This is what Mr. Lossing says concerning the time of which I wrote when everything was fresh in my mind, and the sense of a wrong done this country by England still rankling deep in my heart:

"On the 6th of August (1814) the small British squadron in the Chesapeake was reinforced by a fleet of twenty-one vessels under Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, the senior commander on the American station. These were soon joined by another under Commodore Sir Charles Malcolm. These vessels bore several thousand land troops commanded by General Ross, an Irish officer, and one of Wellington's most active leaders. Washington and Baltimore appear to have been chosen objects of attack simultaneously. A part of the British naval force, under Sir Peter Parker, went up the Chesapeake toward Baltimore, and another portion, under Captain Gordon, went up the Potomac.

"At that time Commodore Barney, with a flotilla of thirteen armed barges and the schooner Scorpion, with an aggregate of about five hundred men, was in the Patuxent river. His vessels had been chased out of the Chesapeake, and blockaded in St. Leonard's Bay. Of this confinement they were relieved by some artillery under Colonel Henry Carbery, with which he drove away the Loire, the blockading frigate, when the released flotilla went up the Patuxent, first to Benedict, and then to Nottingham, that it might be within co-operating distance of both Washington and Baltimore.

"Seeing this, the British determined to capture or destroy it, and on the 18th of August a force of a little more than five thousand men, composed of regulars, marines, and negroes went up the Patuxent, and landed at Benedict with three cannon, under cover of an armed brig. Most of the other large British vessels were below, some of them aground, and all too heavy to ascend the comparatively shallow stream.

"Barney, then at Nottingham, promptly informed the Navy Department of the movement, and of a boast of the British admiral that he would destroy the American flotilla, and dine in Washington on the following Sunday. General Winder, by direction of the War Department, immediately ordered General Samuel Smith's division (the Third) of the Maryland militia into actual service. He also called upon General John P. Van Ness, commander of the militia of the District of Columbia, for two brigades, to be encamped near Alexandria; and he sent a circular letter to all the brigadiers of the Maryland militia, asking for volunteers to the amount of one-half their respective commands.

"By his orders, his adjutant-general, Hite, issued a stirring appeal to the citizens to come forward, 'without regard to sacrifices and privation,' in defense of the national capital. Winder also asked General Stricker, of Baltimore, to send to Washington his volunteer regiments of infantry and his rifle battalion.

"The veteran patriot, General Smith, promptly responded to the call of the government. He at once issued a division order, in which he gave notice of the invasion, and directed the whole of General Stansbury's brigade to be held in readiness for active service, adding, 'the third brigade is now under the pay of the United States, in its service, and subject to the Articles of War.' That corps General Smith declared to be 'the finest set of men he ever saw.' They paraded at four o'clock the same day, and on the following morning General Stansbury left Baltimore for Washington with thirteen hundred of his corps. Another force, under Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Sterett, consisting of the Fifth Regiment of Baltimore Volunteers, Major Pinkney's rifle battalion, and the artillery companies of Captains Myers and Magruder, left Baltimore on the evening of the 20th, and joined Stansbury on the evening of the 23d.

"With wise precaution, General Smith ordered the Eleventh brigade and Colonel Moore's cavalry to hold themselves in readiness to march to Baltimore at a moment's warning, for it seemed probable that the enemy would strike at both cities simultaneously.

"The British in the meantime had moved up the Patuxent from Benedict, the land troops being accompanied by a flotilla of launches and barges that kept abreast of them. The naval forces were under the command of the notorious marauder, Cockburn. They reached Lower Marlborough on the 21st, when Barney's flotilla, then in charge of Lieutenant Frazier and a sufficient number of men to destroy it if necessary, moved up to Pig Point, where some of the vessels grounded in the shallow water.

"For the defense of Washington the whole force was about seven thousand strong, of whom nine hundred were enlisted men. The cavalry did not exceed four hundred in number. The little army had twenty-six pieces of cannon, of which twenty were only six-pounders. This force, if concentrated, would have been competent to roll back the invasion had the commanding officer been untrammeled by the interference of the President and his Cabinet."

All that was written when the facts of the case were well known, and now the story shall be taken up as I wrote it when a boy.

It was not all plain sailing from Nottingham to Pig Point, for the water was shallow, and there were many places where it was necessary to handle even a pungy very tenderly in order to avoid taking the ground.

While Darius was not well acquainted with the stream, he had a sailorly eye for bad places, and never made the mistake of trying to jump the little vessel where she was likely to be held hard and fast.

Many times were we forced to take to the canoe in order to pull the Avenger's nose around more sharply than could be done by the helm, and when it came to such labor of pulling and hauling the commodore lent a hand as if we had been his equal in station.

And we did work lively, for a fact, hoping to have our anchor down before any other craft could arrive, therefore no one complained when Darius called on us for labor which might have been saved at the expense of three or four minutes in time.

The commander was even more eager than were we, to arrive at the appointed rendezvous speedily, and we could readily guess that some big change was to be made in the general plans, although what it might be we came far from guessing, since all of us, save Darius Thorpe, believed he was simply running away from the enemy.

Well, we succeeded in doing as we wished in regard to beating out the remainder of the fleet, for when we came to anchor off the point and snugged everything down Bristol fashion, there were no signs that a single craft was following.

Commodore Barney was chafing because of the delay, as could be seen by the way in which he paced the deck, rubbing his hands from time to time as he gazed down stream in vain for some token of the laggards.

"It's only a deep water sailor who obeys smartly, Darius," the commander said, halting in his nervous walk to face the old man, and Jerry and I, who were seated on the main-hatch, pricked up our ears, for it seemed positive we were to learn somewhat of future doings.

"These younger men know too bloomin' much, that's what's the matter with them," Darius said in reply. "I'll go bail that half the crowd we left at Nottingham believed they knew better'n you when the start should be made, an' stopped to curl their hair before makin' sail."

Commodore Barney laughed heartily at the old man's growling, and then said suddenly:

"I count on leaving you second in command under Frazier, and it may be as well for you to understand matters in case I don't get a chance to speak with you at any length after the Lieutenant arrives."

"You count on leavin' me, sir? Does that mean you're goin' away right soon?"

"Ay, when my force comes up. There is no question but that the enemy is making the attack on our flotilla to cover his designs on Washington. He can have the fleet if he comes thus far. I hope by daylight to be on the march for the Wood Yard, where Winder is encamped, and count to take with me all the men that can be spared, for force enough will be left behind to destroy the fleet in case the enemy appears. Lieutenant Frazier is to be in charge of those who remain here, and you will act as his second in command. This is my plan: You shall have seventy men or more, and as soon as we leave you will make every craft ready for the torch; see to it that there are combustibles on board in sufficient quantity to insure a clean job when fire is applied. After that has been done, you will wait for the British. Once it becomes certain that you cannot save the fleet, start your fires, and put out for the American army, which will likely be near Washington by that time."

"We've got some good boats with us, sir," Darius said thoughtfully.

"Ay, my old shell-back, and that is why I am determined that they shall not be of service to the enemy. You who remain behind will have more danger to face than those who move in advance, and because of that it is necessary you keep the force well in hand. See to it that every order, however trifling, is obeyed on the instant, and in event of any disposition to shirk a command, or to loiter after the word has been given, deal with the culprit as you would on shipboard. Quick work is the only thing which will save you from being killed or made prisoners."

When the commander spoke this last word the thought came to me that I had, for the moment, entirely forgotten Elias Macomber, and I was puzzled to know what could be done with him while we were destroying the fleet, if it so chanced we were forced to such an extremity.

I spoke with Jerry about it; but he had no suggestion to offer, save that I had better refer the matter to Joshua Barney.

"He's forgotten all about Macomber, as we did, an' now is the time to find out what we shall do with him. It would hurt me mighty bad to let the cur join his British friends simply because we couldn't take care of him."

This last idea nerved me to do that which I would have shrunk from at any other time, and, approaching the commander, I asked:

"What is to be done with our prisoner, sir? Jerry and I couldn't help hearing what you said to Darius, and we don't want to let such as him have a free foot after capturing him twice."

"Don't fear for that, lad," the commodore said with a kindly smile. "Give your man breakfast now, so that he may be in condition to march, and when you see that we are ready to set off, bring him to me. I will see to it that he has a care-taker who won't wink at an escape."

Then the commander fell to pacing the deck again, and I called Jim Freeman and Dody Wardwell into the cuddy that they might cook breakfast for all hands, including Elias Macomber.

Jerry insisted that the cur ought to be sent on his way with an empty stomach; but to that I would not have agreed even though the commodore had failed to give especial orders to the effect that he be fed.

By the time our cooking operations were well under way, the foremost of the fleet began to heave in sight, and from that moment Joshua Barney had something more to do than pace the Avenger's deck.

We learned very soon that the Scorpion had run aground, which fact delayed several of the smaller boats, since Lieutenant Frazier called upon many of the men for assistance; but all reports ran to the effect that the fleet would unquestionably be at the rendezvous by early dawn.

We drew lots to see who should feed the prisoner, and Josiah Coburn selected the unlucky slip, which was a great relief to me, for I question if I could have put food into the villain's mouth with any very good grace.

We were yet at work on the breakfast when my father came aboard, the barge to which he was drafted having been the third to arrive, and it made me feel mighty good when he complimented us on our smartness in handling the Avenger.

We two went well forward where we might converse privately, and I did not think I was betraying any confidences when I told him of the commodore's plans. He was in nowise surprised, and said as one would if talking to a particular friend:

"I guessed that something of the kind might be in the wind when the word was given to get under way. It would have pleased me better, Amos, if you had been detailed to go with the advance."

"Why so, sir?" I asked, secretly rejoicing because he was treating me as if I had been of his own age.

"Because those who remain to destroy the fleet will be in great danger. You cannot begin the work until the enemy is close upon you, otherwise it might be said that valuable property had been sacrificed needlessly, and your risk will be greater than mine."

"That is as it should be, sir," I replied, forgetting that I had ever been weak-kneed or lukewarm in the cause. "For mother's sake you should be the one to go home, if both cannot."

"You have ever been a good boy, and a dutiful son, Amos. I shall pray that God will spare your life, whatever He may will shall become of me."

Then my father kissed me, and I never remember of his having done such a thing before, after which he went over the rail hurriedly, as if not caring to look me in the face.