Sometime previous (I think) to the treason of Arnold we went to what was called "the battle of the BlockHouse." After the army arrived before that British post, it commenced bombarding it in fine style. The cannon balls and bombs flew thick against it. It was too strong, however, for us. After playing upon it for a long time and to no purpose, we raised the siege, and returned to camp. This block-house was well fortified, and besides, it was full of refugee negroes, which kept up a constant firing with musketry upon us from portholes at the top of the fortification, and which fires done us considerable injury. I recollect one among the killed. He was shot above the shoulder on one side, the ball having passed in as stated and came out on the other side just above the hip-joint. This poor fellow had been discharged but a day or two before we marched to the attack, but had patriotically volunteered and joined in the expedition. His name was Zeigler. He was buried with others, and with "the honors of war." Some of his comrades took his clothes with them to camp, in order to give them to his friends, who lived not far from West Point encampment. Soldier! sleepest thou? sleepest thou there? Thy long resting URN, bold patriotism's GRAVE. As we were returning from this siege or from where we had been encamped to West Point, there was one of our men (a tailor, and who had at the time the stuff of a pair of pantaloons of mine, which I had given him to make up for me, and which, bye-the-bye, I never recov ered again,) deserted from the army, and was going at the top of his speed to join the British. He was pursued by cavalry and others. When they neared him, he fired (having a musket with him) at his pursuers, and his ball cut off a rein of an officer's bridle. From the circumstance of its being said at the time that he had "cut off the bridle rein of the Marquis's bridle," this and his 4 having been hung without a court martial, and without being "tried" even " by the drum-head," I must state, that that officer, a Marquis, could have been none other than the Marquis de La Fayette. Should my readers ask why would de La Fayette pursue him? I answer that he would have gone as great a length at any time, and encounter as much danger, and sacrifice as much as any other, to have kept the English from becoming possessed of a fund of intelligence, which they would not have failed to have used to their own greatest advantage. After he had discharged his musket at the officer, he was captured and brought back. We being on the march at the time, continued it until noon. A halt being called, we sat down and engaged ourselves in eating a bite of bread and cold beef. The musicians occupying the centre of the column on its march, we had therefore no opportunity of knowing what was going on in front. After we had rested and refreshed ourselves, we were ordered to beat up the Long Roll. When the troop was again formed into marching order, we were ordered on. We had not marched far, until we beheld this deserter hanging over the road, he having been suspended to the limb of a tree. We were marched directly under where he hung. There were some refugee negroes that had been captured in a house in our route; these the officers made to hang him. As I before stated, this deserter had been hung without the benefit of a trial. His offence was punished with immediate death. There were none in the army, excepting the soldiers in front, that knew any thing of his execution, until they beheld him hanging over head in their march. The army moved on and left him hanging, a warning to all that beheld him. It is likely, however, that after the army passed that fatal spot, some of the soldiers were secretly detached to bury him. If this was the case, it never came to the ears of the soldiers composing the army that was engaged in that expedition. At another time we were upon a march to or from some place, the name of which and the object of the expedi tion is now altogether gone from my mind. We had taken a refugee-tory, whom the officers had placed on the march with the provo guard. The night after he was captured, one of our soldiers deserted and was directing his course to the British camp, which was not very far distant. He was pursued immediately by three or four light horsemen, who overtook him near to the British lines. He having his musket with him, took deliberate aim at one of the light horsemen, and shot him dead. This was no sooner done, than another of the horsemen fired and killed him. They then cut off his head and brought it to the camp. The next day the soldiers were ordered to build a gallows, and placed the head of the deserter on a sharp pin (stuck into one of the posts) with his face turned inwards. They then hanged the refugee upon the gallows, and after he was dead they took him down and cut his head off. They then placed it on another pin stuck in the other post, turning his face inwards and towards the face of the deserter. The gallows was built in a yard in front of an old tory's house. We left the gallows standing and decorated as above described for the tories to look at and rejoice over.They were prohibited from cutting it down, a job that they would have had few scruples to have done, if they had been sure that no true American's eye would not be upon them. For men that would aid the British, sell their country and country's best friends through cowardice, for love of monarchy and gold, would have had no conscientious scruples to have deterred them from doing any thing. In our march we came to a place (not now recollected) and encamped for a few days. Whilst we laid here, a soldier was tried for some crime he had committed, and was to receive seven hundred lashes or death, and in case he was to survive that tremendous flogging, he was to be drummed out of camp. He was brought out to the whipping post, and we (musicians) Fifers and Drummers were summoned forward, and ordered to strip off our coats. The prisoner was then stripped (his shirt being taken off as well as coat and jacket,) and tied up to the post by the Fife and Drum Majors. This done, the Drum Major (with his rattan in his hand) handed the cat-o'-nine-tails to one of the musicians, whose duty it is, with the rest of the musicians to inflict this kind of punishment at all times. The Drum Major then said to the first (into whose hands he had put the cat-o'-ninetails, "give him five lashes, well laid on." This done, the Major cried stop, and then bade him hand the Cato'-nine-tails to another, in order that he should do likewise, and thus the "Cat" passed from one to another, and from each, whilst he held it, to the back of the sufferer until he received the seven hundred lashes, the number of lashes contained in the sentence of the Court Martial. Here it is to be observed, that any musician striking with a light hand at any time for the purpose of favoring the prisoner, such musician would have received on his own back the rattan in the hand of the Drum Major, and that well laid on too. The Drum Major has no merciful manner in the execution of his duty, but gives it hard as he would be able to draw it upon the back of the delinquent musician. When this prisoner was thus whipped, he was found to be still living. He was then untied and laid down with his face to the ground, and then pack salt strewed over his back. They then took a small paddle-board and "patted" it down, beating it thus into the gashes, and then laid him by for awhile until he recovered a little. The salt was put upon it thus, after all, in mercy to him (to cleanse his wounds and enable them to heal) cruel as it would seem. When he recovered sufficiently to enable him to march, we then had to escort him in playing and beating the Rogues' March after him. We escorted him thus to some distance from the camp. It was admitted by all, that the poor fellow had his discharge upon his back. He never returned again, or at least I never saw him more. In an instance like this, before that fifty lashes would be given, the back of the sufferer would be all cut and like a jelly, and the cat-o'-nine-tails would get so bloody and heavy that another cat-o'-nine-tails would be substituted for it, and so on until the flogging would be ended. It would have been far better for the sentenced soldier to have been whipped with one only, for using other ones in the way I have described, caused fearful looking lacerations and dreadful sufferings. The cords being dry and small when first used, they penetrated deeper into the gashes made in the flesh than the cords would have done, had one only been used. About this time we were ordered back into quarters at West Point. CHAPTER XII. Sometime after we returned to West Point, a circumstance transpired which nearly cost me my life. There was a vessel laden with apples lying near the New England shore. Myself and comrades were very anxious to become possessed of some of them. As none of the musicians but myself could swim to any great distance, I volunteered to swim across the river for that purpose. I placed a knapsack upon my back and put the money into the lining of my cap, and plunged into the river and swam across to the vessel. When I arrived on the deck of the vessel, all hands were surprised when I asked them for apples. Some of them cried out "where the d have you come from." I told them I had come from West Point encampment for the purpose of buying apples, stating at the same time that I had brought money along to pay for them, as also a knapsack to carry them over in. The master of the vessel then filled my knapsack with apples, for which I paid him his price. He and the hands aboard fastened my knapsack upon my back, and assisted me in descending the wooden steps to the water's edge. To the steps there were ropes attached on each side to hold on by. |