 CHAPTER 20 THE FISHING BOAT was disposed of for a few pounds, and Harold and Jake were again fitted out in the semi-uniform worn by the scouts. On December 13, the very day after their arrival, a considerable detachment of troops under General Leslie arrived, and on the 19th March 1500 Strong to join Lord Cornwallis. Harold and his mates accompanied them, and the United Army proceeded north-west between the Roanoke and Cataba rivers. Colonel Tarleton was detached with a force of one thousand men, consisting of light and German legion infantry, a portion of the Seventh Regiment, and of the First Battalion of the Seventy First, 350 cavalry, and two field pieces. His orders were to pursue and destroy a force of some eight hundred of the enemy under General Morgan. The latter, finding himself pressed, drew up his troops for action near a place called the Cowpens, then ensued the one action in the whole war in which the English, being superior in numbers, suffered a severe defeat. Tarleton, confident of victory, led his troops to the attack without making any proper preparations for it. The infantry advanced bravely, and although the American infantry held the ground for a time with great obstinacy, they drove them back and the victory appeared to be theirs. Tarleton now sent orders to his cavalry to pursue, and his infantry were too exhausted, having marched at a rapid pace all night to do so. The order was not obeyed, and Major Washington, who commanded the American cavalry, advanced to cover his infantry. These rallied behind their shelter, and fell upon the disordered British infantry. Thus suddenly attacked when they believed that victory was in their hands, the English gave way and were driven back. A panic seized them, and a general rout ensued. Almost the whole of them were either killed or taken prisoners. Tarleton in vain endeavored to induce his German legion cavalry to charge. They stood aloof, and at last fled in a body through the woods. Their commander and fourteen officers remained with Tarleton, and with those and forty men of the seventeenth Regiment of Dragoons, he charged the whole body of the American cavalry and drove them back upon the infantry. No partial advantage, however brilliant, could retrieve the misfortune of the day. All was already lost, and Tarleton retreated with his gallant little band to the main army under Lord Cornwallis, twenty-five miles from the scene of action. The British infantry were all killed, wounded, or taken prisoners, with the exception of a small detachment which had been left in the rear, and who fell back hastily as soon as the news of the results of the action reached them. The legion cavalry returned to camp without the loss of a man. The defeated cowpens had a serious influence on the campaign. It deprived Lord Cornwallis of the greater portion of his light infantry, who were of the greatest utility in a campaign in such a country, while the news of the action had an immense influence in raising the spirits of the colonists. Hitherto they had uniformly met with ill success when they opposed the British with forces even approaching an equality of strength. In spite of their superior arms and superior shooting, they were unable to stand the charge of the British infantry, who had come almost to despise them as foes in the field. The unexpected success urged them to fresh exertions, and brought to their side vast numbers of waverers. General Morgan, who was joined by General Green, attempted to prevent Cornwallis from passing the Fords of the Catawba. It was not till February 1 that the river had fallen sufficiently to render a passage possible. Colonel Webster was sent with his division to one of the principal Fords, with orders to open a cannonade there and make a faint of crossing, while the general himself moved toward a smaller and less known Ford. General Davidson, with 300 Americans, was watching this point, but the brigade of guards were ordered to commence the passage and were led by their light infantry companies under Colonel Hall. The river was 500 yards across, and the stream so strong that the men marching in Fords had to support one another to enable them to withstand its force. The Ford took a sharp turn in the middle of the river. The night being dark, the guards were not perceived until they had reached this point, when the enemy immediately opened fire upon them. The guide at once fled, without his absence being noticed until it was too late to stop him. Colonel Hall, not knowing of the bend in the Ford, let his men straightforward toward the opposite bank, and although their difficulties were much increased by the greater depth of water through which they had to pass, the mistake was really the means of saving them from much loss. As the Americans were assembled to meet them at the head of the Ford, and would have inflicted a heavy loss upon them as they struggled in the stream, they did not perceive the change in the direction of the columns march until too late, and the guards on landing met them as they came on and quickly routed and dispersed them. The British lost four killed among whom was Colonel Hall, and thirty-six wounded. The rest of the division then crossed. Colonel Tarleton, with his cavalry, was sent against five hundred of the Americans who had fallen back from the various Fords, and, burning with the desire to retrieve the defeat of the cowpens, the Legion horse charged the enemy with such fury that they were completely routed, fifty of them being killed. Morgan and Green withdrew their army through the Roanoke River, hotly pursued by the English. For a few days the British army remained at Hillsborough, but no supplies of food sufficient for its maintenance could be found there, so it again fell back. General Green, being reinforced by a considerable force, now determined to fight, and accordingly advanced and took up a position near Guilford Courthouse. Battle of Guilford fought on the fifteenth of March, seventeen eighty-one. The American force consisted of four thousand two hundred forty-three infantry, and some three thousand irregulars, for the most part backwardsmen from the frontier, while the British force amounted to one thousand four hundred forty-five exclusive of their cavalry, who, however, took little part in the fight. About four miles from Guilford the advanced guards of the army met, and a sharp fight ensued. The Americans, under Colonel Lee, maintaining their ground staunchly until the twenty-third regiment came up to the assistance of Tarleton, who commanded the advance. The main American force was posted on an exceedingly strong position. Their first line was on commanding ground with open fields in front. On their flanks were woods, and a strong fence ran along in front of their line. The second line was posted in a wood three hundred yards in rear of the first, while four hundred yards behind were three brigades drawn up in the open ground around Guilford Courthouse. Colonel Washington, with two regiments of dragoons and one of riflemen, formed a reserve for the right flank. Colonel Lee, with his command, was in reserve on the left. As soon as the head of the British column appeared in sight, two guns upon the road opened fire upon them, and were answered by the English artillery. While the cannonade continued, the British formed in order of attack. The seventy-first, with a provincial regiment, supported by the first battalion of the guards, formed the right. The twenty-third and thirty-third, led by Colonel Webster, with the Grenadiers and Second Battalion of Guards, formed the left. The light infantry of the guards and the cavalry were in reserve. When the order was given to advance, the line moved forward in perfect steadiness, and at one hundred fifty yards the enemy opened fire. The English did not fire a shot till within eighty yards, when they poured in a volley and charged with the bayonet. The first line of the enemy at once fell back upon the second. Here a stout resistance was made. Posted in the woods and sheltering themselves behind trees, they kept up for some time a galling fire which did considerable execution. General Leslie brought up the right wing of the First Battalion of Guards into the front line, and Colonel Webster called up the Second Battalion. The enemy's second line now fell back on their third, which was composed of their best troops, and the struggle was a very obstinate one. The Americans, from their vastly superior numbers, occupied so long a line of ground that the English commanders, in order to face them, were obliged to leave large gaps between the different regiments. Thus it happened that Webster, who with the thirty-third regiment, the Light Infantry and the Second Battalion of Guards turned toward the left, found himself separated from the rest of the troops by the enemy who pushed in between him and the twenty-third. These again were separated from the guards. The ground was very hilly, the wood exceedingly thick, and the English line became broken into regiments separated from each other, each fighting on its own account and ignorant of what was going on in other parts of the field. The Second Battalion of Guards was the first that broke through the wood into the open grounds of Guilford Courthouse. They immediately attacked a considerable force drawn up there, routed them, and took their two cannon with them. But pursuing them with too much ardor and impetuosity toward the woods near, were thrown into confusion by a heavy fire from another body of troops placed there, and being instantly charged by Washington's dragoons were driven back with a great slaughter and the cannon were retaken. At this moment the British guns, advancing along the road through the wood, issued into the open and checked the pursuit of the Americans by a well-directed fire. The seventy-first and the twenty-third now came through the wood. The Second Battalion of Guards rallied and again advanced, and the enemy were quickly repulsed and put to flight. The two guns were recaptured with two others. Colonel Webster, with the thirty-third, returned across the ravine through which he had driven the enemy opposed to him, and rejoined the rest of the force. The Americans drew off in good order. The twenty-third and twenty-first pursued with the cavalry for a short distance and were then recalled. The fight was now over on the center and left, but on the right heavy firing was still going on. Here General Leslie, with the First Battalion of Guards and the Hessian Regiment, had been greatly impeded by the excessive thickness of the woods which rendered it impossible to charge with the bayonet. As they struggled through the thicket the enemy swarmed around them so they were at times engaged in front, flanks, and rear. The enemy were upon an exceedingly steep rise, and lying along the top of this they poured such a heavy fire into the guards that these suffered exceedingly. Nevertheless they struggled up to the top and drove the front line back, but found another far more numerous drawn up behind. As the guards struggled up to the crest they were received by a tremendous fire on their front and flanks, and suffered so heavily that they fell into confusion. The Hessian Regiment which had suffered but slightly advanced in compact order to the left of the guards, and wheeling to the right took the enemy in the flank with a very heavy fire. Under cover of this the guards reformed and moved forward to join the Hessians and complete the repulse of the enemy opposed to them. They were again attacked both in the flank and in the rear, but at last they completely dispersed the troops surrounding them and the battle came to an end. This battle was one of the most obstinate and well contested throughout the war, and the greatest credit is due to the British who drove the enemy three times their own number from the ground chosen by them and admirably adapted to their mode of warfare. The loss as might have been expected was heavy, and to ninety-three killed and four hundred thirteen wounded, nearly a third of the force engaged. Between two and three hundred of the enemies dead were found in the field of battle, and a great portion of their army was disbanded. The sufferings of the wounded on the following night were great. A tremendous rain fell and the battle had extended over so large an area that it was impossible to find and collect them. The troops had had no food during the day and had marched several miles before they came into action. Nearly fifty of the wounded died during the night. Decisive as the victory was, its consequences were slight. Lord Cornwallis was crippled by his heavy loss following that which the force had suffered at the cow pens. The two battles had diminished the strength of his little force by fully half. Provisions were difficult to obtain and the inhabitants, some of whom had suffered greatly upon previous occasions for their loyal opinions, seeing the weakness of the force and the improbability of its being enabled to maintain itself were afraid to lend assistance or to show their sympathy as they would be exposed on its retreat to the most cruel persecutions by the enemy. Three days after the battle Lord Cornwallis retired, leaving seventy of the wounded who were unable to move under the protection of a flag of truce. From Guilford Courthouse he moved his troops to Wilmington in North Carolina, a seaport where he hoped to obtain provisions and stores, especially clothing and shoes. General Green left unmolested after his defeat reassembled his army and receiving reinforcements marched at full speed to attack Lord Rodden at Camden thinking that he would, with his greatly superior force, be able to destroy him in his isolated situation. The English commander fortified his position and the American general drew back and encamped at Hobkirk Hill two miles distant to await the coming of his heavy baggage and cannon together with some reinforcements. Lord Rodden determined to take the initiative and marching out with his whole force of 900 men advanced to the attack. The hill was covered at its foot by a deep swamp but the English marched round this and stormed the position. The Americans made an obstinate resistance but the English climbed to the hill with such impetuosity in spite of the musketry and grapeshot of the enemy that they were forced to give way. Several times they returned to the attack but were finally driven off in confusion. 100 prisoners were taken and Lord Rodden estimated that 400 of the enemy were killed and wounded. The American estimate was considerably lower and as the Americans fought with all the advantage of position while the English were exposed during their ascent to a terrible fire which they were unable to return effectively it is probable that the American loss including the wounded was inferior to that of the English whose casualties amounted to 258. Harold and his companions did not take part either in the battle of Guilford Courthouse or in that of Hobb-Curr-Kill having been attached to the fort known as 96 because a milestone with these figures upon it stood in the village. The force here was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Kruger who had with him 150 men of a provincial corps known as the Lances, 200 of the second battalion of the New Jersey volunteers and 200 local loyalists. The post was far advanced but so long as Lord Rodden remained at Camden its position was not considered to be dangerous. The English general however after winning the battle of Hobb-Curr-Kill received news of the retirement of Lord Cornwallis toward Wilmington and seeing that he would thereby be exposed to the whole of the American forces in South Carolina and would infallibly be cut off from Charleston he determined to retire upon that port. Before calling back he sent several messengers to Colonel Kruger acquainting him of his intention but so well were the roads guarded by the enemy that none of the messengers reached 96. Colonel Kruger being uneasy at the length of time which had elapsed since he had a mission sent Harold and the two scouts out with instructions to make their way toward the enemy's lines and if possible to bring in a prisoner this they had not much difficulty in doing finding out the position of two parties of the Americans they placed themselves on the road between them no long time elapsed before an American officer came along a shot from Peter's rifle killed his horse and before the officer to recover his feet he was seized by the scouts they remained hidden in the wood during the day and at night returned with their prisoner to 96 36 miles distant avoiding all villages where resistance could be offered by hostile inhabitants from the prisoner Colonel Kruger learned that Lord Rodden had retreated from Camden and that he was therefore entirely isolated the position was desperate but he determined to defend the post to the last confident that Lord Rodden would as soon as possible undertake an expedition for his release the whole garrison was at once set to work stockades were erected earthworks thrown up a redoubt formed of casks filled with earth constructed and the whole strengthened by ditches and abatee block houses were erected in the village to enable troops to fire over the stockades and covered communications made between various works the right of the village was defended by a regular work called the star to the left was a work commanding a rivulet from which the place drew its supply of water Colonel Kruger offered the volunteers who were amounted core permission to return to Charleston but they refused to accept the offer and turning their horses into the woods determined to share the fate of the garrison in making this offer the Colonel was influenced partly by motives of policy as the stock of provisions was exceedingly scanty and he feared that they would not last if the seas should be a long one besides this he feared that as had already too often happened should the place fall even the solemn engagement of the terms of the surrender would not be sufficient to protect the loyalists against the vengeance of their countrymen on May 21 General Green with his army appeared inside of the place and encamped in a wood within cannon shot of the village he lost no time and in the course of the night threw up two works within 70 paces of the fortifications the English commander did not suffer so rash and disdainful a step to pass the scouts who were outside the works brought in news of what was being done and also that the working parties were protected by a strong force the three guns which constituted the entire artillery of the defenders were moved noiselessly to the salient angle of the star opposite the works and at 11 o'clock in the morning these suddenly opened fire aided by musketry from the parapets the covering force precipitately retreated and 30 men salied out from the fort carried the entrenchments and bayoneted their defenders other troops followed the works were destroyed and the entrenching tools carried into the fort general green advancing with his whole army arrived only in time to see the last of the salient party re-enter the village I call that a write down good beginning Peter Lampton said in great exaltation there's nothing like hitting a hard blow at the beginning of a fight it raises your spirits and makes other chap mighty cautious you'll see next time they'll begin their works at a much more respectful distance Peter was right the blow checked the impetuosity of the American general and on the night of the 23rd he opened his trenches at a distance of 400 yards having so large a force he was able to push forward with great rapidity although the garrison made several gallant sorties to interfere with the work on June 3rd the second parallel was completed a formal summons was sent to the British commander to surrender this document was couched in the most insolent language and contained the most unsoldier like threats of the consequences which would be follow the garrison and its commander if he offered further resistance Colonel Kruger sent back a verbal answer that he was not frightened by general greens menaces and that he should defend the post until the last the American batteries now opened with a heavy crossfire which enfilotted several of the works they also pushed forward a sap against the star fort and erected a battery composed of gabions 36 yards only from the abadi 40 feet high so as to overlook the works of the garrison the riflemen posted on its top did considerable execution and prevented the British guns being worked during the day the garrison tried to burn the battery by firing heated shot into it but from want of proper furnaces they were unable to heat the shot sufficiently and the attempt failed they then protected their parapets as well as they could by sandbags with loopholes through which the defenders did considerable execution with their rifles Harold and his two comrades whose skill with their weapons was notorious had their post behind some sandbags immediately facing the battery and were able completely to silence the fire of its riflemen as it was certain death to show ahead above its parapet the enemy attempted to set fire to the houses of the village by shooting blazing arrows into them a heavy musketry and artillery fire being kept up to prevent the defenders from quenching the flames these succeeded however in preventing any serious conflagration but Colonel Kruger ordered at once that the whole of the houses should be unroofed thus the garrison were for the rest of the siege without protection from the rain and night air but all risk of a fire which might have caused the consumption of their stores was avoided while the siege had been going on the tone of Augusta had fallen and Lieutenant Colonel Lee marching thence to reinforce General Green brought with him the British prisoners taken there with a scandalous want of honorable feeling he marched these prisoners along in full sight of the garrison with all the parade of martial music and proceeded by a British standard reversed if the intention was to discourage the garrison it failed entirely in its effect fired with indignation at so shameful a sight they determined to encounter every danger and endure every hardship rather than fall into the hands of an enemy capable of disgracing their success by so wanting an insult to their prisoners the Americans strengthened by the junction of the troops who had reduced Augusta began to make approaches against the stockaded fort on the left of the village which kept open the communication of the garrison with their water supply the operations on this side were entrusted to Colonel Lee while General Green continued to direct those against the star on the night of June 9 a sortie was made by two strong parties of the defenders that to the right entered the enemy's trenches and penetrated to a battery of four guns which nothing but the want of spikes and hammers prevented them from destroying here they discovered the mouth of a mine intended to be carried under one of the defenses of the star the division on the left fell in with the covering party of the Americans killed a number of them and made their commanding officer a prisoner on the 12th Colonel Lee determined to attempt a storm of the stockade on the left and sent forward a sergeant and six men with lighted combustibles to set fire to the apathy the whole of them were killed before effecting their purpose a number of additional cannon now arrived from Augusta and so heavy and incessant a fire was opened upon the stockade from three batteries that on the 17th it was no longer tenable and the garrison evacuated it in the night the suffering of the garrison for want of water now became extreme with great labor a well had been dug in the fort but no water was found and none could be procured except from the rivulet within pistol shot of the enemy in the day nothing could be done but at night Negroes whose bodies in the darkness were not easily distinguished from the tree stumps which surrounded them went out and at great risk brought in a scanty supply the position of the garrison became desperate Colonel Kruger however was not discouraged and did his best to sustain the spirits of his troops by assurances that Lord Rodin was certain to attempt to relieve the place as soon as he possibly could do so at length one day to the delight of the garrison an American royalist rode right through the pickets under the fire of the enemy and delivered a verbal message from Lord Rodin to the effect that he had passed Orangeburg and was on his march to raise the siege Lord Rodin had been forced to remain at Charleston until the arrival of three fresh regiments from Ireland enabled him to leave that place in safety and march to the relief of 96 his force amounted to 1800 infantry and 150 cavalry General Green had also received news of Lord Rodin's movements and finding from his progress that it would be impossible to reduce the fort by regular approaches before his arrival he determined to hazard an assault the American works had been pushed up close to the forts and the third parallel had been completed and a mine and two trenches extended within a few feet of the ditch on the morning of June 18 a heavy cannonade was begun from all the American batteries the whole of the batteries and trenches were lined with riflemen whose fire prevented the British from showing their heads above the parapets at noon two parties of the enemy advanced under cover of their trenches and made a lodgement in the ditch these were followed by other parties with hooks to drag down the sandbags and tools to overthrow the parapet they were exposed to the fire of the blockhouses in the village and Major Green the English officer who commanded the star fort had his detachment in readiness behind the parapet to receive the enemy when they attempted to storm as the main body of the Americans did not advance beyond the third parallel and contented themselves with supporting the parties in the ditch with their fire the commander of the fort resolved to inflict a heavy blow two parties each 30 strong under the command of captains Campbell and French issued from the Sally port in the rear entered the ditch and taking opposite directions charged the Americans who had made the lodgement with such impetuosity that they drove everything before them until they met the bayonet alone was used and the carnage was great two-thirds of those who entered the trenches were either killed or wounded General Green finding it useless any longer to continue the attempt called off his troops and on the following day raised the siege and marched away with all speed having lost at least 300 men in the siege of the garrison 27 were killed and 58 wounded on the 21st Lord Rodin arrived at 96 and finding that it would be hopeless for him to attempt to overtake the retreating enemy who were marching with great speed he drew off the garrison of 96 and fell back toward the coast a short time afterward a sharp fight ensued between of course under Colonel Stewart and the Army of General Green the English were taken by surprise and were at first driven back but they recovered from their confusion and renewed the fight with great spirit and after a desperate conflict the Americans were repulsed two cannon and 60 prisoners were taken among the latter Colonel Washington who commanded the reserve the loss on both sides was about equal as 250 of the British troops were taken prisoners at the first outset the Americans killed considerably exceeded our own both parties claimed the victory the Americans because they had forced the British to retreat the British because they had ultimately driven the Americans from the field and obliged them to retire to a strong position seven miles in the rear this was the last action of the war in South Carolina End of Chapter 20 Chapter 21 of True to the Old Flag This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Abigail Bartels True to the Old Flag by G. A. Henty Chapter 21 The End of the Struggle Being unable to obtain any supplies at Wilmington Lord Cornwallis determined to march on into Virginia and to affect a junction with the British force under General Arnold operating there Arnold advanced to Pittsburgh and Cornwallis affected a junction with him on May 20 The Marquis de la Fiat who commanded the colonial forces here fell back Just at this time the Count de Grasse with a large French fleet arrived off the coast and after some consultation with General Washington determined that the French fleet and the whole American army should operate together to crush the forces under Lord Cornwallis The English were hoodwinked by reports that the French fleet was intended to operate against New York and it was not until they learned that the Count de Grasse had arrived with 28 ships of the line at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay that the true object of the expedition was seen A portion of the English fleet encountered them but after irregular actions lasting over five days the English drew off and retired to New York The Commander-in-Chief then attempted to affect diversion in order to draw off some of the enemy who were surrounding Cornwallis The Fort of New London was stormed after some desperate fighting and great quantities of ammunition and stores and 50 pieces of cannon were taken George Washington did not allow his attention to be distracted Matters were in a most critical condition For although to the English the prospect of ultimate success appeared slight indeed the Americans were in a desperate condition Their immense and long continued efforts had been unattended with any material success It was true that the British troops held no more ground now than they did at the end of the first year of the war but no efforts of the colonists had succeeded in resting that ground from them The people were exhausted and utterly disheartened Business of all sorts was at a standstill Money had ceased to circulate and the credit of Congress stood so low that its bonds had ceased to have any value whatever The soldiers were unpaid, ill-fed, and mutinous If on the English side it seemed that the task of conquering was beyond them the Americans were ready to abandon the defense from sheer exhaustion It was then of paramount necessity to General Washington that a great and striking success should be obtained to animate the spirits of the people Cornwallis, seeing the formidable combination which the French and Americans were making to crush him sent message after message to New York to ask for aid from the commander in chief and received assurances from him that he would at once sail with 4,000 troops to join him Accordingly, in obedience to his orders, Lord Cornwallis fortified himself at Yorktown On September 28th, the combined army of French and Americans consisting of 7,000 of the former and 12,000 of the latter appeared before Yorktown and the post at Gloucester Lord Cornwallis had 5,960 men but so great had been the effects of the deadly climate in the autumn months that only 4,017 men were reported as fit for duty The enemy at once invested the town and opened their trenches against it From their fleet they had drawn an abundance of heavy artillery and on October 9th their batteries opened a tremendous fire upon the works Each day they pushed their trenches closer and the British force was too weak in comparison with the number of its assailants to venture upon sorties The fire from the works was completely overpowered by that of the enemy and the ammunition was nearly exhausted Day after day passed and still the promised reinforcements did not arrive Lord Cornwallis was told positively that the fleet would set sail on October 8th but it came not, nor did it leave port until the 19th the day on which Lord Cornwallis surrendered On the 16th finding that he must either surrender or break through he determined to cross the river and fall on the French rear with his whole force and then turn northward and force his way through Maryland, Pennsylvania and the jerseys In the night the light infantry, the greater part of the guards and part of the 23rd were embarked in boats and crossed to the Gloucester side of the river before midnight At this critical moment a violent storm arose which prevented the boats returning The enemy's fire reopened at daybreak and the engineer and principal officers of the army gave it as their opinion that it was impossible to resist longer Only one 8 inch shell and a hundred small ones remained The defenses had in many places tumbled to runes and no effectual resistance could be opposed to an assault Accordingly Lord Cornwallis sent out a flag of truce in arranged terms of surrender On the 24th the fleet and reinforcements arrived off the mouth of the Chesapeake Had they left New York at the time promised the result of the campaign would have been different The army surrendered as prisoners of war until exchanged The officers with liberty to proceed on parole to Europe and not to serve until exchanged The loyal Americans were embarked on the bonito, sloop of war and sent to New York in safety Lord Cornwallis having obtained permission to send off the ship without her being searched with as many soldiers on board as he should think fit so that they were accounted for in any further exchange It was thus enabled to send off such of the inhabitants and loyal troops as would have suffered from the vengeance of the Americans The surrender of Lord Cornwallis' army virtually ended the war The burden entailed on the people in England by the great struggle against France, Spain, Holland, and America United in arms against her was enormous So long as there appeared any chance of recovering the colony Much people made the sacrifices required of them but the conviction that it was impossible for them to wage a war with half of Europe and at the same time to conquer a continent had been gaining more and more in its strength Even the most sanguine were silenced by the surrender of Yorktown and a cry arose throughout the country that peace should at once be made As usual under the circumstances a change of ministry took place Negotiations for peace were at once commenced and the war terminated in the acknowledgement of the entire independence of the United States of America Harold with his companions had fallen back to Charleston with Lord Rowden after the relief of 96 and remained there until the news arrived that the negotiations were on foot and that peace was now certain Then he took his discharge and sailed at once for England, accompanied by Jake Peter Lampton taking a passage to Canada to carry out his intention of settling at Montreal Harold was now past 22 and his father and mother did not recognize him when, without warning he arrived at their residence in Devonshire It was six years since his mother had seen him when she sailed from Boston before its surrender in 1776 For a year he remained quiet at home and then carried out his plan of returning to the American continent and settling in Canada Accompanied by Jake he sailed for the St. Lawrence and purchased a snug farm on its banks near the spot where it flows from Lake Ontario He greatly improved it, built a comfortable house upon it and two years later returned to England whence he brought back his cousin Nellie as his wife Her little fortune was used in adding to the farm and it became one of the largest and best managed in the country Peter Lampton found Montreal too crowded for him and settled down on the estate Supplying it with fish and game so long as his strength enabled him to go about and enjoying the society of Jack Pearson who had married and established himself on a farm close by As the years went on and the population increased the property became very valuable and Harold before he died was one of the wealthiest and most respected men in the colony So long as his mother lived he and his wife paid occasional visits to England But after her death his family and farm had so increased that it was inconvenient to leave them His father therefore returned with him to Canada and ended his life there Jake lived to a good old age and was Harold's faithful friend and right hand man to the last THE END True to the Old Flag by G. A. Henty