War 1812 (24 page)

“All right, let’s go.”

The place was an old trapper’s cabin. The floor was dirt with holes in the roof at places so you could see the sky. However, it was a lot better than being in the open or even under the trees. Some varmint had built a nest in the corner and there was a wood burning stove. Still, it was too dangerous to build a fire. If nothing else, the smoke might attract attention.

“Stove’s pipes are probably stopped up by some critter anyway,” Moses said.

Gesslin posted a guard on each side of the cabin so that anybody coming from either direction could be seen, and the horses could also be watched over as well. The men ate jerky and drank from their canteens.

Then, pulling their coats about them, they were soon asleep.
Tough, seasoned fighting men,
Jonah thought, as he pulled a blanket under his chin. These are the type of men this nation needs to survive. The politicians talked about freedom but these were the men who kept us free.

Little did Jonah know that back in Washington, Secretary of War Armstrong and President Madison were having a similar conversation at a dinner table set with fine china, crystal wine glasses, with beautiful ladies close by. They’d just finished a meal of lobster and steak and were waiting on dessert.

“Jonah’s presence has kept things moving,” President Madison said.

“Yes, Mr. President, its men like him who will help win this war and maintain our freedom.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

G
eneral Harrison was with
Johnson’s mounted rifles when they arrived. A quick meeting took place with the leaders and a final plan of action was laid out. The attack would be pointed in three directions. One group would attack the storehouses, another group would secure the bridge, and the third group would attack the more heavily guarded barge.

The attack would take place at first light. Gesslin’s scouts would sneak back in before daybreak and ascertain that things were as they had been last evening and that nothing had changed. If anything had changed, they would back out and warn the others if there was time. If not, a single shot would alert the group that something was amiss.

As the first rays of sun crept over the horizon, men mounted their horses. Little puffs of fog came from the animals as they snorted, and their hot breaths collided with the early morning chill. A heavy layer of frost covered the ground. Obvious tracks could be seen where the advanced party had walked through the frost, together at first and then separating into different directions. Jonah and Moses sat astride their horses ready to be off.

The man next to Jonah reached into a sack and pulled a twist of chewing tobacco out. He bit off a chew, and then, as he was putting the twist back into the sack, he addressed Jonah, “Care for a chew, Mr. Lee?”

“Thank you, no. I never chew before breakfast.”

“Don’t blame you,” the man said, chewing on the twist. “Been known to turn a man’s innards.”

“I’ve heard the same thing,” Jonah replied, not sure who he’d heard it from. In truth, he didn’t chew but felt obliged to be diplomatic in his refusal.

“Sun is directly behind us,” Moses volunteered.

That would mean the British would be looking directly into the sun as they approached. Visibility would be less, and the Americans would be on them before the British knew it. It had not been taken into consideration during the planning but was a definite advantage.

“Lord is looking after us,” Moses commented.

`The word was given to move out, and the horses were walked until they reached the top of the rise overlooking the objective. Once there, they charged as a group and then at the last minute broke off into three separate groups. The British were ill-prepared for the attack. Complacency brought on by poor leadership, half rations, and a longing for home could all be cited as reason.

Not more than a dozen or so shots rang out as the mounted rifles swept down on the sleeping settlement. Most of the British soldiers put up very little fight. A few of the less demoralized set fire to a storage building. The soldiers guarding the keelboat and barge put up a stiff resistance, but the sheer number of Americans made it futile to continue. One brave soul did manage to set the barge on fire. With the storage house and barge on fire, the American army posted a guard on the British, and then the rest of the soldiers laid down their weapons and began fighting the fires.

With the Americans occupied, several Indians took the opportunity to attack the soldiers guarding the bridge and tried to destroy it. Soon, the rest of the Americans were alerted to the fight going on at the bridge and reinforced the soldiers there. Jonah and Moses were part of the relief column and soon found themselves under a withering fire. The Indians were putting up a much stiffer fight than the British had. Men were falling as ball after ball found its mark.

“They’re in the trees,” Jonah shouted to Moses.

A musket ball plowed into a bridge support Jonah was hiding behind. Sprayed by splinters from the wood, Jonah could feel the sting as they hit his face. Looking at the hole, it was obvious whoever fired the shot was in a higher position. That could only be the trees. No wonder the soldiers who thought they were under cover were falling.

Jonah watched the trees and was paid off for his vigilance. An Indian moved from where he’d been hiding to get a shot at some unsuspecting soldier. Jonah’s long rifle was primed and loaded. Seeing the Indian move from behind the big branch, Jonah took quick aim and fired. His aim was true. The Indian jerked as the ball struck home, toppling the Indian backwards and out of the tree.

Grinning like a possum, Jonah yelled at his friend, “See that shot?”

“It was middling good,” Moses shouted back then ducked as a ball kicked up dirt not a foot from him.

Jonah’s eyes were starting to sting from the acrid gunpowder. There was little breeze about, and the fog of spent gunpowder was cutting down on visibility, making it difficult to see the enemy.

The battle had been going on over an hour when the Americans started fording the creek above and below the Indians to outflank them. As the soldiers started to close in, an Indian jumped from behind his cover and shouted defiantly at the Americans.

Realizing the brave was the leader of the Indian confederacy, Jonah took aim at the mighty Tecumseh, but before he could pull the trigger the Indian disappeared from sight. Frustrated, Jonah gave a yell and charged over the bridge. He was immediately followed by Moses and the Kentuckians. Coughing and choking from the smoke, they reached the other side of the bridge in time to see the Indian retreating on horseback.

With his chest heaving, one of the soldiers gasped, “This is why I’m not in the infantry.”

Unable to speak, Jonah couldn’t help but agree.

The fires on the barge and storehouse were put out, and General Harrison had parties of men led by an officer inspect and inventory the goods. The storehouse had been full of muskets, ammunition, and the last of the food that had been left for the garrison there. The inventory of the barge was much the same, except to the disappointment of Captain Hampton; the personal effects found on the barge were those of General Proctor’s family.

Hampton did find out that General Proctor had left the previous morning. The area had been left under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Augustus Warburton. However, Lieutenant Colonel Warburton had gone up river to meet with General Proctor. It seemed the alliance with the Indians was falling apart. Tecumseh had sent Colonel Elliot to Lieutenant Colonel Warburton demanding to know where Proctor was going to take a stand and fight.

It seemed Moraviantown was the next likely place. With this information, General Harrison decided to rest his army the remainder of the day here. Tomorrow morning they would march to Moraviantown.
Will we meet the British there?
Jonah wondered.
Is that where Proctor will choose to make his stand?
One question after another filled his mind.

Walking to the creek, he passed three men covered with blankets. Good men who had given their all. The fight at the bridge would be listed as a skirmish if listed at all. However, three had paid the ultimate sacrifice. Six more were wounded. Would they be remembered in the same light as General Harrison or Commodore Perry? Not likely, yet they were just as important. Especially to the loved ones left behind. They had salvaged over one thousand muskets in the storehouse that the British had tried to burn down.

But was all the muskets, the food, and bridge… worth even one life? Shaking his head, Jonah found it hard to justify. A gunshot rang out and Jonah was momentarily startled.

Moses spoke, explaining the gunshots. “The general must feel we’ll meet the Redcoats tomorrow, as he has ordered several cows be slaughtered. The men will rest and eat well tonight.”

“So the ice has melted,” Jonah stated.

“I was thinking more like a last supper,” Moses replied.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

C
ampfires lit up the
landscape as Harrison’s army feasted on beef taken from farmer’s pastures. Jonah, Moses, Clay Gesslin, and James Hampton had gathered around one of the fires on the outer perimeter, having had their fill of beef, fresh bread, and coffee. They lay on bedrolls with their belts loosened and moaning over having eaten too much.

“There’s no way around it,” Hampton was saying. “Proctor is running scared. He knows he has the whole American army after their Redcoat arses for letting the red devils slaughter our men at the River Raisin.”

“I’m not so sure,” Gesslin responded. “Those Indians of his put up a good fight at the bridge today.”

“Huh!” Hampton snorted. “That was Tecumseh himself, not Proctor. You see what a job he did, took us two hours to overpower a handful of savages. It’s a good thing he isn’t calling the shots for the British; otherwise, we might be back in Detroit or Ohio somewhere.”

“Well, Tecumseh has shown more leadership,” Jonah said, speaking for the first time. “Think of all the stragglers and military stores we’ve taken with little or no opposition at all. We faced the most we’ve met today. Aside from the Indians, the British left such a weak guard there was little doubt they’d be taken.”