The Captain's Men by Martin Archer

Author:Martin Archer [Archer, Martin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-09-12T16:00:00+00:00

Messengers have been coming in constantly from Raymond with news of the barons’ army. The latest word is that the barons are assembling their army in a camp along both sides of the cart path leading up to Okehampton Castle. As we expected, they have been joined by the Earl of Devon and his men.

They should have moved faster. All nineteen of our fully equipped foot companies of archers, over fifteen hundred archers with longbows, short swords, shields, and bladed pikes, and another four or five hundred local men and sailors to bring them water and keep them supplied with arrows, were now either already in place at the River Tamar ford or would be there in the next few hours.

William was pleased with our strength and said as much as he and Peter and I stood wolfing down bread and cheese as we watched another foot company of archers and their carriers march down towards its position in the line we were forming on the Cornwall side of the Tamar ford. They were marching on the side of the cart path because the cart path coming up from the ford was packed with the wains and people and livestock we were sending west to escape the fighting that was sure to come.

At the moment, the ford was filled with people and a flock of sheep splashing across in the muddy water. They were on their way to safety deep in Cornwall. Our great horse herd had come through yesterday afternoon, but there was still a mass of people and sheep gathered on the other side waiting to cross. One of our companies was on the Devon side of the river helping to organize them, and another was at the ford helping to bring them across, carrying the babies and the lambs and such.

“If Raymond’s outriders have counted proper, the barons have only got about six thousand men including Devon’s, and we have got over sixteen hundred archers with longbows and almost nine hundred of them are also carrying bladed pikes. We will destroy the bastards,” William growled.

“I know; I know,” I replied. “Our line looks strong. But I still want to put another company in reserve behind it. No sense taking chances, eh? Besides, if we place them there, they will be easier to move if the barons try to slip a force across the river somewhere else to get behind us.”

What I was concerned about was something that has never yet happened such that William and Peter seem to have stopped worrying about it—a force of enemy knights and their soldiers either breaks through our line or somehow gets around behind us because we do not have enough men in reserve who can be sent to confront them.

It could happen; God forbid, it could happen; our men running because someone breaks into our line or attacks us from behind. We may be as nicely equipped and trained as William thinks, indeed we are; but you never know what surprises an enemy might throw at you, or how your men will react when he does.

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