Victory at Yorktown: A Novel by Newt Gingrich & William R. Forstchen

Author:Newt Gingrich & William R. Forstchen [Gingrich, Newt & Forstchen, William R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: War, Historical
ISBN: 9781427221841
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: 2012-11-13T00:00:00+00:00

Ten

PHILADELPHIA

EARLY EVENING

AUGUST 29, 1781

For Elizabeth Risher it had been a most splendid afternoon. She had taken the red, white, and blue cotton and silk from several dresses, now long out of style, to create a new dress for the occasion, complete to a sash of blue with white stars. There was a time in her life when such was not necessary; when a mere charming smile to her indulgent father would have sent her packing for the latest style to the seamstress down on Market Street, the same one who allegedly had made the first national colors, but that was before the war.

Half trusted by some, despised by many, and not fully trusted by anyone, it had been a lonely life. She had sealed off most of their once-vibrant home, except for her bedroom, the parlor, and the kitchen where she made her own meals. It was existence on the edge, not a life. Like so many, she never would have believed this war would have dragged on for six long years.

Though the patriotic parade of this afternoon had created a new surge of morale—it was the first time since the summer of ’78 that thousands of troops of the Revolution had paraded through the city—she was savvy enough to know that they were all bound on a desperate bid to end this conflict before winter. The city had been teeming with rumors ever since the spring that the Czarina of Russia had offered mediation, that both the French and English governments had expressed at least some interest in a settlement, and that more than a few in Congress were eager to see an end to the war, even if it meant only limited freedom, as long as there were pardons for all leaders involved. If this campaign should end in disastrous failure, the rumormongers were always ready to speculate. There were stories already that all was dependent on some sort of movement by a French fleet, and with more than three hundred miles yet to go on a march into Virginia, that would be the end of it. By the following spring it would be over with, a negotiated peace—a negotiated defeat.

This afternoon there had been a spirit of celebration, and tonight the city would be tumultuous, filled with soldiers who had managed to slip past pickets and provost guards. There was to be a grand illumination (and even fireworks) in front of the city hall.

Walking down the alleyway to her back door, Elizabeth fumbled through her clutch bag for the entry key. The early evening was boiling hot and once inside she looked forward to just locking the door behind her, opening the upper floor windows to try to create some draft, and perhaps even taking a sponge bath to cool off. She felt the cool barrel of the small pistol she kept in her clutch bag, always ready. That, of course, would never be beyond grasp at any time, even when asleep. She was a young and

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