The Patriot Spy by S. W. O'Connell
Author:S. W. O'Connell [O'Connell, S. W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: military history, American Revolution, espionage, intelligence, spying, historical novel, intrigue
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Published: 2012-06-15T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter 16
At last, the word came. Chester finally received orders to move back from the defense works and assemble at the Brooklyn ferry for the return to New York. Tallmadge mounted his horse and made his way back with the last company. The fog still hung low, but it was obvious that the morning sun was rising and visibility would soon return to normal. Tallmadge was torn about leaving. He had joined the army in part to avenge the death of a dear friend at British hands and wanted very much to meet them in combat. However, his analytic mind gave him insight that few young officers had: by retiring to New York now, the army avoided certain destruction.
Chester was with the lead company. The colonel sensed that his men had mixed feelings as they departed. With the rain and wind gone, many of them hoped the British would throw themselves on the American lines and be broken as they had in Boston the previous year. Unfortunately, Brooklyn would prove no repeat of Breedâs Hill. The Connecticut men believed strongly in the cause and in the ideals of the Declaration of Independence recently signed by Congress. They hoped the war would end with a victorious final battle before the heights of Brooklyn. These hopes now evaporated as slowly but as steadily as the morning mist through which they trudged. And as they slogged through the endless mud puddles, it slowly dawned on them that this was not the end but the beginning of many such painful, tedious, and ignominious movements. Fatigue, hunger, boredom, and terror would provide a painful brew that many of them would drink over the next few years.
The regiment snaked its way along the Flatbush Road through the war-torn village of Brooklyn. In the morning stillness, the town was particularly quiet, almost eerie. Its stolid burghers, who had toiled through the night in rain and wind to help the rebels, had now repaired to their homes to hide the valuables from the anticipated depredations of a British army in triumph. The Old Dutch church, dark and empty that morning; stood like a silent monument in defiance of the enemy. Many a passing soldier wondered if the building would be standing much longer.
* * *
Cornelius Foch was in his cabin on board his flagship, Red Hen. He had just hidden the note of payment he received from Washingtonâs Quartermaster Generalâscript payment for a job well done. It was worthless now. However, if fortune turned favorable for the rebels, the note might have value. It might enable him to bargain his way out of a bad situation, so he carefully hid it inside an old mahogany clock that sat on his captainâs chest.
Foch was nothing if not a deal maker. He began his lucrative career as a Shipâs Master by chicanery. Ten years earlier, he had been an able bodied seaman on a British merchant ship that plied its trade between the English coastal ports and Rotterdam. It was good work and it enabled him to learn English fluently.
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