To Try Men's Souls by Newt Gingrich & William R. Forstchen
Author:Newt Gingrich & William R. Forstchen [Gingrich, Newt & Forstchen, William R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical, Z-Kindle
ISBN: 9780312591069
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2009-10-20T00:00:00+00:00
He continued to ride down the line of men who were waiting for the command to begin the march on Trenton, met eyes with one of those waiting. Their gazes held for only a second.
“Victory or death, general,” the soldier announced.
He could not reply. He nodded and rode on, returning the salute of a young Hamilton with his guns.
He knew that these men, freezing to death, upon this night, would march straight into hell if he asked them now. Their months of suffering, of humiliating defeat after defeat, had hardened them, and now, finally, they would stand, look death in the face, and strike back.
They were ready.
Now for just a little bit of luck with the Hessians, he thought. Let us pray the storm has lulled them into warmth and off their guard. Then we will have caught the fox. The hunt is on, and for the first time in months I am the hunter and my opponents are the prey. He felt warmed inside at the thought, even as his body felt chilled.
Twin bonfires marked the head of the column. There the men of his headquarters unit, who had been gathered around the fire by the ferry landing, were scrambling to fall into ranks.
A delegation awaited him, a local militia man and one of his Virginia riflemen, the militia man holding a sputtering torch.
“Sir, we’ve been sent back to report,” the rifleman announced.
“Go on.”
“Sir, the road is secured clear to the ford at Jacob’s Creek.”
“We know who the Tories are that live along the road,” the militia man interjected, “and we have a guard posted in each of their houses.”
“Well done.”
“But, sir,” the rifleman announced, “the road, sir, it is nothing but a sheet of ice and that creek . . . what’s its name . . .”
“Jacob’s Creek,” the Jerseyman interjected.
“It’s a bad un, sir. Steep approach, flooding up.”
“This army moves as planned.”
“Just thought you should know, sir.”
He did not reply.
Looking over his shoulder he could see for only a few dozen yards. A swirling cloud of snow was whipping out of the northeast, trees shaking, ice cracking and tinkling down.
He caught the gaze of the colonel of his lead brigade, Stephens’s Virginia Brigade, though on this night it was led by the second in command, Colonel Charles Scott. He had chosen this unit deliberately. They were tough, seasoned, and——an important factor in his mind——Virginians. Though he had struggled to weave the fabric of this army from thirteen different states, at a moment like this he felt most comfortable that fellow Virginians were leading the way.
“You may begin the advance,” he said to Scott, who stood expectant, trembling, as if with excitement, though obviously from the frightful cold.
Scott drew his sword and raised it in salute.
“Virginia! Virginia!” His voice was high-pitched, nearly lost in the thunder of the storm. “Forward march!”
The column lurched forward.
As it did so he drew out his pocket watch again, flicking open the lid. It was twenty minutes past three.
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