Sal and Amanda Take Morgan's Victory March to the Battle of Cowpens (10 page)

“I don't think the soldiers brushed their teeth,” Sam whispered.

“I heard that. Yes, they did. They used sticks and pulled the bark down on the end to make brushes,” Grammy answered.

It was cold as the boys and girls hurried to brush and jump in their sleeping bags. The girls and Grammy fell asleep immediately. Sam was almost asleep when Ben whispered, “Sam, are you sure about the Johnson House?”

“Yes,” he answered back sleepily. “Why do you care? You saw there was nothing in there but a bunch of old pictures. Go to sleep.”

“But what if there was?” Ben asked.

“Well, there's not…unless you saw something and didn't tell me,” Sam answered.

Ben stayed silent.

“Well, did you?” Sam sat up and looked at his cousin.

“No, of course not,” Ben lied.

Sam lay back down and was snoring in just a few minutes. Ben rolled over in his sleeping bag. He had only one thought on his mind:
I can't let General Daniel Morgan down. I have to save his letter!

He rolled over again, and there sat his two friends staring at him.

“Well, Ben, what are you going to do now?” Sal asked.

“You better think fast!” Amanda warned.

“What can I do? Do you guys have any ideas?” Ben whispered frantically.

“I'm fresh out!” Sal whispered back.

Amanda whispered, “Ben, I think this is what General Morgan meant when he said, ‘I know you read the letter and will come to my aid.'”

“You must tell Grammy May about the letter,” Sal added.

“I can't tell her! She will be so disappointed in me for taking the letter in the first place and then slipping back there by myself to put it back. Besides, I've never broken a blood brother pinky swear!”

Sam turned over and let out a loud snort.

Sal and Amanda quickly scooted down into the sleeping bag.

“False alarm! Snore boy is still sleeping,” Sal laughed.

Agitated, Ben got back to the issue at hand. “Even if I told Grammy, what could she do? We are out here in the middle of nowhere, and the demolition is scheduled for the morning.” As tears welled up in his eyes, he realized his great-grandpa had been right.
One lie does lead to another
, he thought,
and to a whole lot of trouble!

“Ben, you are just like Daniel Morgan. You are scared and you are against some terrible odds, but are you going to fight or just roll over and play dead?” Sal demanded.

“Yeah, are you a man or a mouse?” Amanda added.

“Besides, if you don't act, Morgan's spirit may haunt you for the rest of your life!” Sal joked.

“Thanks a lot!” Ben whispered to his little friend.

“C'mon, Ben, you can do this!” Amanda spoke. “Just think if you stop the demolition and get the letter, everyone will praise you as a hero!”

“And if I fail, everyone will think I am a big fat liar 'cause no one else has seen the letter except you guys,” Ben answered.

“And who's gonna believe a couple of salamanders, right?” Sal queried.

Ben took a moment to think about what was at stake. He realized he was like Morgan and had to make a decision just like he did. Sal and Amanda were working to “spirit him up,” and now he had to believe in himself. He realized that he needed to act quickly before it was too late. Even if he was scared, he needed to be brave and do his patriotic duty and save the letter.

He jumped up before he had time to stop himself and ran to Grammy's tent. He called into the tent softly, “Grammy, can I talk to you?”

Grammy sat straight up, startled. “What's wrong, Ben? Are you OK?”

She came out of the tent and saw her grandson, who looked like he had seen a ghost.

“Ben, what's wrong? Why don't you sit down and talk to me?” She was feeling very worried. She stirred the coals and threw another log on the fire.

Ben sat down and, through tears, told Grammy the whole story of how he had taken and returned the letter. He told her about the conversation he had had with General Morgan's ghost and how the spirit had told him that it was up to him to let people know the truth.

Grammy listened in silence.

“I'm really sorry I lied to everyone and took the letter. I pinky swore with Sam that we would never tell anyone about going to the house. He doesn't know about the letter, so please don't blame him.”

Grammy sat silently.

“You believe me, don't you, Grammy?” Ben asked.

Grammy just gazed into the fire and didn't answer.

Ben hurried on, “And General Morgan told me that when the time was right I should come to his aid and tell the truth he shared with me that night.”

“And what truth is that, Ben?” Grammy asked.

“That we all are scared about stuff and it takes everyone ‘spiriting each other up' to do the hard stuff,” Ben answered.

Ben wanted to tell Grammy about Sal and Amanda spiriting him up, but he knew he would never see them again if he did. He thought maybe he had said enough for one night.

“It took a lot of courage to tell me this, Ben. I believe you are telling the truth. Sometimes it's not necessary to tell
everything
you know to
everybody
. Let's just keep the part about Daniel Morgan's spirit to ourselves, OK?”

“Oh, thanks, Grammy. And I know I deserve punishment, so I will take it like a man. Just like General Morgan took all those lashes on his back.”

“We won't be giving out lashes, but I will deal with you and your cousin later. Right now I better hustle and call your Uncle Charles in Cheraw to see if he can stop this dreadful demolition. Let's not wake the others.”

Grammy got on her phone and told a very short but compelling version of Ben's story to his uncle.

“Ben, your uncle is going to see what he can do. We should know something tomorrow. You go on back to bed. The die is cast. You did what you had to do. The outcome is in the hands of fate just like at the Battle of Cowpens,” Grammy said dramatically.

Ben crawled back into his tent and his sleeping bag. Sal roused up and said, “Wasn't as bad as you thought, huh?”

Amanda added with a smile, “General Morgan would be pleased.”

  

Chapter 9

The Speech

The next morning, Ben jumped up as soon as Grammy called. Jen and his cousins teased one another about who was going to flake out and not get the Morgan's Flying Army Medal, but Ben was lost in his own thoughts.

The rest of the march passed like a blur for Ben. When they stopped for a patriotic church service that morning, he prayed fervently that his uncle could stop the demolition and find the letter.

The troops were tired but happy as they mustered just outside the gate to the battlefield to make their grand entrance. The female reenactors went inside and joined the crowd on the sidelines.

The men took their positions to come marching in. General Morgan was on his horse, and some of the soldiers were on horses behind him. Most of the men carried their muskets and marched in formation.

Ben and Sam joined several other drummer boys at the front of the line. They began to play their marching cadence. General Morgan rode in, and then the other officers. The troops fell in line behind them.

The drummers signaled for them to stop, and the park cannons fired. Then, the infantrymen raised their rifles and fired three rounds in unison. The spectators were awed by the booms and blasts!

The drum cadence started again, and the parade marched up to the platform where the dignitaries were sitting.

National Park Ranger George Greene rose and said, “It is time to award our Morgan's Flying Army Medals!”

He called the march completers by name. They came to the podium, and the medals were placed around their necks. The cousins beamed with pride as they looked at one another. This would be a day they would never forget.

“Now, it is time for the Daughters of the American Revolution, Daniel Morgan Chapter, to reveal the winner of the speech contest,” Ranger Greene announced. “We are happy to have the chairwoman of the contest, Ms. Paula White, to make our presentation.”

Ms. White, also dressed in period clothing, rose and came to the microphone. “This year's winner was exceptional. He took on the persona of Daniel Morgan himself! Our young Patriot is Ben Henderson. Ben, come to the podium and read your speech for us.”

Applause thundered from spectators and marchers.

Ben could not believe it! He just stood there in shock.

“Go on!” two excited voices whispered in unison from under his hat. “We're with you!”

Ben, still stunned, moved toward the stage and walked up the steps.

Ms. White handed him his speech. He stepped up to the microphone to read:

The crowd cheered wildly as Ben looked out at them. Ms. White handed him a plaque with his full name engraved on the front.

When the clapping stopped, Ben saw his Uncle Charles hurrying up the steps toward him with his briefcase in his hand. His uncle took the microphone from Ben and said, “Folks, because of Ben Henderson, I am able to tell you today that we have found the original letter written by Daniel Morgan himself four days before the Battle of Cowpens. It has been referenced in history books, but it has been missing for years! Ben's bravery allowed me to get an injunction from the state historical association to stop the demolition of the Johnson House in Cheraw, South Carolina, because there was an original artifact inside. The letter was hidden in a box in a secret panel there. Ben found the letter and told us about it.”