Sal and Amanda Take Morgan's Victory March to the Battle of Cowpens (8 page)

“That will be a new thing! I've been pretty good at dodging it lately,” he argued back.

“Tell the story!” the voice insisted.

“I can do this,” Ben said to himself. “If General Morgan believes in me, I can believe in myself.”

Ben sat down at the computer. The words of his speech seemed to pour out of him. He read and revised it until he was sure it was right. This time he did not get Jen or Grammy to read it or give him pointers and correct his mistakes. He felt inspired. He quickly printed the speech, shoved it in the contest envelope and ran out the door. He did not stop until it was in the mailbox.

That night, Grammy asked, “Ben, I know you were working on your speech today. Want me to take a look?”

“No thanks, Grammy, I already mailed it!” Ben replied.

Grammy looked amazed and said, “Ben, I can't believe you did that without even showing it to me! I could have helped you.”

“Then it would have been
your
speech,” Ben replied.

Grammy asked if Jen had helped him at all.

“Well, not directly, but she and some other friends gave me some information. I took it from there.”

Ben looked away, hoping Grammy would not ask who the friends were.

Grammy was dumbfounded. This was a new side of Ben that she had never seen; she didn't know what to say.

Jen was also flabbergasted the next day when she heard that he had already mailed his speech.

“What is up with you?” Jen asked. “Were you abducted by aliens?”

“Something like that!” was all Ben would say.

Chapter 7

Cowpens National Battlefield

The next few months passed in a flurry of holidays and preparation for the big march. Ben, his cousins and Jen were all fitted for their reenactment outfits during Thanksgiving break. Sam and Ben spent the Christmas holidays at Grammy's taking drum lessons so they could play in the reenactment.

The boys never spoke of the time they went to the Johnson House unless they were sure they were alone. Sam told Ben that his father had found some of the relatives of the dead owners, and everyone in the town was speculating about what would happen to the house. This made Ben cringe. He wondered if anyone would find the box that contained the letter. He wanted to let someone know, but he did not dare!

Ben wished he could tell Sam about the letter, Sal and Amanda and his visit with General Morgan, but he was afraid. Sam might tell someone else, and they would think he was crazy or worse. He had told some fibs along the way, but even
he
couldn't make up these events.

Finally, the day before the march arrived. Grammy took them all to Cowpens National Battlefield to see the movie and the lighted map that demonstrated the battle scene. She wanted to be sure her grandchildren understood the significance of the battle and appreciated the importance of the march they would begin the next day.

When they came through the front door of the visitors' center, the park ranger greeted them. “Hello, Mayor Henderson, so glad to have you here!”

“Children, this is Ranger William Snow. I taught him in third grade. These are my grands, Billy. I brought them to see the movie and get the feel of the battle before the march tomorrow. I think you have met Ben before, and this is our neighbor Jennifer. And this is Sam from Cheraw, Tonya from Columbia and Kara from Charleston.”

“Glad to have all of you. You children make yourselves at home. Look around the gift shop. The movie will start again in ten minutes.”

The girls all gathered around the colonial dolls sitting on the shelf. The boys looked at the small replicas of cannons and toy muskets.

The book
Sal and Amanda Visit Walnut Grove Plantation
caught Jen's eye. She hurried over to Ben and whispered, “Look at this! I didn't know our little friends were in a book!”

“Well, it seems like they get around!” Ben answered.

A voice coming from his pocket whispered, “You can say that again!”

Oh no
, Ben thought,
every time they show up I'm reminded that I'm on some sort of quest to free Daniel Morgan's spirit
. Ben had tried not to think about it, but here he was on the sacred ground of the battlefield, and he still didn't know how to accomplish his mission.

The children hurried into the movie theater, where they watched a grandfather telling his grandson about how he had fought in the battle. The actors were convincing as the grandfather told his grandson about how he had been in the militia from the area. The Patriots had all been willing to die to see Banastre Tarleton and his men brought down.

When the movie was over, the children moved to the map room. Ranger Snow explained the battle plan. The children watched as blue lights lit across the map, indicating Patriot victories prior to the Battle of Cowpens.

“Wow, we were taking them down!” Sam said, excited to be seeing this exhibit firsthand.

“Shh! we're listening,” Kara retorted.

Ranger Snow continued, “General Nathanael Greene became the new commander of the Continental forces in the South in December 1780. He found the troops to be battered and disorganized, so he divided the army and sent Daniel Morgan and the most able part of the troops west ‘to give protection and spirit up the people.'”

“That Morgan was the man!” Sam spoke aloud again.

Sal and Amanda, who had climbed under the seats, giggled.

“What was that?” Sam asked.

“No clue!” Ben lied.

Grammy looked sternly at the children as Ranger Snow continued, “Cornwallis answered Greene's move by dividing his forces, too, sending Tarleton to cut off Morgan. Discovering that Tarleton was after him, Morgan retreated toward the Broad River. Morgan knew that Tarleton would catch him before he could reach Greene, so he decided to make a stand at the Cowpens.”

Sam cheered, “Morgan rules!”

Again, the twins giggled.

“Sam, you're going to have to be quiet,” Grammy said with a stern look.

“It's not all me. It must be Ben. I think he's a ventriloquist!”

“Sam, one more word and you'll be punished,” Grammy whispered.

“Outnumbered by Tarleton two to one, Morgan needed the militia to even the odds. They came from North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia. Some of the finest sharpshooters were from the Upstate of South Carolina, called the Spartan militia,” Ranger Snow explained.

“That must be how Spartanburg got its name,” Jen whispered.

Sal and Amanda nodded to each other. “That girl's paying attention,” Amanda whispered to her brother.

“Morgan knew his men. They were used to backwoods tactics, and he planned to use these skills. Morgan called for courage, but he did not ask them to face the British bayonet. He only wanted them to get off three fires and then retreat, just like they had done when they were fighting the Indians. Morgan was fearless as he ‘spirited up' the men,” Ranger Snow said with authority.

Ben flinched as he heard the word fearless. He knew better. Morgan was brave, but he was a man who needed encouragement too.

Ranger Snow continued, “Before dawn, Morgan positioned his soldiers in three lines. The first line was sharpshooting marksmen. Morgan directed them to fire at the advancing British and fall back into the second line. The militia units were on the second line. Morgan ordered them to fire when they were at killing distance, targeting the officers. After three shots, they were to retreat behind the third line and reload. The third line was Morgan's Flying Army, part of the Continentals, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Edgar Howard, who had orders to stand fast. William Washington's dragoons were posted in a slope behind the third line. Mounted scouts watched for Tarleton down Green River Road.”

“Wow, what a plan!” Sam shouted.

“That's not all!” Ben tried to explain, but the words wouldn't come.

“Everyone watch out! Ben's the expert now,” Jen snickered, mocking Ben's attempt to chime in.

“Children, watch your manners!” Grammy said, upset and embarrassed by the behavior of her grandchildren.

“At daybreak, Tarleton struck. When the British fired their cannons, Tarleton's infantry advanced with a cheer. Then, Morgan cried in return, ‘They gave us the British hallo, boys. Give them the Indian hallo!' The militia waited until the enemy was only fifty yards away, and then they opened fire. This staggered the British line, but the men rallied and moved forward, only to be hit again by another volley. The militia retreated behind the Continentals to regroup. Tarleton's dragoons charged the retreating militia but were driven from the field by Washington's cavalry. Then, Morgan's Flying Army met the British head-on. They exchanged volley for volley,” Ranger Snow said dramatically.

“Told you Dan was the man!” Sam cheered.

“Tarleton sent in the Seventy-first Highlanders and ordered them to ‘give no quarters and take no prisoners.' They charged with bayonet and sword. Howard ordered his men to face the enemy, but the order was misunderstood. They turned and moved away from the line. Seeing this, the other units thought a retreat had been ordered, so they also turned and moved back, reloading as they went,” Ranger Snow paused.

“Oh no!” Sam groaned.

“Morgan galloped to the front of the retreating men and cried, ‘Face about, boys! Give them one good fire and the victory is ours! Form, form, my brave fellows…Old Morgan was never beaten!'

“The British, believing they had forced the Patriots back, came on like a mob. The Patriot line turned and fired as Morgan had directed. Half the British line fell, and the rest, stunned, threw down their weapons and fell face forward in surrender. Howard then ordered a bayonet charge on the Highlanders. Pickens's militia appeared on the right and attacked. The sharpshooters swarmed out of the swamp to cut off any retreat. Meanwhile, the militia of the Flying Army came up on the British right. The double envelopment was complete! The British were hemmed in all around. The Patriots took the British cannons. Tarleton ordered his reserve dragoons to charge, but they refused and fled. The cries of ‘Tarleton's quarters' echoed through the battlefield. The Patriots had not forgotten the cruelty of Tarleton's men at the Waxhaws,” Ranger Snow explained.

“Couldn't blame 'em,” Jen whispered.

“But Morgan and Howard had no intention of a massacre. They ordered the men to ‘Give them quarters!' This meant to take them prisoner. Washington pursued Tarleton down Greene River Road until Tarleton shot Washington's horse out from under him and escaped. The Battle of Cowpens lasted less than an hour, but it turned the tide of the war. It signaled the beginning of the end for the British. Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown on October 19, 1781,” Ranger Snow concluded.
*

“Whoo! Hoo!” the children all clapped as the lights came on.

“Thanks so much, Billy. Now the children understand what was at stake here at Cowpens,” Grammy said as she hugged her former student.

“You're welcome. You know you were the one who got me interested in history in third grade, so I have you to thank for becoming a park ranger. I love my job!”

Grammy beamed with pride. “You're great at it, Billy. I better get these Patriots fed and in bed. We all have an exciting two days ahead of us!”

As they drove home, all the cousins were asking questions about the war and about General Daniel Morgan except Ben. He was deep in thought about his trip to Cheraw and what he had just seen and heard. Morgan was so brave to put his fear aside and lead the men in battle.

“I'm going to drive you kids by Morgan's statue as we go through downtown Spartanburg. It's right on our way to the Beacon Drive-In! Need to fill you up because you have twenty-five miles to march in the next two days,” Grammy smiled.

The Beacon was the favorite restaurant of all the cousins. They loved the burgers, fries and onion rings and the way the men always yelled out the orders to the cooks. They also loved to hear Grammy tell the story of how she and their grandpa had met there the summer before they went to college.