31. CHAPTER XXXI.
THE BATTLE.
The signal of battle was given by Ruffleton. Supposing
himself able, from his overwhelming and hourly-increasing
numbers, to destroy all his opponents, and afterwards to
assume the supreme military and civil authority of the nation,
he ordered the attack to be commenced.
More than five hundred field-pieces were discharged almost
simultaneously by Ruffleton, and not a single ball reached
the Southern columns. The President alone had to bear the
brunt, and this he did with calmness. His horses suffered
a great deal from the first discharges. The men were dismounted,
and partially sheltered by the breastwork of sand
and turf covering the entire position.
For a considerable length of time, Randolph bore the infliction,
whilst his impatient generals surrounded him, awaiting
his orders.
“General,” said he, addressing the recently-promoted
Carleton, “will your column go into the jaws of that volcano?”
“They await the order, sir.”
“The slaughter of horses, then, does not appal them?”
“It inspires them with a desire of revenge.”
“Revenge, I suppose, is desired by many. But we want
only victory, so we can put an end to the strife, by withdrawing
from the field. I desire it to be understood that
I have no projects of conquest, and am engaged only in a
defensive war. I would this day, and on this field, unite
with Ruffleton, if he desired peace, and acted on the defensive
against Blount and Crook.”
“And I,” said Blount, “as the commander-in-chief of the
Southern armies, have never contemplated offensive measures;
and the States represented by me would be content
merely to repel aggression. But since I am not permitted
to withdraw in peace, no other alternative remains
but to accept the gage of battle.”
“D— it, let us give as well as receive,” said General
Crook. “They have killed a thousand horses and five hundred
men, and we have not fired a shot.”
“The matter demonstrated, then,” said Randolph, “is,
that my army can stand fire; but they have stood it long
enought. Valiant, let all our batteries fire twice towards
the centre, then once at the wings. Under the smoke,
Carleton, charge upon the enemy's centre with your ten
thousand men, and let me see how many of their guns you
can take or silence.”
A few minutes afterwards the earth was shaken by a terrific
discharge, and General Carleton issued from behind the
breastworks, and charged the enemy's batteries. These not
being protected by any sort of breastwork, were immediately
carried. But the fanatics, whom Ruffleton had posted in
front, could stand fire as well as the Federal troops. All of
them seemed to expect death or victory; and they were of
course prepared to die, in the event of defeat. Therefore,
although they were swept down by hundreds, still the survivors
would not run away. Carleton seeing this, seized
some forty guns, and wheeling them round, struck down
whole multitudes of Abolitionists with their own engines.
Then, dividing his column, he swept along the right and
left from the centre,
in the rear of the enemy's batteries,
sabreing the gunners and spiking the cannon. With the
enemy on either hand, the contest was for many minutes
maintained with the sword and the bayonet. Neither musketry
nor cannon could be used by Ruffleton, who was
prompt to afford succor to his menaced divisions; and it
was the celerity of Carleton's movements which saved him
from immediate destruction.
Sergeant Jack Bim distinguished himself as usual in this
charge. Northern born as he was, he had a mortal aversion
for the negro; and so, when he encountered the Black
Regiment, he could not forbear. He plunged in their midst,
parying their thrusts, and laid about him with such terrible
effect, that his horse was soon knee deep in the slain, and
his progress so much obstructed, that the witnesses of his
exploit began to fear he would never be able to extricate
himself from the labyrinth of his own creation. Nevertheless,
General Carleton, who had paused scarcely a moment
in his furious career, was gratified to see Bim leaping
his fiery steed after him in the avenue made by the irresistible
charge of the squadrons. Bim had sheathed his
sword, and was clasping his nose!
Carleton, having executed his charge in accordance with
the orders of Randolph, returned with the forty cannon
which he had taken. But this was at the expense of nearly
a thousand men, and there was but little effect produced on
the determined front of the enemy. A great many had
fallen, but these were the zealous enthusiasts in the cause
of negro emancipation, whom Ruffleton had thrust forward
to be killed.
The ordnance taken and spiked by Carleton was soon
replaced from the vast supply in Ruffleton's rear, brought
from New York and New England. They not only continued
to thunder along the whole extent of the line, but
advanced, unsheltered as they were, in the face of the incessant
fire of more than three hundred guns, discharging
round shot, grape, and canister.
The tide continued to roll onward, and it became necessary
for Randolph's artillery to withdraw behind the second
line of defences thrown up by Blount and Crook. This was
done without the loss of a gun, under the superintendence
of General Valiant. When this was completed, Randolph,
placing himself at the head of twenty thousand horse, kept
in readiness under the river bank, charged the rear of the
right wing of the enemy. Nothing could oppose a force of
such magnitude. It swept over the plain like a tornado.
The scene was appalling. Thousands upon thousands fell,
and were trampled in the dust, but none fled away, for the
reason that the interminable host behind, still advancing,
prevented the escape of fugitives. Many who attempted to
fly were cut down by their own friends, in obedience to the
orders of Ruffleton. Twice he had been defeated by the
Southern Generals, and now he was resolved to be revenged
upon them both, or perish in the most horrible conflict
known in the annals of warfare.
The President several times cut his way through the
dense ranks, and severed the right wing from the main body
of the enemy. With regular troops, according to the
science of war, this would have been decisive; but here, as
at Bladensburg, the enemy remained unconscious of the
danger of defeat, and when the destroying cavalry passed
away, the amputated wing was immediately re-united to the
advancing trunk; and perceiving that nothing could be
accomplished by this mode of assault, Randolph drew off his
column, now blown and bathed in blood, and occupied a
position in the rear of the Southern encampment.
Several times the enemy charged to the very muzzles
of the cannon, and were swept down rather than driven
back. This murderous and appalling spectacle continued
until night, when the Northern host diverged a little to the
east, where a depression in the earth sheltered them, and
encamped upon the field of battle.
As soon as the enemy ceased to menace the position of
the combined armies, the batteries, which had so long been
vomiting their destructive fires, became suddenly silent, and
their recent startling explosions were succeeded by sounds
still more horrible to the human ear. These were the groans
of the wounded, and the shrieks of the dying.
Generals Blount and Crook met in the tent of President
Randolph. Steel, and many other officers of high rank, on
both sides, had fallen.
“Gentlemen,” said Randolph, “I desire your opinion in
the present emergency. I know Ruffleton's purpose. He
is determined to crush us by his physical superiority. Never
were men so imperturbable. But such is the idiosyncrasy
of fanatics. A month hence, when the people shall have
reflected on the horrors of this monstrous field, they will not
be so resolute to plunge into the jaws of destruction. Shall
we retire?”
“It would be madness to attempt an embarkation in the
presence of such an enemy,” said Blount.
“Certainly,” replied Randolph, “that is out of the question.
But we might retire a few hours before day, and succeed,
with the aid of the fleet, in regaining a footing on
Southern soil.”
“And Ruffleton, then, would claim the victory,” said
Crook.
“Oh, he has done that already,” said Randolph. “Here
is a note brought me by a deserter. It was written by a
friend of mine in Ruffleton's camp, in whom I have confidence.”
The note stated that Ruffleton had telegraphed
the Convention in New York, that he had beaten the President's
army, which had taken refuge in the camp of the
invaders, and that in the course of a few hours more he
would overwhelm all opposition. A subsequent despatch
indicated that Ruffleton's intrigues and machinations had
been far more extensive in their ramifications than had been
suspected. His partisans in the Convention had seized the
occasion to move and carry some extraordinary measures.
They invested him with almost unlimited power for five
years. The assassination of Monmouth, in Philadelphia,
had induced many of the conservative members of the Convention
to resign their seats, and that body was now under
the control of Ruffleton, whose creatures comprised a vast
majority.
“There will be a reaction, gentlemen,” said Randolph.
“This thing of popular sentiment ebbs and flows, like the
ocean. But we must await the subsidence of the waters; we
cannot oppose them. How now?” he added, upon the
introduction of a messenger. This was followed by the
unexpected appearance of Virus, Ruffleton's negotiator.
“You are welcome, sir,” said Randolph, “if your mission
be one of peace.”
“That is the object of my coming,” said Virus, and his
pale visage indicated that he might be in earnest.
“Then unfold your propositions,” said Randolph. “One
of Ruffleton's propositions has been obviated by the escape
of the prisoners taken at Bladensburg and—”
“Is that so?” demanded Crook, springing up from a
corner of the tent, where he had been reclining.
“It is true,” said Blount.
“No matter,” said Crook. “I shall take twice the
number to-morrow.”
“Then a renewal of the terrific butchery,” said Virus,
“seems a foregone conclusion.”
“Certainly,” said Crook.
“Your proposal, sir,” said Randolph, addressing Virus.
“Either a surrender as prisoners of war, or the restitution
of the money taken from New York, an abandonment of all
arms, and an immediate evacuation of New Jersey, Delaware,
and Maryland.”
“D— me, if I subscribe to any one of the stipulations,”
said Crook, his face crimsoned with rage.
“Return to your principal, Virus,” said Randolph, “and
say that we regard his demands as the vauntings of a too
confident adventurer.”
“To-morrow,” said Blount, “the fortune of war may
make Ruffleton a suppliant, and in that event we shall not
mock him with preposterous demands.”
“General,” said Virus, “I assure you, since this battle
commenced, the recruits we have received, exceed the
amount of our slain. If the contest be prolonged, your
destruction is inevitable.”
“That is an unwarrantable assumption,” said Blount.
“Nothing short of demonstration, however,” said Randolph,
“will convince Ruffleton. Crook is right. We must
fight it out. When the fanatics are all destroyed, the rest
will not be insensible to fear. Virus, we were anxious to
avoid the effusion of blood, as Ruffleton knows, and as the
whole country will soon know, notwithstanding the efforts
to suppress my proclamation; and we proposed to abandon
the soil of the free States, stipulating never to invade them
again. But this was not a sufficient humiliation to satisfy
your
Imperator. He desired revenge, and the eclat of a
great victory, for his personal gratification, or his individual
aggrandizement. The result is before him. If he is not
satisfied with it, of course he will gratify his inclination in
the prosecution of the war; but he must be accountable for
the blood unnecessarily expended. We act on the defensive.”
Virus withdrew without another word, accompanied by
an officer to the outposts. Both Blount and Crook advanced
to the President, each taking one of his hands.
“Sir,” said Blount, “we would rather die with you than
surrender to that man.”
“My friends, we will not surrender, nor will we die on this
field. But we must retire further down the river, and find
another strong position for defence. I will send a messenger
to Commodore Stout, and we may embark under cover of
his batteries. I have fifteen ships in the river—”
“And,” said Crook, “the British have eighteen.”
“True, but the metal and men are nearly equal. Let
your flotilla glide quietly down the tide, gentlemen, and it
is possible we may get away without serious damage. If
the British Admiral has no order to assail us, we can manage
Ruffleton.”
This was agreed to, and at midnight the march commenced.
The groans of the wounded lying between the
armies prevented the trampling of horses and the creaking
of the artillery carriages from being heard. Nevertheless,
information of the movement was soon conveyed to Ruffleton
by his spies, and before the combined armies had proceeded
two miles, the enemy was in full pursuit. At this distance
apart, they continued to march with all the rapidity of
which they were capable, until about four o'clock in the morning,
when the guides announced to Randolph that a swampy
creek, over which they were crossing, would be impassable
for man or horse, if the several bridges were destroyed.
The creek ran in a semicircular line, its base being the
river, and the tide ebbed and flowed through it. The
extent of country enclosed was sufficiently ample as a defensive
position for the retreating armies, but not for the
operations of cavalry. And here they were met by a messenger
from the Commodore, with the information that
below this point, for many miles, there would not be a sufficient
depth of water for the frigates to approach them.
At this point Randolph made dispositions to receive the
enemy. An embankment of turf was hastily thrown up along
the entire length of the creek; and just before daybreak,
the bridges were blown up, as the heads of the hostile columns
were beginning to pass over them.
