The Fort: A Novel of the Revolutionary War - xaviantvision

"We thought him indestructible," Dennis said, then made an uncertain gesture towards the west. "The men want to bury him up here, sir, where he ledthe fight."Wadsworth looked to where Dennis pointed and saw a body shrouded by two blankets. He realized it had to be Welch's corpse. "That seems fitting,"he said."When we take the fort, sir," Dennis said, "it should be called Fort Welch.""I have a suspicion," Wadsworth replied drily, "that we must call it Fort Lovell instead."Dennis smiled at Wadsworth's tone, then reached into his tailcoat pocket. "The book I was going to give you, sir," he said, holding out the volume byCesare Beccaria.Wadsworth was about to express his thanks, then saw that the book's cover had been ripped and the pages churned into a mangled mess. "GoodLord!" he said. "A bullet?" The book was unreadable, nothing but torn paper now."I hadn't finished it," Dennis said ruefully, trying to separate the pages."A bullet?""Yes, sir. But it missed me, which is a good omen, I think.""I pray so.""I'll find you another copy," Dennis said, then summoned a lean, hatchet-faced marine a few paces away. "Sergeant Sykes! Didn't you say my bookswere only good for lighting fires?""True, sir," Sykes said, "I did.""Here!" Dennis tossed the ruined book to the sergeant. "Kindling!"Sykes grinned. "Best use for a book, Lieutenant," he said, then looked at Peleg Wadsworth. "Are we going to attack the fort, General?""I'm certain we will," Wadsworth said. He had encouraged Lovell to order an attack late in the day when the setting sun would be in the eyes of the fort'sdefenders, but so far Lovell had not committed himself. Lovell wanted to be certain that the American lines were secure from any British counterattackbefore launching his troops at the fort, and so he had ordered the rebel force to dig trenches and throw up earth walls at the wood's edge. The marineshad ignored the order. "Aren't you supposed to be digging a trench here?" Wadsworth asked."Lord above, sir," Dennis said, "we don't need a trench. We're here to attack them!"Wadsworth wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment, but he could hardly express his agreement without seeming disloyal to Lovell. Instead heborrowed a telescope from Dennis and used it to gaze at the small British gun emplacement that was now the nearest enemy post. He could not see thebattery clearly because it was half-hidden by a cornfield, but he could see enough. The earthwork was a semicircle a small distance up the slope from theharbor and halfway between the marines and the fort. The battery's cannon were facing southwest, towards the harbor entrance, but Wadsworth supposedthey could easily be levered around to face west and so rip into any infantry attacking from Dyce's Head. "You think those guns are a menace, sir?"Dennis asked, seeing where Wadsworth was looking."They could be," Wadsworth said."We can get close," Dennis said confidently. "They'll not see us in the corn. Fifty men could take that battery easily.""We may not need to capture it," Wadsworth said. He had swung the glass to study the fort. The walls were so low that the redcoats behind it wereexposed from the waist upwards, though even as he watched he could see men lifting a huge log to heighten the rampart. Then his view was blotted outby whiteness and he lowered the telescope to see that a cannon had fired, only this gun smoke was blossoming at the center of the fort's western wallwhile all the previous smoke had jetted from the bastions at either end of that curtain wall. "Is that a new cannon?""Must be," Dennis said.Wadsworth was not a man who liked curses, but he was tempted to swear. Lovell was fortifying the heights and the British, given the precious gift oftime, were raising the fort's wall and placing more cannon on those ramparts, and every hour that passed would make the fort more difficult to attack. "Itrust you and your marines will stay here," he said to Dennis, "and join the attack.""I hope so too, sir, but that's the commodore's decision.""I suppose it is," Wadsworth said."He sailed halfway into the entrance," Dennis said, "hammered the enemy for a half hour and then sailed out." He sounded disappointed, as if he hadexpected more from the rebels' flagship. He looked down at the British ships, which had just started firing at the rebel battery on Cross Island again. "Weneed heavy guns up here," he said."If we take the fort," Wadsworth said, and wished he had said when instead of if, "we won't need any more batteries."Because once the Americans captured the fort the three British sloops were doomed. And the fort was pathetic, a scar in the earth, not even half-builtyet, but Solomon Lovell, after his triumph in taking the high ground, had decided to dig defenses rather than make an assault. Wadsworth gave Dennisback the glass and went north to find Lovell. They must attack, he thought, they must attack.But there was no attack. The long summer day passed and the rebels made their earthworks and the British guns pounded the trees and General Lovellordered a space cleared at the top of the bluff to be his headquarters. Lieutenant-Colonel Revere, neat in a clean shirt, discovered an easier route fromthe beach, one that curved about the northern end of the bluff, and his gunners cut down trees to make that track. By dusk they had hauled four guns to thesummit, but it was too late to emplace the weapons and so they were parked under the trees. Mosquitoes plagued the troops who, lacking tents, slept inthe open. A few made crude shelters of branches.Night fell. The last British cannon-shot of the day lit the cleared ridge smoky red with its flash and flickered long dark shadows from the jagged stumps.The gun smoke drifted northeast and then an uneasy silence fell on Majabigwaduce."Tomorrow," General Lovell spoke from beside a fire in his newly cleared headquarters, "we shall make a grand attack.""Good," Wadsworth said firmly."Is this beef?" Lovell asked, spooning from a pewter dish."Salt pork, sir," Filmer, the general's servant, answered."It's very good," Lovell said in a slightly dubious tone, "will you take some, Wadsworth?""The marines were kind enough to give me some British beef, sir.""How thoughtful of our enemies to feed us," Lovell said, amused. He watched as Wadsworth shrugged off his Continental Army jacket, settled by thefire, and produced a needle, thread, and a button that had evidently come loose. "Don't you have a man to do that sort of thing?""I'm happy to look after myself, sir," Wadsworth said. He licked the thread and managed to fiddle it through the needle's eye. "I thought Colonel Reveredid well to make the new road up the bluff.""Did he not do well!" Lovell responded enthusiastically. "I wanted to tell him so, but it seems he went back to the Samuel at dusk."Wadsworth began reattaching the button and the simple task brought a sudden vision of his wife, Elizabeth. It was a vision of her darning socks besidethe evening fire, her workbasket on the wide hearthstone, and Wadsworth suddenly missed her so keenly that his eyes watered. "I hope Colonel Reverebrings howitzers," he said, hoping no one around the fire had seen the gleam in his eyes. Howitzers, unlike cannon, lobbed their missiles in high arcs sothat the gunners could shoot safely over the heads of the attacking troops."We only have one howitzer," Major Todd said."We need it for the attack tomorrow," Wadsworth said."I'm sure the colonel knows his business," Lovell said hurriedly, "but there won't be any attack unless I receive assurances from Commodore Saltonstallthat our gallant ships will again advance through the harbor mouth."A small breath of wind dipped the woodsmoke to swirl around Wadsworth's face. He blinked, then frowned at the general through the fire's dancingflames. "No attack, sir?" he asked."Not unless the fleet attacks at the same time," Lovell replied."Do we need them to do that, sir?" Wadsworth asked. "If we attack on land I cannot see the enemy ships interfering with us. Not if we keep our troopsoff the southern slope and away from their broadsides?""I want the British marines kept aboard their ships," Lovell said firmly."I'm told the Warren is damaged," Wadsworth said. He was appalled that Lovell should demand a simultaneous attack. There was no need! All therebels had to do was attack on land and the fort would surely fall, British marines or no British marines."We have plenty of ships," Lovell said dismissively. "And I want our ships and men, our soldiers and sailors, arm in arm, advancing irresistibly to earntheir laurels." He smiled. "I'm sure the commodore will oblige us."Tomorrow.