Drum Major and Fifer Martin Luther Miller was a
mixture of excitement and nervousness as the Ninth North Carolina Regiment
marched out to join General Washington’s army in Pennsylvania. He beat the
march out on his drum as the soldiers moved through the fields, woods and small
hamlets of Virginia. Whenever they passed through a city or village of any
size, Martin would shift to his fife and add a little color to the music to
impress the locals and inspire a little pride in his comrades.
2 It was late summer in the South when they had
started, but Martin was a little apprehensive about those notoriously cold
winters in the North. Still, there would be time enough to think about those
things in the months ahead. “Why spoil such a beautiful day with such
dreariness?” Martin thought as he soaked in the sunshine beating down on his
face.
3 A few months earlier, another North Carolina
regiment had set out for the North. Selby Harney had joined the Second Regiment
as a major and had marched north with his unit in May. They too had passed
through Virginia but had taken a more circuitous route than their brethren.
They stopped in Alexandria to be inoculated against the dreaded scourge of
Smallpox, and then continued on to join the Continental Army in New Jersey.
4 Upon their arrival, they found their fellow soldiers
to be in relatively good spirits. They were still basking in the glow of the
American victories at Trenton and Princeton. The enemy, however, was on the
move again and seemed intent on capturing Philadelphia.
5 Nevertheless, while Congress and the
Commander-in-Chief were preoccupied with what General Howe was trying to do,
Selby could only think about his brother languishing on a British prison ship.
“Those people have Jenethan!” he thought.
6 In the meantime, the Continental Army had arrived at
Brandywine Creek and was busily making preparations to prevent the British from
crossing it. “As the road to Philadelphia crosses the Brandywine there, I
believe that the enemy will most likely attempt to cross at Chadd’s Ford,”
Washington told his subordinates.
7 “What about the fords above and below that one?”
General Greene asked. “We must, of course, be prepared to meet the threat
wherever it arises,” was the answer. Then the Commander-in-Chief turned to
General Francis Nash and said, “The North Carolina Brigade will be able to
spring into action and meet any unforeseen contingencies.”
8 Martin was busy tutoring his young drummers and
fifers while the officers plotted their strategy. “We must take our lead from
the officers,” he told them. “Don’t take your eyes off of them!” he continued.
“And listen to me – not the cannons and muskets. When the battle begins, it
will be our duty to communicate to the troops through our music what their
commanders expect them to do,” Martin continued.
9 “Tom, if you and John can’t pay attention today,
what must I expect from you then!” he scolded two young men whispering together
at the edge of the small group of musicians. “Sorry, Martin,” they both offered
at the same time. “Let’s just do our duty and not disappoint anyone,” Martin
smiled.
10 On the morning of September 11, the British opened
fire on the defenders of Chadd’s Ford. The two sides exchanged musket and
artillery fire for several hours without much effect. “I knew they would hit us
there,” Washington thought to himself. Finally, as the futility of the exchange
became more apparent to both sides, the artillery and musket fire dwindled to
almost nothing.
11 Just then, a message arrived from General Sullivan.
“A large column of enemy soldiers was seen marching north along the Valley
Road,” it read. This was followed by yet another sighting of British troops on
the same road. “Is this another feint?” Washington wondered to himself.
12 Major Harney entered the General’s headquarters and
approached the table where the Commander-in-Chief was studying a crude map that
had been hastily spread over its surface. Washington looked up and spoke first.
“You will convey to Lord Stirling that I want him to move a few regiments here
to the north of his current position,” he said as he pointed to the map. “And
tell General Nash to ready his troops to move in the same direction at my
command,” he ordered. Selby shook his head and quickly set off on his mission,
forgetting that he had wanted to talk to the General about his brother.
13 In the meantime, a man named Thomas Cheney rode up
to Washington’s headquarters, dismounted and demanded to see the
Commander-in-Chief. “The General is busy right now!” the incredulous sentry
declared. “I don’t care how busy he is. I’ve got to see him,” the man insisted.
“Follow me,” the sentry finally relented.
14 As Cheney was ushered into Washington’s presence,
he pushed past the sentry and removed his hat. “General, the Redcoats are on
this side of the Brandywine and are approaching your army from the north!” the
man exclaimed. The sentry saw a look of pure astonishment on the General’s
normally placid face.
15 “Convey to General Sullivan my earnest desire that
he redirect the attention of his regiments to meet this threat!” Washington
ordered one of his aides. “You,” he pointed at another aide. “Inform Lord
Stirling and the other reserves that they must also move forward to meet this
challenge,” he commanded.
16 Fortunately for the Americans, it was late in the
day when the attack from the north commenced, and the British forces under
Cornwallis were exhausted by their sixteen-mile march to surprise their foes.
The battle was intense, and the British were relentless. While advancing and
attacking the Americans on their right flank and rear, they simultaneously
pushed across Chadd’s Ford. Nevertheless, most of the American soldiers refused
to panic, and Washington was able to rally his army to retreat with some semblance
of order.
17 Martin’s drummers and fifers never stopped playing
either. The drums continued to provide the music for the march as the Americans
withdrew from the battle. Sure, they wavered a time or two, but they had never
fallen altogether silent. “I like that sound,” Selby told Lieutenant Colonel
John Patten as they marched along. “It is somehow very reassuring to me.”
18 The American Army bivouacked at Chester that
evening. The following day they marched to Reading Furnace to replenish their
stores of ammunition. Having done that, they marched out to face the enemy
again.
19 The two armies met again near Warren Tavern and
prepared for another major battle. God, however, had other ideas. The heavens
opened up and quickly drenched both armies.
20 “Now that is a proper rain,” Martin told Tom. At
the same instant, about one hundred feet away, Major Harney was reporting his
own news about the deluge to General Nash. “The men’s cartridge boxes are
soaked, and their ammunition is ruined!” he told the general. “Carry that
report to General Washington,” Nash ordered. Selby hurried off through the rain
to Washington’s headquarters and repeated what he had just told Nash.
21 When the rain finally stopped, Washington ordered
his troops north again to replace their ruined ammunition. From there, the
Continental Army moved into position once again to block the enemy’s path into
Philadelphia.
22 The British general, however, out maneuvered
Washington once again and marched into the city as September was drawing to a
close. Fortunately, the members of the Continental Congress had already fled
the city. Even so, it was a psychological blow to the Americans to lose their
provisional capital.
23 As a consequence, Washington decided to attack the
British forces stationed north of the city in Germantown at the beginning of
October. “General Greene’s soldiers will march down the Limekiln road and force
the enemy toward the Schuylkill River,” the Commander-in-Chief explained to his
subordinates. “I will accompany General Sullivan’s forces down the Main Street
and attack the main body of their army,” he continued. “General Armstrong will
approach the enemy on the Manawatamy Road, and General Smallwood will attack
from the York Road. Lord Stirling’s men, under Generals Maxwell and Nash, will
follow as reserves,” he finished.
24 On the night of October 3, the four columns of
Continental soldiers moved south toward Germantown. At dawn, Washington ordered
the attack to begin.
25 In the meantime, a thick fog had settled over the
entire area making it virtually impossible for the Commander-in-Chief and his
generals to coordinate their attack. Thus, although the initial attack looked
like it was working, the British managed to quickly recover their equilibrium
and go on the offensive.
26 General Nash and his men could hear the cannon and
musket fire in front of them, but the fog prevented them from seeing what was
unfolding there. “I can’t see anything!” Major Harney told the general. Martin
and the other musicians were even closer to the officers than usual because of
the fog.
27 Then, suddenly, appearing out of the mist before
them, some of their comrades emerged. They were obviously fleeing the battle.
“What’s happening?” Captain Allen asked one of the soldiers. “Them Redcoats is
headed this way!” the soldier exclaimed.
28 Nash turned to Major Witherspoon and ordered him to
ready the troops for battle. The officers quickly lined up their men, and the
soldiers marched toward the sound of the battle. When they reached the action,
the men promptly raised their muskets and began firing into the enemy lines.
29 The British artillery fire was merciless. Martin
looked up just in time to see General Nash hit first by a musket ball in his
head, and then his horse was hit by a cannonball at about the same time. Selby
was showered with blood and gore, but Major James Witherspoon was even more
unfortunate – he had been too close to the general when the projectile had hit.
30 Witherspoon was obviously beyond anyone’s help, and
Selby immediately redirected his attention toward his commander. “The General
has been wounded!” Major Harney shouted. “Help me to move him!”
31 Nash’s face was swollen and distorted from the
musket ball, and he was bleeding profusely from the area where his trunk
connected to his legs. Nevertheless, Selby and two other soldiers managed to
drag the stricken general from the field. Martin watched them in stunned
silence for a moment as his regiment continued to fall back from the slowly
advancing Redcoats.
32 Finally, the British onslaught stopped, and the
Americans retreated from Germantown. They had been defeated, but they had not
acted like cowards. They had had the audacity to launch an attack on the
greatest army on the face of the earth at that time.
33 Martin felt nothing but pride for the men
surrounding him. He raised his fife and began playing a tune that was now
familiar to all of them: “The Lexington March” (or what later generations would
recognize as “Yankee Doodle”).
34 General Nash died a few days later. After the war,
a city in the new State of Tennessee would be named in his honor. Toward the
end of November, Major Harney was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in recognition
of his cool-headedness and bravery at the Battle of Germantown. Washington and
his army, however, were now preoccupied with preparing for the rapidly
approaching winter.
35 Now these are the generations of Martin Luther
Miller of Germany:
36 Martin and Elizabeth Miller were the parents of
Daniel.
37 Daniel Miller married Betsy Fields, and they had
Nancy, Thomas and David.
38 After Betsy’s death, he married Mary Streval, and they had children: Martha, William Preston (Press), Frank, Mary, James, Dorsia and Isaac.
No comments:
Post a Comment