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Chapter 25

Pitcairn and Captain Whiting decided to ride out with a small troop of soldiers to scout around and see if anything was stirring. General Washington had sent Paul and Dawes across to New Jersey to contact the leader of the militia there and task them with defending Burdett's Ferry Service.

As usual he and Oliver had started their morning by imbibing Mrs. Adams' tincture. Oliver suggested that Captain Whiting should be included in the ritual. Captain Whiting did not like the taste of the tincture any more than he or his father did.

As was his custom, Pitcairn rode at the head of his men with Captain Whiting riding beside him. They rode along in silence until Captain Whiting said, "We may need to post more sentries once the Regulars arrive. I am sure the Loyalists will be emboldened by their return."

Pitcairn nodded. "I am also sure the British already have formed a network of Loyalist spies who are willing to pass on any information they hear locally."

They rode on further when suddenly they heard what sounded like many horses coming. Pitcairn quickly motioned for his soldiers to go into the woods and he and Captain Whiting followed, leading Regina and Devon. They peered out from behind the thick trees and saw a troop of about 25 men ride by. They were dressed in bright green regimental jackets with white breeches and shirts with yellow waistcoats, and high leather boots that came up over the tops of their knees. Red armbands decorated the right sleeves of their jackets and their hats were adorned with large feathers.

"A Loyalist's troop," Pitcairn said in a low voice.

Captain Whiting nodded. "Do you think we can take them?"

Pitcairn shook his head. "There are only ten of us. I shall however send two of the men back to camp to inform the General of what we have seen." He motioned to Sergeant McFarland and Private Asher who crept quietly forward. They had learned a few things in their time with the Continental Army.

"I want you and Private Asher to ride back to camp and inform General Washington that we've seen Loyalist Troops on the move. Do not under any circumstances engage them. Your mission is strictly to report what we have seen to the General. Keep your eyes sharp."

"Yes Sir," they replied saluting him. They left leading their horses out of the woods before mounting them.

Pitcairn watched until the two were out of sight then motioned for the rest of the soldiers to mount their horses. He mounted Regina and Captain Whiting mounted Devon. Whiting chuckled suddenly. "Those men are going to have to mute their colors some or risk being shot on sight in battle."

"A flock of peacocks it appears," Pitcairn agreed. "And whether they have had any military experience or can even fight is yet to be seen. I am gathering from their bright colors they do not."

"They must have heard that the Regulars have left Halifax and are sailing to New York."

"Possibly they are in contact with some of the Loyalists who fled from Boston with General Gage. I am sure they are looking for an opportunity to come back and recoup their fortunes, but in the meantime we must find out more about this Loyalist troop and who their commander is."

~*~* Page Break ~*~*

McFarland and Asher rode into camp and dismounted outside the war tent. Washington came out of the tent and they saluted him. "The Lieutenant Colonel sent us back, Sir. We spotted a troop of Loyalist, about 25 men, about 10 miles from here and riding north," McFarland reported.

"They were gaudy as a flock of peacocks," Asher added. "They're wearing red armbands too."

Washington nodded and said, "We figured the Loyalist here are likely in contact with some of their fellows from Boston and will have gotten the news that the Regulars have sailed."

Pitcairn, Whiting and the rest of the men rode into camp a couple of hours later. Pitcairn dismounted and patted Regina's neck. Oliver ran up to him and gave him a hug. "I was kind of worried when I saw Sergeant McFarland and Private Asher ride into camp alone," he confessed.

"No need to worry. I am fine," Pitcairn assured him. "We spotted a Loyalist troop and I sent them back in order to let the General know. Captain Whiting and I stopped to talk to some of the area people to see if we could find out any information about them."

"Did you?"

"Yes and I will tell you about it later. Right now I must report to General Washington what we have found out."

"Okay," Oliver said. "I'll take Regina to the stable for you." He took the reins from Pitcairn.

"Thank you Oliver," Pitcairn replied nodding. He watched Oliver with Regina for a moment then continued on his way to the war tent. Captain Whiting was already there when he entered the tent. Pitcairn saluted and said, "As Sergeant McFarland and Private Asher already told you we spotted a troop of at least 25 Loyalists. After I sent them back to you, Captain Whiting and I and the rest of the men continued on to see what we could find out about them. We stopped at several farms in the area and found out they go by the high-toned name of The King's American Regiment and are commanded by a Colonel Edmund Fanning."*

"Apparently he and his family are not liked by the people we spoke with," Whiting added. "As far as we can confirm he has had no military experience at all."

Washington shook his head. "That seemed to be the case with the ones I fought with in the war with the French also. They just decided to form a regiment and appoint themselves a General."

"Indeed," Pitcairn replied. "In the British Army many of the higher officers were appointed by the king with little regard to experience and some bought their rank."

"As long as you both are here," Washington said picking up a letter. "The Continental Congress has approved your request, Lieutenant Colonel, to raise Captain Whiting's rank to major." He handed the letter to Whiting and said, "Congratulations, Major Whiting."

Whiting looked stunned for a moment before taking the letter from Washington. "I had no idea, but thank you very much, Lieutenant Colonel and General Washington."

"You have served me very well in the last five years and you deserve it," Pitcairn replied nodding.

"There's also a pay raise to go along with your promotion Major," Washington added.

"I am simply overwhelmed," Whiting said. "I never expected this."

"Come we need to get you different epaulets," Pitcairn said. "You can have the ones I wore as major."

Pitcairn walked into his tent, opened his trunk and rummaged through it until he located the epaulets. He fastened them to the shoulders of Marius' regimental coat then stepped back. "You look your rank now."

"I really do not know how to thank you."

Pitcairn held up his hand. "You earned that promotion with your hard work so no thanks are necessary."

Oliver found his father reading when he came back from his lesson with Joseph. Pitcairn looked up and smiled at his son. "How were your lessons today?"

"We got the tincture mixed up, but Dr. Warren said it has to sit for a few days so it can 'ripen' as he put it," Oliver explained.

"As soon as it finishes ripening I will send the men to you and Joseph so you can administer it to them."

"They're not going to like it because it tastes horrible," Oliver replied.

"They did not like it when I moved into the barracks with them to keep them from drinking either, but we survived it. As long as they remain unaffected by serious illness their dislike of my requiring them to take the tincture will not bother me." Pitcairn closed his book and laid it on the table. "I believe I will brush and feed Regina tonight."

Oliver nodded and they walked to the stable together. "By the way you should offer Captain Whiting your congratulations when you next see him. The promotion to major that I requested from General Washington and the Continental Congress came through today."

Oliver nodded. "I'll be sure and do that."

At dinner that evening Washington rose with a tankard of Ale in his hand to announce Marius' promotion to major. Everyone raised their tankards and Marius gave a brief speech and then accepted congratulations from everyone.

"Congratulations Major Whiting," Oliver said.

"Thank you, Oliver and I am happy to hear you have decided to become a physician. Your father would not be here without one."

"Yes, and he might not be here either if you hadn't forced him to go to the hospital tent when he had that bad lung complaint our first winter in Boston."

"Nor would he be here if you and Regina had not saved him when he was shot a Bunker Hill so that Dr. Warren, Lieutenants Revere and Dawes, and Sergeant Kelly were able to find him and help him."

As Pitcairn and his son were walking back to their tent, Oliver asked, "Are you gonna write Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Worthington, and Mr. Shaw tonight?"

Pitcairn nodded. "Yes, I was also thinking about writing to Reverend Byles. Do you want to send a letter to Miss Abigail too?"

"I've already written it."

"I shall put it inside my letter to her mother."

"So what happened with those Loyalists today?" Oliver asked sitting down on his cot while Pitcairn sat down at the table with parchment, a quill, and an inkpot at hand.

"Nothing. We heard them coming as they were not making much of an effort to move quietly. We quickly went into the woods and remained out of sight until they passed us." Pitcairn snorted in derision. "There were 25 men and they were dressed in bright green regimental coats with bright yellow waistcoats and looked like nothing more than a flock of peacocks. From what Major Whiting and I were able to conclude from talking with people who lived in the area; none of them has had any military training at all."

"I bet you could of guessed that from the way they were dressed," Oliver pointed out.

"Yes and I gather from what the people we spoke with said; they flounce about as if the king himself were riding at their head."

Oliver laughed. "I can just see it if you had to train them. You'd be cursing them into next week and back!"

Pitcairn laughed too and nodded, "Indeed I would."

Oliver got his textbooks, parchment, quill and an inkpot out then sat down on the other chair opposite his father. He handed Pitcairn a folded letter. "This is my letter to Nabby. I told her about Dr. Warren and me making a big pot of her mother's tincture and it's a big pot too! I don't know where Kelly and Amos found it."

Pitcairn smiled. "Both are very resourceful and General Washington was smart to put them in charge of gathering supplies and food. They have done an admirable job."

Oliver laughed. "I think I've gained weight since you adopted me."

Pitcairn nodded. "And I believe you have grown at least an inch too."

Oliver sobered suddenly. "It's going to be a long war isn't it?"

Pitcairn nodded. "Yes. The King and Parliament will not give up the colonies without a fierce struggle."

"Do you think Nabby might get interested in someone else and forget about me if I'm away too long?"

"I cannot answer that Oliver," Pitcairn answered honestly. "But I believe if she did, she would let you know."

"I guess so," Oliver said.

Seeing that his son was rather down at the thought, Pitcairn said gently, "Miss Abigail is only eleven and I believe it will be a few years before any other young men are interested in her."

"That's true," Oliver agreed. "I guess I'm worrying about nothing, huh?"

Pitcairn smiled again and shook his head. "We worry about things that are important to us." He finished writing his letters, sealed them in preparation for the mail courier tomorrow.

Oliver closed his text books and sprinkled cuttlefish bone powder over the papers, waited a few seconds, and then blew it off. He stacked his textbooks on top of his papers then turned to his father. "Did you write Mrs. Worthington?"

"I did," Pitcairn replied nodding. "I wrote to her and Miss Charlotte."

Oliver went over to his cot and started getting ready for bed. "Are you coming to bed?"

"I believe I'll read for awhile if the lantern will not keep you awake," Pitcairn answered.

"No, but don't stay up too late," Oliver replied.

~*~* Page Break ~*~*

The Parkers came back picking up supplies and gave Abigail the mail they had picked up for her. "Thank you for going into town for me so I could get this baking done," Abigail said wiping her brow. It was a warm day and she gotten up early to do that week's baking.

Felicity put on her apron and said, "I can finish this up for you. I believe there's a letter from Lieutenant Colonel Pitcairn that the children will want you to read."

"Yes, they're always thrilled to hear from John," Abigail replied taking off her apron. She sorted through the mail and found the letter from Pitcairn. She went over to the back door and called, "Children?"

Charles and Thomas were playing in their fort while John was standing guard over it. Nabby was sitting on the swing, idly pushed it back and forth with her feet. They all looked up as she called.

"I have a letter from the Lieutenant Colonel."

They all came racing over and clambered up onto the back porch as Abigail opened the door. "Go in and sit down."

Abigail sat down in John's favorite armchair with the children seated around her. She broke the seal on the letter. The other letter that was inside she handed to Nabby.

Dear Abigail and children,

I hope this letter finds you all well and safe. Oliver and I continue to be in good health and vigor.

I have been very busy training the new men who have been flocking into army since we have come to New York. They are in general unruly, undisciplined, and unwilling to listen. I am afraid I have had to curse them on more than one occasion.

John Quincy laughed. "Mr. Revere said he could really curse so I bet they were shocked."

Abigail smiled. "I can only imagine."

Generally, they are shocked into better behavior by it and I usually do not have to do it more than twice before they start to listen to what we have to say to them. It is for their own good that they do listen as soldiers who do not listen to commands do not last long in battle.

By the way Captain Whiting has been promoted to major by the Continental Congress and General Washington at my suggestion. He has well served me in the last five years and I do not know what I would have done without him. His promotion is well deserved.

Major Whiting and I with some of our men have been riding out regularly on patrol. We did spot a troop of Loyalists who looked like nothing more than a flock of peacocks in their overly bright attire.

John, Charles, and Thomas giggled at his description. They'd had all seen the peacocks some of the wealthy people had, strutting around their homes.

Most of them, from what we were able to gather, by talking to the people who live in the area, have had no actual military experience so we do not worry about them too much. I do not believe General Washington is worried about them either.

Regina is happy that she is being ridden regularly as she does not like it when I am training soldiers and she is left idle. Oliver does take her with him when he rides Liberty so she does not get too restless from inactivity.

I have started Oliver and Major Whiting on taking your tincture, Madam and I will be starting my men on taking it also once Dr. Warren, with Oliver's help, is able to prepare enough of it.

Thomas wrinkled his nose and made a face. "I bet they don't like it!"

Charles shook his head. "Nobody does!"

Oliver pointed out to me that the men will not like my making them take your tincture, but I said they did not like it when I moved into the barracks with them to prevent them from drinking either, but we survived that and if it keeps the men from becoming ill that will be my reward.

I hope Mr. Beery is continuing to obey my orders and not giving you any trouble over them.

"He is!" Thomas crowed hugging his bear. "You have to tell my major, Mama."

"Lieutenant Colonel," John Quincy corrected.

"I'll tell him Mr. Beery has been obeying his orders very well indeed," Abigail replied running her hand over Thomas' hair.

Lieutenant Revere has brought us the news from Philadelphia that the Congress is very close to signing what they are calling a declaration of independence. Your husband told him that he was expecting it to happen within the next two or three weeks.

For myself I cannot believe it is almost a year since I was shot at Bunker Hill and my life changed so completely.

I will close by thanking you for befriending Mrs. Worthington and Charlotte. She has written me of how much she enjoys her visits with you and how much Charlotte enjoys playing with your children.

Please take care of yourself and the children. Oliver and I are happy that you continue to pray for us as we do for you each night.

Respectfully,

Lieutenant Colonel John Pitcairn

"Well, that was very nice letter," Abigail said refolding it. She looked over at Nabby. "What did Oliver have to say?"

Nabby looked up and smiled. "He told me about the big kettle Mr. Kelly and Mr. Garrigan had found them for making your tincture, Mama. He said he'd never seen a kettle so big before and he can't imagine where they'd found it, but his father said Mr. Kelly and Mr. Garrigan are very resourceful and General Washington was smart to place them in charge of gathering supplies and foodstuffs for the army."

Well, if they're planning to dose the entire army it will need to be big," Abigail replied.

"I'm going to write Oliver back and tell him about Miss Litchford," Nabby said. Miss Annabeth Litchford was her new tutor that Abigail had hired. She was a very smart and had studied under a kindly, retired professor who believed women should have as many opportunities as men.

"Go ahead," Abigail said nodding. "I'm going to help Nona Felicity get lunch."

The children nodded. They had willingly adopted the Parkers as grandparents since both their biological grandparents were deceased.

"I'll write John back tonight after dinner. I also have three letters ready to mail to your father."

"I'll have my letter to Oliver ready too so you can mail it inside your letter to Lieutenant Colonel Pitcairn's," Nabby said.

Abigail nodded. As they prepared lunch, Felicity said to Abigail. "I fear it's going to be a long war and Oliver being almost five years older than Nabby may find someone else."

Abigail nodded. "As Nabby might, but I hope if either of them does; they will let the other one know."

~*~* Page Break ~*~*

Hope had just finished reading aloud Pitcairn's letter to her and Charlotte. "Momma, can we go to the Adams?" Charlotte asked.

Hope heard her mother's footsteps coming towards the nursery. She quickly hid Pitcairn's letter under the skirt of her dress and looked at Charlotte, putting her finger to her lips.

Mrs. Granville came into the room holding out what looked like a formal invitation. "Mr. Nathaniel Coffin is having a celebration in honor of the King's birthday on June 4th and has sent an invitation to us."

Hope didn't really want to attend it, but she had agreed to accept a few invitations. "I will attend Mr. Coffin's party."

"I will send a message to my dressmaker and have her come over. We will both need new dresses for this party," her mother said.

"I am available any day except Wednesdays."

"What engagement do you have on Wednesdays?" Mrs. Granville asked.

"I have told Reverend Byles I will help out at the church."

Her mother sniffed. "I cannot believe you still attend services there when Reverend Byles has turned against our king."

"Reverend Byles is neutral, Mother. He has not spoken in favor of either side."

He does not speak in favor of our king either," her mother sniffed again as she left the nursery.

Hope looked at Charlotte. "We will go over to see Abigail and the children on Wednesday after I am finished at church."

Charlotte clapped her hands together, jumping up and down. "Goody!"

~*~* Page Break ~*~*

Pitcairn smiled as he read Abigail's letter. "Abigail writes that Master Thomas has been very good about obeying my order. Perhaps I should give him a field promotion for his good behavior."

Oliver looked up from Nabby's letter. "He'd like that and it would give him a reason to keep on following your order."

"That is true," Pitcairn agreed. "I shall give him a field promotion to Corporal." He looked at Oliver who had finished reading Nabby's letter. Pitcairn knew that Oliver kept all her letters carefully stored in his trunk. "What did Miss Abigail have to say?"

"She was telling me about her new tutor. Apparently this Miss Litchford studied with a retired college professor so she has the same amount of education as Dr. Warren."

"I suspect most male teachers do not have that much education," Pitcairn replied. "I am glad her mother was able to find someone so qualified to help Miss Abigail in her quest for a more thorough education."

"I guess a lot of parents would've told her she didn't need any more."

"Indeed. Many of them would have done exactly that," Pitcairn agreed. "It is a shame that woman are denied the same opportunities as men. I do hope Congress is planning to do something to remedy that."

"Nabby wrote me that her mother had written letters to her father telling him Congress should do just that."

"Hopefully Mr. Adams and the rest of the Congress will listen to Abigail's advice." Pitcairn paused a moment as he gathered his thoughts. "Oliver, there is something else I wish to speak to you about."

"All right," Oliver replied nodding.

Pitcairn sat down beside Oliver on his cot. "As you know despite our precautions, the Regulars may gain a foothold here and if they do, we will need to abandon the area very quickly. General Washington, myself, and his other staff officers have come up with an escape plan which involves taking as much as we can and burning whatever we must leave."

"I understand," Oliver said.

"We have also discussed an alternative plan of striking camp and moving it before the Regulars can breach our defenses. General Washington is thinking about moving the camp to higher ground so we are in a better position to repel the Regulars In either case it would mean you will need to go ahead without me."

Oliver's face fell and he stared at his boots. "But …but what if something happens to you and I'm not there to help you?"

"I know there is danger if the Regulars do breach our defenses, but I will not be leading a charge this time. General Washington's main concern will be getting our army out of here intact rather than fighting the Regulars."

"All right," Oliver conceded then looked up with a fierce gleam in his eyes. "But I'm holding you to it!"

"I would expect nothing less," Pitcairn answered with a smile at his son.

The next morning Oliver whistled cheerfully as he washed up after brushing and feeding Regina and Liberty. He turned to his father. "Are you going out on patrol today?"

Pitcairn nodded. "Lieutenant Revere and Dawes suggested laying some traps like they did on the bluff overlooking our camp outside of Boston and possibly being able to catch that peacock brigand of Loyalists. I think that is an excellent idea as did General Washington."

"Dr Warren is having me put the tincture into bottles and jars today so you can probably start giving it to your men tomorrow. He also gonna have me help him prepare the ingredients for that poultice he puts on wounds."

Pitcairn nodded. "He will need a lot of it if there is a battle."

"Yeah, I guess so," Oliver said nodding. "He gonna show me how to bandage a wound properly too so I can help him by changing bandages."

Pitcairn shook his head. "I have often wondered how he managed to save me. He must have been exhausted after treating all the wounded from Bunker Hill and yet he was willing to take care of our wounded men also had any of them still been alive."

"I'm glad General Gage got sent back to England. I hope the king and Parliament aren't dumb enough to ever give him command again."

"Unfortunately this war may take its toll of officers, but I doubt he shall ever be sent here if he is ever given command again."

"Good! He should rot in hell for what he did to you!" Oliver said vehemently.

"He may do exactly that," Pitcairn said. "Come, we best hurry if we do not want to eat cold porridge."

Pitcairn, Whiting, their men, Revere, and Dawes rode to the area where they had last seen the Loyalist. With help from Pitcairn's and Whiting's soldiers, they set up a series of traps. One of them was a sandbag sitting up on a tree branch ready to swing down and hit one of the Loyalist as they rode past, knocking him off his horse. Another was a log tied at each end by a rope which would swing down and knock several of them off their horses at once and probably cause several others to jump off or be thrown by their horses. The final trick was a rope pulled tight across the road.

Major Whiting chuckled as he brushed off his clothes that had gotten dusty. "We might be able to catch the lot of them."

"Yes and perhaps we shall manage to capture Colonel Fanning along with his men," Pitcairn replied as he dusted off his clothing and drew back on his regimental coat and his hat that he had taken off to help set the traps.

They stationed two soldiers on either sides of the road where they had the rope covered in dirt. Two men were up in the trees ready to push the swinging log down and Dawes was up in the tree with the sandbag once again having lost a coin flip to Paul. He was their lookout and would signal by owl hoot. Everybody else was hidden in the trees, muskets at ready. Pitcairn took one of his pistols out of its holster and cocked it as did Paul and Major Whiting.

After about 15 minutes they could hear the sound of many horses coming then Dawes hooted and yelled down, "Twenty to twenty-five men headed this way."

Pitcairn waved at Dawes in response that they understood. Paul held up his hand to the men who were pulling the rope across the road as the riders came into view and said, "Wait for it …now!"

The horses jerked away from the rope frightened and in some cases throwing their riders off. The sandbag Dawes pushed down knocked two others off their horses and when the log came down at them the ones remaining mounted jumped off their horses to avoid being hit by it.

The soldiers quickly surrounded them. Pitcairn holstered his pistol and strolled over to the man whose epaulets indicated her was of the highest rank amongst his men. "Colonel Fanning I presume?" He asked as he pulled the Colonel to his feet.

"I am Colonel Edmund Fanning," he announced seeing the men surrounding them. "You are British?"

"I am second-in-command to General Washington and he wishes to speak with you."

Fanning's face hardened. "You are a traitor then, Sir!"

"This way, Colonel Fanning," Pitcairn replied ignoring the insult and leading him over to where Paul was holding his horse. The soldiers meanwhile gathered up all the weapons lying on the ground. Private Asher brought over Regina and Devon and both Pitcairn and Whiting mounted them. The soldiers formed a barrier around the Loyalist troop as they prepared for the march back to camp.

Pitcairn took out his sword and thrust it into the air, "Forward march." He had, with General Washington's permission, begun training the men in silent commands using only his sword, but he still called out the commands along with the sword motions until the men had them embedded in their memories.

Major Whiting rode along side of Pitcairn. Paul and Dawes rode on the other side of him with Fanning riding between them.

*endotwikipediadotorg/wiki/King%27s_American_Regiment

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