Sorry this is an all-Martin chapter, but I promise we'll return to our handsome dragoon's doings in the next chapter!
After a few hours of hard riding, Benjamin Martin and his son, Gabriel, approached a large log structure at the junction of two roads. Several horses and a couple of wagons were tied outside near it.
Ben had thought of his children throughout much of the long journey, reluctant at having to leave them in the care of his elder sister so soon after their brother's death. But it could not be helped. Tavington was a malevolent presence upon the land and he had to be stopped for the sake of his children's future. Martin knew he'd been woefully naïve to think he could just ignore the war raging all around him and go on with his life as if nothing was happening. He now knew that as a man with practical fighting experience, it was his duty to go to war to defend his family, his home, and his neighbours from marauding predators such as William Tavington and his dragoons.
As they reached the log building, Gabriel interrupted Ben's ruminations. "Is this the place you were talking about?" Ben had told his son earlier that they might find some of the men he'd served with in the French and Indian War at a place called Wilson's Tavern, which was on the road to Ninety-Six.
"Yes, this is the place," Ben affirmed. "And it looks as if plenty of people are here, too."
As he and Gabriel tied their horses to two unoccupied trees, he noticed a slatternly looking woman sitting under a tree, watching four young children splashing in the creek behind the tavern. She looked vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place her and he assumed that she was no doubt waiting for her man to come out of the tavern.
Not giving the woman another thought, he and Gabriel entered the tavern, which was dank with the odour of unwashed bodies and tobacco smoke. Gabriel looked around the room with distaste as he and his father made their way over to the bar, narrowing missing being hit when a nearby backwoodsman spit a stream of tobacco juice in his general direction.
"I can't believe my eyes!" A tall, homely man with dishwater coloured hair and scraggly teeth came up to Benjamin Martin and clapped him on the back. "Look, boys, it's Captain Martin!" Taking notice of Gabriel for the first time, he exclaimed. "And this can't be little Gabriel. Why, the last time I saw you, you weren't no bigger 'n a possum!"
"John Billings!" Ben Martin greeted the taller man with a big smile, sticking his hand out for the big man to shake. "Just the man I wanted to see!"
After Gabriel had bought two drinks, Ben said in a lower tone of voice, "Anybody here tonight from the old days? There's some things I think all of you ought to know about."
Billings pointed to the back corner, where a half drunk man sat drinking straight out of a bottle. The small man's face was badly scarred and combined with beady eyes and hollow cheeks, it gave him a distinctly rat-like appearance. "There's Rollins. He comes here most nights, along with several others from the war."
Martin looked around the room, noticing others he'd served with as well. "Good. Let's join Rollins in the back where we can talk."
A moment later, Ben and Gabriel had settled around the long table, along with Billings, Rollins, and several other men.
"I'm glad to find so many of you here," Ben began. "It will make my job that much easier. It's a bit of a long story, so bear with me."
Taking a deep breath, he continued, "About a week ago, there was a skirmish near my house. Gabriel, who's with Burwell's Continentals, had spent the night, as he'd been sent off on a courier mission. We did what we could to doctor the wounded on both sides. Not long after the battle, the British Green Dragoons showed up."
Martin paused for a long moment to collect himself before continuing. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he pushed on. "I could tell their leader was bent on destruction from the moment he rode up -- he was just looking for an excuse. He had his men search the house where they, of course, found the dispatch case. Gabriel had taken off his regimental coat so he'd not get it dirty while helping me tend to the wounded, Tavington -- the dragoon commander -- took that as proof that Gabriel was a spy and immediately took him into custody."
Stopping again briefly to bring himself under control, he said, "And then that bastard shot my second son, Thomas, down like a dog. He was only fifteen." He conveniently did not mention what Thomas had done to provoke the dragoon leader. "Before leaving, he fired my house and barn, took all my horses, and destroyed much of what was left."
Brushing a strand of hair back behind his ear, he looked intently at each one of the men in turn and declared, "When all of this began, I'd though I could just mind my own business, not get involved, and just wait it out. I was wrong. You have to take a stand and fight for what's right. I came here today to see how many of you would join me. What happened to me could happen to any one of you, if it hasn't already. And it's not only Tavington's dragoons out there, as I suppose that most of you have heard by now about the massacre of Abe Buford's men at the Waxhaws by Tarleton's Legion."
"He's right," Rollins put in. "Those same bastards stopped at my sister's farm and did the same to her. Hanged my brother-in-law, burned her house down, and set her slaves loose."
Looking at Benjamin Martin with narrowed eyes, he said coldly. "I'm takin' my woman and my sister and her youngins to stay in Pembroke. But after I see them settled, I aim to join you and kill me some of them lobsterbacks. It'll be just like the old days when we taught them no-good Indians and them meddlin' Frenchies a good lesson. We won't show those redcoats and their Tory friends any more mercy than we showed back then."
Turning to give the other men a hard gaze, Rollins demanded, "Well? Are the rest of you with me?"
"Count me in," Billings said. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect my wife and my boy."
Several other men decided to join up and by the time Ben and Gabriel got back on the road to Pembroke the next morning, they had ten men accompanying them. Rollins promised to catch up to them later, as he'd be travelling at a slower pace with a wagon carrying women and children.
As the group neared Pembroke, about three miles from the village, Ben called for a rest stop adjacent to a concealed path into the woods.
"You may be wondering why I wanted to stop here," he began as the men gathered around him. Walking a few steps, he revealed the hidden pathway, then continued, "If you follow this path, it will take you to Black Swamp. There's a spot of land there that will make a good campsite and base for our operations. I need for all of you to go there and set up camp, until Gabriel and I can bring out the fresh recruits from Pembroke. You'll be safe there if any British patrols happen to come anywhere near Pembroke." After a pause, he added, "I'll be bringing out as many supplies as I can come up with in town."
A short time later, as Ben and Gabriel were once again on their way into Pembroke, Gabriel noted, "It's a good thing that it's Sunday -- everyone will be in church and we can get to them all at once."
"You're right," his father agreed. "The sooner I can get everyone organized and outfitted, the happier I'll be. Tavington and Tarleton aren't going to waste any time and neither should we." After a pause, he added, "I'm hoping that Peter Howard will help to outfit us and give us a discount on things we buy from him.":
Gabriel smiled to himself at the mention of Peter Howard, as this reminded him of Mr Howard's daughter, Anne. Gabriel had been sweet on Anne for several years and looked forward to seeing her again. As the two men rode the final mile into town, Gabriel thought it might be a good time to announce his intentions to formally court Anne to her parents.
Upon entering town, the two men headed directly for the church, where services were still going on. After tying their horses to a tree, Gabriel hesitated at the door. "Do you think we ought to go inside now? It sounds as if Reverend Oliver is still giving his sermon."
"It can't be helped," Ben decided. "If we wait until the reverend is finished, we might not get everyone's attention, as most of them will be eager to get home for supper. You know how long-winded Reverend Oliver tends to be."
Gabriel chuckled, knowing the truth of his father's words, as he followed him up the steps.
The door opened with a loud squeal, calling everyone's attention to them. Heads turned as the two men removed their hats upon entering the sanctuary.
Ben stepped forward to address the irritated minister who glared at both men, eyebrows raised at the interruption.
"Forgive us, Reverend," Ben said quietly, "But we have a matter of the utmost importance to discuss with the entire town that cannot wait."
Oliver heaved a theatrical sigh, then growled, "By all means. I was just about done here, anyway."
"Thank you, Reverend," Ben said as he moved to take the podium from the older man. Turning to the congregation, he began, "Like many of you, I thought I could just live my life as I always have and ignore the war going on around me, I thought that if I minded my own business that the war would pass me by."
Sweeping his gaze across the entire congregation, he continued, "But I was wrong. I can't stick my head in the sand and pretend there's not a war happening. None of us can. We all must take a side and fight for our homes and families."
After a long pause, he added, "Just the other day, the Green Dragoons came to my farm and changed my life forever. They burned my farm, stole my horses, and took Gabriel into custody as a spy, intending to hang him once they got him back to the fort. And if this wasn't bad enough, their leader, Tavington, shot and killed my fifteen year old son, Thomas, just because he got in the way."
Taking a deep breath, he said, "As you can see, I managed to rescue Gabriel -- I won't bore you with the details of how -- but Thomas is gone forever."
"And if you think this was an isolated incident and couldn't happen to you, I spoke to a man yesterday whose brother-in-law was killed when Tavington's dragoons visited his farm a few days before mine."
Seeing he was having the desired effect, Martin pressed on. "And it's not just Tavington's dragoons we have to worry about. A few days ago, there was a battle between Abe Buford's men and Tarleton's Legion up at the Waxhaws. Buford tried to surrender, but Tarleton did not give them any quarter. Men holding white flags were cut down where they stood. If that's how the British intend to fight this war, then we can't depend on the Continentals to protect us. We'll have to protect ourselves and assist the Continentals as much as we can."
Looking over to where Peter Howard sat with his family, Martin concluded, "That's about all I have to say. I need to talk to Mr Howard privately for a few minutes, so I'll leave you to discuss what I've said among yourselves. Don't tarry in making your decisions, however, as I need volunteers right away. I intend to head out tonight to meet up with other men I've already recruited."
Gesturing to Howard to follow him outside as he stepped from the podium, Martin quickly left the sanctuary amidst the murmuring of conversation as the men talked among themselves. He noticed that Gabriel had already begun to engage Peter's pretty young daughter, Anne, in conversation in the back of the church by a window.
A few moments later, Ben Martin stood outside the church under an overcast sky as Howard opened the door to join him.
"It would seem as if our children have taken a great liking to one another," Howard remarked after he'd closed the heavy church door behind him. "But I believe that Gabriel has always been especially fond of Anne."
"I'm surprised she still wants anything to do with him after he put that ink in her tea," Martin chuckled. "She either has the patience of a saint or she's truly in love."
The other man laughed, then said, "I think they'll make a fine couple, actually."
"So, you approve of him courting her, then?" Ben asked. "He'd planned to ask you formally before we left tonight."
"He'll have my blessing," the other man said quietly. After a moment, he said, "About the business at hand, you know I'd join with you in a minute if I could." He looked down, gesturing helplessly at his wooden leg. "But I'm afraid I gave all I had to give in the last war."
"There is still a way you can be of great help, however," Ben said. "I asked you out here to find out if you could see your way clear to offer me and my men any sort of discount on the supplies we'll be needing: guns, ammunition, food, camping supplies, saddles, horse feed, and so on."
"I can do even better than that," Howard said, looking intently at the other man. "I'll donate as much as I can and what I can't donate, I'll let you have at cost. It's the least I can do, considering I can no longer actively fight."
Benjamin Martin was stunned and could not speak for a long moment. Finally he found his voice and said, "Truly, you are a great Patriot, sir. There's no way I could ever adequately thank or repay you."
"No thanks are necessary," Howard growled. "Just drive those British predators from our state so that our future grandchildren will have a peaceful home to grow up in."
"Consider it done, sir," Martin vowed.
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I omitted Anne's movie speech from the chapter, as a young woman giving a speech in church would have been considered scandalous at the time, unless one was a Quaker, which the people of Pembroke were not. The battle of the Waxhaws is also true, though accounts differ as to exactly what happened there in regards to giving quarter.
I have posted a new entry on my blog, "Tavington's Theme Song, Illustrated", which can be accessed from my profile. It does not relate directly to this story, but is rather a matching of photos to lyrics of a song that reminds me of Tavington, which also includes a link to listen to the song. I worked hard on it, so I'd be curious to see what readers think.
Next chapter yet to be named, though I've nearly finished writing it.