The Glorious Cause - Jeff Shaara [75]
The wind howled past him, and he turned the horse, cursed the winter, knew it would only get worse in the weeks ahead. He shivered, pulled again at the coat, and his staff was up close to him now, knew without him saying anything that he had enough of this for today. He began to move the horse, saw another rider coming from the east, the man led by a jager. He recognized the man with dread, one of Howe’s aides.
The man was shivering, retrieved a packet from his saddle, said, “General Cornwallis, I am pleased to find you, sir.” Cornwallis said nothing, was in no mood for pleasant chat. “General Howe offers his congratulations on the extraordinary progress of your march, and advises you that the general himself will be joining you here at Brunswick.”
The dread had now turned ice-cold, and Cornwallis said, “Here? General Howe is coming here?”
“Oh, quite, sir. The general has ordered you to remain at post here until he arrives. He is quite eager to accompany you on the chase, sir.”
“When might the general arrive?”
“Oh, um, any day now, sir.”
Cornwallis could see a bland pleasantness on the man’s face, oblivious to the significance of his message. Cornwallis moved the horse again, felt another blast of wind, left the man sitting alone, moved toward a long row of small houses. So, we shall sit tight and wait for General Howe. And he will arrive any day now.
DECEMBER 7, 1776
It took Howe nearly a week to fight the elements and his own habit of making a comfortable camp at every stop along the way. When he had finally reached Brunswick, Cornwallis’ engineers had finished their work, and the army was ready to cross the Raritan. But Washington’s army was no longer anywhere to be seen.
With Howe now commanding the column, the pursuit began again. Every day brought more rebel prisoners, and once the weather dried out, and the roads hardened, Cornwallis had seen for himself the dark streaks and stains on the road, the blood from the bare feet of Washington’s men.
Cornwallis could make no excuses, could not avoid riding alongside his superior, that sort of decorum so very important to Howe. Around them, the army had made good time, Howe not holding them back, beyond the luxury of allowing the men to sleep until well after daylight. It was frustrating to Cornwallis, an annoying lapse of efficiency, but he would not make any objection to Howe, knew the morale of his men had to be kept high. They were moving farther and farther inland, away from the security of their supply base, and away from any significant help should they suddenly find themselves in a fight.
They reached the outskirts of Princeton, and Cornwallis could see the jagers swarming through the college, helmeted soldiers appearing in the windows of the large building, Nassau Hall. There had been no trouble, no snipers, nothing at all to cause alarm. The college was nearly empty, ghostlike. Cornwallis knew that the college president, John Witherspoon, was an outspoken rebel, would respond to the British advance by closing the college, sending the young men scurrying through the countryside, ridiculous threats of grave consequences should they stay in the town.
Most of the townspeople had left as well, but in the streets he could see the curious emerging. There were more stragglers, of course, those who would collapse into the small comforts of the town. Already his advance patrols were rounding them up.
The jagers were out in front again, and the reports kept coming to him in a steady stream. Washington’s army could not be far ahead. The sound of axes was echoing through the woods, the rebels cutting trees, dropping them across the road just in front of the army’s progress, a feeble attempt to hold Howe back.
They rode past a small tavern, and Cornwallis saw a British flag in the window, thought, How long has that been there? Likely not while Mr. Washington was in the area. I wonder if that fellow is a true loyalist, or just someone with an instinct for the pragmatic.
Howe had issued a proclamation, calling for loyal subjects to the king to step