But the plan failed. The action of the court was so rapid that it gave no time in which to carry out Arnold's capture. While Washington and Lee were eagerly waiting news from Champe, the court had fixed on the immediate execution of André's sentence, and Washington was forced to consent to it. It is said that his hand could hardly command the pen when he signed this death warrant. André met death like a brave gentleman. He hoped to the last to be shot, and when he entered the field of execution and saw the gallows, he gave an involuntary start. "I am reconciled to death,"

he said, "but I detest the mode."

"While waiting near the gallows," said an eye-witness of the scene, "I saw some degree of trepidation, a choking in his throat, as if he attempted to swallow. So soon as he perceived all things were ready, however, he stepped into the wagon, saying, 'It will be but a momentary pang,' and taking from his pocket two white handkerchiefs, the provost-marshal with one pinioned his arms, and with the other the victim himself bandaged his own eyes with perfect firmness, which melted the hearts and moistened the eyes, not only of his servant, but the throng of spectators. He then adjusted the rope to his neck without the assistance of the awkward executioner. Then raising the handkerchief from his eyes he said, I pray you to bear me witness, that I meet my fate like a brave man.'” Thus ended Major André's life, a tragedy which is one of the most touching of this whole war.

Champe in the mean time pursued the plans to take Arnold, and once had laid a complete plot to capture him, and deliver him into the hands of Lee. At the very moment it was to be carried out, Arnold was removed to a new command, and Champe, who was now acting as a deserter in the English service, was also ordered elsewhere. He did not rejoin the Americans for months. When at length he reappeared, his comrades were astonished to see Lee meet him with marks of warmest friendship, but after his story was known, the whole corps to which he belonged joined in honoring and admiring him.

CHAPTER XLIX.

DEFEAT AND VICTORY IN THE SOUTH.

Misfortunes of Gates in South Carolina. - A Stronghold on King's Mountain. - General Greene takes Command. A Ragged Army. Victory at Cowpens. Sharp Retort of a Patriotic The Bravery of South Carolina Women.

Woman..

DISASTER still followed the American flag in South Carolina. In July, 1780, General Gates was dispatched with a large army to oppose Cornwallis in his victorious career there. Baron de Kalb, the French officer who had come to serve under Washington, was second to Gates in command.

Since his victory over the British army in Saratoga, Gates had lost the modesty which befits a true hero. He talked vain-gloriously about" Burgoyning the army of Cornwallis," believing that he need only to march south to swallow it up as easily as he had conquered Burgoyne. It was very hot weather, and his troops were many of them Northern men, unaccustomed to the climate. He marched them under the torrid sun without sufficient rest or proper food. Much of the time they were forced to eat green corn and vegetables gathered on the march. Diseases of all kinds set in, and when the troops reached South Carolina and encamped a few miles from Cornwallis, most of them were fitter for a hospital than a battle-field. Gates was for immediate battle, against the advice of De Kalb and several other officers. The result was, that when the battle of Camden was fought, on the 19th of August, the Americans were entirely unfit to meet the enemy. A portion of them threw down their arms and fled, when they saw the British approaching with fixed bayonets

Baron de Kalb.

in fierce charge. Baron de Kalb's division stood their ground and fought bravely but vainly, and the Americans suffered a bloody defeat. Baron de Kalb, pierced with eleven wounds, fell at the head of his troops. By the terrible ill-fortune in the battle of Camden, Gates lost the prestige he had gained at Saratoga. He was soon after removed from his position, and General Greene was sent to take

Cornwallis, believing himself now secure in his hold on the South, sent two bodies of soldiery to scour the country, and cut off the lin

gering remnant of the militia who were still holding out against the army. One of these bands was commanded by the notorious Tarleton; the other was under Colonel Ferguson, a man almost as much hated by the patriots as Tarleton.

Ferguson marched over the line to Georgia, where a band of the militia, in this darkest hour for freedom, had taken up their stand. He halted on King's Mountain, a mile and a half from the Carolina border. Several miles below, the militia had heard of Ferguson's approach, and had mustered all their strength to meet him. They intercepted a messenger to Cornwallis bearing this dispatch: "I hold a position on King's Mountain that all the rebels in hell cannot drive me from. FERGUSON."

Nothing daunted by this bravado, the militia marched on till they were in sight of the enemy's camp. There was a fierce onset, a fierce defense. The militia charged up the hill. The British met them with fixed bayonets. It was said and believed in the British army, that the Americans might stand fire, but they would run before a charge of bayonets. This time the proverb failed. The men stood like rocks before the English weapons. Both sides fought like lions. At last a cry of "Quarter! Quarter!" broke from Ferguson's men, and shouts of victory rose from the militia. These men, imperfectly disciplined, half clothed, shoeless, hatless, with such arms as they could collect together, had

Kosciuszko.

General Greene brought with him several able officers, when he came down to South Carolina to take the command of the army, where Gates had failed so signally. He had brave General Morgan, who had served in the campaign against Burgoyne, and fought at the battle of Stillwater. General Lee, who had been Washington's confidant in the endeavor to capture Arnold, also joined Greene, with a body of cavalry, and Colonel Washington, a relative of the commander-in-chief, met his army there. A brave young Polish officer,

named Thaddeus Kosciuszko, also went as a civil engineer, to make the plans for fortifications. This Kosciuszko had also planned the defense at Bemis Heights in the campaign against Burgoyne, and had been hard at work strengthening West Point, and making it a stronghold which the British had found impregnable. Young Kos

Nothiness

ciuszko was a noble friend to liberty, and afterwards fought bravely in his own unhappy country of Poland, to gain the freedom for her, that he had helped the United States to gain for themselves.

The army that awaited General Greene in South Carolina was not a very promising one. It was ragged and dirty, and looked very much like the famous army of Falstaff, in Shakspeare's play of "Henry IV." There were a great many militia belonging to the State in its ranks, and although they often fought bravely, they could not be relied on in a pitched battle, as fully as the Continental troops, who had been drilled and disciplined by long service in the But Greene worked vigorously, and showed himself a master of strategy in his Carolina campaign.

war.

The

The first battle after his arrival was fought on the 17th of January, 1781, at Cowpens in South Carolina. The place has not a very romantic name. It was so called from a herd of cows who had been penned up near the battle-field. It was not far from King's Mountain, where Ferguson had been defeated, and the battle was fought by the troops of Morgan and Tarleton. Morgan was retreating toward the north, and Tarleton had been ordered to pursue him. He was so sure of an easy victory that he led his men forward without giving them time to eat or sleep. At Cowpens Morgan suddenly turned and accepted the challenge to fight. day ended in victory for the Americans and in Tarleton's complete route. At first the Americans had given way, and Tarleton thought they were retreating, but at the moment he was sure of victory, young Colonel Washington rode up with a body of cavalry and sent the redcoats flying from the field. After this battle, which proved that the redoubtable Tarleton was no more invincible than Ferguson, the American hopes rose higher. The news of the victory reached the ears of a patriotic lady in whose house Tarleton had quartered himself and a party of officers. He knew the lady had a great admiration of Colonel William Washington, and took every opportunity of sneering at him.

"I should like once to see your friend, Mr. Washington," he said one day. "I hear he is very insignificant in his appearance.'

"If you had taken time to look behind you at Cowpens, Colonel Tarleton, you might have seen Colonel Washington," rejoined the lady. Her tongue was too sharp for the British officer, and he said no more after this.

The patriotic women of South Carolina equaled the men in bravery. They not only encouraged their husbands and sons by brave words, but often acted the part of messengers in expeditions of trust and secrecy. Two brave women whose husbands were in the army, disguised themselves in the dress of men, and intercepted two British soldiers bearing dispatches, captured the papers, and bore them to General Greene, whose camp was not far distant. They showed the spirit of the noble matron who told Cornwallis she had seven sons in the army with General Sumter.

Cornwallis had stopped at her house to dine on his march northward, and when, in answer to his inquiries she told him this fact, he endeavored to persuade her of the folly of fighting against the king, and the superior advantages they would enjoy in joining his army.