Reminiscences of Dr. William Read, Arranged From Notes and Papers (Part VI)

Dr. Read here retrogrades to relate a story in the operations of this campaign, highly to the credit of Gen. Morgan, which should not be lost. Dr. Read, after parting with Gen. Greene on the evening of their crossing the Yadkin, walked into camp, and on enquiring for Gen. Morgan, whom he was desirous of seeing, he found him in a tent laying on leaves, under a blanket. On enquiry, the General said he was very sick, rheumatic from head to feet. The Doctor gave him advice to leave camp, and retire to some place of safety, and warm quarters. The General said, "I do not know where that is to be found until I reach Virginia." Dr. Read left him and walked down to the river, where were a number of officers observing the arrival of the enemy on the rising grounds over the rive, column after column, which he and they contemplated as long as the light served them. Presently he saw Morgan come down to the river. Several offices approached him on seeing anxiety in his manner, and enquired what was the matter. The General's reply was short and evasive. At length Dr. Read made up to him, to reproach him for not following his advice, which was to seek an opportunity of perspiration as remedy against his painful rheumatic affection. The General said: "to you, Dr. Read, I will be explicit, as it may give you some business. I have laid an ambuscade of 120 Virginia men for the British; we hope to do them some harm." Dr. Read's reply was: "good God, is it possible!" He did not think they had a hostile man over the river, and expressed his wonder how they could escape. The General observed that this was one of the strategies of war that must be resorted to, and as to the hazard, brave men were always prepared for it. At this moment a firing was heard; the General appeared in ecstacy. "There are my rifles, there the British pistol;" now a barking and howling of dogs were heard, then all was still, and a solemn silence ensued. Dr. Read stood looking over the dark expanse, reflecting on the horrors of war, when he saw an object which appeared like a vision. It was the discharge of a gun; a man on horseback falling backwards, then all was obscurity. He spoke of it; it was treated like a thing of imagination, and Dr. Read, mistrusting his own vision, insisted no more on it. Gen. Morgan was gone, and soon after Dr. Read retired to his camp. The next morning the General and a number of officers were at the river, to know the fate of the ambuscade. Presently was seen a company of men marching in loose order up the banks of the riverwet, and apparently much fatigued. Numbers made enquiry, and conversed on the subject. Dr. Read related what he had seen the night before, and pointed to the spot, where there appeared to lay an object like a dead man; when a young man stepped up and said: "It is true, sir, I am the man. I was pursued by a dragoon when running across that field; he overtook me, and I wheeled about and shot him; I think he fell. At the moment he gave my rifle a heavy cut;" and showing his rifle, the sabre cut was evident. The horse ran off, and the rifleman made good his retreat. Dr. Read now accosted the bystanders with a hope that they were no longer incredulous. Dr. Read spoke encouragingly to the young soldier, whose name was Campbell, and advised him to keep that rifle as a sacred deposit. After this battle, some anxiety was expressed to know its fate, when two young men, Steel and Gillespie, volunteered to go over the river and see. They mounted fine horses, and rode down a hill, which seemed vastly precipitous, and riding to the western end of the rocky island that gives the name of Island Ford to the crossing place, they crossed the river, and saw numbers of soldiers burying the dead in large pits. Some of Morgan's ambuscade were missing, but Dr. Read never heard of their fate. He marched next morning on his important command, and never returned to this part of the country, and he never met Morgan again to enquire the history of this expedition. An army is a little world, composed chiefly of men; the members of it form an acquaintance which is speedily to be estrangedthey contract friendships which are soon to be ended by arbitrary severation, never to meet again. A surgeon parts with his amiable young friend, and sees him on the same day brought in a corpsehe parts with an old acquaintance to join him in serving, while in the midst of battle he sees him brought off the field a dying man. In another instance a wounded officer is brought many miles, a valued intimate acquaintance, to have a wounded arm amputated. Alas! Poor Col. Ford! He had seen Dr. Read amputate at Monmouth, and insisted on being brought to him for that friendly office; when, behold, the postponement became fatally destructivehe spasmed and died, and severed two manly hearts long attached to each other. Col. Ford departed with extraordinary fortitude, being sensible of his approaching death. He had been bred to physic; all matters for his funeral were appointed by himself. The music was instructed to practice at his quarters, and the tune prescribed. Some romantic circumstances ensued in consequence of this death. Ford was under the impression that the departed could communicate with the living, and he promised to appear to Dr. Read on the night of his death. Dr. Read, considering the possibility of the thing, sat up alone, anxiously waiting the event, but no ghost appeared. He waited until twelve o'clock, when ghosts are said to retire; then, putting on his night-gown, he walked out to Gen. Polk's burial-ground, where the mortal remains of his friend were deposited, and invoking him, remained there an hour. This proceeding was useless, no ghost was seen, no voice heard. It was imprudent, as his (Dr. Read's) appearance, in a white gown, gave an alarm which was attended with serious consequences; not, however, worth relating here. Dr. Read continued to exercise his professional avocations in Charlotte, receiving the sick and wounded from all the outposts, and the operations of Colonels Marion, Sumter, Hampton and Maham, likewise of the gallant Harry Lee of the Legion; aided and assisted by Drs. Gillet, senior and junior, and by Dr. Robert Brownfield, he did a great deal of good to the service. The several gentlemen, aides-de-camp of Gen. Greene's army, came to Dr. Read in bad health, in succession, from their arduous duties in the low countryColonels Lewis, Morris, Shubrick, Pierce, Pendleton, Major Burnet, Col. Kosciusko, Carrington and Gunbythe latter to decide an affair of honor. Gunby lost his right thumb. Dr. Read received them all in comfort, being enabled to do so by the zealous assistance of his Commissary, Matthew McClure, from his popularity with the people of the country, and mainly by the services of a soldier, who, possessing the art of slight of hand, would go through the country and exercise his art, to the diversion of the people, and profit of the mess, in poultry, pigs, eggs, and small meats. Elliot had been dismissed the Maryland line for diminutiveness, which he thought very hard, as he had marched and fought alongside of many a tall fellow, through a severe campaign; he was, however, eminently useful to Dr. Read's mess, enabling him to keep a table like any general officer. He was enabled to receive in comfort many of the exchanged prisoners who wended their way south after their exchange on the field of Virginia; among them was Henry Middleton, John Middleton, Henry Peronneau, John Badly, &c., &c., and Dr. Read's young brother George P. Read. About this time Dr. Read was informed by some of Gen. Polk's scouts that a British officer lay near the Catawba, in a lone woman's house, badly wounded. Dr. Read, ever ready in any work of humanity, feeling excited, determined to see and relieve the wounded officer, required of Gen. Polk a guide and two mounted men, set out, and after riding hard for two hours, reached the house. There lay a fine-looking officer, leaning on an old woman's bosom, while a negro man stood preparing to dress his wounded side. He appeared alarmed at his arrival until Read informed him his errand; he thanked him kindly. The old lady remarked that he could not have said so much three or four days ago; she then proceeded to relate the circumstance. "That about two weeks ago an officer of dragoons of Greene's army came there with this wounded man behind his servant, and left him with her, saying, that he could not wait, requesting me to take care of him. He stopped, however, a few minutes, and loosened his valise and took from it a bundle, saying: 'on leaving home my mother gave me this bundle, saying, if you should be wounded, or any friends of yours, open this bundle.' He loosened the bundle saying, "I consider this suffering fellow creature entitled to my kindness, although an enemy.' It contained lint and bandages, and a box of pills; he shared the lint and bandages, and divided the pills, and gave directions; they were as remedy in case of spasm. The good creature, God bless him, then rode off." The wounded man now spoke, saying, "I was sensible of all that passed, although I could not speak. I had lost a foretooth which happily made an aperture, through which I took water through the spout of a tea-pot, and by the same opening I took the pills. In about twelve or sixteen hours I could open my mouth, which was completely locked; I had taken four pills." On examining the mass, Dr. Read thought they were of opium, camphor and musk. Dr. Read had carried with him a bottle of wine; he made the wounded man take a glass of it and proceeded to examine and dress his wounds. A musket ball had struck a rib, and glanced out, ripping the skin and muscle four inches long; a sabre or hatchet cut over the ear was to the bone. He had not been conscious of the wound to the head. He had belonged, or commanded a flanking advance of their army, which pursued Greene after the retreat from Ninety-Six, and was shot down and abandoned by his men. The officer who took him up was one of Greene's rear, and finding him on the ground alive, placed him behind his mounted servant, and brought him to this house as related.

(From Documentary History of the American Revolution, by Gibbes, Volume 2, pp. 248-293)