Major Nathaniel Squirrel and His Excellency
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MAJOR NATHANIEL SQUIRREL AND HIS EXCELLENCY BY TERRENCE P. MCGARTY Copyright © 2009 Terrence P McGarty, all rights reserved. 14 Second Morristown Winter CONTENTS (December 1780-May 1781) ................. 51 15 Onto the Battle of Yorktown ( July - October 1781) ...................................... 54 16 Fraunces Tavern (December 4, 1 Meeting a Friend ................................. 3 1783) ........................................................ 57 2 Nathaniel Meets His Excellency 17 President George (April 30, 1789) (January 1777) .......................................... 6 62 3 Conversations with Billy Lee ............ 9 18 Epilog ............................................... 69 4 Nathaniel Receives His Commission 13 5 Battle of Short Hills (June 1777) .... 16 6 Meeting Lt. Jean Pierre Menard ...... 21 7 Scouting the British at Philadelphia (August-September 1777) .................... 24 8 Battle of Germantown (October 4, 1777) ........................................................ 28 9 Winter at Valley Forge (Dec 1777 to May 1778) ................................................ 33 10 Battle of Monmouth (June 1778) 34 11 Interlude Year and The Battle of Paulus Hook (August 1779) ................. 39 12 First Morristown Winter (December 1779 to May 1780) ............ 41 13 Battle of Springfield (June 1780) 49 Page 2 of 71 1 MEETING A FRIEND Jockey My wife and I decided to take a break from the heavy task of working the nursery plants and walk quietly through the park, a break from my Hollow is a friends, and the constant talk with my little furry acquaintance. We were ten wonderful park in miles from the house and felt a sense Morris County and a of separation from the almost constant demands of the summer nursery work, beautiful place to take a a simple day off. long walk on a warm We walked down the paths towards the summer day. The trees huts, which were built in the style of those used by Washington's troops. are tall, over a hundred The path was cool and dry and the feet tall, so that air is woods were all dark green with midsummer growth. Then after about cool and breezy a mile we came upon the open field with the hill filled with the huts, before beneath them. going any further we sat down and rested in the breeze coming off the meadow. Page 3 of 71 had that squirrel smile to which by I laid back and looked up into the tall now I had become accustomed. He ash trees when what to my surprise, I shouted, as best as a squirrel could see Antnee and about twenty squirrels, shout and said to the two of us: sitting on branches as Antnee was lecturing them in his inimitable "Ah Sir, so nice to see you and Lady manner. I was now terrified that my Sara here as well. Why I was just quiet afternoon would suddenly starting to tell my nephews and nieces become a lecture on some ancient about old Major Nathaniel Squirrel and squirrel and how he changed the adventures. You Sir, will clearly humanity. want to hear this, you're being here and all, let me get a bit closer. And I looked to my wife and said in a how are you today Lady Sara, you look whisper" so fine in your hiking attire." "Sara, let's go quietly, now." My wife responded as if she were communicating with one of her friends Apparently, she was snoozing and she from the Equestrian Federation, very replied in a rather loud voice: classy and so solicitous! "What did you want!" Before I knew what had happened, Antnee had jumped to a branch just At which point I could see Antnee's above my head and in front of where I ears pop up and he looked down. He was resting. My wife had sat upright Page 4 of 71 and it was clear that she was to be were not as acclimated as he was, and delighted to hear the tale firsthand, in fact, they were all lean trim woods having only heard them from me after like squirrels. Antnee then began his the many lectures by Antnee. tale: Yet she and Antnee were close friends "Sir, let me begin, Sir. Today is a fine for she was the provider of the tale, a tale Sir about one of my own sunflower seeds, which had plumped ancestors. That is important to us up my fat furry friend. In fact, in the squirrels as well as you humans, you morning if we were both home and see Sir, we hold our ancestors in great eating breakfast it was Antnee who esteem. This ancestor was Major jumped on the deck and knocked on Nathaniel Squirrel, a member of the the door to remind her to fill the officer corps of the great George feeder. She would stop her breakfast, Washington. For you see Sir, it was retrieve the seed, fill the feeder and here and many other places where then return to eat! It was as if she Major Nathaniel assisted the great poured his cereal each day, a grown General Washington." squirrel, somewhat extreme if one asks me, yet no one ever did. At this point, I knew I was in for it. This was most likely going to be one of So back to Antnee. In his moving his longest tales. My wife was at this down, the now thirty or more other point totally absorbed in this story squirrels, I gather his family, moved telling. Hopefully she would follow, for ever so close. It was clear that they some time he did digress. Page 5 of 71 Watchung Mountains, between here and New York, where the British had hidden themselves. So the General 2 NATHANIEL MEETS HIS decided to stay in Morristown, which EXCELLENCY (JANUARY 1777) had about 70 homes and farms and the town itself was almost like today, a Antnee continued: small green in the middle, the same old church, and stores, just a few. "It was the winter of 1777, January to There was Arnold's Tavern, which be exact, and like now, it was a cold down stairs had a goodly tavern with winter. General Washington had just fine ale and whisky and up above there won the battle of Trenton and the were a few rooms for travelers. The Battle of Princeton and had come to General, you see Sir, was in need of a Morristown to spend the remainder of place to stay and plan for the coming the winter. You see Sir, and Lady Sara, year of fighting with the British. And in those days the winter camp was Sir, Mr. Arnold, and in fact Sir, all required during both the cold months those in the Morristown area, were of January thru March and the wet true patriots, not British loyalists as months of April and even May. It was they were in New York. They like the necessary to have freedom of General Sir sought freedom!" movement on the roads." I looked at my wife and she was now "You see Sir, in 1777, Morristown was captured by this storyteller. Yet she safe and secure on the west side of the had not been through as many as I Page 6 of 71 had. I on the other hand now suspected that this was going to be not "Well Sir, it was a cold morning in only a history lesson and another January 1777, and the General, oh Sir example of how squirrels save in those days he was called his humanity but would be a morality tale, Excellency, that is the way he was for Antnee was moving in that addressed, well his Excellency was out direction as he regaled me over the early walking the square about past few months! Morristown, as he was an athletic man, and he enjoyed the exercise. He was pondering what chances the troops would have against General Howe and his British forces. He sat beneath a large oak in the green, for they had places to sit, and the sun was shining brightly. He spoke softly but audibly to himself and said: "What will Howe do? How will I know, whom can I trust?" When out of nowhere came Nathaniel. Figure 1 General Washington, His Excellency He jumped on the ground in front of the General and the General said: He continued: Page 7 of 71 "Ah my hungry little friend. Here, I have some walnuts from last night, Nathaniel replied: they will fill you up." "Your Excellency, you are well known, Upon which Nathaniel ate the nuts and and I know you well since you sleep on then looked up to the General and the second floor of the Tavern and I said: use the rafters on the third floor these cold winter nights. I am Nathaniel "Your Excellency, I will help you. I Squirrel, and I propose that me and my mean we will help you. You need many squirrel friends can assist you as scouts your Excellency, and we can scouts. We too want freedom. For your deploy them. You need information Excellency did you know that the and we can gather it for you. We can British cook squirrels and eat them, serve you your Excellency." they are barbarians, they even have squirrel cookbooks? The British I am For a moment, Washington thought he told cook and eat squirrels and Irish had lost his mind, recounted Antnee, children, so says Jonathan Swift, one but he quickly looked at Nathaniel and of their great writers! We are devoted asked: to you your Excellency, and I can lead your scouts!" "Without my sounding too insane my small friend but whom am I Washington sat there a bit befuddled addressing? And how did you know for he had never spoken to a squirrel me?" before.