Roger Davis, Loyalist

Pri

earned that I had been quite wrong in suppos

shootin' was done day before yesterday. The eight of our men who were killed all belonged in

ow of eight grave

ee that done among the Tories, but not here. Ye'll be wantin' to hear the sermon, I sup

hes.' Women and children, boys and girls, made up a great part of the immense company. Though they could not be distinguished by either their dress or bearing, I soon learned that many of the men had been engaged

y others dressed exactly as I was, I pushed my way almost to the centre o

of our men moved. As the order was repeated I brought my gun to my shoulder. Just then an English officer rode out in front of his men, and discharged a pistol into the air. Immediately a lot of soldiers raised their guns and fired towards where we stood. This time nobody was hit; there seemed to be nothing but powder in the guns. O

y myself on this point. But as to the fact that there had been severe fighting, even upon the steps of the church, the numerous bullet holes which I saw left no doubt. It seem

king back, that I was quite ignorant of both. My horse had shied fiercely at the dry bloodstains on the road as I came out; I was then quite unmoved, but the dark, irregular marks on the steps of the Lexington meeting-house, have not proved to be things I can easily forget. It was surely a strange place for men to shed each other's blood. But I was interrupted in my thinking by the arrival of the funeral processions at the church. The sight was a singular one. As the mourning friends gathered about the graves, all thought of war seemed swallowed up in grief. It was not like the soldiers' funerals of which I had read. There was no military display, no firing, no flag, nothing to mark the occasion off from the ordinary funera

in spite of myself as I stood there looking into many honest faces I felt my sympathies being divided. And yet could these people be right? It was something, at least, to die. And some had already died. Were there honest me

e hymns were unfamiliar to me; there were no responses in the Scripture reading. But I understood this when I recalled that

h. The part, however of the whole service that surprised me most was the sermon. It contained little reference to the dead, there was no attack upon government and the King, freedom and tyranny

n extravagant eulogy on the fallen; but the minister had not stooped to this. With him, standing in the midst of strife a

to a place of such prominence, so unexpectedly and under such peculiar circumstances, that I could not put it away. Was it true that this matter was the greatest of all? Would a proper answering of this question help me in any way to face the difficulties th

ear. I was young, inexperienced, and alone. Was there really a source of help such as the preacher had indicated? If so, surely I should seek it. If I lived through the war I would need Divine aid; if I did not live-but I put th

ng, old-fashioned muskets, used formerly only in the game regions of the mountains. There were many who galloped up shouting, and waving swords made of scythes and reaping hooks. At the beating of a drum the men thus rudely armed gathered for drill upon th

the old man still kept guard. It was not long after this that I came to a wood. The dusk was deepening now, and it was very still. Once I

istakable sound of a man's voice; then in the deepening dusk that had gathered under the great

so I shot a look backward over my shoulder. Instantly, in the clearer light of the highway, I recognised the figure. Any lingering doubt was dispelled the next moment by

us. I knew the horse as you came by, and broke

ighway and were coming. I felt my small farm horse sway and lose his pace under the double wei

ddle; and the next moment I was standing in the middle of the road