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September 1813 It was a beautiful autumn day. Except for the robust singing of the marching soldiers, it would have been an equally quiet day. The voices were not particularly soothing to the ear, not that the birds were complaining. Moments before, the birds suddenly took flight from their tree roosts and flew away. The suddenness of the flight caused the men to pause. ilence hung in the air as the troops waited in dread expectation. Thus the flight of a single arrow and its impact on soft flesh was heard by all. The !"#th $egiment had been marching through the %hio woods with each soldier trying his best to keep pace and stay in line. &esterday, they were in southwestern 'ennsylvania, leaving in high spirits with songs in their hearts, as well as on their lips. The idea of war sparked their imagination, each man thinking in terms of honor, glory, and fame. (ow, on the second day of marching, the songs having ceased, subdued with a quiet unease, the silence was broken by the sound of the arrow striking flesh and then a sudden barrage of arrows and bullets assailed them. ) sense of panic filled the air with the men looking about for a place to run. )s whooping Indians on horseback charged out of the nearby forest, the officers began shouting orders. The sound of their voices, calm and demanding settled the soldiers* nerves. +Indians, -efensive formation,. The soldiers quickly formed two lines. / teady. )im./ The soldiers in the first line raised their muskets, each man taking aim at a charging Indian. +0ire,. ) volley of shots rang out over the fields with many Indians shot from their horses. Then the first line stepped backward and the second line moved forward. 0ortunately these soldiers were used to shooting1 some were actual woodsmen. The Indian attack had been sudden, violent and noisy, but the soldiers returned fire with a vengeance, breaking the attack before it really got started. The second line, now the first, fired. Many of the Indians were shot off their horses, mortally wounded. ome had their horses shot from under them, forcing them to flee on foot. 2ut when their chief was shot point blank, the remaining Indians turned and fled. )s they rode away, many reached down and grasped the outstretched hands of their fellow Indians, who immediately leaped with fluid grace upon the backs of the horses. 'eace once again settled over the %hio fields. The air was filled with smoke and one could smell the mixture of gun powder and death that hung in the air about them. ome brave Indians rode into the field to help their wounded. The soldiers watched uneasily, suspecting another attack.

The Indians were not the only ones to have wounded warriors. everal soldiers had been wounded as well. Even so, all but one of them were able to get up, re3oin their fellow soldiers, and resume the march. 2ut one fallen soldier did not move. 4ying still, barely conscious, he sensed them moving away. +5here6s 7ames8. he whispered. Turning his head, he immediately felt di99y. Everything looked ha9y to him as he looked for his older brother. Trying to lift himself up, he saw the familiar shape approaching. Then everything turned dark. 5hen 7ames spotted his wounded brother, he ran over and knelt beside him. +5ill. 5illiam $iddle, do you hear me8. %nly a moan and glassy stare met his inquiry. 0ear gripped his gut as he considered that his brother may be dying. 2ut he felt immediate relief when he saw that his thirteen:year old brother was still breathing. ;arefully examining 5ill*s body, he looked for blood or a sign of in3ury. It was with another sigh of relief that 7ames discovered there was only one wound and it was only a gash made upon the boy*s head. Just a scratch. Good thing you have such a hard head, Will. +<e gonna live son8. tartled, 7ames looked up. <is eyes immediately took in the beautiful brown horse bearing an officer sitting ramrod straight in the saddle. The officer was dressed in a blue waistcoat with a high white collar, blue stripes and oversi9ed cuffs. 7ames6 eyes moved up to the face and sudden recognition lit his eyes. It was 4ieutenant ;olonel Thomas <osack, the commander of the !"#th, looking down at him with his familiar frown. 4eaping to his feet, 7ames saluted. +&es, sir.. ) slight smile played on the colonel*s face as he studied the fallen soldier. <e looked up and watched as his men were marching toward the forest. +Then let*s get a move on, soldier. Make him as comfortable as you can and leave his weapon. If he is able, he can re3oin us later. $ight now, we have need of you.. 5ithout another word the colonel spurred his horse and rode away. 7ames watched in admiration. The ;olonel was well known for both bravery and smarts. 4ooking down at his brother, 7ames considered his options. Will's only thirteen. Tall for his age and stronger than most thirteen year-old boys, but he'll be all alone here in a strange land. Not to mention Indians. <e looked in the direction the Indians had fled, then back at 5ill. <e sighed, An order is an order. e'll !no" "hat to do. <e pulled out a scrap of paper and wrote a quick note. =neeling alongside his brother, he moved 5illiam into a more comfortable position. etting him against a tree, he placed the boy*s musket by his side and stuck the note in his coat pocket. 4ooking at the battlefield, he considered the possible return of the Indians. Without their leader, it is unli!ely that they "ill come bac! here soon. At least not until they get a ne" leader . tanding and saying a silent prayer for his brother*s safety, he grabbed his own musket and hurried back to find his regiment. 5hen he caught up to them, he saw that ;olonel <osack had the men once again marching in formation. %nly

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this time they each carried their muskets at the ready position. 7ames couldn*t help but look back toward 5ill, but trees and distance now separated them. e'll be all right. Even though he felt confident that his brother would be all right, a hint of worry persisted in the back of his mind. 5illiam $iddle had more than his father*s last name, he also bore a striking similarity to Edward $iddle. 5hereas Edward stood >*"/ tall, 5illiam was already at >* ?/ with many years of growth still ahead. 2ut it was the red hair and the facial features that most struck anyone who saw them together. <aving served in the 'ennsylvania )rtillery during the $evolutionary 5ar, Edward was a hero in all of the boys* eyes, but perhaps more so in 5illiam*s. )s a child, he had never grown tired of hearing his father*s war stories. That was part of the reason why he now lay against a tree, alone in an %hio forest. (ow, as the darkness of his mind settled into a dream, his father was sitting on a stool and telling him about a place called tony 'oint. +It all began son when ir <enry ;linton, the $ed ;oats ;ommander:in:;hief, decided he wanted to take 5est 'oint, which controlled the <udson. 5ell, he ordered his men to take two of our posts, one on each side of the <udson $iver. %ne was called 0ort 4afayette on @erplanck*s 'oint, while the other was called tony 'oint, which was a fortified peninsula 3utting out into the river. +5ell, the garrison at tony 'oint saw them coming, burned the blockhouse, and abandoned the works without firing a shot. 0ort 4afayette was forced to surrender. +&ou want to know what the weakness of the $ed ;oats is8 'ride. &ep, pride. That ir ;linton was real prideful. <e was so full of pride and confidence that he started calling tony 'oint *4ittle Aibraltar*. +5ell, he figured without taking Aeneral Aeorge 5ashington into consideration. Aeneral 5ashington decided to attack and retake tony 'oint. That son, is how I ended up at tony 'oint. I had been temporarily transferred from the 'ennsylvania )rtillery to the 0orlorn <ope, actually the ?th 'ennsylvania, which was led by 4t. 7ames Aibbons. +7ust before midnight on 7uly !>th, we moved forward. %ur 3ob was to precede the attacking force. Twenty men strong, we led the way, cutting gaps through the felled trees, Bthey called them abatesC to eliminate the advance sentries. It was deadly business. +5e soon came under heavy fire, but we pushed ahead. 5e*d been chopping the trees, when suddenly a soldier to my right was shot in the shoulder. <e refused to quit and continued chopping. The soldier to my left was killed only minutes later. till, we continued. Then the soldier on my right was shot again, this time fatally. +Except for a minor wound in the thigh, I was unscathed. 5hen we were done, there were only three of us left. 2ut we had done our 3ob. That, son, is what soldiers do1 no matter the danger, soldiers fight on and do their 3ob. +5e won that battle and we won the war because men performed their duty,. 5ill tried to respond, but the vision of his father was vanishing until nothing was left.

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Two hours after the regiment left him, 5illiam awoke to a silent world. <e lay there looking up at the bright sky, listening for a sound. 2ut there was no tramping of feet, no boisterous singing, and certainly no sound of whooping Indians. 7ust total silence, 2ut the words /no matter the danger, soldiers fight on and do their 3ob/ kept repeating themselves in his mind. lowly turning his head, he saw his musket leaning against the tree right by his side. $eaching out and grabbing it, he immediately felt safer. 2ut other than his musket, there was no sign or sound of war. <e was alone. Easing himself into a better sitting position, he felt better. <e checked his uniform for blood and found nothing. I seem all right. #ight as "ell get u$ and move on. 0inding a note in his coat pocket, he pulled it out and read it. +5ill, &ou*ll be %=. ;atch up as soon as possible. I6ve got to go. 7ames. <is mind still a little cloudy, he had to read the note several times before understanding its message. Then he folded the paper in half and stuck it back into his pocket. $ising to his feet, he suddenly felt di99y and started losing his balance. Duickly grabbing the tree and clinging to it, he waited for the di99iness to clear. It took several moments before he felt normal again. +5here am I8. <is voice sounded unusually loud in the glen. 4ooking around quickly, he remembered the possibility of Indians. +%hio,. he said in a softer voice. +)nd we were 3ust south of 4ake Erie. I was with my brother 7ames. +That6s right, 5e were, I mean, are part of the !"#th $egiment of 'ennsylvania commanded by 4ieutenant <osack. 5e were attacked by Indians. I remember we formed lines. I was in the first line. /I fired and was about to move to the back when I must have been shot. I don6t remember anything else. Except this aching head.. till feeling a little lightheaded and weak, he sat and leaned back against the tree. ) weak smile played on his lips as he remembered how he6d gotten into this mess. Ale%ander and James "ere both old enough to &oin, but #other "anted me to stay home. 'aid I "as too young. (ad "ould have convinced #om eventually, but I couldn't "ait. A month later I sli$$ed a"ay and follo"ed my brothers to their cam$. James ordered me home, but I refused saying I "ould &oin "ith or "ithout his hel$. That "as only "ee!s ago, but it sure seems longer) In spite of himself, he chuckled. I "onder if #other's Irish tem$er got the best of her "hen she learned I'd sli$$ed out and &oined the army. Immediately, his conscience struck him. <e loved his mother and had never wanted to hurt her. *ut I belong in the military)

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<e sighed as he remembered his mother. <er refusal to allow him to 3oin had been of fear he would die. he*d 3ust seen two of her sons leave for war and didn*t want him leaving also. )t first his father had not interfered, but after a couple days of observing mother and son at odds, he decided it was time for action. <e took his son aside. + on, I know how you feel. I want you to know that I have complete confidence in you. I also want you to understand that I will do everything I can to change your mother*s will, but it will take time. 5hen I was your age, I would have slipped away in the night. 2ut that is obviously not going to happen. +2e patient. This war*s not ending anytime soon. &ou*ll get your chance.. That very night, 5ill climbed out of his bedroom window, and left. <e thought about taking a horse, but he was afraid of making a noise. 5ith a long sigh, he began walking in the same direction he had seen his brothers take two days earlier. (ow as 5ill sat against a tree, alone and still weak, he looked in the direction he knew the regiment must have taken as they marched. <is regiment was heading north to 4ake Erie to fight the 2ritish. <e*d heard the 2ritish might attack the small )merican 0leet protecting )merica*s )rmy. The army was hoping to retake 0ort -etroit, which the 2ritish had recently captured. 2ut to succeed, the )mericans needed to control 4ake Erie. <e suddenly felt an overpowering desire to sleep. +I can6t sleep. I6ve got to find the regiment.. 2ut sleep came anyway. The battle for 4ake Erie was raging in 'ut:in:2ay on the western end of 4ake Erie. There, ;ommodore 'erry, aboard his flagship +a"rence, was engaged in a battle with the 2ritish fleet. Everyone knew that this battle was critical to winning the war. 4ose 4ake Erie and they might be doomed. 5in and the war might end, The !"#th $egiment, out of Mercer ;ounty of 'ennsylvania, was rushing to the %hio shore to 3oin the fight against the 2ritish. 7ames and 5ill had 3oined the regiment back in 'ennsylvania. 5hile both were excellent marksmen, neither one had ever shot at another man or been shot at. till, the whole experience had been exciting. )s 5ill slept, he dreamed of 7ames, amuel, and himself taking on the whole 2ritish army. )s the dream progressed, he could hear the roar of cannons. That*s when he awoke. In the distance he could hear thunder. itting up, he looked to the sky and was surprised that it was a clear blue with hardly a cloud. uddenly, a thought struck him. ,ould that be cannon fire- training to hear the sound, he could not determine its exact nature. 5ere they army guns, naval or a coming storm8 <e couldn6t tell. %nce again he got up, this time keeping his feet. Arabbing his musket, a pringfield !EF>, he slowly made his way northwestward. 0ortunately there were hoof prints near his tree. =neeling, he examined them and determined that they were left by shod horses. This could only mean one thing to him, they belonged to his regiment.

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Excitement filled him and he broke into a trot, which moments later came to an abrupt halt. <is head felt di99y again. <e slowly moved over to another tree and leaned against it, waiting for his head to clear. %nce the di99iness was gone, he resumed following the trail, albeit at a much slower pace.0eeling much better, he felt the urge to run, but common sense prevailed. <e continued following the trail until night made it impossible to continue on. $eluctantly, he found a small knoll with a single tree and settled down, wearily allowing sleep to overtake him. In a matter of days ;ommodore 'erry would score a ma3or victory over the 2ritish. 5hile he lost his ship, he won the battle. <e would write to Aeneral <arrisonG +5e have met the enemy and they are oursG Two hips, two 2rigs, one chooner H one loop.. 4ake Erie now belonged to the )mericans, 2ut the young man was oblivious to all this exciting news. In the morning, he arose and checked his appearance. 4ike any soldier in this war, he was dressed in a uniform coat, a white linen shirt, a black neck stock, and straight bottom trousers. To complete the look he had half gaiters, low quarter shoes, and a shako BI. . )rmy hat that had a felt body with leather edge, 2rim, sweatband and drawstring linerC. In addition, he still had a cartridge box with white buff sling, a white buff baldric for bayonet scabbard, a haversack, a knapsack, and a wooden canteen. ) tall thirteen Bhe often was mistaken for eighteenC, he looked like a real soldier, atisfied, he opened his knapsack, looking for food. )ll he had was a small loaf of dry, hard bread. ;onsidering himself lucky, he bit into it. To his hungry soul, it tasted wonderful,

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