“Yes; and the poor fellows found it terribly cold; especially for men so poorly provided as they were with what are esteemed by most civilized people as the barest necessities of life—­food, clothing, shoes, and blankets.”

“Yes, I remember reading about it—­how their poor feet bled on the ground as they marched over it, with neither shoes nor stockings,” said Elsie, tears springing to her eyes as she spoke.  “And didn’t they suffer from hunger too, papa?”

“Yes, they did, poor fellows!” he sighed.  “They endured a great deal in the hope of winning freedom for themselves, their children, and their country.  They had not even material to raise their beds from the ground, and in consequence many sickened and died from the dampness.”

“It is really wonderful how they bore it all,” said Edward.  “They certainly must have been true and ardent patriots.”

“We were told that Washington’s marquee stood just here in that time,” said Elsie.  “What did he want with it when he had a room in Mr. Potts’ house?”

“He occupied the marquee only while his men were building their huts,” explained her father, “then afterward took up his quarters in that house.”

Our party now returned to their carriage and drove to Paoli—­some nine miles distant.  They were told that the place of the massacre was about a quarter of a mile from the highway, and leaving their vehicle at the nearest point, they followed a path leading through open fields till they came to the monument.  They found it a blue clouded marble pedestal, surmounted by a white marble pyramid, standing over the broad grave in which lie the remains of the fifty-three Americans found in that field the morning after the massacre, and buried by the neighboring farmers.

“Papa,” said Elsie, “won’t you please go over the story?”

“If a short rehearsal will not be unpleasant to our friends,” he answered kindly.

Both Rose and Edward assured him they would be glad to listen to it, and he at once began.

“It was but a few days after the battle of Brandywine that Wayne was here with about fifteen hundred men and four pieces of cannon, Washington having given him directions to annoy the enemy’s rear and try to cut off his baggage train.  This place was some two or three miles southwest of the British lines, away from the public roads, and at that time covered with a forest.

“But for the treachery of a Tory the British would have known nothing of the whereabouts of these patriots who were struggling to free their country from unbearable oppression.  But Howe, learning it all from the Tory, resolved to attempt to surprise and slaughter the Americans.  He despatched General Grey (who was afterwards a murderer and plunderer at Tappan and along the New England coast) to steal upon the patriot camp at night and destroy as many as he could.

“Wayne heard that something of the kind was intended, but did not believe it.  Still, he took every precaution; ordered his men to sleep on their arms with their ammunition under their coats—­to keep it dry I suppose, as the night was dark and stormy.