e house, which otherwise he could
not have left in safety. Without struggling or making the slightest
effort for his extrication, Barry only enumerated his own titles with a
profound solemnity. "Sir, I am Henry Barry, Deputy Adjutant General of
the British army, Secretary to the Commandant of Charleston, Captain in
the 52d regiment," &c. "Enough, enough, sir," answered Manning. "You are
just the man I was looking for. Fear nothing: you shall SCREEN ME from
danger, and I shall take special care of you." Manning escaped in
safety with his prisoner. But there were many brave officers far less
fortunate. Many were destined to perish in the miserable after struggle,
who had gone gloriously through the greater dangers of the fight. The
British tents had done what the British arms had failed to do. Victory
was lost to the Americans. Scattered throughout the encampment,
the soldiers became utterly unmanageable. The enemy, meanwhile, had
partially recovered from their panic. The party of Sheridan were in
possession of the house. Another party held possession of the palisaded
garden. Coffin was active with his remnant of cavalry, and Marjoribanks
still held a formidable position in the thicket on Eutaw Creek. From
the upper windows of the house, the musketry of Sheridan traversed the
encampment, which the Americans now trembled to leave, lest they should
suffer from their fire. Every head that emerged from a tent was a mark
for their bullets. Aware, by this time, of the extent of his misfortune,
Greene ordered a retreat, which Hampton's cavalry was commanded to
cover. In the execution of this duty Hampton encountered the British
cavalry. A sharp action ensued; the latter fled, and in the ardor
of pursuit, the American horse approached so near to the position of
Marjoribanks as to receive a murderous fire, which prostrated one-third
of their number and scattered the rest. Before they could again be
brought together, Marjoribanks, seizing upon the chance afforded by
a temporary clearing of the field, emerged from the wood, at a moment
which enabled him to put a successful finish to the labors of the day.
Two six-pounders, which had been abandoned by the British, had been
turned upon the house by the Americans; but in their eagerness they
had brought the pieces within the range of fire from the windows of the
house. The artillerists had been shot down; and, in the absence of the
American cavalry, Marjoribanks was enabled to recover th