The heavy rains continued, and when Briar Creek began to rise, General Ashe was even more convinced that the British would not be likely to make any troop movements during the inclement weather, much less to cross the swollen stream.

CHAPTER 36

“Take No Prisoners!”

MARCH 1779

Ethan Pratt awoke from a fitful sleep in his narrow cot in one of the corners farthest from the fireplace. In the dim light from the still-glowing embers he could see his son, Henry, on a pallet on the floor almost under his own cot, and his wife sleeping near the far wall. It was hard to remember the last time he had crossed the narrow room to join her there. The heavy rain had stopped, but he could still hear a few drops hitting the roof. He moved quietly, trying not to wake anyone. Epsey had returned home after sundown the previous evening after spending almost a week with a woman who lived halfway to Wrightsborough, who had finally delivered a baby after several days of difficult labor. There had been little opportunity for her to sleep while taking care of the woman and fulfilling all her duties in a home with a husband and six children. This had been the first occasion that Ethan and Henry had been alone together for such a long time, and the pleasure had been balanced against Ethan’s greatly restricted activities. During the last two days, mostly confined to the cabin because of the downpour, both of them had been equally eager to have Epsey return.

As Ethan walked across the cabin floor toward the fireplace, the hard-packed earthen floor again reminded him that he had never really finished construction of their home. He punched up the fire, laid on three small logs to relieve the cold of early March, and sat down at the table to watch the flickering of the first small flames. Now he was fully awake, still dressed only in a long shirt, and thinking about the chores that would occupy his time during the day. He had finished breaking all his open land and decided to go over it with a drag harrow and a leveling log to smooth the surface before laying off rows for planting. For a few more days, while the fields dried, he would be free to spend time in his woodshop, which he always anticipated as something of a vacation.