I was pleased to hear what Father said, hoped my hubris did not show and asked, “Why did Captain Morgan ask about whether I can read, write, and do numbers?”

“I will let him tell you,” answered Rev. Thruston. Then he queried, “Nathanael, who taught you your schooling?”

“My mother. And after she died, my father continued teaching my brothers and me.”

“And what else did your parents teach you?”

“Well, many things. Our mother certainly taught us to avoid the place where we are heading now. She told us Mr. Allason’s Shenandoah Store was a ‘rough place frequented by coarse men who play cards and drink too much rum.’ Is it still?”

Rev. Thruston laughed, “Ah, yes. She was correct. But it’s also the kind of place where Captain Morgan can recruit the coarse, rough men he is going to need in the days ahead. Tell me, Nathanael, what do you know about Captain Morgan?”

It wasn’t the kind of question I expected and replied, “It seems as though everyone in the Valley of Virginia knows about Daniel Morgan. Some people seem to love him and others hate him but most everyone seems to respect him. My father told us he owes his life to Captain Morgan—”

“Go on,” Rev. Thruston said when I paused.

Our mother taught us to never speak gossip so I tried to dodge the minister’s question. “Well, sir, these events took place before I was born in the summer of 1758, so I can only tell what my father and mother and their friends told my brothers and me or we overheard since we were young boys.”

Pastor Thruston nodded again and said, “I understand. Just tell me what you remember from what you heard.”

“Yes, sir. My father was an officer in the Virginia Militia from 1753 to 1763. He was an ensign with the 1,860-man force Governor Dinwiddie sent in March of 1754 under Lieutenant Colonel Washington with orders to push the French and their Indian allies out of the Forks of the Ohio. Until our mother was dying, Father said those five months were the worst days of his life.

“Their supplies of food, powder, and shot were inadequate. Building a road through the dense forests and steep mountain slopes exhausted the men, and only a handful of Seneca Indians joined their cause—far fewer than needed. My father was wounded at Great Meadow the day before Lieutenant Colonel Washington surrendered Fort Necessity to the French on July 4, 1754.

“According to Father’s account, Daniel Morgan was then a young, almost unknown ‘wagoneer’ driving one of Mr. Robert Burwell’s teams hired to deliver supplies on the 100-mile trip to Fort Necessity from Frederick Town which people now call Winchester.