Excerpt: 'The Hornet's Nest'
— -- In "The Hornet's Nest," the first work of fiction by a President of the United States, Jimmy Carter writes about the American South and the War of Independence
Read an excerpt from "The Hornet's Nest."
Chapter 35: "The Hornet's Nest"
1779
Ethan Pratt had seen the Quakers, Morrises, and many of his other neighbors swear allegiance to the crown, believing that the war was over and that the Declaration of Independence had been in vain. Along with a few other families along the more remote frontier, the Pratts still tried to avoid an alignment with either Whigs or Tories.
Knowing that Campbell had moved up the river with more than five hundred troops, the Georgia militia leaders had to face reality and made no attempt to defend Augusta. From his home in Wilkes County, however, Elijah Clarke assembled as many men as possible, using lists that had been carefully maintained by Aaron Hart. With about 180 men gathered, Clarke nodded to Dooly, who spoke first.
"Men, all the Continental troops have left for South Carolina, and we hear that General Howe has resigned in order to defend hisself against a court-martial. General Lincoln is in command of what troops warn't killed or captured, and has set up headquarters in Purysburg."
Someone shouted out, "Where in hell is Purysburg?"
Dooly replied, "It's across the river in South Carolina, about thirty miles above Savannah. He's put out a call for militia from the Carolinas and Virginia to join in keeping the British from moving north toward Charles Town."
"Why don't we join up with him?"
Elijah Clarke spoke for the first time. "Bullshit! We ain't ready to give up Georgia, and I sho' as hell won't put my men under another general that don't know his arse about fightin' in the woods."
There was a general murmur of agreement, and Dooly continued.
"We've got two things to do now. One is to convince all our neighbors that we're going to fight on, and not to give up to the British. The other is to divide up into small groups, guard every trail coming into the backcountry of Wilkes and Burke counties, and kill as many Redcoats as we can."
Elijah said, "What we need to do is carve out some territory here where we feel the most at home. All of us needs to study it and figure out how to guard every trail against any bugger that tries to come in without our permission, jest with one or two men."
Aaron Hart said, "You mean a sanctuary."
"I don't even know what that means. I'm talkin' about like bein' inside our own hornet's nest so anybody that messes with us will live -- or die -- to regret it."
The men were excited by the idea and began to look at some of the maps they had prepared and used for military training. Within a couple of hours they had identified an area big enough to include several separated forts with good trails connecting them, with maximum natural protection from impassable creeks, swamps, and hills. Just by felling a few trees, it would be easy to close any of the old trails they would not be needing. Elijah summarized these decisions and added, "This has got to be our special place, but there's two things to remember. We've got to let Redcoats, Thomas Brown and them other savages, and everybody else know, by God, that if they come in here ag'in us, they'll be dead men. There cain't be no exceptions. The other thing is that this is not just for hidin'. It's for attackin' as long as we're able to fight. Mine and Dooly's farms happens to be on the edge of this area, and my fort will be useful sometimes as a meetin' place. We'll be able to move out fast, to our own farms or toward Augusta or across the river to Carolina, and to come back --
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