Captain John Smith

by C. H. Forbes-Lindsay

Despite their superior numbers, the Turks forebore from renewing the battle on the day following the desperate struggle that was described in the last chapter. The Christians completely exhausted and many of them, like Captain Smith, sorely wounded, were only too glad of the respite. Thus the contending armies lay in sight of each other for days without action on either side. At length the Duc de Mercœur saw a favorable opportunity for attacking and did so with such effect that Hassan Pasha, after losing six thousand men in this later battle, retired from the field and retreated to Buda.

Relieved of present anxiety on the score of Alba Regalis, Mercœur divided his army into three bodies and despatched them in different directions. One corps, under the command of the Earl of Meldritch, was assigned to service in Transylvania. Our hero recovered sufficiently to accompany his regiment which as we know could have ill-spared so good a man. The winter had set in before the command arrived at its destination, and the Earl went into camp to recruit his depleted regiments and prepare for the ensuing campaign. The regiment of Meldritch, which had recently added so greatly to its renown, had no difficulty in getting all the picked men it needed and in a few weeks had regained its full strength.

With the opening of spring, Count Meldritch led his army into the wildest portion of Transylvania and began a vigorous campaign. The object was to clear the Turks off the plains and to take their chief stronghold, Regall, in the mountains of Zarham. The entire country was of the most rugged character and it had been for years the resort of Turks, Tartars and bandits of all nations. From this wild retreat they issued at favorable intervals and overran the neighboring valleys, destroying villages and carrying off their inhabitants into slavery.

The fighting which Captain Smith and his companions in arms now experienced was the most difficult known to warfare. It called for courage and patience, strength and quick-wittedness in an extraordinary degree. Though he could not have suspected it at the time, the training our hero received in this campaign was the best possible to fit him for success in his future career among the Indians of North America, and many a lesson that he learned in Transylvania was turned to good account in Virginia.

During their march through the province of Zarham, the army of Meldritch never encountered troops in mass or in open combat, but were surrounded day and night by a foe invisible for the most part and appearing, when he did, in the most unexpected places. The road was through a country that afforded ample cover and ambuscades were of frequent occurrence. From the shelter of a wood or from behind a hill, a band of horsemen would dart upon the column with the swoop of a hawk, spear the nearest foot soldiers, and disappear in the twinkling of an eye. These attacks were usually made in the uncertain light of the evening, when the Christians could not effectively use their pistols. Some half a dozen such onslaughts had been made with complete success when it occurred to Captain Smith that the dusk which favored the attack might be made an aid in repelling it. His plan was suggested to the commander and with his approval was put into effect. It was ordered that on the following day the column should march with two ranks of men-at-arms on either flank, concealing a number of horsemen on foot leading their chargers.

As the light began to fail the Christian army approached a point where their progress would take them between a rocky eminence and a thick coppice. It was just such a place as the guerillas would choose for an ambush and every one was on the lookout for the expected attack. They were not long in suspense. As they passed the two natural hiding places, Turks dashed out on either side and charged upon the Christians with a shout. But before they could reach their intended victims, the concealed horsemen had leapt into the saddle and riding out between the files of foot soldiers charged the oncoming enemy at full speed. The crash as they came together was terrific and the lighter Arab horses of the Turks were bowled over like skittles by the heavy chargers of Meldritch’s men. The surprised Turks were readily slain as they lay upon the ground or turned to flee. Very few escaped, whilst the Christians returned to their ranks without the loss of a man. After this decisive turning of the tables upon them, the Ottomans contented themselves with picking off stragglers and casting spears from a tolerably safe distance.

More trying, however, than the ambuscades were the night attacks, for they not only occasioned serious loss of life, but, by robbing the troops of much needed rest and keeping their nerves upon the rack, threatened the demoralization of the entire army. Night after night the Turks rushed the camp, cutting the tent ropes and stabbing the struggling soldiers under the canvas. The Earl of Meldritch was deeply concerned about these night attacks. He knew that unless they were checked his army could never reach the passes of Regall, much less effect the difficult task of taking the city. The general and his leading officers had several consultations on the subject but without arriving at a satisfactory conclusion. One-half of the force might have been employed to guard the other whilst it slept, but the day’s march was so arduous that by nightfall few of the men were fit to stand.

In this dilemma, the young Englishman, who had already done such good service for the army, came to the relief of his general with one of those practical schemes which he seemed to be ever ready to devise in an emergency. Following Captain Smith’s suggestion, the Earl ordered that on the following night the camp should be pitched in a spot that would invite an attack by the enemy. The tents were to be erected as usual but the three front rows were to be empty. Behind these were firmly-stretched ropes at a height of about two feet from the ground and extending right across the camp. Beyond the ropes was left a clear space of twenty yards and along the farther side of this was drawn up, after dark, a body of one thousand picked men.