“It was at the end of several sharply fought fields that Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in Virginia, wasn’t it?” inquired Roger.
Tom looked at him with exaggerated respect.
“It certainly is a great thing to be related to the Army and Navy. Here’s Helen, a walking ‘History of the Revolution,’ and old Roger actually remembering something about Cornwallis’s surrender!”
“Bah!” acknowledged Roger.
“They tell a story about the way that Philadelphia heard the news of the surrender,” interposed the caretaker of the Betsy Ross house, who had been listening to the conversation. “There was an old German watchman walking the streets, and calling the hours through the night, as was the custom then. He cried out; ‘Bast dree o’clock and Cornvallis ist daken.’ People who had turned over in bed growling when they had been awakened by him before, were only too thankful to hear his hoarse voice croaking out the good news.”
“That was in October, 1781,” went on Helen, after nodding her thanks to the caretaker for his addition to the story. “It took a good many months for the British to leave the country, for transportation was a difficult matter at that time.”
“I’ll bet you the Americans were thankful to have peace,” exclaimed James.
“It sounds to me very much as if the British were, too,” said Roger. “Any country must be grateful for a rest from such long distress.”
“Grandfather’s poetry is by Freneau this time,” said Helen. “I’m going to read you only two stanzas of it.”
“The great unequal conflict past,