ade moved
on, and drove the Americans from behind the court-house: the
legion then pursued them, but the whole British army was
actually kept at bay, for some minutes, by a few mounted
Americans, not exceeding twenty in number."

Stedman, who is generally accurate and impartial in his narratives, is
mistaken in calling the old court-house a "brick building." It was, as
previously stated, a wooden building, placed on brick pillars ten or
twelve feet high, and hence the mistake. Some allowance should also be
made for Stedman's mistake, as, very near that time, the fierce and
buzzing attacks of the "Hornets" greatly obscured the accuracy of his
vision. Upon the whole, the account we have of this skirmish, even
under British _coloring_, and evasion of the _whole truth_,
exemplifies the spirit and bravery of the "handful" of men who
actually kept the whole British army in check for some time, and then
retreated in good order.

Kendal, in his "Life of Jackson," chapter 4, in speaking of the
military school in which the "hero of New Orleans" was educated, says:

"In the chieftains by which he was surrounded, the virtues
of patriotism, disinterestedness, caution, enterprise and
courage exhibited themselves in the highest perfection. As
military leaders, Marion was particularly distinguished for
enterprise, vigilance and courage; Sumter was his equal in
enterprise and courage, but had less circumspection; Davie,
who was generally the leader of the Waxhaw settlers, appears
to have united the virtues of the two. Perhaps in no
instance, where the chief command was in him, did he fail to
accomplish the object he undertook. His intelligence was
accurate; his plans judicious, and kept profoundly secret;
his movements rapid; his blows sudden as the lightning, and
his disappearance almost as quick. To pursue him was
useless, and it was seldom or never attempted. He frequently
dared, with a handful of men, to face an army; and we have
seen, by his encounter with the British van at Charlotte,
that he knew how to strike terror into an enemy he was not
strong enough to conquer."

The situation of Cornwallis in Charlotte was far from being agreeable.
The sentinels placed around his encampment were frequently shot down,
compelling him to have pits sunk, five or six feet deep, for their
protection. He possessed, it is true, a few