11 - The Last Day of Magic

May-June 1776

It was days before Thomas was able to gather up his scattered men and assemble them all at Trois-Rivières (Three Rivers), which was little more than a trading post along the St. Lawrence River.  His men were exhausted and starving; many of the men had walked over 50 miles with little to no food.  Thomas established a field hospital and camp but only temporarily, he had no intention of staying.  The siege was over, in Thomas' mind their destination was Montreal.  Thomas believed that the only chance the army had of standing up to a force the size of which had landed in Quebec was to retreat back to Montreal and convince Arnold to fall back even further and fortify Fort Crown or Fort Ticonderoga, where the British navy would have a difficult time supporting their land troops.

Fisher and Rose's trip back to Trois-Rivières was easier than most.  They were fortune to be with Thomas immediately after the battle and were able to retreat with the General by one of the few bateau that were not left behind.  Fisher was still in poor health when they arrived at Trois-Rivières so Thomas ordered him to continue on with the retreat.  Thomas sent Fisher, along with others of ailing health, back to the town of Sorel where there was food and beds.  Rose accompanied him.

It wasn't until May 17th that Thomas arrived in Sorel with his army.  It had been 11 days since their defeat outside of Quebec.  Thomas visited with Fisher in the field hospital and found the magician to be in much better health.  With Thomas' approval Fisher was released from the hospital and given orders to help with the continuation of the army's retreat.  Thomas had gotten word that General John Sullivan was heading up from Montreal soon with 3,000 fresh troops with which to continue the fight for Quebec.  Thomas knew that any further offensive would be disastrous and once again turned to his magicians for help with his plans to pull all the way back to Montreal.

The plan came from Charlotte, drawing from her success with Crowe she concocted an idea to use emotional magic to help prod the army on with its retreat.  Charlotte had learned from Crowe that she could amplify and control strong emotions.  The stronger and wider felt the emotion the more powerful she could be.  She knew that the mood of the troops was depressed and disheartened and that the mood was strong.  She convinced Fisher to channel that depressing mood through her in an attempt to amplify it and send it back out to the men.

Her plan worked. So well in fact that even Fisher fell prey to her magic.  What little fight the army had left in it was washed away and Thomas was able to convince the men to follow him back to Chambly, which was just outside of Montreal.  However, before the men left Sorel, Thomas himself came down with Smallpox from one of his many trips to the field hospital where he was tending to his men.  On June 1st, Thomas and his army arrived in Chambly.  Thomas was in very poor health.

General Sullivan arrived in Chambly the same day as Thomas.  Thomas gathered his officers to meet with Sullivan to discuss their plans despite his health.  Sullivan opened the meeting with bravado and explained that he was under orders from the Continental Congress to press the attack on the British and make up the lost ground from Thomas' retreat.  Thomas and his men did everything they could to convince Sullivan that the British were just too strong even with the new 3,000 reinforcements Sullivan had brought.  Thomas was in command and had final say but still he didn't want to override Sullivan and the Continental Congress. Thomas wanted Sullivan to agree with him, but after long debate, there was no changing Sullivan's mind.  Thomas called for the men to reconvene the following day hoping that time might allow the reality of the situation to sink in for Sullivan.

The next day, June 2nd, the men assembled for the meeting but Thomas was late.  After several minutes Fisher offered to check on him.  Fisher knocked on the general's door but got no response. Finally he opened the door and found the general dead.  Out of respect the meeting was delayed, but not for long.  They reconvened later that afternoon at which time Sullivan, having taken command, pushed again for an attack and this time got his way.

On June 1st, the previous day, Thomas, understanding the gravity of his situation both militarily and bodily, decided to release Fisher from his command and transfer him back to Knox in New York.  Thomas feared that if Sullivan took command he would drag Fisher with him, possibly to his death.  Thomas couldn't waste the Continentals best magician on a fool's errand so he wrote the order to release Fisher and kept it on his person.

As Sullivan laid out his plan of attack for his officers in the meeting, men just down the hall  were looking after Thomas' effects and found the written order to release Fisher.  After the meeting Fisher was presented his release papers and Fisher in turn presented the orders over to Sullivan.  Sullivan wasn't happy with Thomas' backhanded move but there was nothing he could do to reverse the order.  Fisher unceremoniously was dismissed.  He and Charlotte left the next day for New York.

General Howe and the British army who evacuated Boston back in March had unexpectedly sailed north to regroup in Halifax, Nova Scotia instead of departing directly for New York as the Continentals had expected.  The result was that Continental Army was given ample time to travel South from Boston to occupy and fortify New York without interference from the British.  Winter had turned to spring and the British remained North awaiting reinforcements as New York went from a city on the brink of invasion back to a state of semi-normalcy.  Nicholas and Charlotte returned to New York City in mid-June, a city that was not under siege but somehow felt as if it were surrounded by an invisible army waiting to strike.

Nicholas and Charlotte wasted little time in finding Henry Knox upon their arrival.  Down Broadway to Bowling Green at the tip of Manhattan Island, just before The Battery, they were directed to go to find General Knox's quarters.  Fronting on Bowling Green was The Kennedy Mansion at No. 1 Broadway.  The mansion had previously belonged to a notable Loyalist, Archibald Kennedy, but was commandeered by George Washington as his headquarters until his wife, Martha, arrived and asked to stay outside of the city.  Washington assigned the estate to Knox.

A young stout, yet pretty woman answered the door.  When Fisher asked if General Knox was available the young woman chuckled at Fisher's formality and shouted for her husband, calling him to the front door by his first name.  The woman was Lucy Knox, Henry's wife.  The magician's and the Knoxes spent the proceeding day catching up and sharing tales of their recent adventures.

Nicholas and Charlotte took up residence at No. 1 Broadway at the insistence of Lucy and took part in the daily entertainment of guests and visitors to the General.  The majority of the visitors were officers of the army.  The magicians were introduced to each man, as well as his wife, as they came to call.  Frequent visitors were Nathanael Greene and his wife Caty. Caty (Cathrine) and Charlotte shared much in common and became quick friends.  Both women were in their early twenties and loved fashion and socializing.  It wasn't long before Caty and Charlotte were both stringing the men in their lives along in bouts of shopping and dining at the most expensive venues throughout the city.  Nathanael and Nicholas soon found they too shared something in common, both men were in their late forties and were helpless to control the boundless, youthful feminine energies of their partners.

Charlotte was finally back in the comforts of a bustling city with a vibrant social scene.  After months of travel and living in the wilderness things were looking up.  To top things off a ball was announced to be held on July 5th in the city and all of the officers of the army were invited to attend with their partners for a formal evening of music and dancing.

On July 2nd, just days before the ball, the Knoxes and the magicians were taking their breakfast on the second floor dining room of the Kennedy Mansion.  The dining room offered an expansive view of the New York Bay through a large set of windows on the south wall.  Right in the middle of the meal a loud rumbling boom shook the china and rattled the furniture.  Henry and Nicholas knew immediately what the sound had been.  The signal cannon at The Battery had been fired indicating an enemy sighting.

With that single blast of warning fire the false sense of normalcy that New York had been enjoying for the past few months was blown away and was instantly replaced by the anxiety of imminent war.  Henry leapt from his chair and rushed to the south windows.  Before he reached the glass several more warning shots were fired and his wife Lucy went into a panic.  Henry lost his temper with her briefly, but there was love intertwined in his words, as he sternly reminded her that this day was coming and that she had to pack her things and leave the city immediately.  Lucy clutched Charlotte and told her to come pack her things with her.  Charlotte gave Nicholas and Henry a knowing look and the two men knew instantly that Charlotte was not leaving the city with Lucy.  Charlotte went with Lucy, but she didn't pack her things.

Standing in front of the windows Nicholas and Henry surveyed the bay.  They could see 45 ships under full sail cruising into the bay.  At long last the British had finally arrived.

By days end Lucy was packed and gone.  The following morning, July 3rd, more than one hundred ships were floating in New York Bay.  The British would eventually make their assault of the city, but for now they were content to make their landing on Staten Island, away from Washington's army and out of range from Knox's cannons.