CHAPTER 21

Sam had acted impetuously, because his military apprenticeship under Andrew Jackson had made some of the General’s attitudes rub off. Right at the top of the list was Old Hickory’s intransigence in the face of an enemy. Now, though, Sam had to make good on his boasts. He was all of twenty-one years old, and the captain’s epaulet on his right shoulder wasn’t even official yet.

His first step was clear enough. In point of fact, the carriages of the two twelve-pounders were in splendid condition, and the guns could quite easily be hauled the one mile distance to the Capitol simply by having militiamen and Barney’s sailors haul them by hand.

But then what?

To make things worse, now that the impulse of the moment had passed, Sam was beginning to fret over the situation with the children. Major Ridge and John Jolly had not sent their children to Washington in order for Sam to lead them into the middle of a pitched battle.

But what was he to do with them? There was no chance of finding a proper family in Washington who would take in the children. Certainly not at the moment. Half of the city’s proper families had already fled, and the rest were huddling fearfully in their homes. That would have been true even if the children in question had been white, much less Cherokee.

And even if he could find someone, the chances were slim to none that he could get the children themselves to agree.

Nancy Ridge . . . maybe. But her brother John and her cousin Buck were at a fever pitch of excitement, the way only twelve-year-old boys can be. Whatever Sam’s qualms, they were looking forward eagerly to the prospect of a battle. The tales they’d be able to tell when they got back! The status they’d achieve!

The Cherokee weren’t a “warrior tribe” in the same sense that some of the tribes on the plains were, or the fierce Chickasaws. But they bore precious little resemblance to Quakers either.

And Tiana!

Sam glanced at her, riding her horse not far away. The sixteen-year-old girl might be wearing modest American lady’s attire, but the easy and athletic way she sat the horse would have made her Indian origins clear to anyone, even without the coppery skin tone. Not to mention the way she’d hoisted the dress above her knees, to leave her legs clear!

Her eyes were literally gleaming. If Sam tried to place her out of harm’s way she’d be likely to stab him. Nor did Sam doubt that she had a knife hidden somewhere in her pack. Possibly even a pistol.

Fortunately, Sam’s newfound adviser stepped into the breach.

“I don’t see much chance of getting your wards anywhere to safety at the moment, sir,” Driscol said quietly. “But the Capitol’s quite the huge place, you know, and very solidly constructed. I’m sure we can find somewhere sheltered enough for them. They should be safe, unless the enemy breaches the walls.”

Uncertainly, Sam eyed the great buildings they were marching toward. It was late in the afternoon by now, and the sun was beginning to dip toward the west. The golden rays reflecting off the Capitol made the twin edifices seem even more imposing than usual.

“What if the British do breach the walls?”

Driscol shrugged. “That’s as may be, sir. But I don’t think you’ve much choice. And—ah . . .” He cleared his throat.

Sam smiled. “Yes, Lieutenant Driscol, I know. I should be focusing my attention on planning the defense, not worrying about what might happen should my plans fail. Still, I do have a personal responsibility here.”

He came to a decision. After all these weeks of travel, he’d come to know Sequoyah pretty well. The lamed Cherokee might be prickly about his condition, but underneath he was quite a levelheaded fellow. So long as his honor was respected, he was willing enough to be practical.

“A moment, please, Lieutenant.” Sam turned his horse and trotted over to the Cherokee.

He returned with a sense of relief. “He’s agreed to take charge of them once we get there,” he told Driscol. “We’ll need people to reload anyway, he reminded me, and take care of the wounded.”

Driscol studied the children dubiously, for a moment. “But will they agree?”

Sam smiled ruefully. “Tiana, who knows? Especially once the battle starts. But the others will. Have you much experience with Cherokees, Lieutenant?”

“None at all, sir. Precious little with any of the tribes, even the Iroquois.”

Sam nodded. “Well, don’t believe most of what you hear. The children will be rambunctious, but they’ll listen to Sequoyah. And now, Lieutenant, what’s next?”

“We should place the cannons between the buildings, sir. That’ll give them a clear line of fire at the approaching enemy, with excellent protection on their flanks. With this many men at our disposal we’ll be able to erect solid breastworks for the guns, too.”

Sam looked around at the little army that they’d assembled.

Not so little, actually, not any longer. Most of the militiamen who’d been gathered at the president’s house had chosen to join them. Not more than a couple of dozen had followed the accountant Simmons toward Georgetown. Between those who had stayed and the volunteer Baltimore dragoons Driscol had brought, and the dozens of sailors from Barney’s regular naval unit, they’d started down Pennsylvania avenue with a force of some three or four hundred men.

To be sure, calling that mob a “force” was a little ridiculous. There wasn’t a semblance of order among them, leaving aside Barney’s sailors and, to a degree, Driscol’s young Baltimore dragoons. Still, the men seemed determined enough—even eager.

The ones who’d chosen to accompany Sam were those who hadn’t been completely demoralized by the rout at Bladensburg. Clearly enough, they intended to redeem themselves, now that someone had taken charge and proposed to lead them into battle instead of further retreat.

The farther down Pennsylvania Avenue they went, the more men they picked up, too. The broad boulevard that formed the spine of the capital city was full of troops slogging disconsolately toward Georgetown. From what Sam could determine, American casualties at Bladensburg had been light. There were enough men here, if Sam could rally them, to create something for which the name “army” wouldn’t be a joke.

He gave it his best, speechifying to the retreating troops from the saddle all the way down the avenue. By the time they drew up before the Capitol, his voice was hoarse.

“Well, that’s that,” he said to Driscol glumly. Sam was learning for himself what experienced commanders had known for millennia—routed soldiers, even if not badly mauled, were usually too demoralized to be of any use for a while. Most of them had had enough of fighting for one day.

Sam looked over the milling mob—there was even less in the way of order now than ever—and estimated he had not more than a thousand men. “It’s not much,” he said. “But it was the best I could do.”

Driscol was half astonished and half amused at the gloominess in the young officer’s voice.

Not much!

The lieutenant had known marshals in Napoleon’s army who’d have done well to rally a portion of the men that Houston had, under the circumstances. The big captain was a wizard at the work. He’d been able to project just the right combination of breezy self-confidence and good cheer to turn the trick.

Even wit, for a wonder.

To be sure, the captain’s frequent citations from the Iliad probably seemed odd to most of the soldiery. They would have understood the references well enough. The Greek classics, along with the history of the Roman republic, were the staples of education at the time. But precious few of them would have taken the time and effort to memorize most of Homer’s epic poem.

Still, if the citations made the captain seem a bit eccentric, they also made clear that he was an educated man—always something that Americans respected. Better still, it had shamed those among the crowd who were likewise educated, reminding them of their duty.

There were quite a few of those, too. Many of the volunteer units who had assembled in Washington to participate in the battle of Bladensburg were militias drawn from the city itself or nearby Baltimore. They included in their number many young men from the educated classes.

Best of all, though, had been the jokes accompanying the citations. By itself—

Let fierce Achilles, dreadful in his rage,

The god propitiate, and the pest assuage

—might have rung hollow. But coupled with “So, I am told, cried General Winder as he galloped westward! Who can refuse such a call?”

It drew quite a laugh, even from men such as these. And another fifty or so turned aside and joined Houston’s forces marching toward the Capitol.

A thousand men, where Driscol had thought five hundred the best they could hope for. With a thousand men, and a commander to inspire them—and a fortress to defend, always far easier for untrained troops to manage than an open battlefield . . .

“Never you mind, sir,” he rasped. “We can win this thing.”

Houston’s eyes widened. “D’you think so? Really?”

“Oh, aye, sir. I’ve no doubt of it at all.”

Within an hour after they arrived at the Capitol, Sam was thanking—silently but no less fervently for all that—the great good luck that had brought Driscol to him. On his own, there wasn’t a chance in the world that Sam could have brought order and discipline to the mob of soldiers who poured into the twin buildings.

Driscol managed it easily. There was just something about the squat Scots-Irish soldier that settled everyone down.

Steady. The word hardly scratched the surface of the matter. You might as well describe a mountain as “weighty.” Driscol’s blocky forehead and jaws exuded the sureness of theologians; his cold, pale eyes, the certainty of damnation if his dictums were not followed. Even the missing arm added to the effect.

Had anyone had any doubts, Driscol settled them within five minutes of their arrival at the Capitol.

“I must insist that my detachment be assigned to defend the Senate, sir!” blustered a florid-faced young militia lieutenant. He swept off his hat and waved it dramatically. “Ours is the senior unit of the brigade, and we should be assigned to defend the senior house!”

For a moment, Sam was too astonished by the absurdity of the demand to know what to do. But then Driscol was there, and it all became a moot point.

“McParland!”

Driscol’s bellow was an odd sort of thing. Loud and penetrating, not so much because of its volume but its sheer menace. As if a file peeling away metal had taken on a human voice.

The young private who seemed to be Driscol’s inseparable companion was at his side in an instant. “Yes, Serg—uh, sir.”

Driscol jabbed a finger at the militia lieutenant. “Aim your musket at this insubordinate.”

The musket came up. Firmly couched against the private’s shoulder, it was pointed squarely at the lieutenant’s chest. The muzzle of the gun seemed almost as wide as the militia officer’s eyes, though it was not as wide—not nearly—as his gaping mouth.

“Arm your musket.”

Click.

Driscol’s icy gaze had never left the lieutenant’s face. “You have five seconds,” he rasped, “to obey orders.”

He added no threat, made no reference to the alternative if the lieutenant disobeyed. To do so would have been . . .

So, so unnecessary. No one present at the scene doubted that Private McParland would pull the trigger on Driscol’s command. Instantly and unquestionably.

The lieutenant himself might have been too shocked to manage Driscol’s five-second time limit. Fortunately, another member of his unit grabbed him by the arm and jerked him away. Then hastily led the lieutenant and the rest of the unit toward the House of Representatives.

Driscol moved off, seemingly as unconcerned as a housewife who had just finished sweeping the floor.

“Steady,” Sam murmured to himself, some time later, as he stood between the two buildings and surveyed the ground that sloped down to the east of the Capitol. Even to his inexperienced eye, it was obvious that his jury-rigged military force had the advantage of position. Not only did the two buildings of the Capitol provide a ready-made and solid fortress, but the terrain over which the British would have to launch an assault against it was superb.

Superb, at least, from the American point of view. Sam didn’t doubt that the British soldiers who’d have to come across in the face of heavy fire would hate it. Washington, D.C., had been created out of what amounted to something of a swamp. Much of the city’s ground still wasn’t far removed from that condition. After a rainfall, Sam had been told, even Pennsylvania Avenue was likely to turn into a sea of mud. The ground east of the Capitol hadn’t been worked on much, and it was wet and soggy almost all of the time.

Close to marshland, in short. That also meant there wasn’t much in the way of trees or even tall brush to obscure the field of vision, as Sam’s men aimed their cannons and muskets at the advancing enemy. The British would have to cross hundred of yards in the open, on treacherous footing, before they reached the Capitol—and then, they would have to make the final charge uphill.

“A perfect killing field.” So Driscol had named it, with a cold satisfaction in his voice that almost made Sam shiver.

There was something primevally savage about the lieutenant, beneath the tightly disciplined exterior. Sam had no trouble at all imagining Driscol as an ancient Scot or Irish warrior, charging his enemy stark naked to display his sneering courage, armed only with blue paint covering his body, and a great claymore.

Certainly his Cherokee companions hadn’t missed that lurking essence of the man. “One of the old true-bloods,” he’d heard James Rogers murmur to his brother John, not long after they’d met Driscol.

John had nodded—and Tiana, also hearing the exchange, had given Driscol a long and considering look. So long and so considering, in fact, that Sam had felt a little surge of jealousy.

He shook off the thoughts, and went back to watching the lieutenant at work. Driscol had the two twelve-pounders already in position, and Barney’s sailors were directing a veritable horde of soldiers in creating proper breastworks to shelter the guns. The interaction between the lieutenant and his men had become easy and relaxed.

There’d been no repetition of the incident with the militia officer. Once Driscol’s authority had been firmly established, the troops at the Capitol had discovered other qualities to the lieutenant who served as Sam’s second in command. Driscol was usually gruff and sometimes sarcastic, but he also had a sense of humor. A sarcastic remark, following some soldierly foolishness, would invariably be followed by a relaxed and matter-of-fact solution to the problem. If Driscol would brook no insubordination, he also held no grudges.

Most of all, he exuded confidence. He didn’t exactly inspire men, the way Sam himself could. Driscol simply wasn’t the man to give speeches and appeal to lofty sentiments. But he provided them with the surety they needed, after the momentary elation produced by speeches began to fade. Like a solid boulder, exposed by a receding tide, to which men could anchor themselves.

They needed that boulder, because even those mostly inexperienced soldiers knew full well that war was ultimately a deadly and practical business. The finest exhortations in the world couldn’t conceal that reality for very long. Soon enough, the men had to face the real problems—a fortress that wasn’t really a fortress; units that weren’t yet really an army; guns that were short of ammunition; an oncoming enemy that was not a bard’s insubstantial spirit.

But, always, Driscol was there to lead them to a solution of those practical problems.

He did so again, in the next five minutes.

When they’d arrived at the Capitol they’d found two eighteen-pounders already positioned there. But jubilation soon gave way to frustration. They discovered that Commodore Barney’s sailing master John Webster had hauled off two of the four cannons that had originally been there, after Winder ordered him to bring the cannons to Georgetown. Unable to round up enough wagons to draw more than two of the guns, Webster had spiked the other two in order to prevent them being used by the enemy.

“Any chance of getting them back in service?” Sam asked the sailor who’d more or less placed himself in charge of Barney’s gunners.

To Sam’s surprise, that had been one of the black sailors among them, Charles Ball. Ball’s fellow white gunners made no objection, either.

Sam had heard that the U.S. Navy, unlike the army, did not restrict Negroes from joining the service. But he hadn’t realized the full extent of it. For naval artillerymen, it seemed, competence was more important than skin color.

Ball shook his head gloomily. “Webster knows what he’s about, Captain. He spiked the guns with rattail files. Hardened metal like that . . .” The sailor shrugged. “We could drill them out, eventually. But it’d take forever, and we’d need a big supply of drill bits to begin with. Which we don’t have a one.”

Someone tugged at Sam’s sleeve. Turning his head, he saw it was the black teamster who’d handled the wagon that had brought Driscol to the president’s mansion. He didn’t know the man’s name. Had completely forgotten about him, in fact.

“I used to work at Foxall’s Foundry, Captain. There’s drill bits there, and it’s not too far away.”

Ball shook his head.

“Still wouldn’t do no good, sir. It’d take hours to get the spikes out of those guns. Prob’ly couldn’t do it at all until sometime tomorrow.” He swiveled his head to the east, the direction from which the British would be arriving. “We won’t have enough time before they get here.”

Ball brought his gaze back to the teamster. “There’s guns there, too, though, idn’t there? We could use those. And we could sure as creation use more ammunition and shot.”

The teamster looked dubious. “Well . . . my wagon’s big enough to haul powder and some shot. Some shot. And I guess we could hook up a gun or two to the back of the wagon. But . . .”

The expression on his face was very dubious now. So, for that matter, was the expression on the face of the black gunner’s mate.

Suddenly, Sam understood the problem. A white man entering Foxall’s Foundry and hauling away materials would be presumed to be going about official and legitimate business. That would be true even if he wasn’t wearing a uniform, since many civilians had been providing assistance to the army.

A black man would be presumed a thief—or, worse yet, a runaway slave providing supplies to the enemy. He’d likely be shot, or hanged on the spot.

“What’s your name?” he asked the teamster.

“Henry Crowell, Captain.”

Sam nodded. “Here’s how it’ll be, Henry.” He glanced around and spotted Driscol’s young companion, standing not far from the lieutenant.

“Private McParland!”

McParland trotted over.

“You already know Henry, I believe.”

“Yes, sir.” McParland gave the black teamster a cordial smile.

“I want you to provide him with an escort. He’ll be going to Foxall’s Foundry to bring us some supplies. I’ll need you to verify his credentials, in the event someone might question his purpose. I’ll write you out some official orders, which you can show anyone who asks. If they won’t accept that—”

“I’ll shoot ’em, sir. Not a problem.” The private’s bland assurance gave way to uncertainty. He glanced toward Driscol. “But—”

“I’ll inform the lieutenant,” Sam said firmly. He started to add something else, but saw that Driscol already was coming over.

Once Driscol was apprised of the situation, he immediately agreed with Sam. “But we can do better than that. We can round up some more wagons along the way, with enough men. Most of them are just standing around doing nothing now, anyway.”

He turned to McParland. “Find Corporal Pendleton. Tell him and his unit of Baltimore dragoons to go with you. That’ll give you enough men—in fancy uniforms, to make things perfect—that you’ll be able to sequester some more wagons. Bring back as much as you can.” He nodded toward Crowell. “For the rest, just do whatever Henry tells you to do.”

McParland left, with Henry Crowell in tow. The teamster was still looking a bit dubious, but Sam spotted a little gleam in his eyes, as well. It wasn’t often that a black man had a unit of white soldiers not only providing him with an escort but, effectively, under his command.

Chuckling, he turned back to Charles Ball. The gunner’s mate also seemed amused. Or, perhaps, simply gratified.

“That’ll do us good, sir,” he said eagerly. “Real good. Foxall’s is the biggest gunmaker in the country.”

Sam nodded. Then, examining the useless eighteen-pounders, he sighed heavily. “May as well add these to the breastworks, I guess.”

“Might as well,” agreed Driscol. “If the heavy bastards can’t shoot, they can still stop enemy shot.”

Driscol left, then, to oversee the men who were bringing some smaller guns into position alongside the twelve-pounders.

There were six guns, all told. On either side of the twelve-pounders, Barney’s sailors were wrestling into position four other cannons that Sam had been able to round up from retreating troops who had chosen to join him. None of them were bigger than six-pounders, true, and there were but two of those. But what was probably more important was that the pair of six-pounders had been in the possession of some more stray sailors from Commodore Barney’s unit. Stubborn—and still furious over the debacle at Bladensburg—the sailors had insisted on saving their guns and hauling them all the way back to Washington.

They’d be put to good use now, and there were finally enough of Barney’s sailors in Sam’s impromptu army that he could be confident his artillery would be handled with professional skill. With a battery of six guns, protected by the hastily erected but solid fortifications, the American force holding the Capitol could inflict some real damage on the enemy.

Sam would catch hell for those fortifications, in a day or two. Breastworks required wood, brick, or shaped stone to form suitable berms for the artillery, even if most of the material was dirt.

The only such substances ready-made in the area were the fittings of the Capitol itself.

For the most part, the men had been able to use wood planks taken from the covered walkway that ran between the buildings, once they tore it down, or the timber used for the flooring of the public galleries. It was amazing, really, how quickly that many men could tear something down, when they put their minds to it.

Still, for much of the underlying frame of the breastwork that would be shielding the twelve-pounder on the north, near the Senate building, they’d had to use the broken-up mahogany desks and chairs of the senators themselves.

But that was just furniture, when all was said and done. The real trouble would come from the House of Representatives. Sam was as sure of it as he was of the sunrise.

Alas, before Sam or Driscol noticed them doing it, some enthusiasts had taken it upon themselves to tear down the eastern entrance doors and add their heavy wooden substance to the breastworks.

“Oh, splendid!” Driscol had snarled at them, pointing an accusing finger at the now-gaping holes of the doorways. “In the olden days, enemies were required to use battering rams. Nowadays, we have cretins to do their work for them.”

Abashed, the guilty soldiery avoided his glare. After a moment, Driscol snorted.

“Well, it’s done. Now—”

His stubby finger was still pointed at the House, like a small cannon.

“Go in there and find something we can use to replace the doors. Something that will—ah, never mind. The Lord only knows what you’d come up with. I’ll find it. Just follow me.”

Find something, he did. And such was Driscol’s grim and certain purpose that not even Sam dared to object.

One door of the House was now blocked by the great stone frieze which had once hung over the statue of Liberty. Only a portion of the bald eagle depicted on that frieze could be seen from the outside, since the eagle’s wings spanned a good twelve feet—and it took a dozen men to shove it aside whenever someone actually needed to use the door.

The Liberty itself had done to block the other door. Once the mob of soldierly fortifiers had put it in place, of course, the door had become effectively impassable. The marble statue was bigger than life-size, what with Liberty herself seated on a pedestal, her left hand holding a cap of liberty and her right a scroll representing the Constitution.

It was a foregone conclusion that if Sam survived this battle, he’d catch merry hell.

“I heard the sculptor worked on it for years,” Sam had heard one of the soldiers say to another, as they manhandled the great thing into the doorway. “They say he was coughing up blood at the end, from the consumption that killed him.”

“I can believe it,” grunted another. “I’m like to be coughing up blood myself, soon enough, just from moving the blasted thing.”

Oh, merry hell indeed. But it still beat giving up the Capitol without a fight.

Shortly before eight o’clock of the evening, the British army arrived and took up position about half a mile to the east of the Capitol. By then, the sun was starting to set, but the enemy forces were easily visible. There were great flames rising from the nearby Navy Yard, which added their own light to the scene. The nation’s premier naval arsenal and shipbuilding facilities had been set afire by its so-called defenders, long before the enemy arrived. By now, the place was a raging inferno.

That had been done by orders from above, apparently.

Houston damned General Winder yet again.

Just as the sun was going down, a British officer and two soldiers appeared on the ground east of the Capitol. The officer was waving a white flag and the soldiers were carrying a man on a stretcher. Sam sent one of Ball’s gunners out to provide them with assurances of a safe conduct.

When the gunner got back, the British lagging behind due to their burden, he was practically hopping with glee.

“It’s Commodore Barney!” he shouted. “It’s the commodore!”

Sure enough. The two British soldiers carried him up to the breastworks and deposited the stretcher on the ground. Then made a hurried exit. The officer didn’t leave, however, until he’d taken a little time to examine the newly-erected fortifications. From what Sam could tell from his expression, the officer—a captain, if Sam was interpreting the insignia properly—seemed both surprised and concerned by what he saw.

The commodore was gravely injured, from the wound in his thigh he’d received during his valiant stand at Bladensburg. But he was still conscious, and lucid.

Even cheery, once he saw the preparations that were in progress.

Several of the artillerymen picked up the stretcher and carried Commodore Barney into the central chamber of the House of Representatives. There, they lowered him gently onto one of the settees that had been brought into the chamber. Following Driscol’s suggestion, Sam had designated the central chambers of both buildings to be the areas where the wounded would be taken. Fortunately, the enthusiasts hadn’t initially thought to include upholstered furniture in the breastworks—and by the time they did think of it, Driscol was there to stop them.

“How did you convince them to let you go, sir?” asked Charles Ball.

Weakly, but actually smiling, Barney shook his head. “There was no need for me to convince anyone, Charles. After having one of their surgeons treat my wound, the British volunteered to let me go. General Ross and Admiral Cockburn themselves came to visit me. Very fine gentlemen, I must say! General Ross was especially effusive with his praise for our gallant stand at Bladensburg.”

Ball and the small crowd of artillerymen swelled with pride. But out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw Driscol scowling. The Scots-Irish lieutenant, clearly enough, thought the phrase “very fine gentlemen” fit English generals and admirals about as well as it would the devil himself. Driscol, unlike Sam—but very much like Andrew Jackson—positively hated the English.

“Oh, yes,” Barney continued. “We chatted a bit, and then General Ross told me he was giving me parole, and I was at liberty to go either to Washington or to Baltimore. I chose Washington, and Captain Wainwright—another very fine gentleman—volunteered to see to it.”

The commodore looked away from the little mob of his admiring artillerymen and brought Sam under his eyes.

“But enough of that! Who are you, Captain? And am I right in assuming that you intend to defend the Capitol?”

Sam took the questions in reverse order. “Uh, yes, sir. We do, indeed, plan to defend the Capitol. I’m Captain Sam Houston, from the Thirty-ninth U.S. Infantry. I’m on detached duty here in Washington, at the orders of General Andrew Jackson. Just arrived in the city this morning, as it happens.”

Sam hesitated then, but only for a second. With another man, he might have left it at that. But Joshua Barney—his reputation even more than his clear and inquisitive gaze—required a full and honest answer. As a young naval officer, the commodore had been one of the new republic’s heroes during the war for independence. Now in his fifties, his conduct during the current war had shown that the decades had not taken a toll on his spirit. So Sam continued.

“My rank as captain hasn’t been approved yet, though, by the War Department.”

“But it was approved by General Jackson. That should be good enough, I think.” The commodore’s shrewd eyes moved to Driscol. “And you, sir?”

“Lieutenant Patrick Driscol. I’m from General Brown’s Army of the Niagara. General Scott’s First Brigade.” He lifted his left stump. “Lost this at the Chippewa, and I was in Baltimore recuperating when the word came of the British landing.”

“So, naturally, you hurried down to join the fight.” Barney lowered his head to the cushion, closing his eyes. For all his good spirits, the commodore was obviously still very weak. “God help a nation which can produce such splendid junior officers—and such a sorry lot of generals.”

Both Sam and Driscol cleared their throats simultaneously. Still without opening his eyes, Barney smiled. “Oh, please, gentlemen. You can be certain that I exempt Generals Jackson, Brown, and Scott from that blanket condemnation. But, alas, they are elsewhere. Here we are blessed with such as General William Winder—and that arrogant ass Armstrong. Perhaps the only secretary of war one can imagine who would neglect the defenses of his own capital city.”

Sam wasn’t sure if that was outright insubordination on the commodore’s part. Normally, of course, for an officer to publicly ridicule his superior authorities would be considered so. But Barney was in the navy, and thus fell under the command of Secretary of the Navy William Jones, not Armstrong. And he hadn’t said anything sarcastic about President Madison.

Not that Sam cared, anyway.

“Be that as it may, sir, we still propose to defend the Capitol, whatever it takes.”

Barney’s eyes opened, staring at the domed roof of the chamber far above. His gaze moved from one to another of the multitude of square plateglass sunlights.

“The roof’s pinewood, but it’s clad in sheet-iron. Not many people know that.” His eyes moved to the semicircular interior walls of the chamber and the fluted Corinthian columns above them. “Those are decorative, but the outer walls are worthy of the pharaohs. You may not be such a lunatic as you think, Captain Houston.”

The commodore closed his eyes again. “Lunatic or not, however, you have my blessing. I’ll not have the enemy come into the capital without bleeding on the way. I believe I am the senior officer present?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Very well. I’m too badly injured to participate in the fight personally—nor could I do so in good conscience in any event, given the terms of my parole. But my wound gives me an honorable way to remain here, so long as I take up no arms myself. And, in the meantime”—here he spoke loudly enough to be heard by any of the several hundred soldiers and sailors who had crowded their way into the chamber—“you have my full confidence and authority, Captain Houston. Do the best you can.”