“This new country did indeed hold promise, if they could ever win their independence. The land was rich. Here a peasant could own a hundred acres if he had the strength to clear it, and in a generation his sons could live like gentry if they worked hard enough and were frugal. The war, however, had reached this far westward. The barnyards looked empty, houses were shuttered, the few farmers about watching warily as his party rode past. No young men were in the fields, and the muddy lane that pas...sed for a road was devoid of any traffic. The day had turned warm—the snow on south-facing slopes, fallen several days ago, had melted away by midday; the ground was heavy with moisture. The road was barely passable due to the mud, and at times they had to turn off to trot across open fields. Turning a bend in the road, he was pleasantly surprised to be confronted by outpost riders, concealed within a woodlot that the road passed through. A barrier, concealed inside the woodlot, was across the road, and as he drew closer to the outpost a couple of rough-looking riflemen came out of the woods behind them, looking warily at this cavalcade of finely dressed officers in the uniforms of France and Prussia.MoreLessRead More Read Less
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