Capítulo 55: Fortifying Bermuda and General von Steuben
Bermuda, United States of America (Military Occupation)
November 11th, 1776
"No slacking off until we finish, men! Lunch will be served after we dig out these trenches, so work faster!" Captain Hamilton hollered.
The members of the 1st Marine Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 6th Company were digging trenches and erecting barricades near the beaches around St. George, the capital of Bermuda. Despite Captain Hamilton's shoutings, the men were already working their hardest to finish their set quota for the day. In total, there were two battalions (which constituted for 4 companies) on the island, and they were rotated out to work on the defenses around the island. While one battalion trained and "kept the peace" around the island, another battalion worked on the defenses and ensured that the various guns and encampments were usable.
"He's screaming at us, but he's not doing any work of his own," Private First Class Timothy Reed grumbled.
Sergeant George Brown, who was promoted like many members of 6th Company due to their bravery during the Battle of Charleston, dug into the ground with his shovel, "I mean, he was helping us earlier. Besides, we dig trenches all the time."
"I guess it could be worse; at least the view is nice," The PFC replied as he glanced at the beaches, "The weather is nice too. Maybe after I retire, I can come back here for a visit."
"You want to leave the marines?" Private First Class Tom Kim looked shocked and nearly dropped his shovel. After spending months with the marines, the former slave sounded much more well-spoken and was now semi-literate. He also carried himself with more confidence and dignity, as he had a much more noticeable presence than before.
"Well, yes. I enjoyed serving in the marines, but I have family in Pennsylvania that I need to get back to, remember? My father owns a farm and wants me to take over for him once I return."
Private First Class Kim looked thoughtful as he continued digging, "That be nice, having a family to go back to. I will probably stay in the marines if it exists after the war. The marines are my family, and they set me free."
The Pennsylvanian looked embarrassed and looked down to focus on his digging, "I'm sorry, Tom. It slipped my mind that your family isn't in the Americas..."
"No worries, Tim," PFC Kim replied, "Happens all the time with me when I'm learning."
"If we want to talk about our life stories and plans, let's do it while we're eating lunch. Because I don't know about you gents, I want to eat," Sergeant Benjamin White noted casually as he flicked away a pile of dirt.
"Yes, Sargent," The three enlisted men replied in unison.
It took approximately an hour for the trenches to be finished and when the marines of the 3rd Battalion finished, they erupted into cheers. Before they could all run off to the kitchen hall to feast on their lunches, the men were stopped by Captain Hamilton and another officer that they were all too familiar with: Brigadier General Joseph Warren. The men all stopped in their tracks and scrambled to form lines. When they all did, they saluted the two officers with all the respect they could muster.
General Warren gave the men a friendly smile and saluted back. The men weren't too afraid of the men, as he was generally kind, but they knew he took discipline seriously, "I'm afraid we have a change of schedule, gentlemen. But it might be a change of schedule that you may approve of. All marines of the 3rd and 4th Battalion will report to their barracks and change into their dress uniforms in two hours. We have an important guest coming from Europe to visit the island before transiting to the mainland, so I expect all of you to look and act professionally. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
"And since you have been working hard for the past two weeks, I will allow you to take the day off and enjoy yourselves after the visitors are escorted elsewhere. For now, you are dismissed."
After two hours, all the marines on the island were gathered near St. George's harbor and were waiting for the "esteemed guests" to arrive. Unsurprisingly, this caused quite a stir amongst the men.
"Do you think the guests are going to be members of royalty or nobles?" Private Hugh Jackson asked the marines around him excitedly.
"I doubt any European nobles would want to come here or America, out of all places. If anything, it's probably going to be another European officer. There has been a whole bunch of them joining our ranks recently," Sergeant White replied.
The private looked slightly crestfallen, which made some of the other marines nearby grin at the boy's naivety.
"The ships are arriving!" One of the marines shouted.
Despite their training, nearly all the marines turned to see a ship that was a few miles offshore. The ship sailed into the harbor gracefully and when the guests stepped onto the ground, the marines all snapped to attention.
General Warren personally came out to greet the delegation, which consisted of five men and a dog. The men leading the entourage, a tall and imposing officer dressed in full military uniform, shook the general's hand and spoke with him through a translator, "Thank you for coming out to welcome me, General..."
"Warren. Brigadier General Joseph Warren of the Continental Marines."
"Ah, yes. General Warren. And these are your men, I presume?"
"Not all of them, but most. They are some of the finest the marines have to offer."
The man inspected the marines thoroughly and nodded in approval of what he found, "Truly remarkable. Your men seem to be well-trained and well-armed. May I ask for them to perform some mock drills to see their capabilities?"
"Of course, General von Steuben," General Warren led the Prussian general's entourage and the marines to an open area, where the marines carried out a dozen different formations and maneuvers. The marines also displayed their marksmanship and trigger discipline at a recently-built firing range.
General von Steuben looked suitably impressed, "Are all of the soldiers in the Continental Army like this?"
"Not necessarily. Some units are trained better than others, but the marines have been specially trained by Lieutenant General Samuel Kim."
"Ah, the Hun in Gentleman's Clothing," General von Steuben smiled when he saw that the American military governor looked confused, "There are some in Europe that call your general by that name, especially the British. Do you also have the reports that I requested before my arrival?"
General Warren handed a packet of documents after he received it from his assistant and gave it to the Prussian, "All the details of the battles the Marines have fought in are in there, along with our code of conduct and rules."
The Prussian general thanked the man and had his military secretary Peter Stephen Du Ponceau carry it for him, "Very well, let us excuse ourselves and discuss more over some refreshments."
In a short while, the marines were dismissed to enjoy the day off and the members of the 6th Company ran off to finish constructing a side project of theirs.
A baseball field.
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