Track 5: Saving the retreat from NYC. Ignored by history/Washington, but the men know. A moment of competence amidst chaos.
They’re landing at Kips Bay!
The line is broken!
Retreat! Retreat!
Chaos in the streets of New York City
The British are coming and they have no pity
The generals are arguing, the men are lost
We’re gonna get slaughtered, who pays the cost?
Washington’s angry, he’s throwing his hat
But anger won’t save us, I tell you that!
I know this island, I know the terrain
I have a map inside of my brain!
Five thousand men!
Trapped in a cage!
I’ll lead them out of the history page!
Follow me west! Follow the road!
Carry your muskets, lighten the load!
They say it’s impossible? Watch what I do!
I’m cutting a path and I’m pulling you through!
Five thousand men!
Knox is debating, he wants to defend
I tell him "Henry, this is the end!
If we stay here, we die in the trap
Look at the forest! Look at the gap!"
I ride down the line on a horse white as foam
"Soldiers! Today is not when you go home!
Silence in the ranks! Move double time!
escaping the noose is the only crime!"
Dust. Heat.
The British are marching on the parallel street.
We can hear their drums.
We can hear their songs.
One wrong turn and everything goes wrong.
Don’t speak. Just ride.
I am the shepherd, I am the guide.
Five thousand men!
Safe in the night!
We live to fight another fight!
Washington nods. He doesn't say thanks.
But I see the relief in the eyes of the ranks.
They know who saved them. They know who led.
Without me, five thousand men would be dead!
History forgets.
But the soldiers remember.
Five thousand men.