It had been two years since news of her husband's death. Evangeline can still remember the pain as though it had only happened moments ago. A post rider had come to her doorstep holding a letter bearing the mark of the American Colonial Army. He had died in the Battle of Bunker Hill from cannon fire. He had died instantly, but his remains were nearly unrecognizable. He had been buried alongside the others who fell. They had wanted to send his body home to be buried, but they feared that the red coats would disgrace the bodies by burning them or worse should they get the chance.
Evangeline's heart had been ripped apart when she got word of her husband's death, but that pain could not compare to the next letter she received only two months later. Her eldest son, Abraham, had died during the siege of Fort St. Jean. It had nearly destroyed her to hear that he had died on the front line. He had been shot several times before dying according to a letter from a friend of his that had survived the siege.
The year is now 1777, Evangeline's family are the only ones left near Boston as the entire city had been abandoned after the red coats took it. The Ashland Plantation was one of the last plantations still standing. So many had been pillaged and burned to the ground. Evangeline had hoped that the war would end soon, but after news that the Martin's plantation, only ten miles from her home, had been burned to the ground she knew her home was next.
The British sought to break the Americans' spirit by attacking the families and homes of the soldiers that served within the Colonial army. They were never aware of which soldiers were dead and which still fought, so they continued to kill any family members they found and burned any homes that held ties to the list of soldiers that now served in the American Colonial Armies.
The Ashland family was on that list.
The sun had gone down five hours ago, but Benjamin could not sleep that night. Ever since news of his brother's death he had slept very little and had taken to sitting out on the porch with his father's musket loaded and held firmly in his hands.
Evangeline knew her son was afraid for, not only his life, but hers and his siblings. He was only sixteen years old, but he was the oldest male in the family now. He felt it was his duty to protect his family no matter what. His father and brother had died trying to keep their family safe and to gain their country's freedom. He had another year to go before his mother would even speak to him about joining the ranks of his country men. So, for the time being, he stood guard outside the family home.
Evangeline had been reading in her room and had fallen asleep at some point, but her rest was not to last.
"Mother! Mother, wake up", Benjamin said in a panic as he shook her awake.
She jolted awake only to see her son's face was sheet white and his eyes were wide with fear. She knew that look. It had been the same look he had when he had seen red coats burning his grandfather's fields before shooting him, his family, and his servants down in cold blood.
The red coats had come.
Evangeline leaped to her feet and hurried him out of the room. She was afraid, but she would protect her children even at the cost of her own life. Benjamin was her eldest and an amazing shot, but he could not be expected to fight and entire regimen of British Regulars alone. What's more she would not allow it if she could help it.
"Get your brothers and hurry down to the kitchen", she said before running to her daughters' room.
Charlotte was staring out the window in fear as she watched the torches in the distance coming closer. She was frozen at the thought of death and could not move. At least not until her mother shook her from her stupor.
"Charlotte, come quickly! Down to the kitchen, hurry!", she said scooping up little Avalyn from her crib.
"Mother", Charlotte said in a choked whisper as she quickly took hold of her mother's hand and allowed herself to be led down stairs with her brother's taking the lead.
Evangeline had to think quickly. If the red coats got inside before they got out then they were done for. She hurried them into the kitchen and down into the cellar. She went down first and then helped Benjamin bring the others down. He had only just passed down Ethan when they heard the front door being kicked in. Evangeline tried to coax her son to hurry down into the cellar, but he shook his head.
"Mother, get them out of here. I'll find you later. Make your way to Bay Village and keep to the forest, James knows the trails better than I do. I promise I'll find you Mother", he said before sealing the cellar door and locking it.
"Benjamin", she said in a panic as she tried to force the door open, "Benjamin!"
He did not answer her. He did not open the cellar door. There were many shots fired, but Evangeline knew she had to hurry. Her son was fast and agile, but he could not evade them for long. She had to get the other children out.
"Quickly out the servant's entrance", she said hurrying her children into the narrow space that led out to the back of the house.
"Keep your heads down and follow me", she said as soon as they were out of the house and hidden within the shrubbery.
Evangeline held her children close to her as they moved through the shrubbery and into the trees. They hid among the thick bushes and looked out to see Benjamin being dragged out of the house at gun point. At that moment Evangeline would have given anything to save him. She wanted to save her son. More than anything she wanted to save him, but there was nothing she could do. If she tried to save him then she and her children would be discovered and they would all die. All she could do was watch as her second child stood tall in the face of the enemy; knowing he was about to die.
"Where are they hiding?", the leader of the British troops demanded, "Tell me where they are and you will be spared."
"Never", Benjamin said glaring at the man with such fire that Evangeline could have sworn it was his father and not her son that stood there.
"Open fire!", the British officer ordered and three officers fired their muskets at her son without hesitation.
Evangeline could only stare in both pain and shock as Benjamin's body hit the ground. Her children clung to her, trying to silence their cries of anguish at the loss of their brother. The body lay forgotten as more red coats came from inside carrying away any valuables they could find. They then set the house a blaze; Evangeline and the children could hardly keep silent as they watched their home burn along with their brother's body. Though fear gripped their hearts tighter than a vice, they could not linger; the troops were still searching for them.
"Come children, quickly", Evangeline said as the soldiers began to kill off the servants and the free slaves that worked the land.
With each shot fired, Evangeline's heart shook with pain. A pain that seemed to send ice through her veins and freeze her blood. She was afraid, but her pain and anger from the loss of another child made her push on. She would not lose another. Charles and Abraham had fought to protect them and died. Benjamin had sacrificed himself to save them from certain death. Three men she loved dearly had died to protect this family; she would not let their sacrifices be meaningless.
"Mother, I'm frightened", Ethan hiccupped as he stumbled after them, fighting to keep up.
"I know Sweetheart, I am too", she said before turning to Charlotte, "Carry your brother for a little while. We must get as far away as we can."
"Where will we go?", Charlotte asked lifting Ethan on to her back.
"I don't know, but for now we must put as much distance between us and them", she said looking at James who was now carrying three muskets, a powder horn, a satchel of food, and a large water skin. He was only thirteen and was much too young for the position he now stood in.
"James, promise me that if anything happens to me you'll look after your brother and sisters", she said looking him in the eye.
"Mother, nothing is going to happen to you. I won't let it!", he said as tears streamed down his face.
"Promise me, James Matthew Ashland!", she said seriously, almost in tears herself.
James tried to appear strong, but the tears that flowed down his face told just how scared he was. He had every right to be afraid after what he had just seen.
"I promise Mother", he said in a shaky voice.
"Good boy, now let's keep moving. We have to keep going until sunrise or they will catch us. James you know this forest, find a trail you know will lead us the farthest away from home and we'll follow you", she said waiting for him to take the lead.
"Yes Mother, follow me. I know a path that will lead us to Bay Village", he said taking her hand and leading her down the faint path that her husband and sons had worn down over the years.
Evangeline knew that Bay Village was a long ways away from the plantation and it would take at least five days to get there, but there was very little chance they would get there unnoticed if they didn't keep moving. The British were swarming Massachusetts ever since their victory at Charlestown. No place was safe now.
They had been walking none stop for the last six hours and the sun was already rising. James tried to look strong and lead, but he was just as tired as his siblings. Poor Charlotte looked as though she was about to fall to the ground from exhaustion. Ethan and Avalyn were fast asleep from their perches, but both were having a rather fitful sleep. The escape from the plantation had left the girls only in their night dresses and the boys in plain white shirts and brown trousers. None of them had shoes on, but the family had grown used to not having shoes after the attacks on Charlestown and Boston.
"Let's rest for a moment", Evangeline said feeling exhausted herself.
"Mother, what will happen to us now?", Charlotte said finally after being silent for hours.
"I don't know, but I promise we will make it through this some how", she said as she sat down beneath an old oak.
Avalyn was asleep in her arms, Charlotte and Ethan laid tucked into her sides for comfort as they quickly fell asleep. James, however, looked determined to stay awake in case they were discovered by the enemy. Evangeline was proud of her son's want to protect them and his sense of duty as the now eldest male of the family. He may have been young, but, like his brothers before him, he had to grow up quickly due to these dark times.
"James, please rest. We are deep within the forests now. This trail is unknown to the red coats and even if they were looking for us, they have no hope of finding us until the sun has risen. We have left no trail for them to follow any how", she said trying to get him to rest.
True, the red coats would be searching for them, but the possibility of them discovering their trail and finding them was very slim. James needed to rest if there was any hope of reaching Bay Village.
"Mother, I don't know if I am strong enough to keep you safe. I'm afraid. Father, Abraham, and Benjamin were all much stronger than me. They fell. How can I keep you safe when they could not?", he asked revealing the deep sadness and pain that had festered within him since he had seen Benjamin's death.
"My son, it is because you are afraid and are able to admit so, that makes you strong. Your father would be proud of you for being as strong as you have been these last few hours. You kept a cool head and led us away from the red coats. Had you not been here then we all would have died. None of us know these woods the way you do. Not even your father was able to navigate these trails the way you do. I have faith in you James. We will all make it out alive", she said as he finally came over to lay his head in her lap.
"Sleep now my children and pray that these dark times will soon pass over us", she said looking up into the sky as the first rays of sun came spilling across it like oil paint spilled upon a blank canvas.
"Please protect my children. I care not what happens to me, but please spare them", she whispered to the skies in hopes that there was someone there to hear her.
Unknown to her a host of fourteen deities had heard her words. All heard and felt a wave of sorrow and compassion wash over them. They would help this woman and her family, but in a way that the sleeping mortals had not thought possible.
