Ben woke early the next morning and climbed to the top of the hill overlooking Yorktown. He remembered playing on this hill as a child and enjoying the glorious view, and today it was no less wonderful. He saw the massive warships of the French barricading the river, preventing supplies from reaching Cornwallis and the French and American flags waving side by side. Hearing the call of a bugle, Ben ran down the hill and joined Nathaniel, John, and Stephen and the rest of the troops as the gathered to answer the call.
"We came here as Virginians, Georgians, Carolinanians. From thirteen colonies we gathered, but today we fight as one. I am not a Virginian—I am an American!" A voice called out and was answered by a responded by a resounding, "huzzah!!"
"Let's go fight for this New World,' Nathaniel said with a grin and slapped Ben on the back.
"You are not going to get far without these," John handed Nathaniel and Ben their muskets and they fell into ranks, marching off to meet the British as the drummers began their fateful tune.
The French, under Rochambeau, formed the left flank of the attack, while the American troops, under Washington and Lafayette, approached from the right. The city was soon surrounded and under heavy fire.
Cannons fired sending debris and smoke across the field. "Stay your ground!" someone yelled among the chaos. Ben quickly reloaded and focused on the approaching forces.
"Steady . . . aim . . . fire!" he thought to himself and pulled the trigger, closing his eyes as he did so. Opening one eye he saw he had made his mark.
"Both eyes OPEN!" Stephen called to him and Ben wondered how Stephen knew. "Stay calm boy, this is no different from any other battle." Ben again reloaded with rapid speed and focused again on a new target.
"Steady . . . aim . . . eyes open—fire!" The blast of a cannon rattled his last thought. A miss, the cannon explosion near him had unsteadied him. As he reloaded he looked over to where the cannon had fired upon. On the ground he saw a solider clutching his leg as his face contorted in excruciating pain.
"Ben! Focus!" came the call from Stephen just as searing pain overtook his body. Ben looked down at his body and then up again at Stephen standing next to him, his eyes loosing focus as the blood drained from his face. A look of shock appeared and he collapsed to the ground.