Disclaimer: All previous disclaimers apply.
A/N: Any dialogue taken directly from an episode of The Sons of Liberty will appear in italics. No copywrite infringement is intended.
Chapter 2
Before Joseph could say anything in response, they were interrupted by the sound of horse hooves. A few minutes later the barn door opened and Paul led his horse, Brown Beauty, into the barn. He looked at Joseph. "I followed him from the Shaw house. He's alone and he didn't stop to speak to any of the sentries."
Pitcairn turned and looked at Paul, amazement plain on his face. "I was not aware that I was being followed."
"Your mistake, Major. You should always assume you may be followed and keep a sharp ear," Paul advised.
Joseph looked up at the loft and called, "Sam, you can come down now."
Sam walked to the edge of the loft and jumped down to the floor.
Pitcairn's eyebrows rose noticeably. "So Captain Preston was not exaggerating. He told us how you climbed up and scrambled across the roofs, into windows, and jumped down on the ground again to escape being arrested."
Sam smirked. "And all the while he was standing on the ground yelling at me to stop, that I was under arrest." His expression turned serious again. "I heard what you said, but you were the one that announced the man's flogging in the square that day."
"Yes. What General Gage does disgusts me, but I am a soldier and an officer and I must obey no matter what I may feel personally," Pitcairn replied quietly. He looked at the three of them and motioned to a barrel. "Would you mind if I sit? My leg is paining me and I did not bring my crutch."
"Would you like me to take a look at it?" Joseph asked kindly.
"Thank you, Dr. Warren, but it is mostly just pain which cannot be quieted without liberal use of Laudanum which as you know also has unpleasant side effects if taken for too long."
Joseph nodded. "Please sit then, Major."
"Thank you," Pitcairn replied and sat down, stretching out his injured leg. "Flogging is standard punishment in the Royal Navy of which the Marines are a part, but it should not have been used to punish a civilian and certainly not as your cousin told General Gage without any semblance of due processes."
"John spoke to Gage?" Sam asked.
"Yes, General Gage asked to speak to him. He had a copy of your cousin's license to practice law and copies of the deeds to both of his homes and implied that he could take everything away unless he controlled your lawlessness."
Sam dropped down onto another barrel. "John never said a thing to me."
"He probably didn't want to worry you Sam," Joseph said. Despite John's obvious frustration with Sam at times; he had always looked out for and protected him.
"Gage is nothing more than an overgrown shit with too much power!" Paul growled.
"On that we agree," Pitcairn replied. "He has ordered any civilians caught helping you or caught hiding any kind of munitions to be shot on sight so if anybody is helping you inside of Boston; you will want to warn them."
"Can he do that? Murder innocent people in cold blood?" Paul gasped.
"Yes, he has the full authority of the King to put down the rebellion however he sees fit."
"How do you think you can help us?" Sam asked.
"I am second-in-command to General Gage and that means he discusses his plans with me even before he discusses them with General Clinton or his other officers. I am sure he is planning to avenge the beating we took here on this very farm. I will let you know his plan as soon as it is safe, but it still should give you adequate time to prepare."
Sam looked at Joseph and Paul who both nodded. Sam turned back to Pitcairn. "All right, we'll accept your help, but this does not mean we trust you."
"Fair enough," he answered, getting up and taking hold of Regina's reins. "But in return, I must ask you not to needlessly attack my men who are on sentry duty."
"Agreed," Sam replied. He turned back to Joseph and Paul. "His involvement stays strictly between the three of us."
"We'll need to set up some way he can get the information to us without anybody discovering it," Paul stated. "It needs to be something that won't attract the notice of the sentries or anybody else."
"I can move around without a problem as the curfew for the civilians does not apply to me yet and I often ride out to check on my sentries at night," Pitcairn explained.
"I'm warning you if you betray us, you'll find yourself in the same condition as Whittier," Sam warned.
"I understand and I appreciate your honesty Mr. Adams," Pitcairn replied. He led Regina outside and mounted her.
"I'll set up a safe place for you to leave your messages and let you know where it is," Paul said.
Pitcairn nodded, turned Regina, and rode off.
Joseph turned to the rest of them. "I think we have found the help we've all been wanting." He admitted to himself that Pitcairn's involvement would also keep Margaret out of danger.
During the next few nights, Pitcairn rode out alone to check on the sentries. He halted Regina in front of two of them who saluted him. "Any problems, Sergeant McFarland?"
"No, Sir. It's been right quiet," McFarland answered.
"I think the Colonists are finally receiving the message that the King is serious Sir," Private Asher added.
In the woods a short distance away, Paul and a 12 year-old boy stood. Paul picked up a rock, knelt down beside the boy and gave him the rock. "Do you think you can hit that officer's horse from here, Andy?" He whispered.
The boy smirked at Paul as if to say, 'Are you joking?'
"If you do see or hear anything out of the ordinary or you capture a colonist who is out after curfew; you will send a messenger to me immediately," Pitcairn instructed them. He really did not want to witness another colonist being flogged. Suddenly Regina whinnied and reared as something struck her flank. They could hear somebody running away and the two sentries immediately leveled their muskets in that direction.
"Halt!" Pitcairn ordered. "I believe it is a child. Go back to your patrol. I am going to follow the child and make sure they get home safely and perhaps have a talk with the parents about their child's manners."
The sentries grinned at each other. They were quite familiar with Pitcairn's temperament. They saluted him, shouldered their muskets, and walked away. Pitcairn waited a few moments until they were out of sight and then turned Regina around and headed in the direction from where he had heard the child run through the leaves. He had only gotten a short way when a hooded individual on a horse came out from a crop of trees. Regina reared and Pitcairn pulled out one of his Scottish scroll-butt pistols and cocked it.
"Whoa!" Revere said grabbing the reins, attempting to settle Regina. He flipped back his hood back.
"Thank you, Mr. Revere," he said softly. He put his pistol back into the holster on his waistband. "I apologize, but I did not know if you were someone intent on harming me."
Revere nodded. "Understandable. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the place I have set up where you can leave your information."
Pitcairn nodded and turned Regina to follow Revere. They rode for a few minutes longer until they came to an enormous tree. Paul got down from his horse and motioned to Pitcairn who dismounted and walked over. Paul went over and pointed to a large knot in the trunk. "Do you see this?"
Pitcairn nodded.
Revere grasped hold of the knot and pulled it off revealing a small compartment, but big enough for a piece of folded paper to fit in. "This is where you can leave us your messages. "I'll be riding out here every day to check." He put the knot back in the hole.
"Ingenius," Pitcairn observed. "Nobody walking or riding past would ever think it was anything but a natural phenomenon."
"Got the idea from an Indian I served with during the war with the French. Taught me a lot about scouting, tracking, and hiding," Revere explained as they got on their horses.
They rode together in silence and then split up. Pitcairn nodded at Revere and headed back towards Boston. After he stabled Regina, he walked across the street and entered the Shaw house.
Mr. Shaw was waiting to lock up. "My goodness Major; you look after your men as if they were your own children."
"I am responsible for their safety while they are here and I do not want to have to write anymore letters home to grieving families."
Mr. Shaw nodded. "And that reminds me; I am remiss in thanking you for the pass you gave me so I could see my daughter."
"How is your daughter faring?" Pitcairn asked.
"She's back to her normal self thanks to Dr. Warren."
"That is good to hear." Pitcairn bade Mr. Shaw goodnight and went to his room.
The next morning General Gage called a meeting. "Draft a letter to Lord North. Tell him Parliament must authorize a greater British presence in the colonies. If they send 5,000 soldiers, demand 10,000. If they send 10,000 demand 20,000. This a war. It is time you all started treating as such. General Clinton, secure the city. I want every exit sealed."
"Yes Sir," General Clinton said.
"Your men are to shoot anyone trying to leave the city. I do not care if they are in full British uniform. No one is above suspicion. Dismissed."
Pitcairn figured there was no immediate need to inform Adams and the others about this as it would take the letter three months to get to London and another three months after that for the troops to arrive.
The days dragged by and the weather became hotter. His soldiers complained of how hot their uniforms were to Major Pitcairn, but he could do nothing. General Gage had already issued orders that any soldier out of uniform would be put on report and then flogged.
On the morning of June 15th General Gage told Pitcairn to send word that there would a meeting the next morning and that every officer was required to attend. "You have come up with a plan to defeat the rebel forces, Sir?" Pitcairn asked.
"Yes, I won't rest until every last one of them is dead at my feet." He walked over to the table and pointed at one of the maps spread out there. "We're going to cross Boston Harbor, disembark here, take the high ground around Charlestown and then crush every last rebel!"
Pitcairn thought hard about how to get out of the city to the tree where he could leave a message for Revere. It was only a bare plan, but at least they would know that General Gage planned to take the high ground and they could get there first. He decided to sneak out that night, dressed in the clothing he had worn to the meeting at Barrett's Farm. It took him two hours of sneaking around sentries, having to lead Regina on foot a lot of the time and nearly being caught twice before he reached the message tree and could leave his message. Another perilous two hours of returning to Boston followed and by the time he was back at the Shaw house, he was completely exhausted. Fortunately he knew about the extra key Mr. Shaw kept in a flowerpot on the porch and was able to get in and back to his room without waking Mr. Shaw.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
At the encampment, Paul stood holding a musket and watching the trails to the encampment. It was situated 4 miles west of Boston. So far they had heard nothing from Pitcairn.
Sam was seated in front of the fire, staring into it blankly. He was an action person and was not good at waiting for something to happen.
Joseph came over with two apples and extended one towards Sam. "Breakfast?" Sam didn't answer and Joseph sat down near him asking, "How long has it been since you've eaten?"
Sam looked at Joseph and asked, "Is it true about you and Gage's wife?"
Joseph didn't answer, but he didn't need to. Sam could see right through him. He shook his head and said, "You've always looked out for me, but this time I'm telling you …be careful."
Joseph smiled and nodded.
They were interrupted by the sound of a horse's hooves and everybody got up, but it was John. He got down from his horse and said to Sam, "I need a word."
"About what?" Sam asked.
"They've called for a second Continental Congress. They demand an explanation from you."
"What? They want it now?" Sam asked.
"Yes, now."
"Well in case they didn't notice we're in the middle of a fight here."
"That's what they're afraid of."
"What's the point? So I can watch them write another love letter to the king?"
Paul interrupted leaning on his musket. "Gage's troops will be back. More men, more firepower."
Sam nodded. "He's right."
"They'll join the British. They'll proclaim sides and join the British against us," John pleaded.
John Hancock got up and came over. "He's right …he's right. I've been around rich men my whole life and they will not lose; they will not lose their fortunes. Anything but their fortunes. They will always take the side of power. Now, gentlemen, the crown, Gage, the empire, they will stop at nothing to make these men turn and they will turn. If they had offered it to me ...I would have taken it."
Everybody stared at Hancock in amazement for a few seconds, but then Paul said, "Warren and I will stay here. We'll hold the line."
Sam got up. "Fine, but you're coming with us," he said motioning at Hancock.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Paul rode into camp the next morning, dismounted and hurried into the tent where Joseph was. "Got something. He says if he can get out of Boston tonight, he'll give us a more detailed report." He handed the note to Joseph who unfolded and read it.
"We have a spy in Boston?" Amos asked.
"Yes and one that is knowledgeable about General Gage's movements," Joseph added.
"Didn't think any of those Tory shites gave a hell's hoot," Kelly remarked.
Dawes shrugged. "A lot of them are like Hancock; they don't care until it affects them personally."
Joseph looked over the map that was spread out on the table. "He says Gage is planning to cross Boston Harbor and take the high ground around Charlestown."
"That means Bunker or Breeds Hill here," Paul replied, his finger circling an area.
"If they can secure that area then they'll definitely hold the advantage," Dawes stated.
"Then we can't let them get it," Amos concluded.
"That's why we're going to take the men and fortify that area so we can be waiting to welcome General Gage when he arrives," Paul said.
"Aye and it won't be the tea party they're expectin' either!" Dawes replied with a grin.
They left, leaving only Joseph and Paul in the tent. "Pitcairn probably won't be able to get anymore information to us since Gage will probably order a lock down and to shoot anyone caught trying to leave the city," Joseph said. "He's suspicious and doesn't trust anyone."
"Doesn't need to; he's given enough information to get a fair jump on them," Paul replied as he and Joseph headed out after the men.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
The room was full of officers. Pitcairn sat at a table with Major General Sir Henry Clinton to his right.
General Gage stood at the front of the room, his hands clasped behind him. "Tomorrow we break this stalemate. You are Britain's best. We shall not be outsmarted by these traitorous colonists."
"With respect, Sir, we are outnumbered and surrounded," Pitcairn said. "They may be colonists, but they still know how to fight."
"I don't want your excuses. I want the scalp of every colonial savage in those hills!"
"Your plan to attack the rebels across the river and secure the high ground is a sound one General," General Clinton said. "If we can overtake them and secure the high ground around Charlestown …"
Pitcairn interrupted him. "Sir, the loss of life would be catastrophic."
Clinton nodded. "The losses would be significant, but reinforcements are on their way from London as we speak. The one thing we can afford to lose is soldiers. We cannot afford to lose Boston."
"Significant, Sir? That is how you describe the thousands of lives at stake?" Pitcairn asked barely hiding his outrage.
"Enough!" Gage ordered.
Pitcairn held up his hand and said, "I beg your pardon, Sir, it is just …" he began, but was cut off by Gage.
"Silence! We attack tomorrow at first light. Ready the troops."
Pitcairn got up and silently left the room.
General Gage watched him leave, his eyes narrowed. What Pitcairn did not realize was that by his committed support of his soldiers, he himself had become a marked man just as much as any of them or the colonists.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
In Philadelphia, Sam sat at a table in the Pennsylvania State House* looking glum while John, Hancock, and Franklin worked the delegates from the other colonies, listening to their concerns and attempting to assuage their worries about independence.
Hancock hurried over and sat down beside Sam. "I think I have Button Gwinnett from Georgia. Now, all he needs is an assurance that we won't meddle with his land grants."
"It's not gonna work." Sam said.
"It will. It takes time." John spoke coming up to the table.
"Time is the one thing we don't have. Gage still has Boston. We're talking about purchasing more saltpeter from Rhode Island," Sam complained.
"Mr. Adams, you're missing the point. We need to appeal to their motivations," Hancock explained.
"And they're all different," Franklin added, walking up to them.
"You're talking about starting a country. What kind of country would that be?" Sam asked.
Franklin leaned on the table to stare into Sam's face. "Mr. Adams, you have a lot to learn and I suggest you learn it quickly. If twelve years standing in front of Parliament has taught me anything; it's that politics is a chess match. You must think five moves ahead."
"What happens five moves from where we are now?" Sam asked trying to keep the frustration out of his voice.
Franklin straightened, smiling. "We take their king."
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
The colonist worked days and nights both, sleeping in shifts, to fortify Bunker and Breeds Hill. They finished scarcely before daylight. Paul added the final defiant touch: an ivory colored flag that pictured a snake sectioned into eight pieces and the words JOIN or DIE underneath it. Joseph gave out the last horn of gunpowder. "That's it for the gunpowder," he said as Paul came up to him.
"Gage is coming with at least 3,000 men if Pitcairn's estimate is right," Paul replied quietly so that the other men couldn't hear him.
Joseph shrugged. "We don't have the ammunition. We're going to get one, maybe two shots at the most."
Paul looked around him. The men were sitting in groups talking softly. One man was reading aloud from a bible. He and Joseph had decided that half the men would be up front shooting and the other half would be behind reloading the muskets and handing them up. He got up and mounted Brown Beauty then called, "Dawes got an idea. Give me a hand."
Joseph watched as they both rode out each with a bundle of sharpened sticks that they stuck in the ground and then rode back behind the redoubt. "Men who will be shooting to the front," Paul ordered. Once they were assembled, he pointed over the redoubt. "See those sticks out there? As soon as the British reach those, start firing. Aim for the officers first."
While Paul was instructing the shooters, Joseph stopped to talk with the rest of the men. "I know you're afraid. There's no shame in fear. Any man with something to lose fears death."
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
General Gage stood on the top step and looked over the soldiers. "What we march to do today, we do for King and Country."
"For King and Country!" The soldiers shouted in unison.
"I need your hearts, your souls. Many of us will die today."
Pitcairn listening to the speech felt like vomiting over Regina's side at Gage's pomposity and lies. Gage was in no danger of dying because he would be sitting safely in the back, watching as his men were senselessly slaughtered.
"And we will die with honor."
"For King and Country!" The soldiers yelled again.
"For King and Country," Gage finished.
"Huzzah! Huzzah!"
Pitcairn rode up in front of his men. "To Bunker Hill! Forward March!" They turned and began to march with Pitcairn riding beside them.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
They heard the drums first and Amos put the telescope up to his eye. "Dear God!" He muttered as he saw the marching army approaching. There were at least 3,000 soldiers if not more.
"Ready your weapons!" Paul yelled.
"Regiments …halt! General Clinton ordered.
Pitcairn rode up and took his usual place with the rest of the officers. As much as he did not want to witness the slaughter of his men, he felt he owned them that much. Private Oliver Rowley, the young man who took care of Regina and held her reins when he dismounted, sat on his horse beside him.
"Ready the cannons. Rapid fire!" Gage ordered.
"Ready the cannons! Rapid Fire!" Pitcairn shouted.
The cannons blasted one after another. Pitcairn watched as cannon ball after cannon ball landed just short of the redoubt blasting big holes in the ground in front of it. The noise was hellish and the smoke was thick, making it difficult to see what was happening. The cannons on the ships also began firing adding to the din.
"Start the advance!" Gage ordered.
"For the glory of the Marines!" The men chanted as they started forward.
"Hold your fire," Paul cautioned. "Steady! Hold! Wait! Wait for my order!"
The first line of Marines stepped on the sharpened sticks and Paul yelled, "Fire!"
The line of colonist fired and then there was the sound of the agonized screams and falling bodies. The colonists kept firing, rapidly exchanging empty muskets for loaded ones. Men continued to fall and the sound of wounded men moaning loudly filled the air. The cannons continue to fire and smoke from the cannons and the muskets made it hard to see what was happening.
Pitcairn, unable to watch the slaughter any longer, glanced down at Regina's mane. He missed seeing General Gage staring at him and did not hear him say. "Weak!"
"Fall back!"
"They're retreating!"
"We've got 'em where we want them!" Joseph yelled. "Cannon!"
The cannon fired blasting the center out of the retreating men. The ones who made it back to the British lines were turned back by two screaming generals.
"Halt the retreat!" General Gage ordered.
"Halt the retreat!" General Clinton yelled.
"Start the second advance," Gage said.
"Yes Sir," Pitcairn said.
"Major …Lead them yourself," Gage ordered.
Pitcairn looked at him in disbelief for a moment, but then quickly recovered and leaned over to his adjutant. "Captain Whiting, there is a letter, a bag of shillings, and instructions on the desk in Mr. Shaw's parlor. Please see to their completion and please watch out for Oliver."
Whiting nodded, knowing that Gage was sending Pitcairn to his death, moved his horse back and out of the way of Regina
"For the glory of the Marines! Advance!" Pitcairn yelled pulling up his neckerchief up over his mouth and nose.
"You!" Gage snapped at Oliver. "Line up with the other men and follow Major Pitcairn."
Captain Whiting missed hearing General Gage's order to Oliver and didn't protest it because when he had moved out of Pitcairn's way he was now much closer to the cannons and the noise was deafening.
Oliver paled, but saluted Gage and said, "Yes, Sir." He dismounted and took his place in the lineup.
One of the men looked down at him sympathetically.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
"You can't keep antagonizing the delegates Sam," Hancock pleaded as he, John, and Sam were having lunch at City Tavern. "You act as though none of their concerns are of any importance compared to Boston's."
Franklin came over to the table holding four tankards of the best Ale and set them on the table. "Help yourselves, Gentlemen." He sat down next to Hancock.
"I'm sorry, but I can't concentrate on their concerns when I don't know what might be happening at Bunker Hill right now." John had received a letter from Abigail with a warning that the Colonial and British forces were massing at Bunker Hill and a battle was expected to start at any time.
"That is understandable Mr. Adams," Franklin said taking a long draw on his ale. "But if we're going to birth a new country; we need every one of those delegates to help. If we don't do this now, we won't get a second chance and everybody who has died or will die in battle will have died in vain."
"That means little Christopher Seider will have died for nothing Sam," John pointed out quietly. "And those five men who died on King Street when the British fired on them for throwing sticks, stones, and snowballs at them."
"And that man who was flogged in the square; if we fail here that kind of thing will become common place," Hancock added.
"All right, I'll try things your way, but if that doesn't work, we do it my way. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Franklin said raising his tankard in salute.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
"What the hell is he doing?" Paul asked Joseph as they saw Pitcairn riding up in front of his men, pistol drawn.
"Committing suicide it looks like," Joseph said.
Pitcairn horse was galloping toward the redoubt. His hat had blown off and he was bareheaded. He raised his pistol and fired, but he deliberately shot over their heads.
"I told the men to shoot the officers," Paul realized. He dropped his musket and ran up and down the line of men yelling, "Hold your fire!"
Pitcairn suddenly felt an agonizing pain in his right side and fell sideways off his horse, hitting the ground hard. The last thing he heard was gunfire and the screams of his men as they were cut down.
*Only the first Continental Congress in 1774 was held in Carpenter's Hall. It was moved to the Pennsylvania State House when it reconvened in 1775.
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