Meanwhile . . .

The cell was dark and damp. The wet cold caused many around him to contract chest colds. The deep mucous coughs of others became a lullaby that lured Ben to sleep every night. Ben had counted every rock in the wall and etched words of encouragement in the dirt floor with a small twig. Great quotes from great men he admired:

"We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."

Benjamin Franklin.

I Am Not A Virginian, But An American!" Patrick Henry

"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Nathan Hale

The men in his regiment used to tease him when he would cut out quotes from newspapers and pamphlets but they showed the wisdom of men willing to risk everything for their dreams. Ben admired them for their courage, their passion and their loyalty to The Cause. Now they served not only as a moral booster to himself but also to the others in his cell.

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"Weekly rations!" The plump soldier called as he tapping on the cell bars as he passed. Ben watched as his rations were pushed into the cell: one-half pound of biscuit, one half pound of pork, one-half pint of peas, one-half gill of rice, and a half ounce of butter 1.

"Good, I'm starving," Nathaniel joked as he grabbed his share.

"At least they treat us better than the prison my brother Samuel was in up north," John Young said. "He wrote me that he was confined in a stable with about 500 other men. Their guards threw the food at them as if they were no better than pigs and the rations that they received at times were molded and some of it crawling with maggots... 2"

"Let's talk of something brighter," Nathaniel suggested, "You are ruining my appetite."

"No one could ruin your appetite," Ben joked in a sad tone as he examined the biscuit for mold and bugs. Deeming it was satisfactory, he took a bite out of the biscuit. Massaging his jaw, Ben thought to himself I wonder if these biscuits were left over from the French and Indian War.

Rubbing a torn piece of blue coat in between his fingers, Stephen's eyes glazed over as if watching a memory in the fabric. "Today is my daughter's fifth birthday," Stephen murmured softly, "She has the bluest eyes, as blue as the sky and curly light brown. Oh, and when she smiles!" Stephen smiled in remembrance, " . . . her smile, even thinking about it warms my heart."

Also remembering a past life another cellmate began to softly speak as if he too was caught in a dream. "My wife has a beautiful smile and a great laugh. She was wearing the most beautiful blue dress when I left, she laughed and said she would never wear red again—only Continental Blue for her. Her whole body laughs when she is happy. You know, when we were first married, Sarah was making dinner, I don't even remember what it was . . . but she left it in the pot and . . . well got distracted," Zachary smiled, "whatever she was cooking exploded all over the room! Hahaha it was everywhere! Oh, how we laughed! . . . I miss her, we'll been married for two years this June. I fell in love the first time I saw her—which was in dame school! She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my six years of life and now, sixteen years later I still haven't met another quite as wonderful as she." Tears welled in the corners of his eyes as Zachary thought of his young wife.

"I met my wife while traveling in Boston. I had business there that I had come up for from Hartford. I met her father in a tavern and we started talking about and he invited me over for dinner. I came for dinner and there she was smiling at me from across the table." John remembered fondly. "I would travel to Boston every month to see her and we married soon after . . . that was all of twenty years ago, funny how certain memories last."

Stephen laughed, "You know how I met my lass? She beat me in a footrace!" The men erupted in laughter.

"To think, Stephen was beat by a girl!" John roared slapping his knee.

"I stared at her catching her breath, her face as red as an apple and her eyes glowing and I knew she was the one for me. For anyone who could beat me in a race was a formidable companion—could you see me with a meek, proper lass?" Stephen snorted.

"No, I do not think one would put up with you," Zachary replied.

"How about these young ones? They must have a lass or two waiting for them back home." Stephen inquired.

Stretching out and folding his arms behind his head, "I think Abby won me over with her apple dumplings . . . or maybe it was her blueberry pie . . ." he said as he munched on a piece of straw.

"How like Nathaniel to have his stomach do the fallin' in love!" Stephen's laughter was joined by the others in the cell. They all knew how Nathaniel's mouth watered.

"She has big brown eyes and wavy brown hair. She is wonderful. You know, when she writes me she include recipes and describes a dish she has made so wonderfully that I can almost taste it . . . a pinch of cinnamon a pound of sugar. She is so sweet . . . as soon as I can get back to her we'll be married. I cannot wait to have her; to come home every evening to her waiting arms and her cooking on the table." The men all smiled. Sitting up he took the piece of straw and started twisting it in his hand, Nathanial continued, in a more somber voice, "It is funny. You can be as tough as a bear but when you find her she just melts your heart. Sometimes in our letters we picture our future together in a free country. We want six children, four boys and two girls, and two dogs. We agreed on naming our first daughter Liberty."

"She sounds like just the girl for you," John said approvingly, "What about you Ben? Do you have a girl waiting for you?"

Looking up, Ben's ears turned red. "Ummm . . . errrr . . . I don't know" he replied honestly.

"You do not know?" Stephen roared in amusement.

"He is still young, maybe no one has caught his fancy yet," John hushed.

"What about that Felicity that you sometimes write too?" Nathaniel implored, "She must be someone special for I know she is not a sister."

Felicity, how did he explain Felicity when he himself did not know. "The last time I saw her she was barely thirteen . . . she is my friend and my master's daughter. I always thought of her as my sister but I don't know . . . right before I left . . . maybe . . . I asked her permission to write her, but I do not know if I did it . . ."

"You sound like my oldest son. The neighbor's girl, Elizabeth, is three years his junior. He is great friends with the older brother. They grew up together and Elizabeth was like a sister to him, sometimes even a pest. Then all of a sudden he started acting like the cat has got his tongue around her and stumbling over words whenever someone mentioned her name. Over night she transformed from a little girl to a lovely young lady and oh how Elizabeth's brother teased my Johnny! Ahh, but when she turned sixteen, right before he left to join the Continentals he asked for her hand. I have thirteen children—one for each of these great colonies and there is nothing more confusing than watching them stumble over the debate: do I like this person or not."

"Felicity will be fifteen now," Ben continued almost to himself, "She has green eyes and auburn hair. We play checkers every night, we would work in her father's store together sometimes. She loves horses and dancing . . ." Ben trailed off.

John nudged Stephen and murmured softly. "I think he's in love."

1 & 2 are both from Lindsey's Treatment of American Prisoners of War During the Revolution