Chapter 4: The Greatest Loss

For four days, Christian rested in the infirmary, the pain never seeming to leave his wound. As Emma promised, she was a regular visitor. Christian described her as a better nurse than any of the nurses in the infirmary. Every day she made sure that he was getting enough rest, that his wound was healing properly and that he was comfortable. Christian would always tell her that he was perfectly fine, but that didn't stop Emma from tending to him. He appreciated it very much. After four days, he was allowed to leave. He found it a bit difficult to stand up as he hadn't used his legs for a while. The pain of his wound didn't help either. He grabbed his musket and began to walk back to the housing block. As he entered the door, he saw John and Andrew holding Margret and Anna in their arms. The two girls were in tears.

"What's going on?" Christian asked in a confused/concerned tone. John just looked at him in the eye before lowering his head. He then whipped around to see Emma who also had a few tears in her eyes. "Emma…what happened."

"Our hometown…it was attacked by the British." Emma replied. Emma then gestured to John, Andrew, Margret and Anna. "Their parents were…were killed." Christian's eyes widened when he heard this.

"What about your parents! Are they okay?" Christian asked. Emma nodded her head. "They sent us the letter informing us about…what happened." Christian felt a surge of relief come over him as he took Emma in an embrace. When they separated, Emma gave her boyfriend the news.

"Christian…there's another thing."

"What?"

Emma then handed him the letter and he began to read it. As he read the last portion of the letter, his heart sank, his eyes widened, his breathing grew deep and he nearly collapsed as the wall caught him. His father, Mathias von München, was dead. He was among the first casualties. Emma had never seen Christian this horrified. He let the letter slip out of his hands and he stumbled to his room. Emma then picked up the letter and tears began to fall from her eyes. She hated the fact that she had to give this kind of news to the one she loved. Not only that, but the fact that her own parents had lived caused a maelstrom of different emotions among the group. Christian was devastated by his father's death, but because of his love for Emma, he was extremely happy for her that her parents had survived. Anna was equally devastated, but she thought of Emma as the sister she never had and was also happy that her parents were still alive. Margret was slightly annoyed, but because of her religious nature, she knew that it would be wrong to envy and was happy for Emma. John and Andrew were not exactly in the same boat. John was quite annoyed by the fact that Emma did not have to go through what they were. Why should God have saved her parents and not theirs? Andrew was even more annoyed and because he demanded an explanation for the attack on their town, he even went as far as accusing Emma of being a spy for the British, stating that "it must be her. Her last name is a British name so it makes sense." It was a good thing that he didn't say that in front of Christian otherwise the Prussian wouldn't have hesitated to put a bullet in his head.

Emma followed Christian and received an evil eye from Andrew as she passed through the living room. She went up and quietly opened Christian's door to see him sitting at his desk, fiddling with a cross that his father had given him. Mathias had given Christian that cross the day of his Catholic Confirmation. His father described that day as the proudest moment of his life next to the birth of his son. Thinking back to that day, Christian began to let tears fall from his eyes. Emma had never seen him like that before and was afraid that Christian hated her as much as the other two boys did. She entered and took a seat next to Christian. He turned his head to see her and smiled at her. Tears were flowing from her own eyes as she stared into Christian's.

"What's wrong?" Christian asked.

"You hate me, don't you?" Emma said in a very shaky tone of voice.

"What?" Christian replied in a tone of shock.

"John and Andrew hate me. They're angry at me for my parents' survival. You hate me too don't you?"

Christian took Emma in a tight embrace as he allowed her to cry into his shoulder. "I could never hate you, Emma. I'm actually really happy for you. You don't have to go through what we are. The feeling of losing your parents is just…terrible. I'm glad you don't have to know what it's like." Emma continued to cry into Christian's shoulder as he held her there, comforting her. After a while, he lifted her chin and brought her gazed to him. "I love you." he said in a calm, gentle voice.

"I love you too. I'm so sorry about your father." Emma replied and Christian initiated a passionate kiss. The kiss lasted for several minutes, neither of the two wanting to break away. The kiss was finally broken by the sound of a fight between John and Andrew in the other room. The two ran out to see what was happening.

"You are overreacting Andrew!" John yelled.

"Overreacting? You bastard! It's her fault!" he shouted pointing to Emma who took a step closer to Christian. "She's a spy for the British!"

"What proof do you have?" John replied.

"Her name! Her last name is a British name!"

"So is mine! Her name doesn't prove anything! Besides, your last name is German and the Hessians are helping the British! How do we know that you're not the spy!"

"You son of a bitch!" and Andrew pulled out a pistol and held it up to John, but before he could pull the trigger, John tackled him to the ground. As they were fighting, Christian kept trying to pull them apart. The two just kept fighting, each intent on making sure the other one felt the consequence of what they said. The fight was broken by a very loud 'BANG' which made the three girls shriek simultaneously. They looked over toward the hallway to see Christian emerge out of a white cloud of smoke with his musket in hand and the most furious look on his face.

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!" he shouted at the top of his lungs as he stepped forward and, with one hand, pulled Andrew to his feet before doing the same to John. He threw them both against the wall and told them both to shut the hell up and listen. The two did so in fear of the Prussian, as although he had fired of his shot, he still had his bayonet attached to the barrel.

"I know exactly what we are all feeling and I don't know who is responsible for the deaths of our parents, but pointing guns and accusations at one another isn't going to bring them back! You two are behaving like children, and if you're going to act like children, then you're going to be treated like children! Andrew, go the other room! You two need to be separated for a while!" As Andrew began to walk away, Christian stopped him. "And one more thing, Andrew. If you ever speak of Emma that way ever again, I will kill you and I'll make it look like it was an accident. Do you understand me?" Andrew was silent for a while before Christian shouted "Verstehst du mich, Junge!" Andrew nodded rapidly before heading into the other room. "Unglaublich!" Christian muttered (which means unbelievable). The three girls were absolutely amazed. For so long, they had known Christian to be relatively quiet and now seeing him like this was so strange, and almost frightening.

In the days that followed, Christian kept a sharp eye on the group, making sure that an episode like that never happened again. He would eventually come to be looked at as the father figure of the group. However, looking after everyone was quite difficult, as the British began to attack the sanctuary 'round the clock. Every other hour, it would seem like Christian would be up on the wall, defending his friends. This time, he made sure that he waited for his window of opportunity to fire on the enemy, for Emma's sake of course. He didn't want to have someone knock on the door to tell her that he was gone. While on the wall, he kept telling himself, "Salvo, volley, fire. Salvo, volley, fire." And, like the other night, the defenders made absolutely certain that the British didn't make it over the wall. The fighting was intense. Every time the British attacked, they attacked by the thousands. It almost seemed as though the entire British Army was bearing down on the sanctuary. However, it wasn't a complete loss. Christian took this opportunity to give the 52nd Brigade a bit of on-the-job training, and, as Christian predicted, they were right at the level he wanted. Not only that, but they had become a battle hardened regiment. Still, the continuous stream of enemy troop took its toll on the men. Casualties mounted, fatigue set in and tempers flared among the troops. Christian was definitely falling victim to fatigue and Emma could see it. Every night after a battle he would enter his room and just collapse on his bed.

The attacks continued for another week and it was a miracle that the Continental Militia had been able to hold out for so long. One night, Emma went into Christian's room. He was fast asleep. She noticed that there was a book on his desk and she read it. It was his personal journal. The entries included the status of the 52nd Brigade, battle statistics and his own thoughts on the battle. She read the latest entry dated 14 May, 1775:

The British have not let up on their attacks. Every wave is at least three thousand strong and our casualties are mounting fast. The men are fighting amongst themselves due to fatigue and it also shows in how the battles are fought. Our men aren't aware that their lives are at stake anymore. I am also beginning to feel the strain of battle fatigue. The 52nd has improved tremendously though. If the British were to give us just one day of rest, the 52nd could hold out on the walls alone. I just pray that I'll be able to live long enough to see that day.

When Emma finished reading, she looked over at the Prussian commander who lay sound asleep due to the rage of battle. She went over and kissed his cheek before whispering, "Please don't die, Christian."

The next day, as Christian was getting ready to head out to the wall, they heard a knock on the door. Andrew went and opened the door to see a soldier dressed in a Prussian uniform standing there.

"Entschuldigen Sie bitte. Ist Feldwebel Christian von München zu Hause?"

Andrew looked at the man with a confused look on his face. "I have no idea what you just said but I take it you're looking for Christian?"

"Ja, Feldwebel Christian von München."

"Christian!" Christian then entered to see the soldier standing there.

"Guten Morgen, mein Herr. Was kann ich für Sie tun?"

"Ich habe ein Paket für Sie aus Königsberg, Preußen."

"Königsberg?"

"Jawohl."

"Nun…ich danke Ihnen."

"Bitteschön. Ich muss jetzt gehen. Ich muss das Boot zurück an Preußen zu fangen. Gott sei mit euch."

"Und Sie. Wenn sie nichts dagegen haben mich gefragt, was ein Teil von Preußen kommen Sie her?"

"Ach, ich komme aus Hildesheim."

"…Hildesheim?"

"Jawohl."

"…Nun…ich danke Ihnen nochmals. Gott sei mit euch."

"Danke. Und auch mit dir."

Christian closed the door and examined the package that he received. It was indeed sent from Königsberg, the capital of Prussia. Christian then opened the package and read the letter that was included. It was written in German, but the others wanted to know what it read, so he read it out loud in English.

To Sergeant Christian von München, commander of the famed 52nd Colonial Brigade,

word has reached my ears of the death of your father, Mathias von München. As you can tell, word spreads fast in Prussia. You may have heard from him that he served in the Prussian Army, but what he probably didn't tell you is that he was one of my top generals. He was a fine soldier and was beloved among his men. The news of his death has struck quite a blow to the army and we would all like to extend our regrets. It has also come to my attention that the British Army is attacking the sanctuary that you are stationed in, a direct violation of the rules of engagement that armies all over the world follow. It disgusts me that an army said to be so proud and proper would dare violate these laws. In an attempt to even the score, I have sent to you a copy of the first book I have ever written, which details the battle tactics and strategies of the Prussian Army. Use it well. With these tactics, you cannot possibly lose. Once again I would like to express my sorrow for the death of your father and the deaths of your friends' parents. Another thing that you should know is that the man who I sent to deliver this package was your father's second-in-command. Good luck to all of you and God be with you.

Sincerely, your friend and ally,

Frederick II, King of Prussia

Christian's eyes widened as he read the signature he then looked down at the book in his hands entitled Friedrich der Große auf der Kunst des Krieges. Frederick the Great on the Art of War.

For the first time in two weeks, Christian felt a surge of hope and it showed in his face. Emma noticed and she kneeled down beside him, placing her arm around his shoulder. Christian looked at her and beamed a smiled that she had not seem for so long.

"We might actually be able to pull this off." Christian said. For the next week, Christian was buried in the book, studying every detail, learning every technique. He began sending out spies to learn about the British positions. Everything had to be perfect for the final assault he was planning; the assault that would ultimately crush the attacking British forces.