I Survived the American Revolution, 1776

Nate races back to the docks to try to catch a ship back to Connecticut, but he is too late. The ships are already departing, with no chance of turning back. In the distance, Nate sees more ships arriving and feels a jolt of hope, believing that he might be able to find a job with one of them. However, as the ships get closer, Nate realizes that these are no ordinary ships. These are British military ships, a model called “man-of-war.” These massive ships hold “a thousand men and almost a hundred big canons. […] A man-of-war could destroy a city within hours” (39). To Nate’s dismay, these ships are coming right toward New York City.

The British ready their canons, aiming at the docks. They are ready to fire when the sound of canons rings from across the river, in Brooklyn. The air is filled with smoke and the smell of gunpowder. As the explosions continue, Nate realizes that the Americans have placed cannons “all around the city” (40). The soldiers, who aren’t even hitting the British ships, celebrate each cannon blast and shout insults at the enemy. Suddenly, Nate notices that one of the British warships is slowing down and firing at them. A cannon ball destroys a house nearby. With debris in the air and the British attacking, Nate and the other Americans run for their lives.

Nate tries to find shelter in “the doorway of a stone building” (42), but he knows that his chosen hiding place is meager shelter against cannon fire. He feels silly for thinking that he would be able to survive on his own. Slash O’Shea, on the other hand, faced danger after danger at a young age and kept going. He survived a storm at sea when he was 14 and went on to join the British Navy, even after a terrible accident in which an explosion blew off his right hand. Slash was kicked out of the Navy, but “went on to be the greatest pirate ever!” (44). Remembering the stories of Slash’s bravery eases Nate’s mind, and he remains calm until the blasting stops. The scent of gunpowder lingers in the air as Nate emerges from his hiding spot. The British warships have gone. Since it doesn’t seem likely that he will be able to find a ship back to Connecticut, he decides to continue his journey on foot. As he walks further away from the harbor, he passes dozens of rows of worn-out tents. He is walking through “a crowd of soldiers building an enormous wall out of dirt and rocks” (44) when he hears someone call his name.

At first, Nate doesn’t pay attention to the voice. He has a common name, and the odds of someone addressing him personally are slim. When the voice uses his full name, however, he is struck with terror. The only reasonable explanation is that Storch has sent someone to find him. Nate starts to run but is stopped when a hand grabs the back of his shirt. Nate tries to fight against the person who grabbed him but stops when he looks at the man. The person holding him is none other than Paul Dobbs, his best friend from Papa’s crew.

Nate is bewildered to discover that Paul had never forgotten about him, after all. Paul sent Nate letters and finally arrived in person to see if they had been delivered. Storch answered the door and told Paul that Nate didn’t want to see him. Nate is filled with anger and sadness when he realizes that his uncle kept him from his best friend. Paul notices the bruises on Nate’s neck, the results of Storch’s attempt to strangle him the other day. Nate realizes that “[t]hose angry bruises told Paul everything he needed to know about life with Storch” (48). The two friends shed a few tears: Paul for what Nate has had to endure since Papa’s death, and Nate for losing faith in his friend. Once they are over the initial shock of finding each other again, Paul tells Nate what has happened in the two years they’ve been apart.

As Paul recounts his adventures, Nate notices that his friend has grown up considerably in the last couple of years. He no longer has that boyish mischievousness to him and is instead more focused and serious. He tells Nate that he has “been in the army for more than eighteen months, and stationed here in New York City since May” (50). Nate asks why he hasn’t gone back to the sea, and Paul says that Papa’s death deterred him from returning. At first, Paul went home to the family farm, but he found the lifestyle too mundane for his liking. Then, shortly after the first battle of the Revolutionary War, Paul joined the army. He shows Nate his hand, which was mutilated when he misfired a musket the first time he learned to shoot. A few weeks later, Paul found himself involved in one of the bloodiest battles of the war: the Battle of Bunker Hill.

The Battle of Bunker Hill took place nearly one year prior. Paul marched alongside about 20 other men, traveling 100 miles to reach Boston, the headquarters for the British Army. Paul explains that “[t]he people of Boston were like prisoners. British soldiers moved into any house they wanted. There wasn’t enough food. […] We had to do something to get the British out” (54). At the time of the battle, the American army had not yet been formed. Instead, every town had a militia composed of volunteer soldiers, many of whom had never fought in a battle. Now, “this ragtag group was about to battle the most powerful army in the world” (54). They were willing to go to battle against the British and their advanced military forces for the chances at freedom.

One of the most vivid memories of the battle that Paul recalls is the “RAT, tat, tat, tat, tat” (55) of the battle drums. Next came the cannonballs, one of which nearly killed Paul. He had just stooped down to pick up his hat when a cannonball soared over his head. Ever since, he has considered the hat his lucky charm. Finally, the fire of the muskets sounded in the air as the British advanced toward the Americans. Eventually, the Americans ran out of gunpowder and were forced to retreat. Paul explains, “We didn’t free Boston. So no. We definitely didn’t win. […] But we didn’t lose, either” (58). He goes on to tell Nate that over 1,000 British soldiers were killed or injured, while the Americans lost around 300: far fewer casualties than they expected. Most importantly, they showed the British that they were willing to fight.

The driving force behind the Revolutionary War is the idea of a new country: the United States of America. Paul recounts that his captain read them a document from the colonies to King George, the Declaration of Independence, a few nights ago. It outlines their plans to unite the colonies to form a new country. This is the reason Paul joined the army. Now, he is asking Nate to do the same. Nate thinks it over, then smiles. He is ready to do what he can to help in the fight for American independence.