The Midnight Ride

Mom woke me before dawn, just as the roosters were starting to crow, so I could feed the chickens and do my other chores. For days, folks in town had been speculating about the British. Would there be fighting? From when and where would they come?

After a breakfast of oats, Pa and I went out to chop wood for the day. After Pa left for the silversmith shop, Mom and I worked on reading, ciphering, and writing. When that was done, I left to help the local minister of the Old North Church.

When I arrived at the church, I spotted several men whom I recognized as local leaders. These men, the “mechanics,” as they were known, spied on the British and gathered to share information among them. The talk of the British was getting serious. I did my best to listen and tried to understand.

The minister gave me two lanterns and a task. “Clean the glass as shiny as possible, and make sure they have good wicks and plenty of oil.” Afterwards I carried them up, one by one, to the top of the church tower. I left some flint and papers to start a fire in case I needed to light them. But why? This made no sense to me. Pa came by in a rush, leapt off his horse before it stopped, and gathered the men for a hurried meeting. “Stay here at the church tonight,” he said, then left.

After dark, I was reading by the fire when the minister scurried in. “Make haste to climb the ladder and stairs of the tower and light both lanterns.” I didn’t ask why but made my way to the top and lit both as bright as possible.

Soon after, I heard the pounding hooves of a horse as Pa raced through the countryside, letting his comrades along the way know that “the Regulars are on the move.”