B unker Hill Battles Mary Schwarz
May 17, 2017
Memoir
I woke up one morning and my bed was shaking. Right then I
knew that the British and the American colonists were at war. I
quickly got out of bed and looked out my window. I saw smoke
coming from many buildings. All of Charlestown must be on fire, I
thought.
John was away in Philadelphia at the Continental Congress,
where he was working with other patriots on starting our new
county..
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I remember the day that I took my son, John, to take a
closer look at the war of Bunker Hill. I took him by the hand and
told him, “Stay back, it's very dangerous here.”
We stayed for a long time and watched the British and
Americans die. I felt it was wrong to show my son this kind of
war, but he insisted. I told him “Let's go back now, I think we have
had enough of seeing people get shot.”
“Yes”, John agreed.
I saw smoke rise from a neighbor's house as I walked John
back to the house. I felt tears in the back of my eyes. I tried to
hold them back so my son wouldn't see me crying, but I couldn't.
To calm down, I took a deep breath. As I did, I smelled the smell
of the smoke and the gunpowder. I heard the guns firing and the
screams of soldiers as they fell to the ground.
When we got inside I asked my children, John, Abigail,
Charles, Thomas, Susanna, and Elizabeth, if they wanted something
to eat,
“Yes Mother. I would like very much something to eat”, said
Charles.
So made them some rolls.
“Can I be the licker and the taste tester?” asked Susanna.
“Of course, but make sure to wash the spoon afterward”.
That night as I went to bed, I thought about what our
country would become after the war was over. I thought about
all of those good men who had died for our freedom. Most
importantly, I thought about if we would ever even get freedom!
Freedom, freedom. What does freedom from Britain even mean?