I had a major problem here, and I do not know if I succeeded in overcoming it. At the end of the first book, Boston is liberated, and Tad has returned home. As far as the people in Boston are concerned, the war is over.

Tad joined the army because he needed to escape from the British. He was still a boy, although he was by now either 13 or close to it. The Stelles, the people who took him in when he was an orphaned infant, believed the boy had done his share of duty and then some. Yet, when the army makes its long march down to New York, Tad goes with the army.

It is clear that he is under no real clear, legal obligation to stay in the army. Tad has changed from when he first joined the army. He had considered Boston to be the center of the universe. During his service in the army, he met men from other parts of Massachusetts and other colonies. His world had grown much larger. He had heard talk about far of places like New York and the place called Ohio which lay to the west of Pennsylvania. He had developed a strong desire to see these places. Also, during his time in the army, he had developed strong friendships. There was Jed, the boy from Marblehead. There was Ben, a member of General Washington’s staff. There was the old wagon driver. These people were like family to him.

There is a touch of autobiography here. I was 12 when the Germans surrendered at the end of the war in Europe. I am sure that I was happy. I am sure that I believed that the war against Japan would end soon and my father and uncle would come home from the Pacific. But at the same time, I felt bad because the end meant that I would miss the great show. When I was 13, I received my first rifle. It was a 22 caliber, lever action rifle. Four years later, I was given a different rifle. It was called a Garand, or more commonly known as an M1.

I can understand why Tad wanted to march with the army. The question remains, does my work, at this point, seem plausible?

At the end of Book One, and while in the process of transitioning to the next book, I was able to cover two points that I thought important, even though they were marginal to the main story line. I was able to bring Packie back into the story, and I added more detail about the apprentice matter.

Packie was the British drummer who helped Tad escape from Boson. During the long siege of Boston, a cannon ball hit Packie in the ankle and took off his foot. After the wound healed, Packie was fitted with a peg-leg. Tad asked Packie why he did not leave Boston with the British, and he replied that if he had done so, he would have been shipped back to England and separated from the army. Then it would be a matter of which street corner he should use to beg for money.

The Stelles, being kindly people, and aware that they owed a great debt to Packie for helping Tad, took him in and were teaching him how to operate a printing press. I hope when someone reads that part, they will give some thought to the situation today regarding returning veterans who lack some body parts.

 

The French Drum, a three-book story about a boy coming of age

The French Drum is a trilogy. I decided to split it up into three books because of its length, and because there were three logical places to make the splits.

The first book starts with the night the British leave Boston and march out to Lexington and Concord. The book ends when Tad Wheeler, the drummer boy, and the Continental army march into the newly liberated city of Boston. The second book covers the march down to New York and the Battle for New York. This book ends with the retreat from New York. The third book is about the awful period that followed and comes to an end with the Battle of Trenton.

The three books are essentially a boy’s story. So was Huck Finn. The French Drum is about a boy coming of age. In 1776, Tad turns thirteen. In that same year, the thirteen colonies become states. Tad is smart, though very naïve. He believes Boston is the center of the universe. He learns from his experiences.

When Tad was an infant, his parents died of smallpox. He was taken in by an older couple, Mr. and Mrs. Stelle. They had no children. Mr. Stelle owned a print shop in Boston. Back in 1763, he served with the militia in the war against the French. He found a French drum on the battlefield. It was an old drum, though not quite an antique. He brought the drum home when he returned. The drum became a toy for the young Tad. He played with the drum and over a period of time, he could make some sense of it. Sometimes when he was out of the shop delivering a printing order, Tad stopped at the commons where British solders drilled. He listened closely to the work of the British drummer.

Then one day in the spring of 1775, he met a British soldier who was a drummer. He took the soldier back to the print shop and the Stelles were kind to the soldier, whose name was Packie.

Bringing the soldier back to the print shop was a dangerous thing to do. Mr. Stelle printed pamphlets for the Sons of Liberty. There was no problem, though. Packie showed Tad how to play the most commonly used drum signals.

Tad had a friend named David, who was almost seventeen. He was an apprentice leather worker. David was known to be unhappy about his position, as were many apprentices at the time. Mr. Stelle thought David was too quick to act sometimes.

One night, David came to the Stelles’ print shop and wanted Tad to come with him. Everyone knew the British were going out that night on a raid. Everyone was needed to keep track of the British movements. Mr. Stelle did not like the idea. David assured him that nothing would happen. They would be careful. Of course, the venture goes badly. Tad is caught, and David escapes.

Tad is interrogated. The British officer uses a belt on him. In desperation, Tad throws a lantern at the officer and then escapes. The officer is badly burned, and Tad is now a fugitive. He must get out of Boston.

Tad and David escape in a small boat. They would not have been able to escape without the help of Packie, the British drummer, who risks his life to help.

Tad takes the French drum and an old, but expensive leather bag, and a small gold coin given to him by Mr. Stelle. They safely cross the water and join the American forces besieging Boston.

There were patriots in this American militia army, but there were also some thieves. Someone steals the gold coin and the leather bag. Tad never recovers the stolen property.

Tad and David are separated once they are in camp. Tad is assigned to the headquarters, mainly as a messenger. David is assigned to a regiment which one fine evening is sent out to Bunker Hill. The regiment goes forward to Breed’s Hill where the men dig a redoubt.

In the battle that follows, Tad is used as a drummer boy for Stark’s New Hampshire regiment. Stark’s regiment is tasked with holding a beach flank against thrusts by the British light infantry seeking to turn the flank.

After the battle, Tad cannot find David. Many of the men who survived being in the redoubt think David was killed. Tad learns much later that David was captured and was being held a prisoner in Boston. Much of the rest of the book concerns the effort to rescue David.