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| Household Slave's Story Of
Paul Revere's Ride! by Ellen |
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April 10, 1775
My Dearest Friend Mary,
I am doing well. Today was a busy day for me. Master Williams had a lot
of household chores that he wanted me to do. I woke up at dawn, put on
my apron, and went downstairs for breakfast. Breakfast was the usual
bread and porridge. Before eating breakfast I had to serve my Master
William and his family breakfast first and then I got to work. I
cleaned the dishes, swept the floors, and cooked food. I worked until
sun down. Later when I was done I served the family dinner, then went
to bed.
Today has been an unusual day for those of us that are Patriots. To
start off, my neighbor Paul Revere found out that the Redcoats had
found out that they Patriots had hidden their weapons in Concord.
My master asked why and Paul said the reason why they hid weapons in
Concord is so the Lobsterbacks do not use the weapons on them. I
overheard him telling Master Williams that. My master, Christopher
Williams, is a very close friends of Paul Revere. While I
was cleaning Master William’s bedroom Paul and another one of
their good friends named John Jameson were playing Whist. Whist is a
game that you play with cards. Whist is also their favorite game to
play. I also overheard them say that Paul was going to get a spy to
tell him where the British were headed.
What I think about this is that it is not fair! I do not understand how
everybody is arguing about liberty when there are many slaves who have
no freedom or who cannot even be free. Some even lost their family or
have been taken away from their family while these people who have
a family and freedom are upset over taxes . As much as I wish
that we household slaves will get freedom, I doubt it will ever
happen. I hope the Patriots get freedom because I believe we all should
get freedom, but I also think that since they have their freedom we
slaves should get ours, too.
From what I hear and see, I do not think the colonists were so happy
that British Soldiers were staying there at the Common. Colonists were
also mad because when it is nighttime the soldiers
make loud noises so the Colonists canont sleep. Now I shall go to
bed for tomorrow I have chores to do.
Sincerely,
Phillis Williams
April 11, 1775
Mary My Dear Friend,
My day was not like the rest. Today left me wondering and got me asking
so many questions like what is going to happen next. You may know
that Paul Revere got a spy. The spy is a man who works in the North
Church. This afternoon while I was cleaning the shutters,
Paul came to my master's home to drink tea before he was
going to go meet up with the spy. Like every other time Master
William’s and Paul Revere got together, they were talking about the
plan. Paul said that he was going to tell the spy to get in the tower
of the North Church and send a signal to where the British were headed.
They are trying to stop the British Troops so they would not take
the weapons. The signals were light one lantern if they go by land, and
light two lanterns if they go by sea.
Master Williams was nice enough to lend his horse to Paul, since my
master cannot leave his home because he has his fourteen kids and a
wife to take care of. Meanwhile everybody in the town is worried and
scared, scared that the British might come and worried that they will
loose their freedom.
I wonder where the British are headed. I think they are headed by sea.
Paul is also going to try to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams
before the Redcoats get to them, because if the Redcoats get to them
they would kill those two. I do not understand why they have to kill
people though. I am a little frighten myself for those British. Who do
they think they are coming here and telling them what to do? Now I am
going to go. I will write to you soon.
Sincerely,
Phillis Wiliams
April 20,1975
Mary My Dearest Friend,
I have not written to you in awhile. How have things been for you since
we last talked? Things have been the same for me, but not so good for
those Patriots. From what I heard from Master William’s,last night was
Paul Revere’s Ride. I guess he rode all the way to Lexington to warn
John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Master Williams was talking to John
Jameson about how Paul Revere knocked on colonists doors telling them
that the Lobsterbacks or the Regulars were coming. I think that it was
nice of Paul Revere to warn those two. John Jameson also was saying to
Master Williams how the British had captured Paul Revere on his way to
Concord. Then his wife Rachel paid them money to let him free and they
let him free but took the horse that my Master gave him. Instead of
Paul finishing the ride, Samuel Prescott did.
Let me tell you, I cannot believe all this happened in one night. I am
happy that he was freed, because he did so much for other Patriots.
Still there is fighting going on with the Patriots and Lobsterbacks
about freedom, and I look up to them because they have a say in the
world and can actually make a difference. I cannot because I am
just a household slave. That's all for today. I will write to you soon,
goodbye.
Sincerely,
Phillis Williams
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Historical References:
Bibliography
Chronicling Black Lives In Colonial New England.3 March 2006.
http://csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/durableRedirect.pl?/durable/1997
/10/29/feat/feat.1.html.
Collier,Christopher.The American Revolution. United States: Library Of
Congress,1998.
Hakim,Joy. From Colonies To Country. United States: Oxford University
Press,2003.
Harper Douglas. SLAVERY in MASSACHUSETTS. 31 March 2006. www.
slaverynorth.com/massachusetts.htm.
Mc Granaham,Ronald W.~Beginnings-Slaves In Colonial America ~. 6 April
2006.
www.americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/BLACKS.HTM.
The Life As Slave. 10 April 2006. http://library.thinkquest.org/ 03
oct/00394/
life.htm.
Slavery In Boston. 3/31/06.
<http://nps.gov/boaf/slaveryinboston/htm>.
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Historical Terms
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Liberty
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Loberstack
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Patriots
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Slave
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Tax
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Treason
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About the Historian
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Hi my name is Ellen. Im a thirteen
year old Eritrean born and raised in Portland,Maine. This is my second
year at King Middle School which makes me a 7th grader. I love to sing
, dance, and play sports.
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