My right eye was badly bruised and I could barely see out of it. The long cut down my back had gone numb with pain and I had broken into a cold sweat. I could hear shouting and the thunder of boots on the deck above me. General Washington was on the move after our most recent defeat in Brooklyn. Many other soldiers behind me were taken prisoner and tormented for information. The brig was dark and cold and damp. Many of my fellow troops fell ill within a matter of days. We knew that battle was over before it started. The “Battle of Brooklyn” started on August 27. We were fortifying New York after recent intel revealed that the British planned an attack. We had men at every post except one. The road as left undefended. The Redcoats snuck behind us and began their attack. Within a matter of minutes, we were forced to retreat. While I was fleeing I was hit by a stray bullet in the leg. Then everything went black and I awoke on a British prison ship. When I woke up I found a tourniquet around my leg stained with blood.

   “Oy, scrawny you up?”

I slowly turned my head only to see a porky man with rippling muscles and a face stained with dirt.

“Yes, sir. Who are you?”

“Me names Nile. Nile Cunningham, and you?”

“William Stevens of Chestnut Farms. How did you get down here?”

“Was fighin’ with some here Redcoats. Nasty folk they are.”

“Aye. What happened to your head?”

It was only at that moment when I realized there was a sizable dent in his head.

“Redcoat whacked me right here in my noggin. Slept for days.”  

“I can’t live down here sir. I can feel myself getting weaker and weaker.”

“I’ve been devising a plan to get us out of here.” He whispered eagerly.

My eyes widened. I was desperate and willing to hear the plan from someone with the intellect of a goat.

“The guards that stand by this here exit at the top of the stairs. We start making a ruckus forcing them to come down. When they come down, someone sneaks behind him and knocks him cold.”

“What about these chains,” I exclaimed as I rattled the steel chains attached to my ankles.

“No problem. I used to work in a steel mill. I can rip those chains right outta the ground.”

“Really?” Now I was excited. I had a chance to escape.

“Then do it.”  

“I can’t sir. I’m too tired. We can rest tonight and escape tomorrow.”   

I agreed reluctantly.

“Good night Mr. Will sir.”

“Pleasant dreams Mr. Cunningham.”

I lay my head down on the hard wooden planks. I fantasized about getting home to my two children Samantha and William Jr. I would be able to go home and see my beautiful wife Ann. I would be able to sit by my beautiful brick fireplace and read a leathery book. As I drifted into my sleep I could not help but think about escaping and how I would escape. I looked around one last time at the others in the cold damp bring. No hope, no joy, no freedom. That would all change tomorrow.

The next day I woke up groggily. I am everything but a morning person. I looked over.

“Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Cunningham, are you awake? Mr. Cunningham wakes up.”

I nudged Mr. Cunningham to wake him. I nudged him harder and harder. I rolled him over and felt for a pulse. I moved my two fingers up his neck. Nothing. I started to feel along his arm. No beating. I put my ear to his heart to listen for a heartbeat. Nothing. He was inexplicably dead. I lay back down as tears came to my eyes. There was no chance of me escaping now. I looked around. All the men I thought I could save now had no hope. I looked around searching for an answer. Nothing. On the other hand, now was not the time to give up. I stood up and planted my feet. I firmly gripped the base of the chains that were bolted to the floor. I pushed down on the group and tugged with all my might. No reaction. I tugged again. No reaction. I kept tugging and pulling and grunting. Then I heard a soft creak come from the chains. I looked down and saw that I had just barely jarred the chains. I used all my strength and pulled upwards. No reaction. The chain wouldn’t move anymore. I sat back down. My hands were dirty and raw. I had not the brute strength to pull a metal chain out of the ground. I groaned. Then I started insanely screaming. I had no reason why but I just screamed. My throat tensed up but I kept screaming. Louder and louder until I heard the loud pounding of boots rush down the stairs.

“Whos screaming!” The guard bellowed.

He was a thick burly man holding no gun. Everyone looked directly at me. He marched his way over to me and hit me across the face.

“Why were you screaming.” He yelled.

I started bawling.  

“My comrade…..he…. he died in his sleep,” I said between sobs.    

The guard looked over at the man and bent over to look for a pulse. As he bent over I saw he had keys loosely latched onto his belt. I looked down at my own chains only to see a lock and a small keyhole. While he was bending over I slowly reached out to grab the keys. Then whipped around.

“No pulse.”

“Did you check his abdomen?”  

The guard didn’t seem intelligent so I knew I could trick him into thinking there was another place for a pulse so I could snag his keys. He bent over and I reached my hand out. I slowly pulled the keys over the loop in his belt and eased them under my tunic. He turned back around.

“Nothing, he is dead. I’ll get another guard to bring up his body.”

Once the guard left I tried finding a better hiding spot for the keys. I noticed that one of the wooden slats of wood was loose and I decided to pull it up and put the keys under. I waited for what seemed like hours for the two burly soldiers to come down with a thin cotton blanket to cover Nile Cunningham. Once they left I made myself busy. I slowly pulled up the creaky wooden board to be greeted by a thin rope with shining keys dangling from it. I lifted the first key to the keyhole. It was much too big. I tried several other keys until I finally heard a satisfying click. I turned the lock and the chains popped opened. I slowly lifted the chains off my legs. The air on my ankles felt brisk and cool. I stood up only to feel a sharp pain in my thigh. My wound began to bleed. I thought back into my war training with Freiherr von Steuben. I ripped off a piece of my ragged clothing and spun it around my bleeding wound. I eased myself back up. I started pacing around the rotten brig. There was a small frail boy, looked to be only sixteen, sitting in the corner of the brig. I walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

“How did you get down here boy?” I asked calmly.   

“I..I..” He stuttered.

“I was taken. My father, he is serving in the revolution. One night a group of redcoats came to my family’s hut and they started asking my mother about plans, rebel plans that is.”

“And?” I inquired.

“And then they took me away and led me here.”

“That's awful,” I said.

“I just want to go home.” He whined

“I might have a plan,” I whispered as I jingled the keys before him.

His eyes grew wide.

“Where did you get those?” He inquired.

“Swiped them off the guard.”

“Okay, sir now what's your plan?”

“This requires both of us. First, you will start screaming and causing a ruckus. I will hide under the stairwell as the guard comes down to see what you are doing. When he passes by me I will knock him out cold and proceed to change into his uniform to blend in with the other Redcoats.”

“How do we escape from there?”

“Usually on big warships like this, there are large amounts of gunpowder housed towards the back of the ship. While I am moving towards the back you will proceed to free most of the prisoners. With my distraction, we will be able to go up on deck and cause escape.

    “Okay, sir. When will begin?”

   “Now I hope.”

The boy began to scream. I could hear the thunder of boots rush down the stairs. I began to sweat.

“Who’s screaming!” The guard yelled.

His eyes slowly turned towards the boy. He started to walk over to the boy. I jumped out from my hiding spot and attacked the guard. Moments later the guard was on the ground unconscious. I tossed the keys over to the boy to unlock himself.

“Once you have freed yourself start freeing the other prisoners. When you hear the explosion all of you should escape from the boat.”

“What about you sir?”

“I’ll be fine, just get to safety.”

The boy nodded back. I quickly changed into the guard’s uniform and took his weapon. I slowly walked up the wooden stairs. I breathed in the fresh air. Another redcoat nodded at me and I tipped my hat. I slowly made my way to the back of the boat. I briskly walked down the stairs. Once I was out of sight from the other Redcoats I broke into a sprint. I turned down the corner only to find myself face to face with another guard.

“Oy what are you doing here? Why aren’t you at your post?”

“Just a little check the boss sent me on,” I said in my best British accent.

“That's impossible we just had one yesterday.”

“I don't make the rules around here mate.”

“Fine come in.”  

The man opened the door for me and I crept in. Inside there were kegs upon kegs of gunpowder. I looked around for something to cause the explosion. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a pack of matches. I quickly grabbed the matches. I drew some gunpowder and made a fine line of it to create a fuse. I lit a match and dropped it on the fuse. I bolted out of the door and pushed the guard to the ground. I felt the Earth shake as the gunpowder exploded. The ship was rocked toward. I ran as fast as I could towards the ship. The heat was advancing on me. I jumped overboard and covered my ears. A loud pop filled the air as debris from the boat flew everywhere. I picked up my head out of the water and saw all the other prisoners bobbing their heads above the water and grinning from ear to ear. We all swam ashore.

“We did it, we escaped!” Cheered a man from the crowd.

“Not just yet,” I responded.

“I suppose now all of New York is being controlled by the Brits. We need to find a way to escape and get back home.

Then, a miracle happened. A large horse and carriage carrying barrels of cotton passed by.

“Quick, hop on that cotton carriage. It will bring us back down to allied territory.”

We all ran and hoped on the buggy.

3 weeks later…..

I walked up the long dirt path leading up to my house. I was tired and very hungry. Over the past three weeks, I had survived off of only animals. I look in the window to see my wife gasp. She rushes down the dirt path and jumps into my open arms. I am home.