Splash! Cold at first, but after a few minutes the summer-time lake water warmed my body. My name is Taylor Sky, and I was born on May 21, 1765, in Lexington, Kentucky. That amazing summer day, May 21, 1783, I turned eighteen. My best friend, Holmes, was there as well as the girl I had a crush on for years, Rosanna, but I called her Rose. They were my life-long friends with whom I grew up. Farmer Hannibal lived two miles west of my Pa’s. We sneaked over to his lake and walked all over the rolling hills of Farm Hammy. Pa didn’t mind me adventuring, as long as I stay far away from any

Savages.

            “Tay, did you bring the poles?” Rose screamed from the crystal clear blue lake that shimmered sun rays because there was no clouds in sight for miles.

            “Why you ask,” I yelled back with a laugh, “You want to catch another old shoe from the bottom of the lake?”

            She responded, “Hey, it weighed more than your little bass!”

Holmes was quiet, but could carry on a conversation when it was just the two of us. He knew I had a crush on Rose, but she didn’t. I was too afraid to tell her, too afraid of her response. The town was small, but she was my whole world despite what the real world was going through.

            The American Revolutionary War started on April 19, 1775, when I was ten years old. Too young at the time, I did not fight, but my father did during the battles of Lexington and Concord. The British troops attacked Concord. Militiamen, including my father, gathered up in Lexington to stop the British. The wretched memories still stain the back of my brain. It was April 21, my mother put me to bed, blew out the candle, and wished me a good night. Hours later, after I had fallen asleep, boom! The door was crushed down and the foot steps of what seemed like one hundred troops thundered through my silent Christian home.

             “Taylor! Come to your door now!” my mother screamed from the kitchen. I rushed to the door to watch my six foot three inch brute father fighting off savages, Africans, and British troops invading the house. My mother, flooded with adrenaline, scooped me up as if I were a pillow and ran out the back door.

            The sky was red in the distance, and a small unit of about twenty British troops had snuck into our town for an attack. The men of our town immediately got up to defend as my mother guided me to the lake of Farm Hammy. There we stayed in shock until complete sunrise. We slowly and cautiously made our way back to town to discover our house with no damage except for our door and furniture that got destroyed. Mother praised God for saving our Christian home. But God did not save her husband, my father, a hard working man who defended his town and everything in it. I didn’t care about the house! If God was able to save our house, then surely he could save a human that meant so much more!

            I threw God away, I wanted nothing to do with him. I just didn’t want to worship a God who would let my father die. Slowly, over time, I started saying to myself that religion is all a

control mechanism and thinking of theories as to how God wasn’t even real. I went from hating a God to just not believing in one. Although, Rose believed in God through it all. I always felt it was because she didn’t go through something as bad as I did. Holmes agreed with me on most subjects, he wasn’t head strong, but he didn’t convert to my atheistic ways. He was the truest Christian I knew and he said he prayed for me every night. I just brushed it off and didn’t let the idea take a seat in my mind.

            The war raged on for years but I didn’t even care about it anymore, I hated war. I didn’t believe in killing other humans. As a humane policy, I firmly believed in treating others as I would want to be treated. I would fight though. I grew to be six foot and three inches like my father, and strong thanks to the days I spent with farmer Hannibal cutting down trees with axes for what was continental currency. All my money went to my mother because I taught myself to be the new man of the house by admiring other fathers and remembering the epitome of a man my father once was for my family.

            Schooling officially ended for me on May 1, 1783. War was mild now, thanks to the battle of Yorktown. My favorite season was approaching like a beautiful sunrise from behind a

hill on Farm Hammy. I spent my mornings and evenings working and by noon I would meet my best friends at the lake. Rose wanted to be a teacher, so she would work during the school days

with Misses Abigail but was free during the summer. Holmes picked up the blacksmith trait and worked for the old blacksmith in our town, John. My mother was a sower who let me have freedom because she knew I was mature for my age.

            May 21, I finally turned eighteen and that night was the best of my life. Holmes and Rose surprised me with a necklace. Rose threaded it and Holmes handcrafted a hematite sun pendant. I wore that necklace all the time. After swimming and fishing we watched the sun set while sitting on our favorite hill which was the tallest hill on the farm. Holmes left to travel back home leaving me and Rose alone starring at the stars reminiscing on our fondest memories. It seemed like on that specific night, the stars were shining their brightest and dancing for us. I knew I had to finally kiss her, it’s what I wanted to do in that moment and I decided to do it. She was accepting as if she wanted me to all along. I walked her all the way back to her house holding her hand every second of the way, we had no rush.

            The perfect summer was ending like the serene sunset on my birthday.

            “Taylor, come to the kitchen, please.” my mother dreadfully asked.

            As walking in I softly questioned, “What is it mother?” She was holding a piece of paper and was crying.

            She bursts out, “Taylor, you’ve been drafted into this Revolutionary War. Holmes brought this by, he is also being drafted.” My stomach wrenched into spirals complimenting my heart rate which was speeding up. I calmly responded to shy away from my own fear, “Mom, war is mild at the moment. We are just drafted, we may not even go to war.”

            Not soothing my mother, she sobbed, “I pray Taylor. I pray.”

            One week of constant pondering went by. Would I go to war, kill other humans, die in battle like my father? Anticipation is a disease that flexes emotions. Rose was as worried, if not more worried than I was. Our friend meetings were not happy anymore, but Rose and I quenched every second we had together as if they were our last.

            Deja vu arose. I woke up to thundering fists on the door. I answered it because I was the man now. An army general stood at the door like the grim reaper in the spotlight of the moon.                      His deep voice roared, “Taylor Sky?”

            I looked down in disappointment, “That is me, sir.”

            “You are a draftee, young man, and we need you for battle. Gather what you need, meet at the crack of dawn at the town bell in the center of town, and wear these.” He demanded while holding out a navy blue uniform. The time had come. I didn’t sleep, I couldn’t sleep. I had to say a final goodbye to Rose. I walked to her house and threw pebbles at her window until she opened up.

            I spent the night in Roses’ bed cuddling her all night. She was crying profusely and it pulled the tears out of my eyes. We didn’t get a second of sleep. Sooner than we would have liked, the bell cried out the worst toll it had ever cried. I kissed her goodbye. My mother was standing on the doorstep crying waiting on her goodbye hug from me. I met at the bell with Holmes in our blue uniforms where we were greeted with bayonet attached rifles. We started the long march to Einhellig, Virginia.

            Once camp was set up in Einhellig, the general finally gave an answer as to why we were there.

            General Auxe announced, “Alright gentlemen, the majority of you are young and are baffled as to why we are here expecting battle when the war appears to be ending. Well we have

not officially made contact with the British, but we are here do defend this position just in case. Until final word from George Washington, we shall defend this ridge. So get some shut eye.”

            Holmes prayed the most beautiful prayer I ever heard him pray that night but my religious anger was coming back to me for the position that I got in to. It was September 3, 1783 and Treaty of Paris was signed by King George III. The war was over! We were safe! At

least until we woke to gun shots and horses crying out. We heard battle cries that did not sound human and would strike fear in to anyone. We were being raided by savages! Holmes and I looked out our tent to see war happening right in front of our eyes. Death was at our doorstep. I locked eyes with a ferocious savage and his response was charging at me.

            Holmes knew I didn’t believe in killing but he seemed to have forgot and screamed, “Shoot him Taylor!”

            I immediately answered, but not to Holmes. I cried out, “God please save us! Please save us!” Miraculously, the savage jerked his head as if someone called him and he ran away with all of his fellow savages!

            God put me through hell but he graciously put his hand over our tent after I cried out to him. I am proud to say that I am seventy three now and live on Farm Hammy, which was passed down to me by Hannibal, with my wife, Rose, three beautiful kids, and Holmes, the town’s blacksmith, is still my best fiend and neighbor.

Works Cited

“Congress Issues Continental Currency.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 1 Feb. 2018,                       www.history.com/this-day-in-history/congress-issues-continental-currency.web

Foner , Eric. “Treaty of Paris.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 8 Jan. 2009,                             www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/treaty-of-paris.web

Fremont-Barnes, Gregory, and Richard A. Ryerson. The American Revolutionary War. ABC-     

            CLIP, INC. 2006. Print

The American Revolution: A History by Gordon S. Wood (Modern Library, 2002)

White, David. “Lexington and Concord.” Lexington and Concord, 2 Feb. 2014,                             www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/lexingtonconcorddef.htm.web