Written by Noah Jorto on April 19, 1775:

Night of April 18, 1775.

        I listened to the lively rain on the ceiling, coming from the dark sky above. I wanted to go to sleep, the calming sensation that diminishes all of your bad memories, but only for a limited time.

        I had a lot of stress. Paying for my small house, taxes from Britain, providing enough for my family, fighting for the Patriot cause as a soldier, battling my sadness every second of the day; conflicts for me seemed to be infinitely many.

        And so I layed down, awake on my bed, listening to the heavy rain that was consumed by the rapidly growing plants of the season.

        Out of the quiet rain, I heard….a galloping sound, as if a horse was charging through the weather. I quickly sat up and opened my blue-green curtain, but only to not see anything. Maybe it was just my imagination, I thought.

        ‘Honey? Who’s making that sound?’ my wife Sarah said to me.

So it wasn’t just me…

“I’m not sure…”

I opened the curtains again, and I heard faint shouting coming from a man on a horse. I opened my window and heard the man roar, “British troops are heading to Lexington! Stay on guard, for they will attack us in the morning!” 

        His shouting resonated through the gray walls of my room as he continued to gallop into the distance.

“Dad? What was that?” Jack asked me from his room.

        I was about to say something when Sarah told him, ‘Nothing, dear. Go back to sleep.”

        There was a hint of worry in her voice, and Sarah and I looked at each other.

I knew what I had to do. I had to guard Lexington’s inhabitants from British soldiers as a minuteman.

        “I know what you’re thinking, but stay out of it!” remarked a worried Sarah. “You don’t have to go.”

        “Yes, I must. It’s my job. I’ll leave home in the morning.”

        “But what will I tell Jack?”

        I knew that I would be doing the right thing to go and fight, at least as a soldier. I’d be helping to protect many people. “Tell him what you want, but I will go. I have an opportunity to be a part in saving many lives. My being there won’t make much of a difference, but it’s the least I can do.”

        A concerned look grew on Sarah’s face, and all she told me was, “I know there is no changing your mind.” Silence followed.

        “Good night.” I said.

Written by Noah Jorto on April 20, 1775:

Morning of April 19th, 1775.

        I woke up at midnight and went to where Captain Parker would be.I hurried away with the Captain and his troops. After a while, he stopped at a grassy area with a couple of buildings and trees in the background.

        “Revere warned me of the arrival of British troops that seem to be heading to Concord,” boomed Captain Parker. “We will hold our defense now. Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”

        I was confused. I thought he would tell us to fire first because they are invading our town. But I followed his orders as the rest did, for his serious voice told us so.

        Soon, troops wearing red army suits and hats came, neatly lined up. 

        I knew this would happen, but it felt so….overwhelming. Even though it seemed like just a red blur from how far I was, I could tell that there were hundreds of them.

        They rushed through the grass, as if they had infinite stamina. I was focused intently on the thought of fighting. They weren’t heading towards us at first, but then they made a hard right and went in our direction.

        Some of us eased backwards and began to disperse. “Stay together, and let’s head north. We don't want to engage in battle.”

        As we rushed further northward, a shot was fired, supposedly from the British. I couldn’t see who it was.

But whoever it was, the war had begun.

        From complete silence, someone — who knows who it was — shot their rifle. Then everyone charged at once, and the silence turned into constant gunfire and violence along with the violent churning of grass along our rushing feet.

        Everything was happening so fast, and it was like I was one step behind everyone else.

I rapidly fired as everyone else did even though I knew we were outnumbered. I still had to try my best. I could see the tide turning in the favor of the British, as some of our colonial army were motionlessly lying on the floor.

What if I pass away? Thoughts of the weeping that would come from Sarah and Jack filled up my mind, so I tried even harder, but it made no difference. Many wounded soldiers were helplessly trying to pick themselves back up in futile attempts.

It is like ants fighting a dinosaur. A useless attempt, I thought as our men scrambled and scattered in a non-soldierlike fashion.

        We’d been fighting for a while, and only one of the British were killed, even though there were so many of them. There were only about 80 troops fighting with me from the start. And so many had died.

        I saw a black haired soldier get bayoneted by a ruthless, British soldier.

        I saw a soldier getting shot between his eyes, blood streaming down to his nose.

        A man arrived and halted the intense battle. “Stop fighting! Let’s head to Concord now as we were.”

        “Yes, Colonel Smith!” some of the British men spoke.  After all, we weren’t going to win if we kept going.

Written by Noah Jorto on April 21, 1775:

Later on April 19, 1775.

The British moved on, in a much more arranged way than ours, to Concord, most likely to raid our military supplies. 

        Soon, the British were out of sight.

        “We need to get our revenge!” roared Captain Parker. “Follow my lead. Our plan is to stay concealed at Concord and wait for the British to appear. Then we open fire when they aren’t aware of our presence.”

Eight of Parker’s men were killed, and nine were wounded. I was glad I didn’t suffer the same fate, but there would be another rebellious battle to come, and with endless possibilities.

        Our soldiers and I followed him through the trees and the grass. Animals made quiet chatter, but we were silent.

        After some time, we were at Concord, where the main British column was. “We must remain quiet so that we aren’t in danger of being engaged by British soldiers.” 

        We hid behind the silent trees, in the ever so tranquil forest. But even with the serenity, I felt overwhelmed by our enemy. I knew that they would come soon, but we would have to wait patiently until then.

        Reinforcements for our fighting force were many, but I didn’t know if we would be surpassed by the British. Minutes passed. Then hours. But each second felt greater than the last, and suspense bubbled up inside of me.

        Then, we heard the rustling of grass.  

        Here they come.

        Faint red lines appeared. 

        Those lines turned into human bodies in red coats.

        And soon, their features were visible. Two captains, one on a horse, came into view.

        “Stay alert. The rebels know we’re in Concord,” said the captain on ground.

        “Yes, Captain Parsons!” said his men.

        Wait for the right moment…..

        They continued to walk forth; they were almost right in our trajectory.

        Keep waiting…..

        Perfect! Now was our chance.

        “FIRE!” I said in my head at the same time that Captain Parker’s booming voice stated the same thing.

        The violent rustling of glass had even more commotion as all of our soldiers blasted our volley into the souls of the British.  This is our rebellion. Our chance to get back at the British for what they’ve done. I can’t blow it, I thought.

        A few seconds after the turmoil started, Colonel Smith was vigorously struck off of his horse. We were much more arranged than in Lexington, and our blows were much more effective. Soon after, Captain Parsons was also struck, along with many other British soldiers.

        It was mostly hand to hand combat with constant attacking on both sides, but we still weren’t doing that well. There were soldiers lost on our side of the battle as well. And I wasn’t sure who would come out victorious in this divine battle.

        A British soldier, taller than the rest and with scruffy black hair, charged at me without relent. Without hesitation, I charged towards him, and we both swung our rifles at each other.

        BANG

        The collision made a slight pause in battle, and then we continued to fight like two swordsmen at their best. 

        We tried to bayonet each other, but we missed. Our close combat was going on for almost a minute. 

        I was getting tired, and he was about to win our little skirmish as he charged his rifle at me. I braced for impact instead of trying to counter like a true soldier. 

SWISHHHHHH

        The bayonet was inches away from my neck when one of my fellow soldiers shot him in the waist, barely missing my arm.  I looked back and saw my friend, Michael Kavanaugh, who had just saved my life. But it wasn’t the time to commend him. I had to continue battling.

        In all of my years of training, I never expected to have a battle this intense. And this all started the day before, from a quiet night in my bedroom. My training couldn’t be in vain. This couldn’t become a futile effort.  I’m sure that everyone else knew that because I could see that we were all trying with our utmost strength and willpower. 

        There was one soldier that really caught my attention, and he was making intense screaming noises as he tirelessly shot his opponents. His hair was a blondish color, and his name tag said, “Matt Duesler.”

        Screams of pain and hurt were echoing through the trees, and so the shouts of encouragement from our men were becoming less assuring to our minds.

        I thought about Sarah, and about Jack. They would be so sad without me. And there was no time to quit or retreat. It was either kill or be killed.  I thought about my death being one of the losses of Captain Parker’s force, along with lots of other innocent soldiers. It just wasn’t right, and I couldn’t let it happen.

        Smoke filled the air, as well as the smell of gunshots and war.

        When some of that smoke cleared, I could see lots of wounded British soldiers, and I could tell that we were at an advantage!  Still, seeing soldiers getting killed right in front of my face every now and then was declining my visions of rebellion.

        Soon, the sun escaped from its viewers and the sky started to dim. This battle was going on for what felt like weeks, and it had to end at some point. I looked at my back team for a split second to see that they were holding out just fine.

        And the British…they were giving death glares of disgust, but they panted and moved with a lot less haste than they had before. The fight was getting easier with every passing hour, but for every volley at the British, there was still one innocent soldier that died on our side.

        I was starting to think the battle would last forever when someone, seemingly a captain, shouted, “RETREAT!” 

        That word gave me heavy legions of relief as soon as it was uttered.

“VICTORY!”  All of our soldiers chanted with happiness as we saw the terrified British redcoats run away from our powerful force.  “THE BATTLE IS WON!”

        I couldn’t help but smile, and although it came with much sacrifice, I am sure those who died would’ve been happy that they held a part in the glorious rebellion that took place under the clouds of beauty. I just felt that they had to die for us to win.

        But I still couldn’t help but declare the truth: “WE HAVE DONE IT! THE FIERCE BATTLE HAS BEEN TRIUMPHED!”

        Cries of victory overwhelmed the peaceful nature that now swayed with the breeze.

        Sarah gave me a tight hug, and I told her, “You see? I won. I helped protect lots of people.”

        “Yes, and thank goodness you did!”

“What’s going on?” shouted Jack, bursting out of his room with curiosity.

        Happiness overwhelmed my emotions, seeing both of them so excited. 

        “You could say I had a very victorious day.”

        The sun brightened the sky as warmth fled down to Lexington and Concord’s now joyful inhabitants.

-Caleb P.