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My Brother Sam is Dead

Christine Kim

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Chapter 1

Sam and his father fight because of their difference in opinion. His father is a loyalist and follows the English government. However, Sam thinks differently: he demands freedom and want to fight in the Revolutionary War. When Sam mentions the defeat of the British, his father is annoyed. The dinner guests takes Father’s side, and Father loses his temper and tells everyone to be quiet.

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When Tim, the narrator of the book, goes to milk the family cow, he asks Sam to help him. Sam is hesitant at first, but he joins his brother. Tim encourages Sam to tell him about the war. He confesses that he has joined the Rebels and came home to take Brown Bess, a bayonet gun that belongs to Father. Tim is shocked, but he cannot tell Father because he has sworn to secrecy.

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Time wakes up in the middle of the night and hears Father and Sam arguing once again. Sam demands that he take the Brown Bess,but Father refuses. Father tells of his experience at the war and tells Sam, “You may know principle, but I know war” (pg. 21). Sam leaves the house under orders from Father, and Tim hears his father crying. Tim realizes that there are bad times coming.

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Chapter 2

Tim’s town is very religious: the people build their houses according to the church they attended. Tim’s family lives in Redding Ridge, which means that they are Anglicans and loyalists. Tim does not know what he believes in and which side he will take, the loyalists or Rebels. This worries him because if he was a Rebel, he would be going against his religion.

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After church, Tim finds out the location of his brother. Tom Warrups, an Indian, tells Tim that Sam is staying at his hut. Tim goes to speak to Sam, and finds him sitting inside Tom’s teepee, holding hands with his girlfriend, Betsy Read. Tim tells him of Father’s tears and hopes that Sam will go back to his studies at college.

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When Tim tries to convince Sam to go back to Yale, Betsy Read asks him which side he is on. However, he dodges the question by saying that he does not fully understand both sides. Sam tells Tim, “You should be willing to die for your principles,” and Sam and Betsy try to persuade him into eavesdropping on conversations in the tavern. Tim runs back to his house in tears.

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Chapter 3

Tim had thought the war would have a great effect on his lifestyle. However, he feels that nothing has changed: there are no cannons, food shortages, nor armies. He mentions that there is just a lot of talk about the war. Sometimes, father gets mad at others for criticizing the British army.

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Betsy Reed often came to the tavern to buy thread or cloth and also to listen to conversations, but Tim’s mother shoos her along. One day, Betsy calls Tim over and makes him promise her that he will tell no one that Sam is coming back soon. She also tells him that she will give him a sign or whisper to indicate Sam’s return.

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One day, Betsy visits Tim’s house. She asks if he was going to school that term. Then, Tim looks at Betsy and realizes that she is nodding her head slowly up and down. Tim realizes that Sam has returned.

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Chapter 4

Tim is excited when he heard news about Sam’s return and he thinks hard to think of an excuse to get away to see Sam. Just them, a troop of Rebel soldiers come up to the tavern and threaten his father that they will kill him if he does not give them Brown Bess.

Tim runs to Tom Warrup’s teepee and finds Sam sleeping with the gun in his arms. He carefully takes Brown Bess out of Sam’s arm and run back to the tavern. However, Sam wakes up and chases Tim, wanting the gun back

Sam takes back the gun, and Tim begs him to come home to see if Father is okay. When Sam arrives at home, the soldiers are gone. Father calls for Sam to come back, but Sam has already left.

Chapter 5

Tim could finally notices the effects of the war: soldiers stole cattle and food and weapons were becoming scarce. One day, Mr. Heron and Tom Warrups visit the tavern. Mr. Heron asks Tim’s father whether or not Tim would carry business letters to Fairfield for him

Tim wants to run the errand to boast to Sam about it, but Father refuses for Tim to do so.

Tim obeys his father, but he feels anger towards his father for not letting him carry the letters. He demands to know why his father is keeping him from running the errand. However, his father tells him to stay uninvolved.

Chapter 6

When Tim’s father sends him to deliver a keg of rum to Mr. Heron, he asks if he could take the errand. Mr. Heron gives him the errand and asks Tim to deliver the letter the following morning.

Tim lies to his father that he will be fishing all day, but he goes to Mr. Heron to receive the letter.

While on his way to Fairfield, he meets Betsy, who fears that the letter might be a spy report that would hurt Sam and the Rebels. She takes the letter from him, which says, “If this message is received, then we will know that the messenger is reliable.”

Chapter 7

Because November is coming soon, Tim’s father needs to make his annual trip to Verplancks Point to sell cattle and buy supplies for the tavern. Usually, Sam accompanies Father on the trip, but this year, he decides to take Tim.

During the trip, he sees children watching him and feels proud to be doing such a task. However, Father and Tim are stopped by cow boys, who nearly kill Father.

Fortunately, Loyalist soldiers appeared and scared the cow boys away. The soldiers escorted Father and Tim to Tim’s cousins’ house in New Salem

Chapter 8

When Tim arrives at his cousin’s house, he realizes that their house is small and feels grateful that he didn’t grow up in a farm, but a tavern. Father and Mr. Platt talk about the war and the conflict between Rebels and Tories. Just before Tim went to sleep, his cousin Ezekiel asks him which side he would fight for, and Tim replies that he would fight for the loyalists.

The next morning, they travel to Verplancks Point. The trade went well: he got a good price for the cattle and got most of the supplies he wanted to bring back to Redding.

However, on their way back home, snow begins to fall so they decide to spend the night with the Platts again.

Chapter 9

The next morning, it has stopped snowing but the ground was slippery because of the snowfall. They continue on their journey back home with Father riding ahead on his horse to look for cow boys and Tim behind him with the cattle.

However, Tim suddenly realizes that Father had not come back for a while. He gets worried, leaves the oxen behind, and begins to run down the road, following his Father’s horse tracks.

He discovers Father’s horse tracks surrounded by other horse tracks, and realizess that Father was ambushed by cowboys. He thinks of the smart thing to do and decides to take the goods back home. During his journey, he meats the cow boys and lies to them so that the cow boys think there is going to be an ambush on them. The cow boys leave and Tim arrives at his home by midnight.

Chapter 10

Because Father and Sam are both gone, Tim must now take care of the tavern. Business is not good, so many people pay in commissary notes, which will only have value if the Rebels win the war.

One day, a group of British soldiers comes to Redding. They break into Captain Bett’s house and take Captain Bett, Jerry Sanford, and Mr. Rogers.

A Rebel messenger is shot by the British soldier, and Tim goes to Doctor Hobart’s house to inform him about the messenger. However, on his way there, he sees the British massacring the Rebels. He vomits after seeing Ned’s, a local blackman, jump up in the air.

Chapter 11

Doctor Hobart cures the wounded messenger. The messenger tells them that Captain Benedict Arnold is bringing the Continental Army to Redding.

After hearing that Captain Benedict Arnold was coming, Tim hopes that Sam was coming too because Captain Arnold is the leader of Sam’s troop. He runs into the church and meet Sam.

Tim tells Sam about Father’s capture, and brings Sam to the tavern. There, Tim’s mother tries to persuade Sam to not reenlist in the army, but he leaves the tavern, saying that he will fight until the British are beaten.

Chapter 12

In June of 1777, Tim and his mother found out that Father had died. He died on a prison ship because of cholera. His last words were that he loved them and forgave Sam.

Sam returns to the tavern. When Sam is there, he warns Tim of cattle thieves and tells Tim to butcher the cows. He also tells Tim that General Putnam will hang anyone for it as an example to the rest.

Tim is hesitant about butchering the cows, still hoping to sell them. However, one evening, the cows are stolen, and Sam follows the tracks. Sam returns but Sam is blamed as the cattle thief.

Chapter 13

Tim goes to Colonel Parsons to tell him that Sam didn’t steal the cattle. Tim’s mother also goes to talk to Colonel Parsons, but she says that Sam’s situations seems hopeless

Colonel Read told Tim that several other soldiers along with Tim are going to be tried in front of a jury. Sam is found guilty, and he is sentenced to be shot and killed.

Tim goes to see General Putnam. The general merely says that he will consider his case. Tim and Sam talk for a short moment and Sam tells him that all Tim can do is pray.

Chapter 14

Colonel Read comes to their house to tell them that General Putnam has refused our plea for clemency. There is a church service on Sunday, honoring the souls of the men who are going to be executed, but mother refuses to go.

Tim sharpens Father’s bayonet and leaves the house with it. At the camp, he considers killing the sleeping guard, but he is unable to take a life. Tim calls for Sam and throws the bayonet in the prison, hoping Sam will catch it.

In the execution, a bag is placed over Sam’s head, and soldiers shoot him to death.