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wrote this for a project on Abigail Adams. it's her POV that this is in.

Braintree, Massachusetts Bay Colony
June 17, 1775

What is that noise... Cannons... Ours or theirs? … Where are the children... They are awake, I can hear them in the corridor... Tommy and Charles are scared to death... I'm not surprised... “What's happening, Mammy?” … I don't know, Nabby... I can't say that, though... “Cannon fire” seems to be the only thing to say... How close are the soldiers? … I need to go see... I need to know what is happening... What time is it? … The guns are still firing... Are they any closer? … I can hear them... I think they're coming from...the north... From Boston? … Good God, please don't let them be firing on Boston... What time is it? … Three in the morning? … It isn't even dawn yet... How long have they been fighting? … Please, let them stop, let them stop, let them stop...

The firing continued for two hours before the sun rose. Two hours, while the inhabitants of the Boston area sat huddled in their houses, not knowing what was going on, fearing the worst.

Will the battle never end? … There's light coming through the shutters... It's dawn. … The children are still awake... They've gotten precious little sleep tonight... I must see what's going on... Who is winning... Whether to get the children out of here. … It sounds like... I don't know. “Children, I am going to Penn's Hill to see what is happening. Stay here. I will be back soon.” “Mammy, what if they... what if...” Nabby looks like she's about to cry... “I think they're far enough away, Nabby.” ...Johnny wants to come too... I can't let him... But he's seen enough already, in this war... “Nabby, stay with your brothers.” ...It's Johnny's right to know. He's the man of the house now... “If you wish to come, Johnny...”
The sun has just risen, but it's still cold... Penn's hill seems to be higher every time I climb it... I can see the battle. … There's too much smoke to see the soldiers... There's so much smoke... It looks as if both ours and the British armies are atop Breed's Hill... or Bunker Hill? No, it looks like Breed's Hill... So much smoke... And they're still shooting... This is more than the skirmishes of Concord and Lexington. This is war. We're at war.

burning_eyes