I Fought By: Lauryn A. I woke up to the distant sound of gunshots. The war had been going on for 1 year now. My country, England, is trying to take over New France. I woke up almost every day to this sound. I took a deep breath. I rolled out of bed, careful not to wake my sleeping 5 year old brother in the bed beside mine, and got dressed. I looked in the mirror. I always loved looking at my reflection. Not because I liked the way I looked, but because I always felt like it was a younger version of my father staring back at me through my dirty, cracked mirror. I saw his messy, dark brown hair, and his bright blue eyes. Though we were similar in looks, I never saw a similarity in our personality. When I looked in his eyes, they were always steady, and certain. Mine were filled with fear. I tried and tried to be more like father. I needed to, for my mother and for little Peter. Now that father was gone, I was the man of the house. My family needed me. I didn t know how long those tears had been sitting in my sky blue eyes, threatening to spill out at any moment. I hastily rubbed them away, before attempting to fix my hair, and snuck down the creaky stairs. I scanned our simple kitchen. I saw only a bit of bread and a few eggs from our chickens. I decided to skip breakfast, and went right to work; collecting the chicken s eggs, and milking the cow. Later that afternoon, I was on my way to the store to sell some milk when I heard a woman crying. I recognized her as Mrs. Davis from down the street. As soon as I saw the letter in her hand, I realized that her son Stephen must be heading to the war. They had been taking boys not much older than me to the war, as they needed more reinforcements. I hoped by the time I was of age, the war would be over. By the time I came back, mother was fixing Peter breakfast. Peter saw me come in first. Willie! He said enthusiastically Mom turned her head around. Oh, hey honey. Were you able to sell the milk? She said, looking tired. Yes, mother, I answered as I handed her the few coins I got for the milk. She took them. I looked into her pale green eyes trying to figure out why she looked so exhausted. Maybe she s just getting older. I noticed some streaks of gray in her beautiful strawberry blonde hair. She must have been so pretty when she was young. I must have been staring because she looked down, and went back to scrambling the eggs, obviously trying to hide how tired she was getting. She gave Peter and me small servings of the eggs with some milk. A moment later she seated herself across from me. I didn t realize how hungry I was until I took a bite of the bland eggs. I tried to start a conversation, hoping it would stop me from gobbling up my food so quickly. Stephen Davis is leaving too. I started.
Oh my, Mom said, knowing right away what I meant. Poor Helen, I can t imagine, after George passing. Her son is leaving to do the same thing her husband died doing. Mr. Davis died a month ago, from a gunshot. The wound was too severe, he lost so much blood, and by the time the nurses got to him, it was too late. Is Willie going to leave us, momma? Peter asked, concern filling his big blue eyes. No sweetie, Will is too young. She assured him as she stroked his wispy blond hair, but I could hear the doubt in her voice no matter how hard she tried to hide it. -2 Years Later- I couldn t believe that I was on my way to the war. It seemed like yesterday I was a thirteen-year-old boy, who was sure he would never go to the war. But here I am, on the boat, on my way to Quebec City. I had been on that boat for a couple months now. I got the letter at the beginning of May, a few days after I turned 15. The words from the letter were still fresh in my mind. William James Andrews, I am pleased to inform you that you are to serve in the British navy, on behalf of the king. Please pack minimal things as you will be provided with everything you need. You will be trained for 3 months before being able to take place in a battle. Please be ready by sunrise tomorrow. Sincerely, King George I barely remembered the training. All I could think of was my mother s devastated face, as she tried to contain her tears. And a moment later, when she wept into my chest, she nearly squeezed the life out of me before I left. I saw Peter s eyes, blue as the morning sky, filled with tears. They were spilling out faster than I thought possible. He gave me his lucky button that he had found on the street one day. He was convinced it was real gold. I had kept it in the pocket of my stiff uniform pants. Now I am here. On a British ship on the way to Quebec City. General Wolfe had attacked the French all summer with canons. I m glad I was training during that time, I wouldn t want to be there. I remember firing a gun during training, I thought a gunshot was loud. I couldn t imagine listening to canons for 3 months straight. A few hours ago, I had heard some of the men talking: What s today again? One of them asked. He sounded very clueless. September 13, and in case you have forgotten the year too, it s 1759. He said, chuckling at his own joke. Oh. The first one answered.
I heard that General Wolfe is attacking at night when it s dark and silent. The clueless boy wasn t listening, but the other one continued. Did you know that they are bringing about 4500 men?! He kept mumbling. I can t believe that he s excited about this. Will, are you okay? Richard s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. He looked concerned. I don t know how he could read me that well when we had only known each other for a couple months. I had met him at training. He wasn t at all what he appeared to be. When I first saw him, I was completely intimidated. He was tall, and muscular, with perfect black hair and unnaturally piercing, emerald green eyes. But as I got to know him, he was gentle and quiet. He seemed like a very emotional person, as I told him about my family, and my father. His family is pretty wealthy. He has 2 older sisters. His father owns a lot of land, and a blacksmith business. Will? Richard urged with concern in his eyes. Sorry, I just got lost in my thoughts, I answered. I m fine. Richard didn t seem to believe me but nodded his head. There was a moment of silence. Will? Richard repeated. I looked at him. Are you scared? He asked, fear in his eyes. I thought for a moment. The only thing I was scared about was not coming home to my family. I realized I wasn t afraid of the actual war, though I probably should be. I guess, I replied. I ca- Richard was cut off by the sound of men shouting. He turned his head towards the noise. We re here!!! General Wolfe came down to our little section of the ship, and put a finger to his lips, motioning for us to be quiet. We all came out of the boat. General Wolfe smartly decided to land at L Anse-au- Foulon, which was about 3 kilometers upstream from Quebec City. I looked up. How did General Wolfe expect us to get to where we were attacking? There was a giant cliff that looked roughly 50 meters high! I heard from the kid who was talking non-stop on our way here, that it was actually 53 meters high. I listened silently as General Wolfe told us his plan. Colonel William, He addressed a man who must be Colonel William. you will take these men, he pointed to 10 men, including me. To the top of the cliff. You will restrain any guards that might give us away. Make sure nobody hears or sees you. We will follow you soon after, and hopefully meet you after the guards are dealt with. He paused and then nodded to Colonel William. I glanced one last time at Richard. He gave me a steady smile and a nod. We started climbing. We climbed and climbed for what seemed like forever until we finally got to the top of the cliff. There were only 2 soldiers guarding the top of the cliff. Colonel pointed to four men, and they snuck up behind the trees. One grabbed the soldier, and covered their mouths, while
the other knocked them over the head with their guns. We didn t want to shoot or make any sound, so knocking the soldiers out would have to do. Colonel William peaked over the cliff. General Wolfe and the rest of the soldiers were almost to the top of the cliff. Adrenaline coursed through me. My heart raced fast. These could be my last few hours or even minutes of life on this earth. God be with me. Mother and Peter too. I said a quick prayer. As quietly as 4500 men could, we quickly took our horseshoe formation. It looked like it might be around 1 kilometer long. There were 2 lines. I was in the second one, beside Richard. It seemed as quickly we got into our formation, the French started stampeding to where we were. They started firing once they were close enough. I had heard the distant gunshots from my house. Besides training, I have never heard a gunshot up close. This sound was agonizing, with all of the guns going off simultaneously. It was the loudest thing I had ever heard in my entire life. I just wanted to run home and snuggle into my mother's arms, and pretend that I was a child again. But then I felt something pressed against my back pocket. Peter s button. I remembered that I needed to come back alive for Peter and for Mother. Before I knew it, the first row was down. I stepped up. Leveled my gun. Aimed at the French line. And fired. I fired, and fired, and fired. I thought of Peter. Bang. I thought of Mother. Bang. I thought of everything that mattered, my home, my country, my father, Richard. Bang, bang, bang. It had to be over soon. The French soldiers were quickly shot down. Just a bit more. I thought. But then everything seemed to slow down, as a solid figure slammed into my right side, knocking me to the left. I fell on the ground. I looked to my right, trying to identify what just slammed into me. It was a soldier. But then I realized. It wasn t just any soldier. It was Richard. Why did Richard push me? I saw a pool of red starting to rise in his chest. The world started spinning, I felt lightheaded. The patch of blood grew bigger and bigger. It felt like a dream. A bad dream. Then a bullet whizzed by my ear. I realized that I couldn t just sit there. I had to do something. So I just got up and started firing again. It seemed like I was firing for hours, not really aware of my surroundings. But eventually, it was over. The French started to retreat. And a few moments later, everything went silent. I immediately dropped to the ground. I crawled over to Richard. The pool of blood covered his chest. I put my two fingers right under his jawline. There was still a faint pulse. I frantically looked around for help. There was nobody available to help us. From where I was, the plains looked so destroyed. Richard! I yelled frantically. He opened his eyes. You re alive? He asked weakly. Yes, and we won, I whispered. My voice quivering. He smiled looking content, and he took one last breath. His pulse stopped.
It felt as if I was the one with the bullet wound. I wept and wept for my friend, who took a bullet for me. For how long, I had no idea. I hadn t cried this hard since my father died. Eventually, someone pulled me away from Richard s body. Even though I wanted to, I didn t put up a fight. I couldn t, I was too weak. Somehow, I got onto the boat. The rocking of the boat lulled me to sleep. I closed my eyes. I was woken up by someone whispering my name. Will, there was a pause. Will!! I sat up. At first, I had no clue what was happening, but then my eyes adjusted, and I noticed someone hovering over me. Stephen Davis! I was so happy to see a familiar face. We re going home, Quebec is ours now! Wha-? I said, perplexed. General Wolfe died, same with General Montcalm. This morning Quebec was handed over to us. We re allowed to go home, because of this victory. I was so happy! I could see my mother and Peter! But then I remembered. Richard. He died saving me. I felt that ache in my chest again. Where did they bury all of the dead? I questioned. Most of them were buried in craters from cannons", Stephen explained. I bit my lip and nodded. Richard deserved better.
Stephen and I stepped out of the boat. We found one of our neighbors and got a ride back to our houses in the back of his wagon. When my house came in view, I dove out of the wagon and raced towards it, my muscles screaming in protest. I didn t care. I just needed to see my family. I saw a scrawny figure darting towards me. He had wispy blond hair. Peter! He was getting so big. He tackled me in a hug, knocking me to the ground. I laughed and hugged him. I saw mother running as fast as I had ever seen her move. She joined in the group hug. I was glad to be back. That night we had the biggest dinner we had eaten at this house in years. I told them everything. Especially about Richard. I realized that he was probably the best friend I had ever had. Mom teared up a few times. Hey, is it okay if I head to bed early? I asked Of course honey. Mom answered tenderly. I went to the room I shared with Peter, and fell asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow. Little did William Andrews know, that the battle he just participated in, was a big part in the 7 Years War. Both General Wolfe and General Montcalm died, and since the British took over one of the French s main cities, the French forfeited 3 years later. In between that time, the French attempted, and succeeded to take Quebec back. A few months later, the British took over Quebec for the second time. A few months after that (September 8 1760) the French ran out of reinforcements, and surrendered to the British. They signed the 1763 Treaty of Paris.