Collier James Lincoln - My Brother Sam is Dead

James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier are brothers who have coauthored eight historical novels for young adults, including The Bloody Country, Who is Carrie?, and With Every Drop of Blood, and who have also cowritten dozens of non-fiction books. The brothers grew up in Garden City, New York, and Wilton, Connecticut. The Colliers were a family of writers and teacherstheir father, Edmund, was an editor and author of a number of childrens books about the Old West, and their mother, Catherine, was a teacher.

James Lincoln Collier began his career as a magazine editor who wrote part time. In 1958, James quit his staff job to write full time, and in 1965 he published his first book, Battleground: The United States Army in World War II. This nonfiction book for young people explained important military maneuvers conducted during World War II. Since then, James has written or cowritten more than thirty books for young people, ranging from humorous novels to historical fiction and non-fiction to books about music and musicians. Jamess books have won numerous prizes, including the Newbery Honor (for My Brother Sam Is Dead), the Child Study Associations Best Book Award, the Jane Addams Peace Prize, and the Christopher Award. His work has also twice been a finalist for the prestigious National Book Award. James is the father of two grown children and the grandfather of four. He and his wife live in New York City and have a country home in Pawling, New York.

Christopher Collier went to Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1951. After two years of service in the armed forces, he went to Columbia University, where he earned his masters degree in 1955, and went on to become a history teacher for more than forty-five years. While a history teacher at junior and senior high schools, he was inspired to write historical novels. However, it wasnt until after he had earned his doctorate at Columbia and began teaching history at the college level that Christopher convinced his brother James to collaborate with him on a historical novel for young people. The result of that first collaboration was My Brother Sam Is Dead.

While Christopher is primarily the researcher of the books and James is the writer, Christopher is a writer in his own right. As a former professor and historian, Christopher has written many scholarly articles and books. In addition to winning the Newbery Honor and other awards for books he has written with his brother, Christopher has won high praise for some of his own books. One of these, Roger Shermans Connecticut: Yankee Politics and the American Revolution, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished achievement in literature. A father of three and grandfather of four, Christopher Collier lives with his wife in Orange, Connecticut.

JAMES LINCOLN COLLIER & CHRISTOPHER COLLIERS

My Brother Sam Is Dead

CONTENTS

About the Authors

Q&A with Christopher Collier

My Brother Sam Is Dead Timeline

Revolutionary Games

After Words guide by Christopher Hardin

IT WAS APRIL, AND OUTSIDE IN THE DARK THE RAIN whipped against the windows of our tavern, making a sound like muffled drums. We were concentrating on our dinner, and everybody jumped when the door slammed open and banged against the wall, making the plates rattle in their racks. My brother Sam was standing there, wearing a uniform. Oh my, he looked proud.

Sam, my mother said. We hadnt seen him since Christmas.

Shut the door, Father said. The rain is blowing in. Thats the way Father wasdo right first, and then be friendly.

But Sam was too excited to pay attention. Weve beaten the British in Massachusetts, he shouted.

Who has beaten the British? Father said.

Sam shut the door. We have, he said, with his back to us as he slipped the latch in place. The Minutemen. The damn Lobsterbacks marched out of Boston yesterday. They were looking for Mr. Adams and Mr. Hancock and they marched up to Lexington. Some of the Massachusetts Minutemen tried to stop them there in the square, but there were too many British, and they got through and went on up to Concord looking for ammunitions stores. But the Patriots got the stores hidden mostly and they didnt find much. And then when they turned around and went back, the Minute-men hid in the fields along the roads and massacred them all the way back to Boston.

Nobody said anything. They were silent and shocked. I couldnt take my eyes off him; he looked so brave. He was wearing a scarlet coat with silver buttons and a white vest and black leggings halfway up to his knees. Oh, I envied him. He knew everybody was staring, but he liked being the center of attention, and he pretended it was just an ordinary thing and he was used to it. Im starved, he said, and sat down at the table. I started out from Yale at six oclock this morning and didnt stop to eat all the way.

There were seven of us at the table in the taproom. Mother and Father and me were there. Then there was the minister, Mr. Beach, who lived in Newtown but spent Saturday night here in Redding so he could preach in our church early Sunday morning. Then there was a couple of farmers from Redding Center I didnt know, and, of course, Sam. But still they all sat silent. I guess they figured that it was up to Father to speak first, seeing as Sam was his son.

My mother got up, fetched a plate from the rack, and filled it with stew from the iron pot on the fire. Then she drew Sam a pot of beer from the tap and put it all down in front of him. He was hungry, and he bent over his plate and began shoving in the food as fast as he could.

Dont eat like that, Father snapped.

Sam looked embarrassed and sat up straight.

All right, now, Father said. Tell us the news again in an orderly manner. Father had a temper and I could see he was trying hard not to lose it.

Sam dug his spoon into the stew and started to fill his mouth, but suddenly he realized that if he began talking with his mouth full, Father would yell at him again, so he put the spoonful or stew back on his plate. Well its hard to tell it orderly, Father. There were so many rumors around New Haven last night that

I thought it might be like that, Father said.

No, no, its true about the fighting, Sam said. Captain Arnold told us himself.

Captain Arnold?

Captain Benedict Arnold. Hes Captain of the Governors Second Foot Guard. He looked down at his stew. Thats my company. He looked up and gave Father a quick sort of scared look.

That explains the fancy dress, I imagine, Father said.

Captain Arnold designed the uniform

Never mind, tell the story.

Well, the beginning was when the Lobsterbacks

By that I suppose you mean the soldiers of your King, Father said. He was still holding onto his temper.

Sam blushed. All right, the British troops. From the garrison in Boston. They marched up to Lexington looking for Mr. Adams and the rest, but theyd got away. Somebody signalled them from some church steeple in Boston, so when the LobstBritish got up to Lexington there wasnt anybody there, except the Minutemen. Then the shooting started

Mr. Beach put his hand up to stop Sam. Who shot first, Sam?

Sam looked confused. Well, I guess the British. I mean thats what they said in New Haven.

Who said?

Well, Im not sure, Sam said. I guess its hard to tell in a battle. But anyway