My Brother Sam Is Dead

Sam returns from Yale wearing a Continental uniform and full of Patriot fervor. He announces he's joining the rebellion. His father demands he return the family musket. The argument explodes.

Tim adjusts to life without Sam and helps run the tavern. The war feels distant but the town is increasingly divided. Tim observes how neighbors who once got along now eye each other with suspicion.

Life takes Tim on a cattle drive to Verplanck's Point to sell beef. On the road, they are stopped by Loyalist Cowboys. Life is taken prisoner and Tim escapes alone.

Tim returns home without his father. He and his mother manage the tavern alone through the winter. Sam visits secretly and Tim must decide whether to tell his mother.

Word arrives that Life Meeker has died on a British prison ship, likely of cholera. Tim and his mother grieve. The war's abstraction becomes personal loss.

Two raiders attempt to steal the Meekers' cattle. Sam, stationed nearby, confronts them and chases the cattle. He is caught by his own officers holding the stolen livestock.

Sam is tried by court martial. Tim and his mother attend and testify. The evidence against Sam is circumstantial but sufficient. Sam is convicted and sentenced to death.

Sam is brought out before the assembled army. Tim watches. Sam is shot by a firing squad. Tim carries the image for the rest of his life.

Tim returns to the tavern and continues living. The war ends eventually. Years later, Tim reflects on what the Revolution cost and whether it was worth it.