Gunpowder and Tea Cakes: My Journey with Felicity

The gunshots are echoing in my ears as a raider staggers through the gate. Blood trickles down his face, and his linen shift is splotched with more blood. I taste something sour as I ask them what happened. The boy says someone set a booby trap. Felicity cries out to ask where Ben is, but the boy doesn’t answer. More dazed boys stumble through the gate, but there’s no sign of Ben. A new crowd has begun to form from people who heard the gunfire.

Felicity and I look around frantically. We don’t see Ben anywhere. Felicity says he must still be inside, and she plunges through the gate. I follow her. A narrow yard circles the Magazine, and there’s Ben, on his knees beside Ezra, who is on the ground. I don’t see blood on Ben, but Ezra is badly hurt. Ben sees us and orders us to get bandages. Felicity tells me to step out of my petticoat as she reaches under skirt and drops hers. Ben folds one petticoat against the bloody spot in Ezra’s side, and he tears strips from the other to tie the bandage in place.

Ben says someone rigged two trap guns to fire as soon as anyone stepped inside. Those at the front were met with a shower of lead. Together, we all get Ezra to his feet and help him through the gate. The crowd is still growing, and they seem angry. One man yells that this is beyond tolerance. A short man climbs up on a crate and waves his arms, declaring that there are hundreds of muskets inside there. They don’t belong to Dunmore, as they were purchased with public funds. We must take back what is rightfully ours. The crowd answers with a roar. A new tide of men surges toward the Magazine.

Ben says they should pull away; Ezra’s wounds need tending. When we reach the street, I glance over our shoulders. Men are coming out of the Magazine waving guns, swords, and pikes. One man hurls a drum on the ground and stomps on it. I hear more gunshots. I don’t see anyone else coming, so I imagine it’s just to rile the crowd up. A woman screams. Feet pound as more people run back and forth, some toward the Magazine, some away. A burly man knocks over the girl who was selling flowers.

Ben says he needs to take care of Ezra. But it’s not safe for us girls to be out and about. We must get away from the mob. Felicity gets a stubborn look in her eye and I can tell she isn’t ready to go home. But while I admire her bravery, I’m not sure if I feel the same way.