For Love of Country by William C. Hammond

Author:William C. Hammond
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Published: 2011-02-13T16:00:00+00:00

Nine

Algiers, September 1788

THE AGE-OLD TRADITIONS OF Christmas had always been faithfully observed by the Cutler family. Early on Christmas Eve, friends and neighbors gathered at the Cutler home on Main Street to sing the songs of the season and to enjoy mulled cider or a drink of hot rum, water, and sugar. Later, after supper, the family dragged the Yule log through the front door and into the sitting room hearth, sprinkling it with spiced cider just as their Saxon ancestors had done and later setting aside a burnt fragment to tie to next year’s log, thus carrying the tradition forward in perpetuity. Later still, with his brood huddled before the fire and his wife seated beside him, Thomas Cutler read by candlelight the familiar passage about the decree from Caesar Augustus as Caleb and Lavinia, the youngest of the five children, stifled yawns, determined to carry the magic of this evening as far into the night as their parents would allow.

The next day, Christmas, was the only morning of the year that the children eagerly attended the First Parish service, for they had placed bets among themselves on how long Parson Gay’s sermon would last. Halfway through the diatribe, inevitably, Will would set his younger siblings to quiet giggling when he covertly stretched out his mouth with his middle fingers to mimic the austere facial features of the good reverend. And they knew that a present or two awaited them after the service, as well as a Christmas feast of roasted venison, sweet potatoes, fried onions, candied apple rings, and pies so choice with buttery crusts that even the adults rubbed their stomachs and groaned contentedly when the meal reached its reluctant conclusion.

There was nothing merry, however, about the Christmas of 1775. Will was with his family in spirit only, as he forever would be, and the revolution that had claimed his young life was spreading like a wildfire throughout the colonies. Elizabeth Cutler did what she could to inject a sense of purpose into the family’s traditions. Richard, approaching sixteen and now the oldest child, understood the role he must play for the sake of his siblings, especially sweet Anne, whose grief over Will’s death seemed inconsolable. But it was a role he could not play. He missed Will terribly. There was no reconciling his sorrow and rage. Caleb tried to cheer him; time and again during those days leading up to Christmas he begged Richard to play checkers with him or go outside in the bracing air for a game of sticks and hoops. Richard always put him off, promising to play some other time.

So it was that Christmas morning in 1775 that Caleb approached Richard as he sat alone at the kitchen table where the family would soon gather for supper. He held a package in his hand, wrapped simply in paper, and this he gave to his older brother. Richard separated the folds. Inside was a wooden model of a ship. He balanced it in his hand, immediately aware of the significance of the gift.

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