My Brother Sam is Dead is a historical fiction novel told in the first person, through the eyes of ten-year-old Timothy Meeker. It narrates the difficulties suffered by Tim and his family during the Revolutionary War. When Tim’s older brother Sam joins the rebel forces, he shocks the rest of his family who wish to remain neutral and/or avoid war with England. Tim’s family is Anglican and therefore loyal to the Church of England, so a break with England would hit them hard.
Through Tim Meeker we learn about the problems, concerns and conflicts of the rebellion on a personal level. Each chapter touches on a number of themes and issues that give readers a better understanding of the effects the American Revolution had on people, their families, their churches, their towns, their neighbors…in short, it allows readers to see the war from the position of those who lived through it. This is one of the greatest strengths of the novel; It quietly weaves all the themes and issues of the early years of the American Revolution into a tragic story of a ten-year-old’s role in a war he doesn’t understand.
The novel highlights many of the issues and events that affected towns like Redding, Connecticut and its inhabitants at this point in the war. Below are the themes that have been woven into this novel that I find most intriguing.
- What people were experiencing at the start of the Revolution.
The novel begins in April 1775 and ends in February 1779…a very volatile period of the American Revolution as it was unclear which side would win the war. Many were still confused about the issues or unwilling to solidify a position on the issues. As the story unfolds, the consequences of the war prove devastating for the Meeker family, as the rebelliousness of Tim’s brother, Sam, and the pacifist position taken by Tim’s father, Life, result in the ironic death of both, symbolizing the atrocities and injustice of war. .
- Trying to remain neutral and/or ignore the Rebellion.
Life Meeker is a moderately successful businessman and member of the Anglican Church who feels that a rebellious separation from England will put both his livelihood and his religion at risk. He doesn’t want Rebellion; he just wants things to stay the way they are. Life’s decision to ignore the war and mind his business as he always has turns out to be fatal.
- The currency problems that arose from the rebellion and the way it was financed.
The Meekers have a tavern/shop, and keeping it running is hard work. Even before the Revolution, to earn money, every year Tim’s father and his brother Sam traveled to New York State to sell the cattle they received from people who owed them money. During war it becomes even more difficult as paper money and commissary notes alter the values of existing currencies and have a negative impact on local economies and businesses.
- Sacrifices that families and individuals were forced to make during the American Revolution.
Since Sam sided with the rebels and wasn’t there, Tim’s responsibilities have increased tenfold. The jobs that Tim and Sam used to share now fall on Tim’s shoulders. Father (Vida) takes Tim on his annual cattle drive to New York. They even have to travel without a Brown Bess (musket/pistol used for protection), which Sam had recently stolen. Because Life is captured on her way back from Verplanck, Tim has to take care of his mother and himself for the rest of the novel. He is forced to grow up overnight seeing that he is now the man of the house, with his father in prison and Sam fighting with the patriots.
- Groups that formed during the war for good and bad reasons.
Security Committees – These committees were formed early in the war to disarm people who could potentially provide aid to the British. Life is Anglican and therefore seen as loyalist/conservative by the local Committee of Safety who come to the Meeker Tavern to disarm him. As the war progressed, these groups worked to keep order in rural areas and help those in need.
Cowboys and Skinners – The Cowboys and Skinners were groups of raiders who harassed and looted the rural districts on the border between American and British forces in Westchester County, New York. Westchester County was the so-called “neutral ground” since the British were in the Bronx and the Americans were in Peekskill, New York. Cowboys capture life on their way back to Redding on their cattle drive. Cowboys.
- Wartime raids and brutal acts that are carried out during war.
In Chapter 10, the British march through Redding and capture several Patriots on their way to Danbury, CT to destroy the Rebel/Patriot war supplies that were stored there. As the British leave town, a local slave is accosted and brutally murdered as Tim watches in horror. The point the authors were making here is that war is cruel and people die.
- Winter camps and the problems within them during the early stages of the Revolutionary War: local cattle rustling; spies and desertion; too much discipline.
General Israel Putnam’s Continental Army division is encamped in Redding in the winter of 1778-1779 and Sam Meeker is a soldier in one of Putnam’s camps. One night, Sam sneaks out of camp and returns home to spend time with his family. As they discuss the war and related topics, Sam hears a commotion outside… Patriot soldiers trying to steal their cattle! When Sam intervenes, he is outnumbered and beaten up. Back at the camp, he is falsely accused and court-martialed for deserting the camp and stealing cattle. General Putnam, who has long dealt with ill-equipped troops, deserters and traitors, feels that he needs to set an example to maintain discipline among his army. Sam, unfortunately, becomes one of the two examples that winter and is executed.
- The difficulties of war.
Throughout the novel, we are given examples of the hardships that local communities endured during the Revolution and long after. Economically, socially, and emotionally, the Revolutionary War was devastating to the people who lived through it, and Tim’s narration brings these feelings to life.
I think the best way to use this novel in the classroom is to explore the themes I have listed above. Each chapter is geared toward giving us a better understanding of the hardships caused by the American Revolution and the effect it had on people, their families, their churches, their towns, their neighbors, etc… and thus the novel. it can be a very powerful learning tool if you are willing to look beyond the story.
My Brother Sam Is Dead was written by Christopher and James Lincoln Collier and can be found in most bookstores and public libraries.
