Major John André was one of the masterminds behind the event. His sketches of the Meschianza’s costumes are still available, and the report he made in a letter to Gentleman’s Magazine about the festivities was widely read, and roundly mocked. He was well liked by both sides during the war. He was a gentleman’s gentleman and a ladies’ man. He was also General Benedict Arnold’s handler. He would leave with the British when they evacuated Philadelphia, only to be captured in New York two years later. On October 2, 1780, he was hanged as a spy.
The British army did indeed leave in a hurry. After a month of whispered rumors and expectations of a withdrawal, the actual leaving was accomplished almost overnight. Elizabeth Drinker, a Quaker diarist of the period, noted on June 19:
last night it was said there was 9,000 of the British Troops left in Town 11,000 in the Jersyes (sic): this Morning when we arose, there was not one Red-Coat to be seen in Town; and the encampment, in the Jersys (sic) vanish’d.
When the patriots entered Philadelphia on the heels of the British evacuation, devastation greeted them. The northern part of the city was completely destroyed. Those who had abandoned or had been forced to give up their homes to quarter troops very often found them looted. Quakers’ possessions had been especially targeted.
It took weeks to clean out the filth in the city’s public buildings like the hospital and the State House. In such places, as in the private homes they had commandeered, the British had taken up the practice of punching holes in the floors at the ground level and then sweeping excrement and other waste into the basements. The once beautiful and elegant city was overcome by depredation, filth, and the constant swarming of flies. The reason for the third amendment to the United States Constitution used to be unclear to me, but after researching this book, I have a much better understanding of its significance.
Once the city and its government were stabilized, the corruption and social whirl began anew with the very same set of leading families. Many of the ladies of the Meschianza went on to marry patriot officers, though most of them would consider that evening in May 1778 the high point of their lives. Through old age, they looked back on those British officers and the British occupation with nostalgia.
Reprisals came swiftly once the patriots retook the city under the command of General Benedict Arnold. The first order of business was evening the score. Under the new regime, suspected British collaborators were jailed. Some were even hanged. It was not unknown for Washington’s spies to have to produce proof of their true loyalties to avoid being lynched.
Scientists have long remarked on the ability of twins to share emotions, dreams, and even pain. Hannah’s special link with her brother is based on true incidents.
Phantom pain, as scientists now understand it, occurs when a limb has been amputated and the brain mixes or rewires its signaling as it remaps the body. Many times phantom pain is associated with nerve damage from an amputation that has been poorly executed. The pain can be described as a shooting, boring, stabbing, or burning sensation. Some amputees experience it rarely, others on a daily basis.
The names for those enslaved at Pennington House were chosen from among the rosters of George Washington’s slaves at Mt. Vernon.
The Quakers
The Society of Friends is a Christian movement that originated in seventeenth-century Britain. Originally called dissenters, they reacted to societal and political upheaval by trying to reform the church. They were nicknamed Quakers when their founder, George Fox, was brought before a judge, who noted that they bid everyone tremble at the Word of God. In spite of heavy persecution, Friends in England sent scores of missionaries to the New World in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—men and women both. They traveled up and down the eastern seaboard and pushed inland to the frontier in order to spread the Gospel. Their creed was simple: God was willing to communicate with any person directly. The emphasis was not on hearing about God, but on hearing from God.
Though Friends ordained no preachers, they quickly fastened upon an effective organization. They met together weekly, on first day. Monthly they met with other Meetings in the local area. Quarterly and yearly they sent delegates to Meetings of groups from increasingly larger geographical areas.
In 1681, Friend William Penn convinced the King of England to take care of the dual problems of the kingdom’s Quakers and a royal debt owed the Penn family by granting him the charter for Pennsylvania. For nearly a hundred years, the Quaker-led colony was able to coexist with the Native American population by treating them with respect and integrity. But the French and Indian Wars of the 1750s challenged the Friends sitting in the colony’s legislature to either compromise their pacifist principles or to withdraw from public life. They chose the latter and their influence over the colony’s laws and politics soon disappeared.
Friends were the first faith to advocate against slavery in America. They became active members of the Underground Railroad in the nineteenth century. Whenever possible, they taught former slaves to read and write and care for themselves in preparation for freedom. For Friends to have taken the stand they did on not visiting the prisoners in Walnut Street Jail seems uncharacteristically callous. But after having watched the radical element seize control of the government and experiencing firsthand the devastating consequences of war, it’s not surprising that they decided to wash their hands of everything associated with it.
The Society of Friends is still active throughout the world, though it is not generally aggressive in seeking converts. The faith developed without a creed. Traditionally, Friends believed that Christ—not the Bible—was the Word of God. Though Friends initially never expected a message from Christ to contradict the Bible, emphasis on the Inner Voice has led to an increased reliance on revealed truth and personal testimony. In some branches of the faith, it is possible to encounter Quaker Buddhists, Quaker Agnostics, or Quaker Pagans at Meeting.
Friends believe that there is that of God in everyone, in women as well as in men. It is one of the few faiths that allowed women to preach and teach from its very beginnings. They call themselves Children of Light, proclaiming that Christ’s light within will reveal the state of the heart.
In America there have been many examples of religions that preach the person of God as a wrathful avenger. There have also been many groups that emphasize the person of Jesus and seem to preach a cheap grace. In the history of America, the Society of Friends was one of the only faiths to emphasize the person of the Holy Spirit. They believed, quite literally, that if one could just be still and learn to listen, the Holy Spirit would make His voice heard.
The concept of the Trinity seems very esoteric and irrelevant in today’s world, but it seems to me that only a faith embracing each person of the Trinity can save us from imbalance. While love without faith offers no hope, faith without love offers no mercy. We must have both faith and love or run the danger of discovering that, in the end, we have nothing at all.
Acknowledgments
It is a commonly held belief in the publishing industry that Revolutionary War–era novels don’t sell, so I am extremely grateful to my editors, Dave and Sarah Long, who took a chance on this book. My critique partner, Maureen Lang, encouraged me during my first drafts when it seemed as if this story would never get written. And my agent, Natasha Kern, spurred me on at the end with some insightful suggestions. But most of all, I’d like to thank my husband, who kept insisting on calling this my “spy book” even as I kept referring to it as my “Quaker book.” Tu as raison.
Discussion Questions
James Bond, Benedict Arnold, Nathan Hale, Mata Hari. In what cases is spying admirable? In what cases is it dishonorable?
Do you have a disability or know anyone who does? How does this affect self-image? What sort of limitations does it place upon interactions with other people?
What causes is your church passionate about? What causes are you passionate about? How do these causes affect your faith?
What did you
know about the Quaker faith before reading this book? Did any of the things you learned about it surprise you? What parts of the Quaker faith do you find admirable?
Quakers believe strife is caused by lust. Do you agree?
What are your thoughts about pacifism? How do they fit with your views about faith? Did your thoughts change any while you were reading this book?
In Chapter 23, Jeremiah Jones says, “You can’t base your faith on a position. You can’t live your life as a protest. Because sooner or later positions resolve themselves. And then what’s left?” Do you agree with him?
Have you ever had to choose between a cause and your faith? A person and your faith? What parameters or criteria did you use to guide you?
Why is it that prisoners of war seem so often to be abused? Why is it that our modern world hasn’t been able to stop this from happening?
Have you ever felt burdened by a message from God? Did you share it or did you keep it to yourself? Why?
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
A Note From the Author
The Quakers
Acknowledgments
Discussion Questions
Back Ads
Back Cover
The Messenger Page 33