英語故事:An American Army of Two-The Tale of Rebecca and Ab

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Some arguments are not easy to settle. For example, many people say Rebecca and Abigail Bates were real heroes of the War of 1812. Others think that’s just not so.

What did Rebecca and Abigail do? They saved their town from a British warshipfrom a British warship entered the harbor and set fire to Scituate's fishing fleet. Ten ships were lost, and the militiawas called in to defend the town.

For twenty-year-old Rebecca, the raid hit close to home. Her father, Simeon Bates, was keeper of the town’s lighthouse at CedarPoint on the north side of the harbor. Rebecca and her family lived next to the lighthouse in the small keeper’s cottage.

As keeper, Mr. Bates operated the lanterns in the light tower each night. But during the day he and other family members were sometimes away from the light-house. After the June attack, however, full-timelookoutswere needed. The militia posted guards.

Weeks passed. No new enemy ships were sighted, and the militia was told to go home. But for a while, guards continued to stand watch at the lighthouse. To pass the time, they taught the Bates children to play the fife and drum. Rebecca learned four tunesand thought her “Yankee Doodle” was especially good.

But more and more, the light-house was left unguarded. This was the case one late-summer day in 1814.

According to Rebecca, she, her mother, and sixteen-year-old Abigail were alone in the cottage. As Rebecca was about to boil water for the evening meal, she spotteda British warship from the kitchen window. Too large for the town’s shallow harbor, the warship had anchored just beyond the lighthouse.

It was early afternoon and the harbor was quiet. Rebecca and Abigail ran to the lighthouse for a better look and watched as a boat was lowered from the warship. The bargewere two merchant vesselsof flour. Food supplies were extremely scarce at this time, and the raiding parties were sure to seize the cargoesto the town.

Rebecca thought fast. The guards’ musketsfire.

Then Rebecca had a bold idea. Calling to Abigail to follow, she dashed to the room where the firearms were stored. But instead of reaching for the muskets, she grabbed the fife and the drum. Rebecca handed the drum to Abigail and explained her plan.

The two young women ran down the wooded path that led to the edge of the water. When they reached the shore, Rebecca cautioned Abigail to stay low. “We must keep out of sight,” she warned. “If they see us they’ll laugh us to scorn.”

Hiding behind tall cedar trees, Abigail and Rebecca played the instruments. Abigail beat out “Roll Call.” Rebecca joined in with “Yankee Doodle.” The sound of military music drifted across the bay. When Rebecca looked up, she saw that the soldiers had stopped rowing. Was it because of the music?

The girls continued playing. A moment later, a flag was raised on the warship—the signal for the barges to return. Once everyone was on board, the enemy vesselraised anchor and set sail for the open sea.

The British were fooled. They thought the town militia had been warned and was coming to stop them. Instead, they were chased away by two young women with a borrowed fife and drum.

Today, a plaqueat Scituate Light honors the bravery of Rebecca and Abigail Bates—“The Army of Two.”

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