Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Resource For Students and Teachers Created by Chestnut Hill Middle School 7th graders of 2015
History in Chains
Being the Historical Fiction book it is, Chains contains many important real historical events hidden away in the background. This is where we dig deeper for those pieces of history.
In Chapter XXXV of Chains, when Isabel visited the prison and talked to Curzon about what happened when the British attacked and captured Fort Washington, it got me thinking as a reader when this event. Did it really go down like Laurie Anderson explained? When I did some research I found that 2,837 men were captured. If you remember from Chapter XXXV you remember Isabel finding many soldiers in the cell. I also found it interesting that the book, along with the addition of some fictional characters, actually had similarities to what actually happened. For example, I found this: “Realizing that to stand now would create a bloodbath within the crowded fort, Magaw surrendered.” I found this cool that the author kept some of what she was writing in the book similar to what happened in real life. `
Some leaders did not see the importance of defending Fort Washington. “In a letter to Joseph Reed, the adjutant general, Lee wrote, ‘I cannot conceive what circumstances give to Fort Washington so great a degree of value and importance as to counterbalance the probability or almost certainty of losing 1,400 of our best troops." That was Washington's second in command Charles Lee. I feel one of the reasons that the British won by a “landslide” was because not everyone’s heart was one-hundred percent into defending Fort Washington. Do you feel this too?
citations: Logan, Joseph. "The Battle of Fort Washington." The American Revolution. Joseph
Logan, Feb. 2001. Web. 3 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/battledetail.aspx?battle=13>.
Ryan F.
Believe it or not, most armies back in the 1700s had spies. One thing I found interesting was if you were a spy and you got caught, your punishment would be execution. Many spies back then did get caught. These days, technology allows for the use of drones instead of humans to spy. This seems like a better idea because if a drone did get caught they could just make a new one, but you can’t just make another human. The military that had spies had to have techniques for spying. One of the Patriots’ techniques was to use secret codes. An example of when the Patriots used a secret code was when Paul Revere said, “one if by land, two if by sea” to signal that the British were moving toward Concord, MA. Another technique that they used was invisible ink. Patriot John Jay came up with a way to use invisible ink, and George Washington began to use invisible ink when they had to send a letter to someone and they were afraid it would be seen by British Regulars or any Loyalist. It wa done by placing the secret writing between the lines of an innocent letter and could be seen by treating the letter with heat or a chemical substance. Spying refers back to the book because Isabel was asked by Curzon and other characters in support of the Patriots’ side if Isabel could act as a spy for their cause.
Citations:Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. "Technique's Used in the Revolutionary War."
mountvernon.org. Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, n.d. Web. 13 Mar.
2015. <http://http:www.mountvernon.org>.
Jeorgio K.
Featured: Alexia O.
What I wondered in Chapter XXVIII: Was
Thomas Hickey a real person, and if he was what crimes did he really commit?
In Chapter XXVIII of the novel Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Thomas Hickey is described as a near murderer. According to Anderson he was about to commit a pretty big crime, so I decided to see if he really did attempt to kill Washington. He did! Anderson says that he almost assassinated General Washington and was just barely caught before his plan went into action. This is true, but there’s a lot more to the story!
It all started when General Washington was in need of a little protection. He was looking for honest, well-behaved men that would serve as bodyguards. Washington even wanted them to be within a certain height range! Thomas Hickey was one of many men chosen for the job of “Washington’s Lifeguards.” It didn’t take long after “Washington’s Lifeguards” came together for the “Hickey Mutiny” to form. The “Hickey Mutiny” was a group people living in New York that believed in the British cause during the American Revolution, also called Tories. The members of this group planned to kill General Washington when he least expected it. Considering the name of the group, “Hickey’s Mutiny”, Thomas Hickey was most likely the leader of it. The clever plan was discovered before it could go into action, and with it many soldiers were arrested, even members of “The Washington’s Lifeguard!” Here’s the icing in the cake: Thomas Hickey was one of Washington’s bodyguards, and was planning to kill him! He was obviously arrested, and eventually felt the wrath of his crime. Hickey was taken to court where he was convicted, and later hanged. It’s no coincidence that Hickey’s execution takes place on June 28th, 1776 in the book, because that’s exact day he was hanged in real life!
Citations:
"Life Guards." George Washington's Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon Ladies'
Association, 2015. Web. 3 Mar. 2015. <http://mountvernon.org>. ###
Alexia O.