summary of My brother Sam is

dead

Sally

chapter 1• Sam, Tim’s brother came back to

his family, and announced that he wants to go to war with father’s gun.

• However, father disagrees about going to war just to have freedom for his country, and have lower taxes.

• Therefore, father gets angry, and tells him to get out of his sight. That day becomes the day Tim ever saw him father cry.

chapter 2• The whole town was talking

about how it would be stupid for Sam to go to war.

• However, when Tim met Sam in Betty’s tent, he saw him with father’s gun.

• Tim doesn’t tell father about this, because he doesn’t want Sam to go to war without a gun. Then, he never sees him for weeks.

Chapter 3•Then, a few weeks passed

without Sam’s reappearance, and they lived their daily lives.

• Tim did his chores, and still stayed in contact with Betty.

•Then, Betty gave the sign to Tim while his parents were looking away. Sam was back.

• Chapter 4

• While Tim was thinking about how to meet Sam without getting caught by father, he hears screaming.

• He follows the screaming to the kitchen, and finds his parents caught in the Patriot’s hands. There were patriots threatening them for father’s brown bess, which Sam had. Tim goes to get help, and arrives at Tom Warrup’s hut, where Sam is.

• However, Tim couldn’t do anything about it, because he was visiting home without the sergeant's permission. After Sam arrives just to see if everything is alright, he runs away before father can talk to him.

chapter 5• After the guns were taken away from

people of Redding by the Patriots. Redding had a big problem of having little food supplies.

• Later, Mr. Heron comes to the tavern to ask permission for Tim to send messages for him. Also, since Tim is smart, he wants Mr. Heron to learn surveying from himself. but father disagrees, because he doesn’t want to risk any trouble.

• Then, Tim, and Jerry Stanford goes fishing.

chapter 6• When father wasn’t around, Mr. Heron asks

Tim if he wants to learn surveying from him, Tim tells him that he wants to. Therefore, Tim tells father he would go shad fishing, and decides that he would tell father that he couldn’t catch any fish when he comes home.

• He goes to Mr. Heron’s house, and he gives Tim a letter, and he heads to Fairfield.

• While going there, he meets Besty Read, and she steals the letter off him with the excuse of protecting Sam. She reads it while she was runs away from him, and throws it to the ground, and runs off. Then, Tim reads the dirty letter, which says, “If this message is delivered, we will know that the messenger is reliable.”

chapter 7• Nothing happened to Redding, but they still had

insufficient food, and the people who still had their guns had problems getting powder and shot. Sam was gone, and Tim’s parents had arguments about writing back to his letters.

• There wasn’t anything happening between Mr. Heron, and Tim about the letter. Later, Tim had the chance to go with father for two to three days, and trade animals, in the hope of gaining profit by selling beef.

• Then, one November, while they were walking back home with their cattle, they were threatened by cattle thieves. The cowboys, or so called cattle thieves were trying to steal their cattle, by saying it was government business. However, father kept on arguing with them, and got hurt until they were rescued by men who were reported to capture the cattle thieves. Then, they were escorted to New York to sell their beef.

chapter 8• After getting escorted, Tim, and father

goes to Tim’s cousin’s place. They get excited to see Tim in person for the first time. Then, they head to Verplancks Point with another escort.

• After selling their beef, they head back home, but struggle with the snow, which causes their oxen act disobediently.

• Also, they tried to stay away from the cow boys, but fails, because of the heavy snow. Therefore, they rest at their cousin’s house once more.

chapter 9• Tim, and father said good-bye to their

cousins, and they headed back home without an escort. Since there could be cow boys around, father goes ahead with Grey, and Tim stayed with the oxen.

• Then, Tim finds out father wasn’t around for a long time. Therefore, he runs to get him, but the horse tracks were endless, so he decides to find father with the oxen.

• Then he meets the cowboys, but fools them that there would be escorts coming soon. After filling up his stomach with beef, biscuits, and wine, he was soon safely back home.

chapter 10• Father didn’t return, which meant

more work for mother, and Tim. Also, after Tim had come back home all by himself, he feels more like an adult.

• They live their daily lives, until Troy comes to Redding, and kills the Rebels, such as Captain Starr, and Ned.

• Tim witnesses this when he was getting help by going to Dr. Hobart’s in order to help a hurt Troy messenger. That is when Tim didn’t want to be a Troy.

Chapter 11• Mr. Hobart came back and cured the messenger.

Also, Tim finds out from Captain Betts that some people had been freed except for three, which included Jerry Sanford. Then, later that afternoon, Continentals came to Redding, and Tim thought he could meet Sam.

• Therefore, Tim lies to mother, and meets Sam. Then, he finds out that Sam already knew about father, and tried to get help, but failed. Then, Tim brings Sam back to the tavern for mother, secretly so General Wooster wouldn’t see.

• Also, mother tries to persuade him to come back, but Sam refuses, and states that it’s his duty to fight. However, Tim starts understanding that Sam was wrong, and that Sam just wants to fight because he was part of something big, and important.

chapter 12• Later, they find out that father was dead by

disease, and heard that he wanted them to know that he loved them, and that he forgave Sam. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the Rebel prison, but the British prison. Also, tim finds out that unexpectedly Jerry died because of disease in the prison ship.

• The winter went on with a lot of snow, little food, and prices kept on rising. Therefore, everyone started disliking the idea of war, including Sam. Then, Sam comes back to Redding for winter encampment.

• Then, Sam, and Tim finds out that some of the cattles had been stolen, so Sam runs into the road to get the cattles back home. However, he gets accused of stealing his own cattles.

Chapter 13• Tim goes to Colonel Parsons to get help after Sam was

arrested, but that didn’t affect anything. Therefore, mother goes to the encampment herself, and gets an explanation that Sam was guilty, partly because he deserted his post.

• Later, Colonel Read comes back with the news that Sam had a trial, and he told Tim, and mother that Sam wasn’t in a good situation. This was because the real cattle thieves wouldn’t confess that they stole the cattle, because they were sure that they would be hung. Also, since there were two cattle thieves, it would be more convincing. In addition, since people claim Sam’s family as a Tory family, there wouldn’t be much chance that Sam would prove them right.

• On February 6th, the trial confirmed that Sam would be executed. Therefore, again, Tim goes to prove Colonel Parsons that Sam was not guilty. Unfortunately, he just said he’d take it into consideration, but still let Tim visit Sam.

Chapter 13• Tim, and Besty thought of a lot of plans to

save Sam, but none of them were good enough. Later, general Putnam declared that Sam would be executed regardless of Tim’s explanation.Therefore, mother refuses to go to the church, work in the tavern, or serve any Continental officers.

• Then, one night Tim goes to the encampment with father’s bayonet to save Sam. He tries to kill the guard, but the guard sees him, and Tim throws the bayonet over to the stockade (where Sam was before), but it seemed like the prisoners weren’t in the stockade anymore, and it was all a waste.

• On the day that Sam was executed, Tim goes to be with him, but mother refuses. There, Tim sees Sam jerk, then die.