W Schildt

Eastburn W Schildt

Margaret, a six year old, exits a ship from England in Philadelphia as an orphan. She must repay her parents' indenture for their ocean crossing to the Eastburns, Quakers who own a 500 acre farm that feeds the population of Philadelphia. She enjoys a happy childhood with Benjamin Eastburn. As a teenager, Margaret is drawn into the abolition movement. The family hides runaway slaves in a secret room in their house before each slave moves to the next stop on the Underground Railway.

But the cloud of war begins to cover the land. The Quaker family struggles to remain neural during the Revolutionary War. After a beloved family member is murdered by the redcoats who burn down Eastburn Hill, Margaret and Benjamin fall off the fence of neutrality with their feet firmly planted in the garden of revolution.

While delivering produce, they both spy and are couriers for the Patriots. During the Battle of Germantown, Margaret unwittingly shoots and kills a British general. During a reception for the Marquis de Lafayette and General von Steuben at Washington's Headquarters in Valley Forge, Washington awards Margaret a medal for her bravery.

Margaret and Benjamin share a deep commitment to freedom for their new country, The United States, that is only eclipsed by their love for one another.