by Hope Marston with Burt Phillips
114 pages; ages 9 - 12
It's the fall of 1810 and young Rankin McMullin can't wait to see the warship Oneida. She should be pulling into the harbor any day now. So before dawn, he sneaks out of the cabin and makes his way to the harbor.
There she is: a grand vessel with two huge masts - a brig that will help protect Sackets Harbor from a British invasion. And he, Rankin McMullin, intends to be part of the crew. There's only one problem.... Rankin is 11 years old.
Not everyone is thrilled that a warship has anchored in town. What if she stops their lucrative - but illegal - business of shipping smuggling potash to Canada? Still, Rankin wants to serve aboard the Oneida, even if it means lying about his age. His job: powder monkey - they guy who carries the powder from the hold to the cannons. It's a dangerous job, even when everything goes right. But when things go wrong, Rankin has to improvise.
Author Hope Marston has written more than 30 children's books, many of them nonfiction. I caught up with her last week to ask three questions about the Powder Monkey.
Sally: What inspired this story?
Hope: It started when the site manager at Sackets Harbor Battlefield asked me
to write a children’s book about the War of 1812. That was two years before the
Bicentennial Celebrations, and she hadn't been able to find any books for kids about the war. At first I wasn’t interested; war is not
my favorite topic. But once I decided to do it, and began
my research, I discovered the first two battles of the War of 1812 were fought
at Sackets Harbor on Lake Ontario. I decided to focus on the first, fought July 19, 1812.
Sally: Tell me about your process, what sort of research you
did and how you got the story to the page.
Hope: I
began by investigating library materials and permanent displays at the Battlefield in Sackets
Harbor. One of the most helpful things I
found there was a list of the local men who enlisted when the warship Oneida
came to Sackets looking for recruits. That’s where I found the names of my
characters - including the powder monkey, Rankin McMullin.
I did a lot of library and online research and visited the museum at the battlefield. I attended the annual re-enactment weekend at Sackets, where I could ask questions
and see just how a long gun was loaded. O attended other reenactments and a couple of area "War of 1812 Symposiums". I also read any historical novel about the War of 1812 I could - they helped me learn how to express myself in nautical war terms. Also a colleague who grew up in Sackets
Harbor taught me such things as there are
no “steps” on a warship. Those things that look like steps are referred to
as “ladders.”
Sally: Why did you decide to tell it as historical fiction
rather than write a nonfiction book?
Hope: My first drafts were
nonfiction, but, according to my Critique Group, they lacked kid appeal. I scratched my head trying think what would make kids want to read my book - powder monkeys! I
couldn't remember reading about them, but must have somewhere along the line ... because
when that thought came to me I knew I wanted to pursue it. When I searched the ship's log for names I noticed that the enlistee’s
job on board was listed as well. When I read Rankin McMullin’s name, he was simply listed as boy. I knew I had my main character.
The
Sackets Harbor Historical Society liked the story so much that they asked me to adapt it
for a stage play. So I contacted a local playwright who got a grant for making the
adaptation and agreed to direct the
play. The premier is scheduled for Sackets Harbor in mid-November.
Beyond the Book:
Visit Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site. During the summer, guides dress in military clothing of 1813 and reenact camp life of the soldiers. August 1 - 3 is their annual War of 1812 reenactment. Learn more about events here.
Pretty fascinating!
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