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The Minute Men were the New England colonial soldiers involved in various local militias during the Revolutionary War.
Minute Men Quotes in Johnny Tremain
The Johnny Tremain quotes below are all either spoken by Minute Men or refer to Minute Men. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 7
Quotes
Rab, for instance, all that spring had been going to Lexington once or twice a week to drill with his fellow townsmen. But he could not beg nor buy a decent gun. He drilled with an old fowling piece his grandsire had given him to shoot ducks on the Concord River. Never had Johnny seen Rab so bothered about anything as he was over his inability to get himself a good modern gun.
‘I don’t mind their shooting at me,’ he would say to Johnny, ‘and I don’t mind shooting at them… but God give me a gun in my hands that can do better than knock over a rabbit at ten feet.’
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Chapter 8
Quotes
‘Each shall give according to his own abilities, and some’—he turned directly to Rab—‘some will give their lives. All the years of their maturity. All the children they never live to have. The serenity of old age. To die so young is more than merely dying; it is to lose so large a part of life.’
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Chapter 12
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‘I’ll never forget it. He said… so a man can stand up.’
‘Yes. And some of us would die—so other men can stand up on their feet like men. A great many are going to die for that. They have in the past. They will a hundred years from now—two hundred. God grant there will always be men good enough. Men like Rab.’
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‘Will it be good enough to hold this gun?’
‘I think I can promise you that.’
‘The silver can wait. When can you, Doctor Warren? I’ve got the courage.’
‘I’ll get some of those men in the taproom to hold your arm still while I operate.’
‘No need. I can hold it still myself.’
The Doctor looked at him with compassionate eyes.
‘Yes, I believe you can. You go walk about in the fresh air, while I get my instruments ready.’
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Get the entire Johnny Tremain LitChart as a printable PDF.
Minute Men Term Timeline in Johnny Tremain
The timeline below shows where the term Minute Men appears in Johnny Tremain. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7
...weeks since Johnny last saw Cilla. He’s been too busy watching Rab and the other Minute Men drill on Sundays to meet her. So, he's shocked when he comes back to the...
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Chapter 8
...She observes that it feels like a funeral. As they ride for Boston, they pass Minute Men marching. A young boy plays pathetically on a fife. Johnny’s heart lurches: these men haven’t...
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...much does tricks for limes, and she shares that Cousin Sewall went and joined the Minute Men . Mrs. Bessie warns that things are getting dire. Indeed, 22 of the Observers have...
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...discuss how Gage sent a group to seize weapons and gunpowder in Charleston before any Minute Men could be notified. The issue, Mr. Adams says, is in Boston: had they known sooner...
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Chapter 9
...pewter from family members—Aunt Jenifer gives hers to Rab. People make gunpowder secretly, and each Minute Man rolls powder and bullets into paper cylinders to fit his own gun. Rab wraps his...
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...“provincials” have been preparing, and King George is furious about how cautious Gage has been. Minute Men are drilling everywhere, despite the British order to disband. Johnny continues to watch Colonel Smith...
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Chapter 10
...waiting for the signal. They’ll saddle a horse for Paul Revere, who will summon the Minute Men . Then, he runs for the Newmans’. He follows Mr. Revere’s instructions and meets Newman...
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Chapter 11
...won—it was target practice for them. They’re headed for Concord now, as are thousands of Minute Men . Gage, though, doesn’t know the war has started. As soon as Colonel Smith learned...
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...winning, and he’s pretty sure that he’ll be able to see the British fleeing the Minute Men from Beacon Hill soon. Outside, British soldiers are saying that they’re going to kill the...
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Chapter 12
...marched to Concord, destroyed stores, and then there was a small battle at North Bridge. Minute Men began arriving in droves, though, and Percy’s reinforcements didn’t show up until the Minute Men...
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...him to try to find Dr. Warren in Cambridge. In Cambridge, Johnny finds hundreds of Minute Men , poorly outfitted and not sure what to do now. A colonel with handmade epaulets...
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