The Minute Boys of Long Island: A story of New York in 1776 as told by Ephraim Lyttle

"The Minute Boys of Long Island" by James Otis is a historical adventure novel written in the early 20th century. Set in New York and Long Island during the American Revolution, it follows teen narrator Ephraim Lyttle and his friends Abraham Decker and Samuel Garratt, who, with the help of their older ally Abel Grant and their sloop Swiftsure, pledge themselves to the Patriot cause. Expect espionage, harbor derring-do, and clashes with local Tories as the boys try to serve the Continental forces during the tense summer of 1776.

The opening of the book introduces Ephraim and his two friends near Wallabout Bay, Long Island, as they form a small “Minute Boys” band amid news of Governor Tryon’s plot against Washington. In New York’s charged streets they quarrel with a young Tory, Luther Stedman, then hurry back to their sloop and discover Luther and an accomplice trying to seize it to aid a suspected Tory shipowner. After a fierce deck fight, Sam and Abel arrive in time to help capture the intruders, and the boys deliver them to General Putnam, who praises their spirit and warns of Tory reprisals. Laying low aboard their sloop off Oliver Street, they witness the city’s upheaval: Hickey’s execution, the public reading of the Declaration of Independence, and the toppling of the king’s statue. Lieutenant Winterbottom then brings a quiet summons: Putnam wants the boys to scout the British fleet. Outfitted with provisions and a single musket, they disguise themselves as fishermen, slip through the Narrows after misleading their Tory shadows, and reach Gravesend Bay, where they bluff their way past a British frigate by handing over bags of clams.