AUTHORElsie Singmaster

Revised by Janelle Glick and TGS InternationalARTIST

Lana Kuhns

© 2017 by TGS International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Christian Aid Ministries, Berlin, Ohio.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced, or stored in any retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-947319-31-8

Cover design: Sharon Troyer and Kristi Yoder

Interior layout design: Kristi Yoder

Printed in China

Published by:TGS InternationalP.O. Box 355Berlin, Ohio 44610 USAPhone: 330-893-4828Fax: 330-893-2305www.tgsinternational.com

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General Washington’s soldiers seize copies of the Martyrs Mirror in Ephrata.

AUTHORElsie Singmaster

Revised by Janelle Glick and TGS InternationalARTIST

Lana Kuhns

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We would like to recognize and thank Faith Builders Resource Group as the motivation behind this project.

Faith Builders Resource Group28527 Guys Mills Rd.Guys Mills, PA 16327

We are indebted to the Hans Herr House & Museum for their help in ensuring historical accuracy in the clothing depicted throughout this series.

1719 Hans Herr House & Museum1849 Hans Herr DriveWillow Street, PA 17522

Lastly, we express our deep gratitude to the Ephrata Cloister staff for their willingness to review the text and illustrations of each book in this series. Their information and recommendations proved invaluable, and the passion with which they applied their knowledge was instrumental in creating a quality book series. We also thank them for granting permission to the artist to photograph on-site for reference material.

Ephrata Cloister632 West Main StreetEphrata, PA 17522

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

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All was dark in the quiet Cloister of the Seventh Day Baptists in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. After attending midnight prayers with the other

Brothers and Sisters, Brother Peter prepared for sleep in his small room.

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The doorway to his room was narrow, as was the board that served as the mattress for his bed. The block of wood that was his pillow also functioned as a smoothing iron on laundry day.

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While waiting for sleep to come, Brother Peter pondered the events that had brought him to this cloister in Lancaster County. He remembered his parents who had been part of the group of Seventh Day Baptists fleeing wars in Europe. They had been forbidden to worship God in ways they believed were right. The Seventh Day Baptists had not been alone in their flight—the Mennonites and Dunkers had come to Pennsylvania as well.

Now, alas! There was war in America! Battles had been fought at Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill. General Washington was in Cambridge drilling the American troops. The Brothers and Sisters of the Cloister felt fear in their hearts. They were uneasy from morning till night. They kept wondering, Will war come to us even in Ephrata?

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After only four hours of sleep, Brother Peter awoke to the sound of pounding on his narrow bedroom door. He rose instantly. Clouds of war would cover Ephrata today. Brother Peter would not have slept at all if he could have foreseen what was to happen next.

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Walking directly to his table, he fumbled for a piece of flint and steel. A spark flew from the flint into a saucer filled with finely shredded wood. From the small flames, he lit the wick of the lard lamp. He was thankful he had remembered to replenish the lard supply just the day before after midnight prayers.