The conflict in the novel is between the father Eliphalet Meeker the owner of the Meeker Tavern and the eldest son Sam Meeker.The father is a Tory, a conservative who wishes to avoid trouble for his family by being loyal to the British Government and the King. Sam is a rebel and he has enlisted with the Rebel army. His dream is freedom from British rule and an independent American nation The father has experienced the harsh realities of war in his younger days and advises Sam against fighting but Sam is headstrong and craves for adventure and glory and does not listen to his father's advice.
On the night of his first return from Yale in April 1775, father and son are engaged in a heated argument over the issue of the war. Sam is determined to fight on the side of the rebels and demands that his father hand over his gun-"Brown Bess"-to him. His father refuses and serves an ultimatum: either stop supporting the rebels or leave the house. Sam immediately walks out of the house leaving his father in tears.
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