Chapter 6: Chapter 5: The War Must Go On

Colonel Kim watched as the bodies of dead militiamen and Redcoats be carried away by several of the colonials. The officer's white dress hat was in his hands as he solemnly watched the departure of the fallen. The men of the First Marine Regiment stood closely behind, also removing their hats to pay their respects for the dead. Several militiamen from other colonial militias and prominent officers were in the crowd as well, among them being General Putnam, Colonel Prescott, and Colonel John Stark. Amongst the dead were ten of the original four hundred members of the regiment and their names were written down by Colonel Kim as the bodies were identified.

After the colonel read all ten names, he gave an appreciative nod to one of the militiamen carrying out the bodies of the dead. The man stared at Colonel Kim's face but returned the nod with a shadow of a smile on his face. After a few moments of silence, the Marine officer turned to the members of the regiment and spoke, "Ten brave men from our regiment died today on the battlefield, with an additional seventy brave men from other regiments killed as well. Any of us could have been laying on the cold, hard ground. Yet luckily for us and unluckily for them, we escaped death and are now hailed as heroes, while they lay lifelessly on the ground.”

"That is why we will not forget their names as we soldier on. This battle is only the first battle of this war, gentlemen. Let us not forget that. We have forced the British to flee and saved the city of Boston. But mark my words, the British will return to the colonies with a vengeance and will seek revenge for their loss on Bunker Hill. Which is why we must continue to fight the good fight and make sure that the deaths of our fellow militiamen are not in vain. More than ever, we must train and prepare to resist."

Standing in front of the members of the First Marine Regiment, he saluted the men and generously took the regiment's flag from Warren's hands, "I understand the battle is over and you all have your own lives and duties to return to. Even so, I could not have asked for any braver men for the battle. You may not be soldiers, but you showed those Redcoats hell. It was an honor fighting alongside all of you, even if it was only temporary."

The reactions from his men were mixed. Some looked surprised at the man's words, while others looked uncertain. A single voice rang true from the crowd, cutting through the colonel's words, "And who said we leaving, sir?"

A single individual limped up to the front of the crowd and Colonel Kim recognized him as the African American militiamen he had treated earlier. The African American militiamen earned a few curious stares and glares from the others, but the crowd was silent as he spoke up, "I thought you was going to remain our leader, sir. I don't know about the others, but I am going to follow you and fight under you till the end."

"Well, I would be honored to continue leading the regiment. But frankly, Mr..."

"Poor. Salem Poor."

"Mr. Poor, I was planning to travel to Philadelphia to receive an official commission from the Continental Congress, but until then, I will be unable to provide for any of the troops."

Even after hearing Colonel Kim's response, the injured man remained undeterred, "I left behind my wife and family to fight, sir. I knew what I was going to fight for and die for. And if you didn't choose to save me on that hill sir, I would've most likely died or been taken, prisoner. I owe you my life, and many of us here probably can say the same. With you as the leader, I'll gladly follow."

"Hear, hear!" Several of the militiamen cried out.

General Putnam cleared his throat, "I have decided that for the time being, I will assign my duties to one of my fellow officers and travel with Colonel Kim to Philadelphia. Those stubborn fools at Philadelphia will most likely try to deny him a commission, so I will go with him to convince them. Additionally, General Washington is on his way to Boston, so he will be able to take command during my absence. Those of that want to stay in the First Marine Regiment, you have my word that the regiment will become an official part of the Continental Army."

After several minutes of debate and activity, the remaining members of the regiment were officialized. Approximately 200 men of the original regiment opted to remain under Colonel Kim's command, which included men like Salem Poor and Joseph Warren, and an additional 100 men pledged their service to the First Marine Regiment. Colonel Kim caught a few names of the ones that joined and recognized a number of them. The most notable individuals of the newest regiment members were Major Andrew McClary (who was supposed to be dead) and Captain Thomas Knowlton (one of the first intelligence specialists of the Continental Army). Even though the regiment shrunk in size, it was still a decently formidable force and the men were determined due to their victory at Bunker Hill.

However, before he could speak to his reformed regiment, he felt a familiar burning sensation in his pocket. The colonel pulled out the "messenger sheet," as he called it, and read the content of the paper, "Go to the Cemetery near Charlestown and locate the structure that is out of place. You will find supplies there."

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The Korean American officer's eyes widened as he read the message and he pulled General Putnam to the side to show him the message. The general read it carefully and grinned slyly, "You are truly blessed by the Lord himself. Let us go with the men, colonel, and see what the "benefactor" has to offer."

"We should do our best to prevent the others from knowing my secret, with the exception of certain individuals. If word gets out that I am from the future..."

"Then you will be a walking dead man. Do not worry, I have already warned Colonel Prescott and my own lips are sealed."

With that reassurance, the colonel called for his regiment to gather and led them towards the cemetery near Charlestown. Upon arriving at the cemetery, the members of the First Marine Regiment discovered a large barn in front of the dozens of graves. Strangely, it seemed as though the other colonials in the area were simply overlooking the barn or unaware of the barn at all.

Colonel Kim took a deep breath and pushed open the doors of the barn. When he walked inside, he came face to face with an unbelievable amount of supplies for his regiment.

Clean uniforms and caps that looked similar to his own were stacked by the hundreds on the side of the barn, along with boxes of various insignias. On the opposite end of the barn were rows and rows of backpacks, not too different than the military backpacks he used in the battlefield, but definitely styled to look more like colonial packs. When he looked inside of them, he found food items, spare clothes, flasks, rain gear, flint and stone, toiletries, supplements, blankets, and even additional ammunition. An entrenching tool and bayonet also hung off the sides of each pack. He gulped as he realized that the sheer quality and amount of supplies in this barn would make his regiment the best equipped and best-prepared regiment in the entire Continental Army.

"We will assign ranks later on, but for now, grab a uniform, a hat, and a pack. They will be yours to keep and maintain from now on, so take good care of them. These were given to us by... my benefactor. There are enough supplies for us to march to Philadelphia, so we will begin our trek once we are ready to depart."

The men eagerly seized up on the chance to grab their gear. While the men were busy grabbing their own equipment, Colonel Kim took note of some supplies that he didn't spot beforehand.

On the wall farthest from the barn door was an array of modern pieces of equipment. He found ten more frag grenades, twenty additional clips of ammunition (he had expended fifteen clips during the Battle of Bunker Hill), additional rounds for the flare gun, a hydro flask with water filters, three field medkits, several smoke grenades, a variety of blueprints, and a backpack that was similar to the ones issued for the other marines. In addition to this, he also found a small pouch next on the side. It was seemingly empty at first, but a note materialized within when the colonel stuck his hand in it. He pulled out the note and read the words on the paper.

"This pouch will be directly connected to the US Gold Reserve in Fort Knox from the future. Every time you reach into this pouch, you will be able to pull out one troy ounce of gold. Currently, Fort Knox has 147.34 million try ounces of gold. You do the math. With the amount of gold you are able to pull from this pouch, you can severely devalue the price of gold around the entire world. The only limitation of this pouch is that you can only pull three hundred ounces from this pouch per day. Regardless, I am sure you (and only you will be able to utilize this pouch) will be able to use the pouch wisely. After all, while your knowledge and skills are important, I'm sure some of the leaders of the Continental Congress will be... much more flexible to negotiations if you have a seemingly large amount of money. And you will need money to maintain your regiment's standards as well.

So carry on, Colonel Kim. Let us see how history will remember you."

In the future, Colonel Kim would deny allegations that he suddenly collapsed onto the ground while his men were getting ready, despite his men's insistence. However, only one thought ran through his mind after he finished reading the message:

What in the God damn hell.

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