Again there was silence.
"I am answered. Your silence proves that I am right. You need not think I am offended. I know I should be treated as a rebel, not as a prisoner of war."
"And, knowing this, you joined these men against the rule of your sovereign?"
"I knew that if the colonists failed the leaders would be hanged; if they succeeded they would found a new nation, and the chances were worth risking."
"Did you not think that England has a large army and a strong navy at her back?"
"Yes, and I knew it had strong forts; this is one of them."
"You sneer! I admit that England behaved scurvily in allowing me to have so few men."
"Nay, nay, captain. Fifty men, if they felt an interest in their work, could hold this fort against an army."
"You are the victor and so have a right to rebuke me. But do not think England will allow the colonies to be independent."
"Perhaps not, but at any rate the colonies will have won respect for themselves."