Irritated with the daily ringing of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia as a show of defiance against the English occupation, the British decide to remove the bell and melt it down. Receiving word of this, the young rebels devise a plan to intercept the bell and take it into hiding.

Sent to Chester to apprehend Captain Yankee Doodle, Major Zanker takes ten hostages from the township, including Jeremy, Elizabeth, and her uncle John Coates. Unless someone comes forward with the identity of Yankee Doodle, the hostages will be executed the following morning. With the British unaware that they have Yankee Doodle among their hostages, Jeremy is placed in a precarious situation: Whether to reveal is identity, or wait for a possible rescue.