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Blood, Smoke and Freedom

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Blood, Smoke and Freedom BIG Nonfiction feature READ DON’T MISS OUR VIDEO READ- ALOUD! Blood, Smoke, and Freedom A Scary Sight Joseph watches as his fellow fighters take on a group of British soldiers, known as “redcoats” because of their bright-red uniforms. 4 STORYWORKS JR. LOOK FOR WORD NERD’S 8 WORDS IN BOLD THINK AND READ Text Evidence As you read, look for evidence (examples and details) that the author includes to support Blood, Smoke, her description of events. and Freedom A True Story of the American Revolution Joseph Plumb Martin was still a boy when he became an American soldier. Would he survive his first battle? BY LAUREN TARSHIS |ART BY GARY HANNA Turn the page for the story Æ WWW.STORYWORKSJR.SCHOLASTIC.COM • MARCH/APRIL 2018 5 Boom! Americans were doomed. Hundreds of soldiers were dead. The cries of injured men rose up into the sky. Boom! It seemed Joseph had two choices: surrender or die. Boom! PAUSE AND THINK: How was being a soldier Explosions shook the ground. Smoke different from what Joseph expected? filled the air. Fifteen-year-old Joseph Plumb Martin was lying in the dirt, A New World trying to stay alive. Joseph was born in 1760. The United It was August 27, 1776. America and States wasn’t a country yet. America England were fighting the first big battle was still mostly wilderness, except for of the Revolutionary War, in New York. a strip of land along the East Coast. This Joseph had begged his family to let him join the American army. He thought doomed: going to fail being a soldier would be exciting. And surrender: give up or stop fighting because you know you won’t win he was sure America would win! wilderness: a wild, natural area where few But now Joseph knew that theThe people13 live Colonies The 13 Colonies See how much of the U.S. London didn’t exist back in 1776? New Hampshire ATLANTIC Massachusetts ENGLAND New York OCEAN Rhode Manhattan Island Battle of Connecticut East River Brooklyn NORTH Pennsylvania Aug. 27-30, 1776 EUROPE AMERICA New Jersey Virginia Delaware KEY Maryland City Brooklyn Colonial border North Georgia 0 400 Carolina Staten MAHON/MAPMAN® c Island MILES South American troops 0 1 British troops MAP: JIM M Carolina MILES AFRICA British ships Gulf of Mexico 6 land was ruled by England. It was divided dragged to America in chains. They were into 13 areas, or colonies. Joseph lived in forced to become slaves. the colony of Connecticut. Meanwhile, Americans had become Hundreds of thousands of people angry at England. They said it wasn’t fair had come to the colonies from England that they had to follow England’s rules. and other parts of Europe. Rules were America’s anger toward England too strict there. People had few choices smoldered like a fire. And then, in about their religion, their jobs, or even April 1775, that anger exploded into war. their friends. In the colonies, people The American Revolution had begun. had more choices—but they still had to PAUSE AND THINK: Why did people leave follow England’s rules. England and other countries to come to the colonies? Not everyone in the colonies had a good life. Hundreds of thousands of Native American people were killed. They Getting Ready to Fight died of diseases brought by Europeans. At first, the thought of fighting scared They died in fights over land. They starved Joseph. But his courage grew. Soon after being kicked out of their homelands. he wanted to join the new American The 13 Colonies During this time, African people were army. In June 1776, his family said yes. Joseph sailed to New York City. This big, bustling city had been turned into an American army camp. London “I was now what I had long wished to be,” he later wrote. “A soldier.” But Joseph wasn’t really a soldier New Hampshire ATLANTIC Massachusetts ENGLAND New York OCEAN yet. And neither were most of the Rhode nearly 20,000 men and teenagers in the Manhattan Island Battle of Connecticut East River Brooklyn American army. They were just regular NORTH Pennsylvania Aug. 27-30, 1776 EUROPE Inset: where AMERICA New Jersey people, like Joseph. Some could barely Joseph and his Delaware Virginia fellow soldiers KEY slaves: people who are owned by other Maryland fought in the City Brooklyn people and must work for them for free Colonial border North summer of 1776 Georgia 0 400 Carolina Staten smoldered: burned slowly Island MILES South American troops 0 1 bustling: fast-moving, busy Æ Carolina British troops MILES AFRICA British ships Gulf of Mexico WWW.STORYWORKSJR.SCHOLASTIC.COM • MARCH/APRIL 2018 7 The Two fire a gun. Their leader, General George Georges Washington, had never led an army These leaders were enemies— before. All summer, he struggled to turn but they were this group into strong fighters. similar. Both men were popular Joseph didn’t complain about and cared about shooting practice or endless marching. their countries. Both were He choked down the Army meals, such farmers. as wormy biscuits and flavorless meat. And both were He coped with the summer heat and the more than 6 feet tall, in a stink of garbage and human waste. Still, time when most U.S. General he was excited to be a soldier. men were much George Washington shorter. PAUSE AND THINK: What did Joseph and others need to learn to become soldiers? them. He saw a scene of horror. Men Surprise Attack were lying in the grass: “some with Meanwhile, the British planned a broken arms, some with broken legs, huge attack on New York. They’d sailed some with broken heads,” Joseph wrote. ships packed with weapons. Joseph He and other soldiers tried to stop the could see the soldiers on those ships. British from reaching American forts. They were waiting like caged beasts. But the British forces were too They were hungry for blood and ready powerful. Hundreds of American to strike. soldiers were killed or injured. They struck early one morning at PAUSE AND THINK: What did Washington the end of August. While it was still do when the British attacked Brooklyn? dark, more than 15,000 British soldiers arrived on the shores of Brooklyn. Secret Escape Brooklyn was a village across the river Even with all the blood and fear, from New York City. There were a few General George Washington stayed thousand American soldiers there. They calm. Then he came up with a brilliant were all caught by surprise. plan. He would sneak the American Washington rushed to send more forts: buildings for troops that are men to Brooklyn. Joseph was one of strengthened to protect against attacks LEEMAGE/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES (GEORGE WASHINGTON); NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND/GETTY IMAGES (KING GEORGE III); WESTEND61/GETTY IMAGES (EEL); GUNSTON HALL (SCHOOL); THE COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION (SHOES); ALEKSANDR BELUGIN/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (CORN) 8 STORYWORKS JR. The Two King George III of England IF YOU HAD LIVED IN 1776... Georges Life was different back in Joseph’s day. These leaders Here are just a few reasons why: were enemies— but they were Kids loved eel pie. New shoes were similar. Both men Eew! These slimy really painful. were popular water snakes, baked Shoes were and cared about in a pie, were an expensive and hard their countries. American favorite. to get. There were no Both were left or right shoes, and farmers. Schools it took months to break And both were were just in a new pair. more than 6 one room. feet tall, in a A single teacher There was no toilet time when most taught children paper. People used men were much of all ages— corn cobs to clean shorter. together. themselves. (Ouch!) army out of Brooklyn during the night. eight years. Towns were burned down. He sent an urgent message: “We Thousands of soldiers were killed. Many need boats in Brooklyn now!” Because Americans felt afraid all the time. But in it was dark and foggy, thousands of 1783, the war finally ended. The British soldiers were able to sneak back to New surrendered. America had won the war. York City. This included Joseph. In the Joseph fought during the entire war. morning, the British attacked the forts. He later moved to Maine, married, and They were shocked to find them empty. raised five children. He died at age 89. He The Americans still lost the Battle of always remembered the terrors of war. Brooklyn. But their army had survived. But he was also proud that he helped And they would keep fighting. America win its fight for freedom. ■ The American Revolution lasted for PAUSE AND THINK: How long did the American Revolution last? Who won? urgent: very important THINK AND WRITE Pretend you’re Joseph in 1776. Write a journal entry explaining how hard it FIND is to be an American soldier. Include at least five details from the story. Send ACTIVITY SHEETS it to “War Contest” by May 15. Five winners will each receive I Survived the ONLINE! American Revolution, 1776, by Lauren Tarshis. See details on page 2. WWW.STORYWORKSJR.SCHOLASTIC.COM • MARCH/APRIL 2018 9.
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