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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

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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 . 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 NN New York OCEAN

Rhode Manhattan Island attle of Connecticut East River rooln NORTH Aug. 27-, 1776 EUROPE AMERICA New Jersey Virginia Delaware K Maryland City Brooklyn Colonial border North Georgia Carolina Staten Island MILS South American troops 1 British troops

MAP: JIM M c MAHON/MAPMAN® Carolina MILS 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 NN New York OCEAN yet. And neither were most of the

Rhode nearly 20,000 men and teenagers in the Manhattan Island attle of Connecticut East River rooln American army. They were just regular NORTH Pennsylvania Aug. 27-, 1776 EUROPE Inset: where AMERICA New Jersey people, like Joseph. Some could barely Joseph and his Delaware Virginia fellow soldiers K 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 Carolina Staten smoldered: burned slowly Island MILS South American troops 1 bustling: fast-moving, busy Æ Carolina British troops MILS AFRICA British ships Gulf of Mexico WWW.STORYWORKSJR.SCHOLASTIC.COM • MARCH/APRIL 2018 7 8 STORYWORKS JR. he was excited asoldier. to be stink ofgarbage andhuman waste. Still, thesummer with He heat andthe coped as wormy biscuits andflavorless meat. He choked theArmy down meals, such practiceshooting orendless marching. this group into strong fighters. before. Allsummer, to turn hestruggled Washington, anarmy had led never fire agun. Their leader, GeneralGeorge Surprise Attack men to Brooklyn. Joseph was oneof were allcaught by surprise. thousand American soldiers there. They from New York There City. were afew Brooklyn was avillage across theriver ontheshores ofBrooklyn.arrived dark, more than soldiers 15,000British the endofAugust. itwas While still to strike. andready forblood They were hungry They were waiting like beasts. caged ships. thesoldiers onthose could see ships packed weapons. with Joseph huge attack onNew York. They’d sailed Joseph didn’tcomplain about Washington to more send rushed They struck early onemorning at Meanwhile, a planned theBritish others need to learnbecomesoldiers? PAUSE ANDTHINK:WhatdidJosephand

strengthened toprotectagainstattacks forts: buildingsfortroopsthat are Secret Escape plan. He would sneak theAmerican calm. Then hecame abrilliant upwith WashingtonGeneral George stayed soldiers were orinjured. killed Hundredspowerful. ofAmerican fromBritish reaching American forts. He to stop andothersoldiers tried the broken with some heads,” Joseph wrote. broken arms, broken with some legs, were lying inthegrass: “some with them. He saw ofhorror. ascene Men shorter. shorter. men weremuch time whenmost feet tall,ina more than6 And bothwere farmers. Both were their countries. and caredabout were popular similar. Bothmen but theywere were enemies— These leaders Georges The Two Even with all the blood andfear,Even alltheblood with But forces the British were too do whentheBritishattackedBrooklyn? PAUSE ANDTHINK:WhatdidWashington

George Washington George

General U.S.

LEEMAGE/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES (); 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) 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 , 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.

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