Voices of the American Revolution: Stories of Men, Women, and Children Who Forged Our Nation Kendall Haven Libraries Unlimited, Inc. Voices of the American Revolution This page intentionally left blank Voices of the American Revolution: Stories of Men, Women, and Children Who Forged Our Nation Kendall Haven 2000 Libraries Unlimited, Inc. Englewood, Colorado To the many super-sleuths of our common history who have carefully, meticulously, and doggedly ferreted out the hidden clues and evidence to reconstruct the truth of our shared heritage: the past. Historians perform a difficult, demanding, valuable, and vastly underappreciated service for our country. Copyright © 2000 by Kendall Haven All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. An exception is made for individual librarians and educators, who may make copies of portions of the book for use in a single school or library. Standard citation information should appear on each page. Libraries Unlimited, Inc. (and Its Division Teacher Ideas Press) P.O. Box 6633 Englewood, CO 80155-6633 1-800-237-6124 www.lu.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Haven, Kendall F. Voices of the American Revolution : stories of men, women, and children who forged our nation / Kendall Haven. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 1-56308-856-8 1. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Personal narratives. 2. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Study and teaching. I. Title E275.A2 H38 2001 973.3'092--dc21 00-059343 Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................xi How to Use This Book ..................................................................................................xvii 1773 Through 1775 at a Glance: Loyal Pride Turned to Kindling LIBER...TEA: The Boston Tea Party, December 17, 1773......................................4 At a Glance..........................................................................................................4 Meet Thomas Moore...........................................................................................5 Liber...tea...................................................................................................................6 Aftermath ..........................................................................................................12 Follow-up Questions and Activities..................................................................13 A War of Words Becomes a War of Bullets: Confrontation at Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775...............................................................................15 At a Glance........................................................................................................15 Meet Reuben Brown .........................................................................................16 Meet Lt. James Sutherland................................................................................16 A War of Words Becomes a War of Bullets: Reuben Brown’s Story ........................17 A War of Words Becomes a War of Bullets: Lt. James Sutherland’s Story...............21 Aftermath ..........................................................................................................25 Follow-up Questions and Activities..................................................................25 Staring into the Whites of Their Eyes: The Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775........................................................................................................27 At a Glance........................................................................................................27 Meet Robert Ballard..........................................................................................28 Staring into the Whites of Their Eyes .........................................................................29 Aftermath ..........................................................................................................35 Follow-up Questions and Activities..................................................................35 Cordial George: Washington Becomes America’s First Commander-in-Chief, July 2, 1775...........................................................................................................37 At a Glance........................................................................................................37 Meet George Washington .................................................................................38 Cordial George ............................................................................................................39 Aftermath ..........................................................................................................45 Follow-up Questions and Activities..................................................................45 Friend to Foe: The Alienation of British Soldiers and Boston Residents, 1770–1775.......47 At a Glance........................................................................................................47 Meet Lieutenant Montgomery Loftsly..............................................................48 Friend to Foe ...............................................................................................................49 Aftermath ..........................................................................................................55 Follow-up Questions and Activities..................................................................55 v vi \ Contents 1776 at a Glance: Drums of Glory; Face of Disaster Children Choose: Friends Torn Apart by Political Loyalties, 1776 .........................59 At a Glance........................................................................................................59 Meet Rebecca Vandermeer ...............................................................................59 Children Choose..........................................................................................................61 Aftermath ..........................................................................................................68 Follow-up Questions and Activities..................................................................68 “United” States: Passing the Declaration of Independence, July 2, 1776.................70 At a Glance........................................................................................................70 Meet Andrew McNair .......................................................................................71 “United” States............................................................................................................72 Aftermath ..........................................................................................................77 Follow-up Questions and Activities..................................................................77 Disaster by Any Other Name...:TheBattle of Long Island, August 27, 1776 .......79 At a Glance........................................................................................................79 Meet Colonel Samuel Atlee ..............................................................................80 Disaster by Any Other Name... ...................................................................................81 Aftermath ..........................................................................................................84 Follow-up Questions and Activities..................................................................85 Revolution or Redcoats?: New Jersey Indecision, 1776.............................................88 At a Glance........................................................................................................88 Meet Charity Kosterman...................................................................................89 Revolution or Redcoats? .............................................................................................90 Aftermath ..........................................................................................................97 Follow-up Questions and Activities..................................................................97 Victory or Death: Battle of Trenton, December 26, 1776 ........................................100 At a Glance......................................................................................................100 Meet Marcus Raymond Stanton and Oliver Cromwell ......................................101 Victory or Death........................................................................................................102 Aftermath ........................................................................................................107 Follow-up Questions and Activities................................................................108 1777 at a Glance: The Best and Worst of Times You Go, Girl!: Women Take up the War, Groton, Massachusetts, 1777...............113 At a Glance......................................................................................................113 Meet Virginia Wright......................................................................................113 You Go, Girl! ............................................................................................................115