Revolutionary War on Wednesday - Mary Pope Osborne [8]
Birds sounded in the woods.
The summer wind felt warm and gentle. Jack and Annie were wearing their nice, dry clothes again.
“Oh, man,” said Jack. “It’s good to be home.”
“Yeah,” said Annie, sighing, “back in this peaceful place.”
Jack pulled the captain’s letter out of his pack. He turned it over. It was addressed to:
Molly and Ben Sanders
Apple Tree Farm
Frog Creek, Pennsylvania
“Molly and Ben lived on a farm near these woods over two hundred years ago,” said Jack.
Annie gently touched the letter.
“Your dad is going to make it home, kids. He misses you,” Annie whispered, as if she could send comforting words back through time.
Jack carefully placed the special writing from the Revolutionary War next to the writing from the Civil War.
“Look,” said Annie. She picked up a note lying in the corner. It said simply: Come back on Tuesday.
“Another message from Morgan,” said Annie.
Jack smiled.
He pulled on his pack.
“See you on Tuesday, tree house,” he said.
He started down the rope ladder. Annie followed.
In the early daylight, they ran through the Frog Creek woods. Then they ran down their street.
They climbed onto their porch and rested against the railing. They looked out at the dawn sky.
Jack remembered the whoosh of the cold wind on the Delaware. He remembered the hiss of the wet snow and the slosh of the icy waves.
He remembered George Washington reading to his men.
“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph,” Jack whispered.
“Those words are true,” said Annie. “It was a hard conflict, and I feel kind of glorious right now. Don’t you?”
Jack laughed.
“Yeah, definitely,” he said.
Then he and Annie slipped into their quiet, peaceful house.
THE THIRTEEN COLONIES
Long ago, the United States was made up of thirteen small colonies. Many of the early settlers, or colonists, thought of England as their “mother country.” They were proud to have come from England, and they felt great loyalty to the British king.
Over time, though, many colonists wanted to be independent. They did not want a faraway country to rule over them. These colonists were called patriots.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND GEORGE WASHINGTON
In the spring of 1775, fighting broke out between the patriots and the British in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
That summer, a group of American patriots met in Philadelphia and began to organize an army to fight the British. They made George Washington their commander-in-chief.
After the patriots won independence over eight years later, Washington resigned as commander-in-chief. He returned to the life of a gentleman farmer on his plantation in Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Six years later, in 1789, George Washington was elected the first president of the United States.
THOMAS PAINE
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, some colonists did not want to break away from England. These people were called Tories.
In January 1776, a British writer named Thomas Paine wrote a powerful essay that attacked the idea of obeying a king. Paine called his essay Common Sense. It inspired many Tories to join the patriots’ cause.
Almost a year later, in December 1776, George Washington’s army was losing the war. Many soldiers wanted to give up. This time Thomas Paine wrote a series of essays called The Crisis.
George Washington had The Crisis read aloud to his troops on the banks of the Delaware River.
Paine’s words inspired the troops to continue the fight. They crossed the Delaware River, defeated the enemy, and gave new hope to the whole patriot army.
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Magic Tree House #23
Twister on Tuesday
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Excerpt copyright © 2001 by Mary Pope Osborne.
Published by Random House Children’s Books,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Jack opened his eyes. Sunlight streamed through his window.
“Tuesday!” he whispered. Morgan’s note had told him and Annie to come back to the magic tree house on Tuesday. He could hardly wait to find out where she was sending them today!
Jack scrambled out of bed. He threw on his clothes.