"Are you excited about your field trip?" Grandpa asked Laurie as they waited for the school bus.
Laurie shrugged. "I guess so. We're just visiting George Washington's headquarters in New Jersey during the American Revolution. Then we're riding horses through some woods where Washington's soldiers camped."
"That sounds great!" Grandpa said. "The American Revolution is my favorite part of American history. It was an exciting time when colonists were figuring out who they were and what they wanted from their government. When it was all over, they had founded a new country."
Laurie couldn't help smiling. As usual Grandpa was enthusiastic about something in history!
"I know the Revolution had something to do with tea and taxes," she said to him. "But what were the colonists really fighting about?"
"Independence and the right to decide how they were governed. Remember, what we know now as American states were British colonies back then. The founders and original colonists had come from England. So everyone, even people born in America, were British citizens governed by the British king—King George III.But he lived in England. Many colonists started grumbling that he couldn't possibly know what was best for the colonies when he was so far away.
"The really loud grumbling started when King George created the Stamp Act in 1765. This act said that any paper good sold in the colonies had to have a stamp on it, and the stamp had to be purchased from a British official. It was basically a tax paid to England. So the colonists protested this. 'No taxation without representation,' they said. That meant: you can't tax us unless we agree on the law together. Then England expanded the tax to include glass, tea, and other things. So the colonists decided to boycott British goods. England didn't like this, and sent soldiers to the colonies to keep things in order. The war for independence officially broke out in 1775. The next year the founding fathers of the United States wrote the Declaration of Independence. This document explained everything that the Americans were fighting for: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They wanted to be completely free from British rule."
The school bus rumbled up the street.
"I'm sure you'll learn everything that happened after that on your field trip! Have fun!"
At four o'clock, Grandpa heard feet pounding on the steps. "How was it?" Grandpa asked as his granddaughter bounced into the room.
"So much fun!" Laurie answered. "I got you something." She held out a brown paper bag.
"Thanks!"
"It's a quill pen and some ink." Laurie showed him how to use it. "First, cut the tip of the quill with a knife to make a slanted edge. Then, dip that end in the ink bottle. That's how the colonists wrote. Cool, huh? The park ranger who gave us our tour taught me that."
"I bet you learned a lot today. Now you probably know more than I do about George Washington and the American Revolution," Grandpa said, grinning.
"No!" Laurie protested. "But I did learn that George Washington was a plantation owner from Virginia. When the colonists gathered to fight the British, they started an army called the Continental Army. George Washington became the commander. He led the soldiers through almost ten years of fighting, moving from colony to colony, until all the important areas were won. When the war ended, the colonists, who were now Americans, asked him to be their first president."
"I couldn't have said it better," Grandpa said proudly. "Now tell me something else you learned today," he said. "Something that really interested you."
Laurie thought a moment. "The story of Tempe Wick."
"Tempe Wick? That sounds like a story I don't know."
"Tempe Wick was a colonial girl who lived on her family's farm, called Wick Farm, in New Jersey. Tempe loved horses and wasn't afraid of anything. She was also a proud patriot who believed in the Revolution.
"During the war, Washington sent thirteen thousand soldiers to the woods around Wick Farm. They cleared the land and built log cabins to live in. But winter in New Jersey was cold and snowy. The soldiers were freezing, hungry, and tired.
The war seemed like it would never end. Sometimes the soldiers were bad. They stole food from nearby farms, and demanded that people give their best horses to them.
"One day Tempe was out riding her favorite horse, Colonel, when some Continental soldiers stopped her. They had just rebelled against their general and were abandoning their camp. They told her that Colonel was a beautiful horse. Then they grabbed his reins and said they wanted him! But Tempe didn't give in to their bullying. She didn't even get off her horse. As soon as they let go of the reins, she galloped away!
"Tempe knew the soldiers were following her. She was sure they'd come to the farm and take Colonel away. So she made a plan to fool the soldiers. Instead of putting Colonel in the stable, she led him into her bedroom! When the soldiers came to search the farm, they never thought to look in the house. The soldiers left empty-handed, and Tempe Wick got to keep her dear Colonel."
Laurie smiled. "And I got to see her beautiful red cape! The very same cape she wore that winter. I can just imagine her riding through the woods like Little Red Riding Hood."
Grandpa laughed loudly and clapped. "That's a great story!" he said. "I like it because it's about a young girl like you. She was proud to support the Continental soldiers, but she was also brave enough to stand up to them when they did something wrong."
"Kind of like how the colonists stood up to the British," Laurie said. "They were courageous, proud of their colonies, and fought to protect their rights."
"Exactly," Grandpa agreed. "You told that story very well, Laurie."
"Thanks, Grandpa."
"No, thank you—my little historian."