Colonial soldiers

Colonial soldiers

Colonial soldiers
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	5.71

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		formation, Lobsterbacks, menial, striking, warfare, militia, retreat, successful, education, commander, homeland, colonial, musket, prison, supplied, insult
	content words:		George Washington

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Colonial soldiers
By Jane Runyon

¹     It is not easy to be a soldier. Before you can ever face the enemy, you have to go through hard training. If you don't, you will not be ready for battle. When you do go into battle, it is very dangerous. You also have to be ready to face the fact that you might need to take the life of another human being. The life of the colonial soldier was made harder by the fact that it was a very unusual war. The enemy they faced came from their own homeland. They might even have come from the same town.

²     The British army was very powerful. The men were well trained and well supplied. Many of the men chose to be in the army to stay out of jail. Some chose the army because they could not find a job that would pay enough to feed their families. Although the money they got was not much, it was better than begging or going to debtors' prison. In times of war, the British government offered much more money than they could earn in menial jobs. In the army they received food, clothing, education, and money for their families.

³     The colonists didn't always see the need for an army. When the English king started taxing the colonists in a way the citizens did not like, many felt they needed a force of men to protect them from their protectors. The training the colonists received was not very good and was usually given by former members of the British army. Small groups of citizens of a town would train together in a militia, or voluntary force.

Paragraphs 4 to 6:
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