Today was the day he was going to tell his parents about him wanting to be a soldier, of course he was nervous, he could not help it. Abraham has turned 16 some days ago, that was also the day that all those rumours of the colonies going to war with britain started to make way through his little town in Pennsylvania. It didn’t surprise him one bit, there were so many colonists who didn’t agree with all those acts britain has forced on them, the tea act, sugar act, townshend act, stamp act, and many more, it was all to much. They finally snapped.

Abraham walked towards the door of his house, he slowly opened it, hands shaking. The walk towards his living room was painful, his heartbeat was beat went bum dum bum dum bum dum.  As soon as he saw his parents he wasn't as nervous as he thought he would be, it’s going to be okay, he thought himself. He faced his parents, he requested for his mother to ask his father to meet up with him in their house after his chores were finished, she was confused but agreed despite not knowing what was going on.

“Mother, father,” Abraham began voice kind of shaky,” I want to tell you something.” He was staring to become nervous. “What I want to tell you guys is that . . . what I want to tell you is that I want to become a soldier.” Complete silence filled the room after his brave statement.

His parents eyes went wide, they jumped up and hugged him. “Of course you can become a soldier! Our sweet little boy fighting for our rights, were so proud of you,” his mother said. She made sure that Abraham was looking into her eyes, “Just be careful, okay? It will be dangerous. Here,” she says as she walks into her room and came out with a small notebook and a feathered pen, “ I want you to write in this okay? Make sure to write everything in it.” His father says. He looks at them, tears pooling up in his eyes, his parents are tearing up as well.

“Okay, I will,” Abraham whispered, lips quivering, he hugged them as tight as he could. He couldn’t believe it.

That was a year ago, February 1st, of 1775. Today was the first battle of the so called American revolution. He was scared to death, but was still excited. Abraham doesn’t want to become a sunshine soldier. Sunshine soldiers are soldiers who are scared of the thought of fighting and run away, he had to fight. So he did just that. During the year of 1774 he was trained in plethora of places and educated in different areas. It was hard, really hard. He missed his parents but kept fighting and training. He was not a militia at that time, he was still young so they had to train him. Now is the time, a year and two months passed, he is now ready to serve the colonies for real.

April 18, 1775.

We were told to dress in the clothes given to us. We, the militia, the soldiers, had to dress in brown outfits, leather shoes, and a bicorne. Muskets were also given to us. Of course, how else were we going to fight. Today Joseph Warren was told that redcoats are going to march to concord. I didn’t know how to react, the other patriots did not know how to act as well. A dark aura seemed to fill the room, a nervous look took over the soldiers faces, including mine. It’s going to be okay, I thought to myself. Paul Revere, a brave man who rode on his horse to inform Joseph Warren of what the redcoats were going to do. We had to come up with a strategy.

Everyone was on edge, they walked and walked until they couldn’t anymore. Lexington, is where they’re headed. They were told that anytime now a redcoat was going to appear right in front of him, not just one, many of them.

The continental army were told to drop their weapons and surrender. What’s the fun in that? As soon as they refused shots were being heard from left and right. The war had begun.

They don’t know who shot first. Everyone ran to them, they began to shoot. The redcoats doing the same. It was a nightmare. Abraham ran and ran and ran until he was face to faces with a soldier. He could tell the other was afraid, but his fear disappeared a while ago. He pointed his musket and shot him. It didn’t do much damage, so he ran. It was a volley, so many shots being fired. They should have been more careful with their ammunition. Abraham found a good place to hide. He looked around and made sure no one was following him, he grabbed the ramrod from his belt around his waist and put more gunpowder into his musket and patted it down with the ramrod. The ramrod came in handy. Again and again, he put more and more ammunition.

“Hey over here! Help me!” A fellow Whig called out. Abraham turned his head to the sound of the voice. He took action and ran to him. “Hey, I-I’m running out of gunpowder. Can you please g-give me some? Hurry.” What should he do? He shouldn’t do it, he needed the gunpowder for himself, he couldn’t do it. The man was covered in dirt, no signs of any injuries, he sighed and made up his mind. There’s no time to fool around.

“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t. I can’t,” Abraham replied. There were gunshots heard all across the field. Some were close, really close. Abraham thought about what to do and suddenly grabbed the man by his coat, and ran with him, dragging him across the battlefield. He stumbled a bit, trying to dodge whatever was being thrown at him. The weight of the man was too much for him, but they had to get out of there.

After running for a minute or so both of them collapsed, out of breath. “I . . . I’ll give you half of the gunpowder I have. You must savor it, okay? It is still early into battle and you are already of of gunpowder? I can’t imagine how it is out there right now,” of course he was hesitant. The bag in the pocket of his brown coat was heavy, he didn’t use a lot of gunpowder, so he had some to spare. He took the the bag out, placed it on the floor and unfolded it. Abraham parted the gunpowder in half and gave the first part to him and kept the other for himself. He smiled and looked at the man and looked around, his smile disappeared. “Good luck out there, sir,” Abraham blurted and left the man there to be.

It has been two hours and a half into the battle and it has almost died down.

Everyone was tired and hurt, thirsty and tired. As the end of the battle came close the winner of it was obvious, the continental army lost eight of its soldiers, nine were wounded meanwhile the british army only lost one. The British won the battle.

 April 19, 1775.

We were told to go straight to concord, a city near lexington. The walk was tough, the soil was wet against my feet. I think it’s the result of multiple things happening all at once. I was so tired, from all the walking we had done and are still doing. Yet here I am, writing in this notebook of mine that my mother gave me a year and a half ago. I promised her to write in it, so I might as well do it. We are nearing where we decided to go, we’re very-

“Were here, everyone! Get some rest,” John Butrick suggested, he looked around, stared at our faces and looked away. He faced forward and told us to get ready for another battle, to be aware of our surroundings in case of something happening to us.

The sounds of the musket being fired can be heard from miles away, that's their queque. They hide behind trees to avoid getting hit. Abraham is being huddled against a tree with at least three other minutemen. While Abraham hid behind a tree other hid behind walls, houses, and even sheds. They didn’t want to lose this war. Some were disheartened because of their loss from the first battle. Though some had negatives views of the outcome of the last battle other had positive ones, like Abraham.  The loss made him more determined, he was still having trouble getting around the idea that he’s actually at war with Britain.

As soon as the battle started, it ended. The British were not expecting them. They removed clothes, weapons, and equipment because it was making them slow, the regulars had to retreat. 250 redcoats were either injured or killed, 90 minutemen were either killed or injured. It seems like they won the battle of concord.

We won . . .  WE WON! Abraham thought to himself. He couldn’t believe it, they won that war. His eyes started to burn, fresh tear were pooling in his eyes, he was so happy. This was just the beginning, he wiped his tears so people wouldn’t notice that he was crying. Everything was going to be okay.

The result of the war told people that the Continental Army was smart, and had pretty good tactics, sneaking up on the redcoats likes that. Abraham couldn’t help but feel proud of himself and of others.

It has been almost two months since both battles at concord and Lexington. Abraham suffered from some injuries, they were not as bad as others, who had bullet wounds from not being able to dodge them or protect themselves. He was on break, he was too injured to fight, so he waited. It still hurts though, his heart, body, and mind, but he would have to put that aside.

Again, the same thing is happening, like the last war he fought in. They got word that the british were coming. He was under Colonel William Prescott, he asked them, his soldiers, to build different types of fortification on top of the hill, Breed’s hill.

As they marched forward, up the hill, the Colonel Prescott told them with a strong voice, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” Everyone nodded, a sign that they understand what he was ordering them to do.  As soon as the redcoats were in sight of the minutemen they shot, everyone did. Another Volley, the Continental Army’s volley. The amount of shot being fired forced the British to retreat, they were confused as to what was happening. The British tried again but failed the second time.

They decided to group up and talk about what just happened and what they could do to improve. They concluded that it was their victory. Abraham should be happy about it, excited even but he had this weird feeling, he couldn’t pinpoint why he was feeling it. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked back up at the hill. Thump, thump, thump. Are those footsteps?!! Are they really going to attack us a third time? He couldn’t help but wonder what the outcome is going to be like. He couldn’t fight for a third time he was low on ammunition. Most of the soldiers were low on ammunition, before he had the time to react shots were already being fired. He stood still for what seemed like minutes, a horrible sound filled his ears. He looked down at his brown coat and saw red, his heart beat became quick, faster than a cheetah, he was panicking. He carefully raised his hand and placed it on his bullet wound, his face contorted in pain, he couldn’t do it, he just couldn’t. He fell and collapsed. The last thing he heard was the sound of people yelling and a warm hand on his head.

Abraham woke up, he looked around to see if anyone was in the room with him. What Happened? He heard the door creaked and turned his head, a bit too quickly, he placed his hand on his neck and groaned. “Are you okay?” His mother said. “They brought you here, from the war. The british won. You did so well, my child.” She mumbled. Abraham couldn’t speak. Why did they bring them here? To his parents? “They said that you shouldn’t move and that you should take a break, they said at least two years.” His eyes went wide. Two years?! He couldn’t do that but then remembered all his injuries and his bullet wound. He uncovered himself and unwrapped the bandage across his torso, the wound still looks fresh.

“I- okay. Can you bring me water please?” His voice was rough, of course it was going to be. His mother nodded and got him one. This break was going to be really really . . . . long.

During his two year break he learned about many things. He eucated himself in the rules of war. One, assume that you are welcome, two, respect other and their beliefs, three, withdraw if you are unable to fight and three, don’t attack each other during the holidays.

December 25, 1776.

Today we got word that George Washington and his army attacked the british in Trenton. I am not sure whether he could do that or not, if it was midnight then it would have been the 26th, and it would count. If it was minutes before it would not count.  They defeated many garrisons in the battle, garrisons of hessian. Hessians are Germans who are serving in the war, they were contacted by the British to help them. There were reportedly around 30,000 hessians. It was rumored that Alexander Hamilton fired cannonballs at the redcoat’s blockade.

The hessians had surrendered, 22 were killed, 92 were wounded, and 918 were captured and 400 escaped. We, the colonists won.

January 3, 1777.

Charles Cornwallis, Lord Cornwallis, General Cornwallis, however you would like to call him had was not expecting the continental army to disappear, I’m a bit envious, I would like to be part of that. My torso had healed but I had to take care of myself, I didn’t eat properly, I still can’t. I am trying my best. I believe that I would soon be able to join the war a second time, if they allowed me to.

We beat them in princeton as well, which is amazing news, I only have a year or two to go before I am fully healed. There was at least thirty wars that I had not fought in, they won 17 times, we lost 13.

One other thing Abraham learned about was the continental congress.

The continental congress was originally formed in 1774, they sent a letter to King George lll because they had enough of the laws. They then broke of but decided to meet in 1775 if King George lll had responded to their letter. The people involved in the first continental congress were John Adams, a lawyer, Patrick Henry, an attorney and famous for his notorious quote, “Give me liberty, or give me death.” George Washington is/was also part of the continental congress. A commander in chief, George Washington is known all across the thirteen colonies, no one would dare to disrespect him. The figures in the Continental Army appointed him, George Washington to be the General of the army.

Then there’s the Olive Branch Petition sent to King George lll, the purpose of the petition was to tell the British that they did not want to fight. The King did not respond to the petition. A few months ago they, the colonists, declared their independence against Britain.

Today, Abraham finally decides to join the war once again. Of course, he had to go back to training for a few weeks before joining again. Here he is, standing outside next to his fellow soldiers, dressed in red, white, and blue.

General George Washington ordered General John Sullivan to attack Iroquois Nation. The area was surrounded by trees and small buildings in the distance, it was a good area to fight in. John’s attack was not well organized, but they fought through it anyway. It was a simple battle. The Americans ended up winning that battle.

He didn’t land in a battle for at least two years, during those times he spent bettering himself and his shooting skills. When it was time to come Abraham was ready to go all out.

General George Washington and an Army of 17,000 French and continental troops went up against General Cornwallis’ army of 9,000. Washington suddenly ordered us to block Cornwallis’ escape from Yorktown, after three weeks of trying to successfully barricade him, they did. He surrendered. When it came time for the official surrender ceremony, on October the 19th. Instead of him handing General George Washington the sword his second in command did, Charles O’Hara. The soldiers accepted the sword. Washington spoke out loud that he would not accept the sword of someone from of a lower rank.

Peace negotiations began to build up in 1782, the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. By then Abraham was a full grown adult, he was not able to go, unfortunately. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay who represented America negotiated the peace treaty with Great Britain.The treaty was signed by Franklin, Adams and Jay at the Hotel d’York in Paris. The treaty was finalized on September 3, 1783, and approved by the Continental Congress in early 1784. Abraham Miller is now a free man of America.