Student+20+3rd

Dear family, I do not have very good sleeping conditions. I have to sleep on the hard,freezing,cold,wet, ground. All the soldiers including me are starving. We have to hunt down animals if we want a good meal to eat. We have barely any protections against shin-deep snow. Any of the soldioers here do not have much training because as soon as we are old enough we were put in war.The only training I have is target shooting. Our uniform is a long black jacket with red cuffs and a tan under shirt. Our pants were white with high black boots. Our soldiers have the most common weapons used,but they are the most powerful. I have a sward to it it is much eaiser than the guns I use. The sward kills an enemy quick and easy with out having to reaload after every shot.I like like to use the bayannet. It is a long blade attached to the end of the firing ring of the musket and is used as a spear. The rifels we use are good but they are also bad in some ways. The rifles have a smaller caliber with a longer barrel than the musket. This provides much better accuracy from about three times the distance.The biggest dissadventige is it took much longer to load, about 15 minutes for one shot. People using rifels were often taken down because the have no other way to deffend themsleves. The batles that the colonial slodiers are fightign are the battle of Saratoga. All the soldiers chopp down trees and dammed rivers to create obstacles. Out of nowhare local volentary army came out of nowhare to attack the redcoats. Another battle was in is the battle of Trenton. On the night of January 2nd we left our campfifres burning and circled behind Bittish troops. We attacked in the morning. It was an important victory. American soldiers took more than 900 prisoners. We also fought New York. We went to new york expecting the brittish's arival. Their 32,000 soldiers were beter equipped than our 23,000 soldiers. The patriot general had to use all of his skills just to save his army. Whe we fought New jersey we had 6,00 men and disscouraged. Without a victory Washington will lose his men. In Canada Benedict Arnold's first attempt to take the city failed. So Arnold and Montgomery are joining troops. The Americans suffered a terrible loss and our hope of taking Canada faded. our greatest victory was the battle of Saratoga. My living conditions are not very good. Soldiers are dieing becasue of the way we have to live. At my guard post I have to put my hat over my feet so my feet don't freze to the ground. Unfortunatly while we are suffering through the cold winter the Brittish live of luxary in Philadelphia. I just want to remind you that I love all of you and can't wait to come home. I am going through all this for our house and freedom. Sinceraly, Mariah

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