Group+8b

Dear Mom, Dad, Sara, and John,

Being a colonial soldier is very hard. I have to sleep in a tent with ten other soldiers on the hard, muddy ground. It’s hard to wake up in the morning. I have to wake up around 5 am, and sometimes I even have to stay up all night to watch the camp. The weather is harsh. Since it is winter, it is very cold, and I have very little warmth. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are usually the same. We eat meat such as fish, rabbits, and squirrel. Our uniforms are mostly the clothes I left in, pants, boats, a coat, and a hat. They did give some clothes to sleep in, though. I have made some friends but people come and go so much its hard to keep them. Some people get killed, some run away, and some just go home if they are injured. The weapons we use are guns. I use the gun I left in, and they gave me a lot of bullets. The only thing that isn't good is that they only give us bullets every other week, so we have to use them wisely. If you run out of bullets you are in big trouble! Luckily, I haven't run out yet. I go to war sometimes but I mostly look after the camp and the wounded. I didn't really get trained because I didn't need it, and there was no training for anybody! I have been to many battles. I have been in New York, New Jersey, and Canada. I have fought in one war in New York. One of my friends was capture by the British, and he was hanged because they found information in his shoes. This was not a good battle because we lost many men, and all of our supplies were captured. We had to abandon our fort, too. In Canada, we were beaten very badly also. There was no question. We lost a lot of men, and had to retreat. That’s not a good thing to tell someone because its not good news and nobody wants bad news at this time of the war. The good news is that France and Spain might help us out in the war by giving us troops! We will surely win this war with France and Spain by our sides. Sorry I can't be home for Christmas. I love you all!!!

Hope to see you soon, Maureen