American Revolution for Kids: A History with 21 Activities

American Revolution for Kids: A History with 21 Activities — page 7
Soon to their amazement hundreds of British sol diers marched past their school The soldiers dressed in crimson coats and tall red and gold hats marched in step as their officers mounted on magnificent horses urged them forward Lay down your books said the schoolmaster War's begun and school is done The British soldiers were marching against mus ket toting American militiamen The Americans once loyal to the Crown were preparing to fight for freedom from British rule Over time many of the colonists in British North America had become unhappy under Great Britain They had raged against Intolerable Acts passed by Parliament and the royal proclamations that restricted their freedom Eng land's answer was to send troops and tighten its hold on the colonies After years of protests and riots the colonists and their mother country were at war At one time such a war seemed impossible The people living in the 13 colonies along the Atlantic coastline had long been loyal subjects of the English king From the time of the earliest settlements in North America they had considered themselves to be English and looked to their home country for guid ance and support Only recently the colonists and British soldiers had fought side by side against France and its Indian allies over France's North American claims Indian warriors preferred the French who bought their furs to the English colonists who settled on their land Fierce battles raged in the western forests and moun tains and north into Canada The British were victo rious against their longtime French enemies and France was driven off the