The Big Fourth, Part 1

When the five boys were back in their classroom at Norwood Elementary School, the teacher reminded the class of the importance of Independence Day. She wrote five words on the blackboard: “Revolutionary, Declaration, Minutemen, Celebration, Constitution.”  For the next two weeks, there would be all kinds of written reports and oral reports.  There would be weekly pop quizzes and tests about the history of “The Big Fourth.”  Of course, the history lesson would begin with the American Revolutionary War and continue up to the present time.  “I would like to remind the class,” said Ms. Smith, “that the American frontier colonies were first sponsored and supported by the British government. There were many investors in the British government that sponsored and supported all kinds of business activities in America. The American colonists and British citizens in general were loyal to their king. It was the Founding Fathers who wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence to be free of Great Britain and secure the people’s unalienable rights.”  Ms. Smith further taught that it was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, as a proclamation by “the thirteen united States of America” to be independent.  Years later, the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights would guarantee in writing certain privileges and rights that had never before been granted by government in recorded history of the world.  The Constitution was signed and published in 1787.  It begins with the Preamble “WE THE PEOPLE of the United States …” and was amended in subsequent years.  In 1791, the majority of state legislatures ratified amendments which became the first ten, called the U.S. Bill of Rights.  The first amendment was to protect our freedom of religion, speech, the press, and so forth.

The teacher then pointed out that if America had lost the Revolutionary War, every one of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence would have been treated as a traitor and either shot, hung or imprisoned by the British government. This was one of the reasons that John Hancock signed his name so large on the original document. He wanted to make sure his name would stand out above all the other signatures. Hancock was making absolutely sure that the British government would see his large signature and be assured that his name was part of this conspiracy that he wholeheartedly believed in and supported this document.

The five boys were not surprised to hear what came next.  “Your homework assignment for the weekend is to pretend that you are in the fireworks in the battle of the Revolutionary War.  Explain to the class what you feel, what you see and hear, and what the battle means to you personally. All of these reports will be given in front of the class by the person who writes the report. The first ten volunteers will automatically receive at least an ‘A-’ for classroom participation! Of course, the best reports in the class will have an ‘A+’ marked on the papers,” Ms. Smith explained.

After school the boys headed home to tell their parents about the assignment.  Next, all five met at the public library to find some books on the Revolutionary War.  Over the weekend, the boys worked together on their individual reports at the tree Fort, where everything was quiet and conducive to writing about their experience from a soldier’s point of view.  After two days of almost continuous writing, a little brainstorming for ideas, and lots of snacks, they finished their paper for the weekend.

On Monday the five boys were sitting in class, waiting with anticipation. Ms. Smith asked for volunteers.  Five hands went up immediately from the five boys.  Ms. Smith was not surprised at their eagerness.  They always seemed to be the leaders in the class and out on the playground.  Ms. Smith admired the boys’ confidence to become future leaders, and encouraged them and the rest of the class to pursue a leadership role in life.  “Have courage to take risks in life!” she said.  “Be not the first to always try the new, but be not the last to put some old ideas aside.”  This was one of her favorite sayings, adapted from a poem by Alexander Pope (1688-1744), and she would often repeat it throughout the year.

The boys had previously agreed which of them would go first and what order they would follow.  They all knew that Lester, Butch, and Robert were the scholarly bunch, and like a relay race in track, the fastest runners were usually placed at the back of the line to close the gap or to win the race. Ronald was the first to raise his hand.  He stood in front of the class and began to read his report.  “I pretended like I was the drummer boy leading the troops into battle by setting the cadence of the movement forward. I saw grown men all around me fall to the ground from gunshot wounds and cannon explosions. I was so scared that I wet my pants.  …”  Nobody in the classroom made a sound.  The students were all sitting up forward in their desk with their eyes and ears tuned in on Ronald’s report.  Ronald concluded his report by stating, “Some of these experiences I read about in the library were taken from actual events in the Revolutionary War. I tried to imagine what it would be like to see these things happen with my own eyes.”  A round of applause was given to Ronald by his classmates when he sat down in his seat.

Allen was next to volunteer.  “My report is about a man who is scared to death to go into battle. He is constantly fighting with himself and his conscience. ‘I don’t want to die!’ he kept saying to himself. He kept looking back over his shoulder to see if anyone else was running away from the battle. He thought to himself that he would pretend like he was dead and perhaps the enemy would go on past him. He thought about what his fellow soldiers would think, and what they would say about him if he were found dead, shot in the back! He just couldn’t handle the pressure, so he curled himself up into a little ball and hid behind….”  Allen stopped reading and said to the class, “I wanted whoever heard or read this story to finish the story by drawing their own conclusion.”  Another thunderous round of applause was given by his classmates.

Robert came to the front of the class. “My report is based on a soldier’s religious view about doing God’s work for the good of mankind. This minuteman named George became a soldier as he was studying to become a minister, when he was called into battle by his fellow citizens.” They were called minutemen because in a minute’s notice they would drop whatever they were doing and join in the fight against the British.  Robert continued, “George was well known throughout the community for two reasons. He always had a Bible in his hands, and he could quote all kinds of scripture. It was also a known fact throughout the colony that George was one of the wealthiest men around, if not the wealthiest man in America. The good book says, ‘Thou shall not kill.’ But it also has been said that ‘There is no greater glory to God than for a man to be killed in battle for his country,’ George would say. George seemed to be at odds with his conscience and his religious views. His fellow men were counting on him to fight with them in battle against his fellow men, but his religious training weighed heavily on his mind to refrain from violence. George would often be seen looking up at the sky and asking his Heavenly Father to forgive him. Then he would give a strong hand signal to charge and attack the enemy. ‘To become a leader of men is one of the hardest things I ever had to do in my life,’ he was overheard saying to a fellow officer. The officer replied, ‘It is the will of God!’ So I tried to put myself into George’s shoes and think what I would do if I were in his position.” said Robert.  “Then I found myself thinking, “We are all sometimes put into a survival position like an animal. We have to make a decision to either stand and fight or run to survive. If ‘survival of the fittest’ means only the strong will survive, we make our own choice. After reading many scenes about the bloody battles in the Revolutionary War, I pray to God every night to keep me from ever having to make such a decision.”  When Robert went back to his seat to sit down, it looked like he had tears in his eyes.  The class remained very quiet for a while then everyone broke out with a cheer.

(Part One of the novella by George F. Kohn, author of Holiday Favorites series available on Amazon.com)

For the rest of the story, order your copy of The Big Fourth, published for Kindle e-readers and paperback.  Amazon search: Holiday Favorites by George F. Kohn.)