Washington's War
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Read all about George Washington on Wikipedia.

In a flash of what I must say was brilliant planning, I screamed, teetering over the hole as if I was about to fall in. I flailed my arms and shouted, “Help me,” in my most pathetic voice.

Just like I expected, being a general and a good man, George Washington couldn’t resist saving my life. He leaped forward and grabbed my hands in a single motion. Once his hands were around mine, I leaned back with all my weight. I’m not very heavy, but we were at the edge of the hole, so it worked. He lost his balance and we toppled into the time-travel hole together. The boys jumped in after.

We were headed back to the future.

We landed in the pathway of a huge armored tank.

“Move!” Jacob shouted, grabbing my arm as the tank cam e barreling toward us. I leaped out of the way. So did Zack. And Bo. But when I looked back to where we had been standing, George Washington was still there.

We didn’t have time to coordinate a rescue mission. All four of us jumped toward George Washington at the same time, knocking him sideways to the ground and away from the rolling tank wheels.

“Whew,” Bo breathed a sigh of relief. “That was close.”

“GW was almost flat as a pancake,” Zack said, laying his head back on the ground and sighing.

I quickly stood up, realizing that GW was already on his feet. He was staring after the tank. “What was that? A metal horse?” he asked, looking confused.

“It’s an armored tank. Army soldiers are protected as they ride in it,” Jacob explained as he dusted dirt off his pants. “We brought you to the future-I mean, to your future. It’s now for us.”

We had brought George Washington to a modern army base. When I came up with the idea of bringing him here, it was to show him how the army worked in our time, to show him how people in America still fought for the freedoms of the Declaration of Independence.

I thought that since he was a general, he’d like it, and I hoped it would inspire him to stay at Valley Forge. “When your soldiers win the Revolutionary War,” I said, “America will become an independent country.”

“America needs a different leader. I am going home,” George Washington told us. He couldn’t’ keep his eyes off the tank.

“America needs you,” Bo said with determination. “The British will admit defeat and sign a peace treaty in 1782. They will go back to Britain. From then on, America will be independent and free. In 1787 the thirteen colonies will unite into states. Today we have fifty United States of America.”

As the tank rolled farther away, I told George Washington everything I knew about the United States Army, which wasn’t much. “The United States Army defends our land,” I said. “They protect America and help to keep people in other countries safe too.”

“Today’s army does basically the same thing in our time as it did in yours,” Jacob added. He also explained that similar to 1778, there are officers and infantry soldiers, and that everyone gets paid-even generals.

Suddenly we heard the sound of marching feet.

“Hup, two, three, four,” a man’s voice called out nearby. “Hup, two, three, four.” A group of soldiers in finely polished shoes and clean, crisp uniforms marched by.

“Our modern troops are well supplied,” I told George Washington, pointing out the soldiers’ clothing as they passed. I thought that at least one of the soldiers would have turned to look at some guy dressed like George Washington and a bunch of kids standing in the middle of the army base, but not one man or woman glanced our way. They stared straight ahead as they passed us by with rhythmic steps.

“Interesting,” George Washington said. He began to walk away, heading to where the tank had turned a corner and disappeared. “I like your army. I see that men and women soldiers are training together. Martha would also enjoy the warm climate here.”

I had asked Jacob to take us to an army base in California. I was tired of being cold at Valley Forge.

“I will remember this fondly when I am resting comfortably at Mount Vernon,” George Washington said over his shoulder to us. “Take me back to Valley Forge. I need to load the wagon.”

CONTINUED...

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