I Survived the American Revolution, 1776, is one of several books in Lauren Tarshis’s acclaimed I Survived series. The book follows a young boy named Nate who finds himself fighting in the American Revolutionary War during the Battle of Brooklyn. Tackling themes such as found family, courage and sacrifice in pursuit of freedom, and the impact of war, the novel also includes a number of educational illustrations depicting Revolutionary-era uniforms, weapons, and geography that are important to the story.

In addition to penning The New York Times best-selling I Survived series, Lauren Tarshis has published a wide range of children’s books that have garnered multiple awards over the years. Her children’s book, Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell out of a Tree, has won the 2007 Golden Kite Honor Book Award and was selected as the Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. Additionally, the I Survived series as a whole has been honored with the 2012 Colorado Children’s Book Award and was recognized as a USA Today Bestselling Series.

This guide refers to the Scholastic 2017 edition.

Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide contain descriptions of enslavement, abuse, and wartime violence.

Plot Summary

Eleven-year-old Nathaniel (Nate) Fox has felt out of place for the last two years, ever since he came to Connecticut to live with his abusive uncle, Storch. In 1776, the fight for American Independence from England is all that most people can talk about, including Storch and his friends, who are staunch loyalists to the crown. However, Nate is not too concerned with the Revolutionary War. Whatever the outcome, he and his closest friends (an enslaved mother named Eliza, and her toddler son, Theo) will still be stuck living with Storch.

Instead, whenever Nate can find moments of peace away from his chores, he escapes to the Long Island Sound, where he watches the ships sail by and remembers his days at sea. Nate’s Papa was a ship captain, and after Nate’s mother died of smallpox when Nate was young, father and son set off on a ship together. Nate has many fond memories of his time aboard, especially the friendship he had with a red-haired teenager named Paul. When a terrible storm swept Papa overboard, Nate had no family left besides Storch, so he went to Connecticut, and Paul promised to find him again someday. Now, it has been two years, and Nate has given up hope of reconnecting with Paul or any of the other people who were aboard the ship.

One way that Nate keeps Papa’s memory alive is through stories of Slash O’Shea, a great pirate whose exploits Papa described when Nate was young. These days, Nate tells these stories to three-year-old Theo and encourages the child’s imagination. Slash O’Shea was known for his bravery and for helping the poor by taking from the rich. Nate is grateful for Theo and his mother, Eliza, who have become his new family after the loss of his father.

One day, Theo is playing pirates outside. He grabs Storch’s walking stick to use as a makeshift sword, but he swings it around and accidentally hits Storch on the head, knocking him to the ground. Nate and Eliza fear that Storch might sell Theo, just as he sold Eliza’s husband a few months ago, but Storch does not see who hit him. Nate takes the blame and endures Storch’s slap for Theo’s sake, then retreats into the woods as fast as he can. After staying alone awhile in the woods, Nate must decide whether to go back to Storch or try to survive on his own. He remembers that Slash O’Shea became a cabin boy on a ship at a young age, so he decides that this is his opportunity to make a new life for himself. He stows away on a ship that is heading for New York.

Nate is thrilled to return to New York, as he visited the city a number of times with Papa. When he arrives, however, the city looks entirely different than the place he remembers. It is practically abandoned, with the exception of American soldiers making camp. As he walks through the streets, a British ship called a man-of-war starts firing at the city. Nate escapes the blasts, and amidst the chaos, he is reunited with his old friend, Paul.

Paul is ecstatic to have found Nate after all this time. He explains that he tried to write Nate letters and even came to his home, but Storch turned him away. In the time since the two boys have been separated, Paul went to live with his parents back at home on their farm, but then he decided to join the Revolution. He tells Nate exciting stories about the Battle of Bunker Hill and General George Washington and describes learning how to properly load and fire a musket. By the time they are done catching up, Paul has convinced Nate to join Washington’s army as well.

Nate is too young to fight in the army, but he helps out in other ways and proves himself useful. He soon forms a new family within Paul’s unit, the Connecticut 5th. The soldiers, most of whom are ordinary people who have never fought before, are training to take on the British Army, the largest militia in the world. The Americans are the underdogs in this fight, with untrained soldiers, fewer weapons of lesser quality, and no proper uniforms. However, Nate quickly learns that they can hold their ground, and he starts to believe that they have a chance of winning.

Even though the majority of deaths and injuries occur on the battlefield, the camp itself is not without its tragedies. The soldiers suffer from illnesses such as smallpox, and natural disasters such as deadly lightning. Several soldiers die before they even reach the battle. However, the American soldiers persevere through hard times because they believe in gaining their independence from England.

Everything leads up to the Battle of Brooklyn. Brooklyn, which is much larger than Manhattan and is mostly untamed wilderness, is a prime location for the British to make camp and attack Manhattan. If they make it to Brooklyn and set up their cannons aiming at the city, it will be a devastating loss for the Americans. General George Washington arrives to announce that the time has come to march to battle, and he tells the troops to remember why they are fighting. Nate soon finds himself marching with the men of the Connecticut 5th toward Gowanus Heights, the site of the most combat he has ever witnessed.

Nate is not initially meant to fight in the Battle of Brooklyn. He is supposed to march with the men and return with another unit from Philadelphia that has been holding down the fort for the last few days. However, the British pull a surprise attack, and one of Nate’s friends is killed in action. Nate picks up his friend’s musket and joins in the gunfire. At one point, they believe that their enemies have retreated, but suddenly, a wave of soldiers rushes toward them.

These soldiers are not the British. They are Hessians, from Germany, who have joined forces with England. Nate soon finds himself running for his life with one Hessian in hot pursuit. He feels that he will surely be killed, but a shell explodes near them, killing the Hessian. As Nate gets a better look at him, he sees the soldier’s humanity. Thinking quickly, Nate removes the Hessian’s uniform and uses it to pass through the battle and back to safety.

Nate gets back to camp and eagerly awaits the return of the rest of his men. At long last, Paul and most of the others come back safe and sound. The Battle of Brooklyn was brutal and bloody, but it could have been much, much worse. A huge storm delayed the British from advancing, allowing General George Washington to lead his men safely across the water.

Six months later, Nate gets word that Storch has died. Because Nate is Storch’s only living relative, he inherits all of Storch’s belongings, including his home, and Eliza and Theo. Nate bids farewell to Paul and the other men of the Connecticut 5th and travels back home. There, he will grant Eliza and Theo their freedom and start the search for Eliza’s husband. In a short amount of time, Nate has found new courage inside of himself and is returning a changed person.