When I was nine years old I was studying Greek, and had read several books of Virgil.
We were not very thorough Latin scholars, even when we entered college, but could translate Virgil and Cicero and Caesar and easy Greek like Xenophon.
The boys occasionally formed military companies and played soldier, but these did not, so far as I remember, last very long.

There was also a company of Indians, who dressed in long white shirts, with pieces of red flannel sewn on them.
They had wooden spears.

That was more successful, and lasted some time.
They were exceedingly fond of seeing the real soldiers.

There were two full companies in Concord, the artillery and the light infantry.

The artillery had two cannon captured from the British, which had been presented to the company by the legislature in honor of April 19, 1775.