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 WASHINGTON, FROM THE PORTRAIT BY GILBERT STUART 
 
AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 FROM HISTORY 
 
 BY 
 
 INEZ N. McFEE 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
,/t., 16 
 
 Copyright, 1913 
 
 BY 
 
 A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 
 
 ICI.A3 4 70 2 5 
 
The man that is not moved at what he reads, 
 That takes not fire at their heroic deeds, 
 Unworthy of the blessings of the brave, 
 Is base in kind and born to be a slave. 
 
 — COWPER. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 It will be readily conceded that the ideal educa- 
 tion is the one by which the child is symmetrically 
 developed, mentally, morally, and physically. That 
 this ideal has been reached, however, to any great 
 extent, cannot be successfully claimed. Educators 
 hitherto have confined their attention chiefly to the 
 mental side of instruction. 
 
 Many people deeply deplore this fact, and regret 
 that the teaching of moral principles is so inade^ 
 quately provided for in our public school curricu- 
 lum. Viewed simply on its face, this is a serious 
 defect; but when it is considered that some things 
 may be taught indirectly quite as effectively as 
 otherwise, the subject assumes a more cheerful 
 aspect. 
 
 Normal children love stories; and it is the judi- 
 ciously selected story which must supply a large 
 measure of this needed instruction. Great deeds 
 and the lives of the people who do them hold a 
 strong fascination for the eager boy and girl; and 
 it is the great and good man, and not the great and 
 wicked man, who commands their admiration. 
 
 V 
 
vi PREFACE . . 
 
 With this thought in mind, the author has 
 grouped in this vohime the Hfe stories of eminent 
 men who have done great things for their country 
 and for humanity. Manifestly there is boundless 
 opportunity for the teacher using this biographical 
 reader to hold up these '' American heroes " as illus- 
 trious examples of the power of noble principles to 
 make people great. Hence the author trusts that 
 the lessons of lofty patriotism, dauntless courage, 
 noble purpose, and deathless patience and persever- 
 ance may incite more than one boy to ''hitch his 
 wagon to a star" and thus struggle upward to a 
 good and useful if not to a famous life. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PACE 
 
 Myles Standish, the Puritan Soldier . . , . i 
 
 Nathaniel Bacon, the First American RcIdcI . . 21 
 
 George Washington, the Great American Patriot . -31 
 
 Nathan Hale, the Patriot Spy 'J'J 
 
 "Mad Anthony" Wayne, the Hero of Stony Point . 87 
 
 Paul Jones, our First Naval Hero 99 
 
 Daniel Boone, the Founder of Kentucky . . . .119 
 
 Thomas Jefferson, the Sage of ^lonticcUo . . 129 
 
 Robert Fulton and the Steamboat . . . . -145 
 
 William Henry Harrison, the Hero of Tippecanoe . 155 
 
 Andrew Jackson, the Hero of New Orleans . . .169 
 
 Samuel Morse and the Telegraph i<S7 
 
 Admiral Farragut, our Great Naval Commander . . 201 
 
 James B. Fads, the Master Engineer . ' . . . 221 
 
 Peter Cooper, the Man with a Noble Purpose . .241 
 
 Notes 257 
 
 vu 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Washington, from portrait by Gilbert Stuart , . Frontispiece 
 
 Myles Standish /(icing i 
 
 Sword of Myles Standish 3 
 
 The Mayflower 4 
 
 Landing of Myles Standish . . 7 
 
 Samoset in Street of Plymouth 9 
 
 Camp of Massasoit 12 
 
 Pilgrims going to church 15 
 
 John Alden and Priscilla . , , 19 
 
 Bacon pleading with Berkeley facing 21 
 
 Burning of Jamestown 26 
 
 Washington, the Colonial Colonel facing 31 
 
 Mount Vernon sj^ 
 
 Greenaway Court 39 
 
 The Battle of Great Meadows -. . . . 43 
 
 General Braddock 47 
 
 At the wharf on a Virginia plantation 51 
 
 Independence Hall 54 
 
 Washington crossing the Delaware 57 
 
 Marching through the sleet on Trenton 59 
 
 Marquis of Lafayette 61 
 
 Washington's '* ragged Continentals " 63 
 
 Washington and Baron Steuben at Valley Forge .... 65 
 
 Surrender of Cornwallis 69 
 
 Washington at Mount Vernon , 71 
 
 Federal Hall, our country's lirst capitol 7^ 
 
 Washington's Coat-of-Arms 75 
 
 Statue of Nathan Hale facing 77 
 
 Capture of Nathan Hale 83 
 
 '' Mad Anthony " Wayne facing 87 
 
 Storming of Stony Point 91 
 
 Medal given by Congress to General Wayne 93 
 
 Battle of the Fallen Timbers ... • • 97 
 
 Paul Jones .... facing 99 
 
 " Rattlesnake " flag loi 
 
 Fight of the Bonhomme Richard and the Scrapis . ... 107 
 
 Medal voted to Paul Jones by Congress 114 
 
 Memorial Chapel at Annapolis . . . . . . .117 
 
 Daniel Boone facing 1 19 
 
 IX 
 
X ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Daniel Boone in the Kentucky woods ........ 125 
 
 Thomas Jefferson facing 129 
 
 William and Mary College . . . .131 
 
 Patrick Plenry making his immortal speech ..... 133 
 
 ]Monticello ^ . ■ . I35 
 
 Discussing the Declaration 137 
 
 House where Jefferson wrote the Declaration 139 
 
 Robert Fulton facing 145 
 
 Fitch's steamboat 147 
 
 Trial trip of the Clermont 149 
 
 The Mauretania 152 
 
 Modern battleship .• ^53 
 
 William Henry Harrison facing 155 
 
 Battle of Tippecanoe 159 
 
 Battle of Lake Erie « 163 
 
 Death of Tecumseh 166 
 
 Andrew Jackson facing 169 
 
 Jackson's headquarters at New Orleans 175 
 
 Battle of New Orleans 179 
 
 The Hermitage 183 
 
 Samuel F. Morse facing 187 
 
 Morse instrument for sending messages 193 
 
 Morse telegraphic alphabet 193 
 
 David Glasgow Farragut facing 201 
 
 Battle of the Essex with the Cherub and Phoebe .... 207 
 Farragut's fleet passing the forts on lower Mississippi . . . 213 
 
 Farragut at the Battle of Mobile Bay 217 
 
 James B. Fads •..-.•.. • • • facing 221 
 
 Gunboats on the Mississippi in 1861 229 
 
 Fads bridge across the Mississippi . . ... . . . 2^^ 
 
 Mouth of the South Pass, showing the Fads jetties .... 237 
 
 Peter Cooper facing 241 
 
 Railroad coach in 1830 . 246 
 
 The first locomotive built in America 246 
 
 Modern locomotives 247 
 
 Cooper Union 251 
 
 Peter Cooper's carriage . 253 
 
AMERICAN HEROES 
 FROM HISTORY 
 
 MYLES STANDISH, THE PURITAN 
 SOLDIER 
 
 Many years ago, in the early part of the seven- 
 teenth century, when Holland was trying to throw 
 off the galling yoke of Spain, Queen Elizabeth 
 sent a number of British soldiers over to the 
 Netherlands to help the Dutch. Among them was 
 one Captain Myles Standish, who was described as 
 a brave soldier, short of stature, with fiery red 
 hair, an equally fiery temper, and an intrepidity 
 that nothing could quail. 
 
 Captain Standish came of a family of wealth 
 and position, noted chiefly for its fighting qualities, 
 although one of the Standishes was an archbishop 
 in Henry A^IIFs time. The family came over in 
 the Norman invasion, so it is easy to see why Myles 
 loved to fight and also w^hy he liked religious people. 
 The Puritan hero was born at Duxbury Hall, in 
 Lancashire, England, in 1584, and was less than 
 
 1 
 
2 AMERICAN HERQES 
 
 nineteen when he went to Holland. With him 
 fought another adventurous Englishman, Captain 
 John Smith, who founded Jamestown, Virginia, in 
 1607. Surely there was work and excitement 
 enough in those days to please almost anyone seek- 
 ing adventure, and it may be well believed that 
 Captain Standish was in the thickest of the fray. 
 At any rate, in after years he was very fond of 
 recounting the daring deeds performed by his fine 
 Damascus sword* in the Netherlands. 
 
 In 1609 a truce of twelve years was declared 
 between Spain and Holland. Instead of returning 
 to his home in England the doughty little captain 
 loitered about the country and finally came upon 
 a band of his countrymen at Leyden, a little town 
 southwest of Amsterdam. These people had fled 
 from England some time before, where they had 
 been severely persecuted for their religious belief. 
 In those days nearly all countries had a certain 
 form of worship, or an Established Church as it 
 came to be called, and the people who did not believe 
 in its form of worship wxre punished as heretics. 
 These people that Standish met w^ere called Separa- 
 tists, or Puritans. They had been so cruelly treated 
 that they sold their worldly goods and sailed for 
 
 * A star in the text indicates that a note for the corresponding word 
 and page will he found under the head of ''Notes" at the hack of the hook. 
 
MYLKS STAXDISII 
 
 i|l| 
 
 IM 
 
 7 
 
 llolland, the only country at that lime which 
 permitted freedom of worship. 
 
 Captain Standish was much pleased with the 
 Puritans, and tarried amoni^- them, 
 although he did not join their church. 
 These people were considering a plan 
 to cross the sea and establish their 
 religion in the new land of America. 
 Captain Standish favored the idea. 
 He had heard much of the new land. 
 lie knew there were Indians and 
 bears and other wild creatures to fight 
 over there; and, as fighting was his 
 chief business and delight, he deter- 
 mined to become one of the number 
 whenever the party was organized. 
 
 This was accomplished in July of 
 1620, when a small " advance guard " 
 set sail from the Dutch port of Delfs- 
 haven in a little old ship called the 
 Speedwell. They stopped at South- 
 ampton, England, where a party of 
 friends joined them in a ship called '^^^'^m?'le1? °^ 
 the Alayflozcer. On August 5 both 
 vessels set sail for America. But the Speedwell 
 proved unseaworthy and both ships returned to 
 
AMERICAN I^EROES 
 
 Plymouth. Here twenty people gave up the voyage 
 and the remainder — one hundred and two in num- 
 ber — on September i6, 1620, crow^ded into the 
 Mayflozi'cr and bravely set sail once more. 
 
 For nine wxary 
 weeks the sturdy 
 Pilgrims battled 
 with the weaves. So 
 boisterous was the 
 sea that it seemed 
 as if all must find 
 a watery grave. 
 But there was at 
 
 THE MAYFLOWER 
 
 east one 
 
 the number who did not despair. The doughty 
 little Captain Standish made up in courage what 
 he lacked in stature. Clad in "doublet and hose 
 and boots of Cordovan leather " he strode the deck 
 with his broad shoulders thrown back in martial 
 fashion — his eyes alight with hope and enthusiasm 
 — or in the cabin below sought to cheer the faint- 
 ino- heart of some fear-smitten comrade. Manv a 
 voyager found courage in the hearty confidence 
 which shone in the kindly nut-brown face half- 
 hidden by a huge russet beard. 
 
 At last the sandy shores of Cape Cod were 
 
MYLES STANDISH 5 
 
 sighted and great joy prevailed on board. But the 
 people had no legal right to settle there. Their 
 grant of land — obtained from the London Com- 
 pany* — lay far to the southward. So the ship was 
 turned in that direction; but they could not go on. 
 A furious storm beat them back, and they were 
 forced to seek shelter at the end of Cape Cod, in 
 what became known later as Provincetown harbor. 
 
 Here Captain Standish, with sixteen brave men, 
 landed and marched along the shore looking for 
 a suitable location for a settlement. In one place 
 they found the earth freshly disturbed. Digging 
 here, they w^ere delighted to find several baskets 
 filled with Indian corn. They had often heard of 
 this corn, but never before had seen it. They took 
 enough seed with them to plant in the spring, and 
 paid for it later, when the rightful owners had been 
 found. 
 
 Captain Standish and his men, not finding any 
 desirable place, returned to the ship and got a boat, 
 as they did not think it best to proceed far on foot. 
 This time they found some Indian wigwams neatly 
 covered and lined with mats, but they saw no 
 Indians. Neither did they find a good location for 
 a settlement. Again Captain Standish and his men 
 set out. It was now December, and so cold that 
 
6 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 the spray froze to the men's garments as they 
 rowed. The nights were spent on shore behind a 
 barricade of logs and boughs, in case the Indians 
 should attack them. 
 
 One morning, while some of the men prepared 
 breakfast, the others loaded the boat with their 
 blankets, guns, and provisions, so as to be ready 
 to start the moment breakfast w^as over. As they 
 sat at their meal of fish, clam broth, and dry bread, 
 a terrible and unearthly yell suddenly smote their 
 ears. It was the war-whoop of the Indians, and in 
 a twinkling a rain of arrows fell in their midst. 
 Captain Standish and his comrades ran for the 
 boat. The Indians thought they were fleeing for 
 their lives and rushed after them pell-mell, yelling 
 like demons. But the order of things was soon 
 changed. When once the white men got hold of 
 their guns, they fired a volley which sent the fright- 
 ened savages tumbling over each other in the oppo- 
 site direction, and they soon disappeared from 
 sight. 
 
 The men then proceeded on their journey, and 
 at length came to a place which John Smith — when 
 he explored that region — had called Plymouth. 
 Here they found running brooks of fresh water and 
 a good harbor where the Mayfloivcr might safely 
 
8 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 anchor. This place had once been the site of an 
 Indian village, but the tribe had died of a pestilence 
 some three or four years before. Their cornfields 
 stood idly awaiting tillage, and the deserted settle- 
 ment seemed to hold out inviting arms to the Weary 
 home seekers. 
 
 The little band of Pilgrims* hurried back for 
 their waiting comrades, and soon the founding of 
 Plymouth was begun. The real landing was made 
 December 21, 1620, which date is now celebrated 
 as Forefathers' Day. Rude houses of rough logs, 
 with oiled paper instead of window glass, were 
 hastily put up and made as comfortable as possible. 
 But the weather was bitterly cold and the suffer- 
 ings of the people were intense. Exposure, poor 
 food, and lack of warm clothing brought on terri- 
 ble sicknesses. Many of the people died, and first 
 among them was Captain Standish's beautiful 
 young wife, Rose; but he kept up bravely and went 
 among his sick and dying neighbors '' with a hand 
 as gentle as a woman's," doing all that he could 
 to lighten their sufferings. When spring came 
 fifty-one of the colonists were in their graves, but 
 the survivors stood firm, and, wfth a high courage 
 and faith in God, set about carving out homes for 
 themselves in the wilderness of the new^ world. 
 
MYLES STANDlSli 9 
 
 Since their taste of the white men's firearms the 
 Indians had been afraid to attack Plymouth. This 
 was well, for many times in that first distressful 
 winter there had not been able-bodied men enough 
 to make more than a show of defense. In the 
 
 SAMOSET IN STREET OF PLYMOUTH 
 
 spring a chief from a tribe farther east came to 
 visit the Indians near Plymouth. He had often 
 seen and talked with Englishmen. He told his 
 brothers that he was not afraid to visit the homes 
 
10 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 of the white men. Therefore, on the following 
 morning, he walked boldly into the little town and 
 astonished the people by exclaiming, ''Welcome, 
 Englishmen ! " in their own tongue. 
 
 The Pilgrims treated him kindly and the chief, 
 Samoset, was greatly pleased. In a few days he 
 came again, bringing with him an Indian named 
 Squanto, who was still more accomplished in speak- 
 ing English. Indeed, Squanto was a noted person- 
 age. He had formerly lived at Plymouth, and was 
 one of the Indians whom Captain Hunt had carried 
 away to Spain. From Spain he had been taken to 
 England, and then brought back to his native land. 
 But here sorrow^ and disappointment awaited him. 
 His friends were all dead, and his native village 
 lay a desolate waste before him. He was, there- 
 fore, more than glad to see signs of life again at 
 Plymouth, and made himself so useful and friendly 
 to the Pilgrims that they asked him to come and 
 live with them. 
 
 This Squanto was delighted to do. He taught 
 the settlers how to hunt and fish.* He knew 
 wdiere the best game was to be found, and could 
 always tread eels out of the mud if no other fish 
 were to be had. He showed the Englishmen how to 
 plant corn as the Indians did, by putting a small 
 
MYLES STAXDlSii 11 
 
 fish or two in every hill for fertilizer, and then 
 watehing the fields for a few days to see that the 
 wolves did not dig up the hsh. tie kept his Indian 
 kin in wholesome fear of the whites hv boastinsr 
 of their w^onderful power. He told them that the 
 Pilgrims kept the pestilence chained in the cellars 
 of their houses, side by side with the lire-belching, 
 man-slaying gunpowder, and that the palefaces' 
 guns never spoke in vain. 
 
 Massasoit^the chief of Squanto's tribe — did 
 not quite believe all of this. So he brought several 
 men with him and came to visit the Englishmen. 
 The Pilgrims received them with great pomp and 
 ceremony, but they were careful not to let the 
 Indians get much chance to pry into things. The 
 visitors were taken to the largest house in the 
 village, and then Captain Standish and his men, 
 with trumpets blowing and drums beating, escorted 
 Governor Carver into their presence. 
 
 The great white chief made them welcome in his 
 kindly fashion, while Captain Standish — rigged 
 out in all the military splendor he could summon on 
 short notice — kept them in a respectful attitude, 
 and carefully did what he could to strengthen the 
 fear which Squanto said lurked in their hearts. 
 Massasoit was greatly pleased with the little visit, 
 
12 
 
 AMERICAN HERQES 
 
 and went away promising eternal friendship to the 
 Pilgrims. Shortly afterward Governor Carver fur- 
 ther cemented the friendship by sending the great 
 chief a red coat and a copper chain; Subsequently 
 a treaty of peace was made which was not broken 
 for fifty-four years. 
 
 Gradually, as time wore on, the Indians in the 
 surrounding region began to be much afraid of 
 Captain Standish. ''Little chief, but heap big 
 
 fight !" was their 
 verdict of him. One 
 chief, in a neighbor- 
 ing tribe, more bold 
 than his neighbors, 
 threatened to kill 
 Squanto''' and make 
 trouble for the Pil- 
 grims. It really was 
 Squanto's fault, for 
 he was of ten. deceit- 
 ful to the Indians by 
 keeping back the presents sent to them, and by try- 
 ing to make himself of too much importance; but 
 Captain Standish promptly marched his men to the 
 unfriendly chief's village and surrounded his tent. 
 After firing a volley of musketry heavy enough to 
 
 THE CAMP OF MASSASOIT 
 
MYLES STAXDISH 13 
 
 subdue the band, and woundini^- three of the sav- 
 ages, who escaped, Captain Standish and his men 
 marched triumphantly back to Plymouth. 
 
 Upon another occasion, the Narragansett chief, 
 who was a bitter enemy of Massasoit and ruler of 
 a larger and fiercer tribe than he, sent a bundle of 
 arrows tied up in a snake's skin to Plymouth. This 
 signified that his tribe intended to make war on the 
 Pilgrims. Captain Standish promptly returned the 
 skin filled wdth powder and shot. This meant, "If 
 you shoot arrows at us, we will kill you with fire- 
 arms." The hint was enough for the present, but 
 did not prevent trouble later on. 
 
 Other settlements along the coast were con- 
 tinually being attacked by the Indians. A dreadful 
 massacre had taken place in Virginia, and the Pil- 
 grims feared that their turn might come at any 
 moment. Captain Standish drilled his men daily, 
 and a careful watch was kept at night. The men 
 carried their guns to church, and a howitzer* was 
 mounted upon the roof of the meeting-house. 
 
 Perhaps the fact that the Pilgrims were so well 
 prepared, and that this was thoroughly understood 
 among the savages, saved them. Anyway, the 
 town of Plymouth was not molested for many 
 years. Not, indeed, until the time of the Pequot 
 
14 AMERICAN HEI^OES 
 
 War, long after the death of Massasoit. Captain 
 Standish, however, was forced to be continually 
 on the watch. 
 
 In 1022, a merchant named Weston, who had 
 loaned the Pilgrims money to equip the Mayflozver, 
 came over from London and founded a colony not 
 far from Plymouth at a place now called Wey- 
 mouth. The planting of this colony proved to be 
 a very unfortunate affair for the Pilgrims at 
 Plymouth, and caused them no end of trouble. 
 These people were very different from their neigh- 
 bors. They were idle and shiftless and dishonest. 
 They did not seem to be able to help themselves, 
 but stole food and furs from the Indians, and also 
 lied to them about the people of Plymouth. Thus 
 by their evil doings they made the Indians their 
 enemies, and made them suspicious and unfriendly 
 to Plymouth colony as well. 
 
 One day a messenger from the friendly Massa- 
 soit came hurrying to Plymouth with the news that 
 a plan was on foot to massacre the people of Wey- 
 mouth and Plymouth, and he advised the Pilgrims 
 to send Captain Standish to fall upon the leaders 
 without delay and kill them before they had a 
 chance to carry out their cruel intention. 
 
 The doughty captain snatched his sword and 
 
16 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 scabbard from the wall and was soon marching 
 northward with ten picked men. After going three 
 days through swamp and forest and along the sea- 
 shore, they came to the Indian encampment. Here 
 were gathered the mighty braves of the tribe. 
 Mightiest among them all were the great chiefs 
 Pecksuot and Wattawamat. They advanced at 
 once with smiles upon their crafty faces and death 
 in their hearts. ''Welcome, Englishmen!" they 
 cordially cried, then proceeded to flatter and parley 
 with Standish, pretending to believe that he had 
 come to them upon a trading expedition. And 
 Captain Standish matched his wit wath theirs. 
 
 Finally the chiefs grew sneeringly bold and 
 taunting. They thought that Standish was not to 
 be feared with only fen men behind him. They 
 asked him to trade them some of the powder and 
 muskets which he had hidden beneath the plague 
 in his cellar. Standish laughingly told them that 
 he would trade them the Bible instead. They 
 then pretended to be very angry. 
 
 Chief Wattawamat jerked his sharp knife from 
 its wampum scabbard, and whetted the blade on his 
 hand. ''This is a good knife," said he. "I have 
 killed many Englishmen with it." Then Pecksuot 
 sneeringly drew his knife half-way into sight and 
 
MYLES STANDISH 17 
 
 patted it affectionately. "By and by it shall see," 
 he said. "It shall eat, but it shall speak not. The 
 white men say you are a great Captain. But you 
 are only a little man. BeholdJ I am not a great 
 chief, but I am brave and strong." 
 
 This was too much for Captain Standish. He 
 leaped headlong at the boaster, snatched the knife 
 from its scabbard and plunged it into its owner's 
 traitorous heart. Pecksuot reeled backward and 
 fell with his fierce, painted face turned to the sky. 
 
 On the instant a dreadful war-whoop rose on 
 every side, while a shower of arrows fell on the 
 Pilgrim band. But these men w^ere fashioned after 
 the heart of their dauntless Captain. Quickly they 
 sent back their answer in a great cloud of smoke. 
 The great Wattawamat fell wnth a bullet in his 
 brain, and all of the howling, shrieking mass of his 
 followers w^ho could run, raced oft' into the forest. 
 So ended the crafty scheme to massacre the people 
 of Weymouth and Plymouth. 
 
 But the ''stabbers," as the Indians now dubbed 
 Standish and his sturdy little band, did not go back 
 to Plymouth at once. Their neighbors had need of 
 their valiant courage and steady hands, controlled 
 by the quick, hot tempers behind them. So they 
 wandered here and there, giving aid to the settlers, 
 
18 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 until the very name of Myles Standish and his 
 soldiers made the savages everywhere shudder with 
 fear. However, this was the last hard fighting the 
 fearless little captain did for the settlers. 
 
 Captain Standish w^as a very useful man in that 
 struggling Puritan community, for it does not seem 
 possible that the people could ever have persisted 
 in their efforts to found a home in the new world 
 if he had not been a bulwark betw^een them and 
 the hostile Indians. Indeed, it seemed as though 
 he had been ordained by Providence to be their 
 guardian angel. 
 
 Yet, strange as it may seem, much of Captain 
 Standish's fame is due to the fact that Longfellow 
 wrote a beautiful poem about him which he called 
 ''The Courtship of Myles Standish." Unfortu- 
 nately the foundation for this charming story is 
 very shadowy. Although it is claimed to have been 
 carefully handed down by the Alden family, of 
 which the poet was a descendant, it was never 
 published until 1814. 
 
 The story runs in this wise: Shortly after the 
 death of Captain Standish's lovely young wife, the 
 sturdy soldier's eyes fell admiringly on Priscilla 
 Mullin, a sweet and charming young girl, who had 
 l)een left entirelv alone bv the death of her father. 
 
MYLES STANDISII 
 
 19 
 
 While the Captain had small fear of Indians or 
 other perils, he lacked the courage to ask i^'iscilla 
 to be his wife. Instead, he begged his friend, John 
 Alden, to i)lead his cause for him. As John was in 
 love with the fair lady himself, he did not like 
 the idea of serving as proxy for another man, but 
 he most manfully did his duty. Priscilla did not 
 favor the Captain's 
 suit, but she did 
 favor John's. So she 
 replied, sh y 1 y : 
 "Prithee, why dost 
 thou not speak for 
 thyself, John?" In 
 this w^ay John Alden 
 won his bride. 
 
 The tradition also 
 claims that Captain 
 Standish was so en- 
 raged at John for 
 marrying Priscilla 
 that he never for- 
 gave him. This at 
 least can not be true, 
 because the Standish and Alden families were 
 always good friends and neighbors in the town of 
 
 JOHN ALDEN AND PRISCILLA 
 
20 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Duxbury, which Myles Standish founded in 1629. 
 Captain Standish was not inconsolable at the loss 
 of Priscilla, for in the same year he married a 
 young girl who came over from England and lived 
 happily. He died in Duxbury in 1656, and here, 
 nearly two hundred years later, the people of 
 Massachusetts, mindful of the debt their Pilgrim 
 ancestors owed to the heroic little captain, erected 
 a lofty monument to his memory. 
 
NATHANIEL BACON, THE FIRST 
 AMERICAN REBEL 
 
 The year 1676 was a severe one for the people 
 in the young colony of Virginia. Their Governor, 
 Sir William Berkeley, was a cruel, selfish man. He 
 ruled the colony entirely in his own interests, keep- 
 ing his subjects in deep poverty by unjust taxes 
 and wresting a large, illegal profit from the fur 
 trade with the Indians. The Legislature, or Gov- 
 ernor's Council, was composed of friends of his 
 own, and thus the people had no recourse. To add 
 to their troubles, the Indians began to molest the 
 settlers along the frontier. Their fields were laid 
 waste, their servants killed, and their stock driven 
 off and slaughtered; but the Governor would not 
 lift a hand to protect them, for fear of losing his 
 profitable fur trade! 
 
 The year of 1676 was the time of King Philip's 
 War in New England, and reports of the horril)le 
 massacres were continually reaching Virginia. The 
 Susquehanna Indians and other tribes were finally 
 aroused to a dangerous ])ilch, and many of the 
 
 21 
 
22 AMERICAN HEROES • 
 
 people along the frontier were put to death. Still 
 the Governor refused to do anything to protect the 
 settlers. At last they took matters into their own 
 hands and formed a company about three hun- 
 dred strong. But the wicked old Governor refused 
 to commission anyone to take command of the 
 troops, or to allow them to go against the savages ! 
 
 There was in the colony a certain young lawyer 
 named Nathaniel Bacon,* who had come from Eng- 
 land several years before. He was a man of wealth 
 and education and had purchased a large planta- 
 tion about twenty miles below Richmond, not far 
 from the Indian frontier. Having himself met 
 with heavy losses at the hands of the savages, he 
 went to Governor Berkeley and begged to be 
 allowed to lead the troops. But the Governor would 
 not consent, saying that it was best not to excite 
 the Indians further, and that their outbreak would 
 soon cease. 
 
 The people, however, knew better. In despair 
 they asked Bacon to defy the Governor. But he 
 was not willing to do this. However, he went to 
 visit the camp of the little band of volunteers, who 
 unanimously begged him to become their leader. 
 Under the influence of their enthusiasm, he accepted 
 the command, and the little armv set out at once for 
 
NATHANIEL BACON 23 
 
 the Indian encampments along the Roanoke River. 
 
 Governor Berkeley frothed and fumed, and at 
 last organized a party of friends and started after 
 Bacon, declaring that he would hang him for going 
 to war without orders. But they did not find him ; 
 for Bacon and his volunteers were in the midst of 
 a lively skirmish with the Indians, and hither 
 Berkeley and his followers dared not venture. 
 When the Governor got back to Jamestown, he was 
 met with a deputation from the lower coast settle- 
 ments. They told him they supported l)acon, and 
 demanded that a new Legislature be chosen which 
 should really represent the people. Berkeley was 
 frightened. He saw that he would have to yield 
 in appearance at least. So he promised that a 
 new Legislature should be called at once. 
 
 By and by Bacon and his men came marching 
 home. They had routed the Indians, and for the 
 present felt that the colony was safe. Bacon's 
 enthusiastic friends elected him a member of the 
 Legislature, and when the time came for him to 
 take his seat, forty of them went down to James-" 
 town with him in a sloop. The Governor knew of 
 their coming and with the help of two boats and 
 a ship managed to capture the sloop. But when 
 Bacon reached lamestown Berkeley dared not 
 
24 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 carry out the revenge he had planned. The angry 
 people were up in arms for their leader, and he 
 was forced to let the young man take his place in 
 the Legislature. 
 
 But that night Bacon was warned that a war- 
 rant was out to seize him the next day, and that 
 the roads and rivers were even then guarded to pre- 
 vent his escape. Nathaniel Bacon was not the man 
 to be taken easily. He mounted a horse and rode 
 away across country in the darkness, until he had 
 put many miles between himself and his enemies 
 and had reached the home of friends and safety. 
 
 In the morning, w^hen the Governor's men went 
 to drag Bacon from the house where he had stayed, 
 they w-ere both astonished and chagrined to find him 
 gone. While they raged and searched, the angry 
 friends of Bacon gathered in a mob — five hundred 
 strong — vowing to kill the Governor and all his 
 friends. A guard was hastily dispatched for Bacon, 
 and he hurried back to Jamestown to control the 
 infuriated frontiersmen. Berkeley now found him- 
 self in the position where he had hoped to force 
 Bacon. He had not wit enough to escape, and 
 Bacon forced him to sign a commission appointing 
 him Major-General. He also made the Legislature 
 pass laws for the relief of the suffering people. 
 
NATHANIEL BACON 25 
 
 These laws were known as '' Bacon's Laws," and 
 stood as a monument to the young hero long after 
 he had passed away. 
 
 While Bacon and his friends wrestled with the 
 Governor and the Legislature, the Indians sneaked 
 down upon a little village about twenty miles north 
 of Jamestown and murdered the people in cold 
 blood. General Bacon at once set out for the Indian 
 country; but, just as he was leaving the last town 
 on the. frontier, a messenger came riding up saying 
 the Governor was raising troops, intending to cap- 
 ture Bacon on his return! The General promptly 
 turned his army, and set out on the double-quick 
 march for JamestovvU. 
 
 But he need not have troubled himself. When 
 the militia found they had been called out to cap- 
 ture Bacon instead of to fight Indians, they turned, 
 as one man, and left the field. The old Governor 
 fainted with anger and mortification, and was 
 forced to flee across the Chesapeake for safety. 
 
 Upon his arrival, Bacon, at the desire of the 
 people, took charge of the government. Tie was 
 now between two enemies. The Indians, however, 
 seemed the most insistent. For, the moment his back 
 was turned, they had again rushed down upon the 
 unprotected people along the frontier. He, there- 
 
THE BURNING OF JAMESTOWN 
 
NATllAXIl^L JiACON 27 
 
 fore, set out at once for their relief. For many 
 days the brave young General and his vaHant l^and 
 fought and chased the Indians. Then they turned 
 homeward, confident that the savages had tasted 
 enough powder to satisfy their war appetite for 
 many months. 
 
 When they reached the frontier settlements 
 again, they learned. that Governor Berkeley had, 
 in some w^ay, managed to get possession of James- 
 town. Bacon had already disbanded his men, and 
 all but one hundred and thirty-six of them had 
 set out for their own homes when he learned of the 
 Governor's action. The remnant of his army, how^- 
 ever, footsore and hungry as they w^ere, were more 
 than willing to attack Berkeley, whom all regarded 
 as a common enemy. 
 
 " On to Jamestown ! " was the cry from every 
 throat. They set out at such speed and pushed 
 onward with such untiring vigor that they were 
 rounding the narrow neck of sand which connected 
 Jamestown with the mainland before the Governor 
 heard of their intentions. 
 
 Under cover of the silence and darkness of 
 night, T'acon and his men threw up intrenchments 
 about the town and shut in the Governor and his 
 l)eople.* Bacon's army was now increased daily by 
 
28 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 fresh recruits. Men from all over the colony 
 flocked to his aid. They were determined to sub- 
 due the Governor and force him to recognize the 
 rights of the people. Finally Berkeley and his men 
 slipped away down the bay in their vessels; and 
 Bacon let them go. But he resolved to make it im- 
 possible for the Governor ever again to find harbor 
 in Jamestown. He ordered the town"^ to be burned 
 to the ground. 
 
 Nearly all of the colony of Virginia was now in 
 open rebellion. The people warmly seconded the 
 efforts of their brave General, and an effort was 
 made to restore the shattered government to order. 
 A new Legislature was formed, with Bacon at its 
 head ; but, in the midst of his successes. Bacon sick- 
 ened and died. He had endured too many hardships 
 for the cause of his country. 
 
 It was a bitter blow to the people. There was 
 no one else in the colony who could take his place. 
 They knew that Berkeley would soon get control 
 again and that matters w^ould be even worse than 
 before. Surely enough, the old Governor was soon 
 back in office, with the reins of government held 
 tightly in his revengeful hands, and he spared 
 neither whip nor spur. Twenty-two of Bacon's 
 most influential friends were hanged, and there 
 
NATHANIEL BACON 29 
 
 were fines and imprisonments williuul number. 
 
 A cry of horror and protest rose from the suffer- 
 ing people. It reached even to the Kings ears, 
 and Charles II, himself a vain, selfish man, was 
 disgusted. "Why, that old fool," said he, ''has 
 killed more men in that poor country than I did for 
 the murder of my father ! " He sent for Berkeley 
 to come home at once, and there, rebuked by King 
 and people, the disgraced, disappointed old man 
 soon died, broken-hearted. 
 
 But Nathaniel Bacon and his friends — who 
 instituted the first ''Great Rebellion" in America, 
 and who gave up their lives just one hundred years 
 before the Revolution — did not die in vain. The 
 Governors who succeeded Berkeley, mindful of 
 these men, were careful not to oppress the peo])le 
 too much, lest another Bacon rise up to right their 
 
WASHINGTON, THE COLONIAL COLONEL 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON — THE GREAT 
 • ' AMERICAN PATRIOT 
 
 ^,When the Second Continental Congress met in 
 Philadelphia, in May, 1775, it faced a very difficult 
 proposition, for blood had been shed at Lexington, 
 Fort Ticonderoga had been captured, and the war 
 with England begun in earnest. Already a small 
 Continental army had been organized ; but more 
 men must be called out, money raised to equip them, 
 and a commander-in-chief chosen. 
 
 The easiest part of the problem was selecting a 
 leader for the army, because Congress and the peo- 
 ple wath one voice called for Washington. John 
 Bell, of Maryland, wrote that it was W^ashington's 
 peculiar glory that, in all the States, no one but the 
 great patriot himself disapproved the choice.* 
 
 And why did the people turn so confidently to 
 Washington in their hour of need? Sinij^ly be- 
 cause thev recognized in him a o-reat leader. He 
 had won their confidence by his courage and al)ility 
 in the French and Indian War. In that war he 
 had been chosen to command the \^irginia troops 
 
32 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 and defend the frontier, because he knew the fron- 
 tier and the ways of the Indians so thoroughly. 
 
 In order to learn how he acquired this knowl- 
 edge we must turn to the history of his boyhood 
 and early life, which shows that true merit was the 
 secret of his success. Luck, which some people are 
 so fond of quoting, had no place in the career of 
 the Father of his Country. He won because he 
 deserved to win ; because he had acquired the mas- 
 tery of himself, and therefore was able to be a 
 leader of men. 
 
 When George Washington's mother learned of 
 his appointment, she said: "I am not surprised 
 at what George has done, for he was always a good 
 boy.'' This, perhaps, is one secret of it all, because 
 Washington's goodness was so large a part of his 
 greatness. 
 
 As a boy, Washington loved to play soldier. He 
 had learned much about army life from his brother 
 Lawrence, who served as captain in a Colonial 
 regiment raised to help the English in a war with 
 the French and Spanish in the West Indies. So 
 he drilled and disciplined his schoolmates in the 
 old field around the schoolhouse on the Rappahan- 
 nock, and always he was the commander-in-chief. 
 
 George was not a remarkably brilliant boy, and 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 33 
 
 there is no record of his having been at the head of 
 his classes. In his early school days he learned 
 reading, writing, and 'rithmetic — the three r's. 
 Later he studied bookkeeping, geometry, and sur- 
 veying. Tie had a clear head for figures, and made 
 great progress in mathematics. He was a very 
 
 MOUNT VERNON 
 
 neat penman, but not a very good speller. Though 
 some of the boy Washington's playmates could 
 outstri]) him in the schoolroom, he was easily their 
 leader on the playground. None of them could 
 throw George; neither could any outrun him, or 
 distance him in jumj^ing. Many stories are told of 
 
34 AMERICAN HERpES 
 
 Washington's wonderful athletic feats when grown 
 to manhood. His great strength and imperious 
 nature are well illustrated by the following interest- 
 ing incident given by Washington Irving in his 
 " Life of Washington ' ' : 
 
 "A large party of Virginia riflemen, who had 
 recently arrived in camp, were strolling about Cam- 
 bridge and viewing the collegiate buildings now 
 turned into barracks. Their half-Indian equipments 
 and fringed and ruffled hunting garbs, provoked the 
 merriment of some troops from Marblehead, chiefly 
 fishermen and sailors, who thought nothing equal to 
 the round jacket and trousers. A bantering ensued 
 between them. There was snow upon the ground, 
 and snowballs began to fly when jokes were want- 
 ing. The parties waxed warm with the contest. 
 They closed and came to blows ; both sides were 
 reinforced, and in a little while at least a thousand 
 were at fisticuffs, and there was a tumult in the 
 camp worthy of the days of Homer. ' At this junc- 
 ture,' writes our informant, 'Washington made his 
 appearance, whether by accident or design I never 
 knew. I saw none of his aides with him ; his black 
 servant just behind him mounted. He threw the 
 bridle of his own horse into his servant's hands, 
 sprang from his seat, rushed into the thickest of the 
 
GKORCI': W'ASIIIXCTOX 35 
 
 melee, seized two l)ra\vn\- rillenien by the throat, 
 keepino- iheni at anirs-lcn.^lh, lalkino- to and shak- 
 ing" them.' 
 
 " As they were from his own province, he may 
 have felt peculiarly responsible for their g-ood con- 
 duct ; they were engaged, too, in one of those 
 sectional brawls which were his especial abhorrence ; 
 his reprimand, therefore, must have been a vehe- 
 ment one. He was commanding in his serenest 
 moments, but irresistible in his bursts of indigna- 
 tion. On the present occasion, we are told, his ap- 
 pearance and strong-handed rebuke put an instant 
 end to the tumult. The combatants dispersed in all 
 directions, and in less than three minutes only the 
 two he had collared remained on the ground." 
 
 In Washington's boyhood the people went every- 
 where on horseback. George was not afraid to 
 get astride the wildest animal on his father's planta- 
 tion, and he had quite a local reputation as a horse 
 trainer. He was very fond of horses all his life, 
 and at Mount Vernon it was his custom to spend 
 a part of every day in the saddle, going the rounds 
 of his estates, "visiting the out])osts," as he termed 
 it, in his military way. 1lie sight of ^^^ashington on 
 horseback always roused the ragged Continentals 
 to enthusiasm, because he sat his horse so well. 
 
36 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 and presented such a superb and graceful figure. 
 Jefferson claimed that ''Washington was the best 
 horseman of his age." 
 
 When Washington was eleven years of age his 
 father died, and he was left to the guardianship of 
 his mother. Mary Washington was a wonderful 
 woman; so, perhaps, it is not remarkable that her 
 son should become a wonderful man. She took 
 pains to bring him up with the noblest and most 
 manly ideas, and with the manners and instincts of 
 a gentleman. She instilled in his mind a reverence 
 for religion and an unswerving rectitude of pur- 
 pose. The strictness and sternness in his make-up 
 were inherited, no doubt, from his mother's Puritan 
 ancestors. She ever ruled her household with an 
 iron will. 
 
 One quality of the boy Washington which de- 
 serves especial mention was his justness. All his 
 schoolmates brought their quarrels to him for settle- 
 ment, because they were always sure of an impartial 
 decision. Thus Washington laid the foundation for 
 the wise legislator he afterward became. 
 
 George Washington left school at the age of six- 
 teen. " In these days,'' says Parsons, " many a boy 
 of twelve knows more of books and the world than 
 Washington did at sixteen. His reading was lim- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 37 
 
 ited in boyhood, as in later life. But in frecjuenting 
 the fields and woods he had gained a fund of infor- 
 mation that was afterward to be of great value to 
 him as a farmer and as a soldier. At that early age 
 he was familiar with the routine of plantation life 
 and w^ork. He knew all about taking care of stock, 
 breaking horses, mending fences, and other useful 
 things. • He was a good shot with the rifle, and was 
 fond of hunting." These qualifications all stood 
 him in good stead later in life. 
 
 When Washington was in his sixteenth year he 
 went to Mount Vernon to live with his elder brother, 
 Lawrence, a gentleman of rare culture and nol)il- 
 ity of character. Here he continued his studies in 
 mathematics and his practice of surveying. His 
 brother had married Anne, a daughter of Sir Will- 
 iam Fairfax, who for some years had been mana- 
 ger of the vast estates of his cousin. Lord Thomas 
 Fairfax, in America. At "Belvoir," a few miles 
 below Mount \xrnon, on the Potomac, he lived in 
 the lavish style of a true English country gentle- 
 man. Washington, as the friend of young George 
 Fairfax, was a welcome guest at lielvoir. Here 
 it was that Washington first met Lord Thomas 
 Fairfax, who became one of his earliest and mo<t 
 valued friends and was also his first patron. 
 
38 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Lord Fairfax owned immense estates in north- 
 ern Virginia, which he decided to have surveyed 
 previous to opening them for settlement. Having 
 taken a great Hking to young George, and noting his 
 interest in surveying, he employed him to survey 
 some of this wild land. 
 
 At this time Washington was just sixteen. He 
 set out at once in company with his friend, George 
 Fairfax, from Greenaway Court, the hunting lodge 
 Lord Fairfax had built in the forest. Together 
 they threaded the mazes of the wilderness, crossing- 
 rugged mountains, swamming their horses through 
 swollen streams, and sleeping sometimes in the 
 rough straw beds of the settlers, covered w'ith a 
 ragged blanket or a bearskin ; or more often 
 stretched upon a bed of hay beside their camp-fire. 
 
 Young Washington must have studied his books 
 on surveying very carefully, for he performed his 
 difficult task in about four wxeks' time, to the entire 
 satisfaction of his employer, and, in so doing, made 
 a name for himself as a surveyor. Others soon 
 wanted his services, and thus the young man busied 
 himself for the next three years. He soon became 
 accustomed to the rough life of the w^oods. " It was 
 a good school for a soldier," says Eggleston. 
 '' Every man was his own cook, toasting his meat 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 39 
 
 on ci forked slick, and eatinj^- it off a chip instead of 
 a pkile." The industrious young man found Uie 
 work quite proiital)le, as he says he made a doubloon 
 a day, and sometimes six pistoles.* 
 
 George Washington was prudent also. He in- 
 vested his savings carefully in land. The work 
 of surveying gave him an opportunity to see the 
 
 
 nr\][ 
 
 
 V 1 
 
 GREENAWAY COURT 
 
 - <^//> 
 
 country, and he was able to buy many a choice 
 tract at a very low price. For, in those days, land 
 was more plentiful than money. "Thus," savs 
 Parsons, ''Washington, by industry, economy, and 
 foresight, laid the foundation for his career of 
 
40 AAIERICAN HEROES 
 
 prosperity as a farmer and public man. But 
 strenuous endeavor and business judgment do not 
 account for the high degree of success that he 
 obtained. He had given attention to character- 
 building as something important, as well as getting 
 on in the world," as may be seen in the rules of 
 conduct w4iich Washington fashioned when but a 
 boy, and which were remodeled and added to from 
 time to time, as the occasion arose. 
 
 When Washington w^as nineteen years of age, 
 through the influence of his brother Lawrence, he 
 received the appointment of Adjutant-General, with 
 the rank of Major. His duties were "to inspect 
 and exercise the militia in preparation for an ex- 
 pected campaign against the French on the Ohio 
 River." Washington gave up surveying and set 
 about learning the art of w^ar in a business-like 
 fashion. He took lessons in military drill from an 
 old soldier, and practiced fencing under the in- 
 struction of a Dutchman named Van Bram. 
 
 Lawrence Washington then fell ill, and was or- 
 dered to the island of Barbados, in the West Indies, 
 for a change of climate. His brother George ac- 
 companied him. This trip was of inestimable value 
 to the young officer. For several months he was 
 associated daily with cultured gentlemen of wis- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 41 
 
 dom and experience. He became familiar with 
 the usages of good society and stored away in his 
 serious mind a fund of practical knowledge and 
 historical facts. \n the Journal which he kept at 
 this time he set down a vast amount of informa- 
 tion about the island of Barbados, as well as all 
 sorts of miscellaneous odds and ends, showing that 
 his eyes w^ere open to the world about him, and 
 that he was capable of absorbing the lessons it had 
 to teach. 
 
 In the summer of 1752 Lawrence Washington 
 returned home to die. About this time Ameri- 
 can affairs had reached a crisis. Trouble wnth 
 France had long been brewing. The French 
 had colonies in Canada and Louisiana. They like- 
 wise claimed the country west of the Alleghany 
 Mountains. To this territory the English also laid 
 claim, and many of the colonists had already crossed 
 the mountains and begun to settle in the rich lands 
 of the Ohio Valley. In order to keep out these 
 English settlers, the French had built a series 
 of forts along the west side of the mountains, and 
 had also stirred up the Indians against them. It was 
 evident that something must be done at once. So 
 the Governor of Virginia decided to send a letter 
 to the French commander warning him that they 
 
42 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 were on English ground, and chose Washington as 
 his messenger. 
 
 Washington received the commission October 30, 
 1753, and with his guide and attendants set out at 
 once. After a fierce struggle with swollen streams, 
 rough mountains, and dense wildernesses, they 
 came to a settlement on the Ohio River called Log- 
 town. Here Washington met a party of Indian 
 chiefs from neighboring tribes and had a long talk 
 with them. They were suspicious of the English 
 as w^ell as of the French, and the best Washington 
 could do was to persuade Chief Half -king and 
 some others to go with him to visit the French. 
 
 Washington and his party were received very 
 politely by the Frenchmen, but they were perfectly 
 frank with him. They told him firmly that the 
 country belonged to the French, and that they would 
 hold it by force, if need be; and would also im- 
 prison any Englishman found trading upon the 
 waters of the Ohio, or its branches. Furthermore, 
 they made no secret of giving whisky to Half-king 
 and his Indians, trying to persuade them to leave 
 Washington. His mission having been completed, 
 the young Major managed to get clear of the 
 French fort with the Indians still outwardly his 
 friends, and started on his homeward journey. 
 
44 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 *- 
 
 After many perils and hardships, Washington 
 arrived in WilHamsburg on the i6th of January, 
 1754, and at once waited upon the Governor with a 
 letter from the French commandant and an account 
 of his journey. Shortly afterwards his Journal of 
 the proceedings was published, and widely read 
 throughout the colonies. It made Washington's 
 name known and respected, both at home and 
 abroad. People admired the modest way in which 
 he referred to his own deeds and adventures, and 
 saw at once that it had taken considerable valor and 
 diplomacy to accomplish the mission. 
 
 The Journal also made it clear to the Colonists 
 that the French could not be driven from the dis- 
 puted territory without arms. Few of the people 
 were interested enough to go to war. Yet they did 
 not really like the idea of being penned into a nar- 
 row strip of land betw^een the mountains and the 
 sea. Virginia was more greatly concerned in the 
 matter than the other colonies, and Governor Din- 
 wdddie determined to send an armed force to take 
 possession of the Ohio Valley. On the advice of 
 Washington, a small company of frontiersmen, 
 under Captain Trent, was hurried forward at once 
 to build a fort at the junction of the Allegheny 
 and Monongahela Rivers; but the French drove 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 45 
 
 them away, and planted a fort of their own on the 
 spot. This they called Fort Duquesne. The city of 
 Pittsburg now stands on its historic site. 
 
 In the meantime Major Washington, who com- 
 manded the second company of volunteers, hurried 
 forward into the Western wilderness. Here he 
 found himself entirely outnumbered by the French. 
 He did not turn back, however, but whirled 
 fiercely upon a party of French soldiers who were 
 dogging- his footsteps, surrounded them in the 
 night, and took twenty-one prisoners. The leader, 
 Jumonville, and ten of his men were killed. This 
 act greatly angered the French, who claimed that it 
 was nothing more than common butchery, and 
 vowed to be revenged. 
 
 Washington saw that he must retreat or be 
 captured, so he f^ll back to a place called Great 
 Meadows, where a barricade they named Fort 
 Necessity was hastily constructed. With supplies 
 and ammunition nearly gone, matters were at a 
 sorry issue when the French burst upon them. 
 Washington held the fort for one day; then, know- 
 ing himself unable to continue the fight, surren- 
 dered with the honors of war, and was allowed to 
 march back to the settlements. Though the expe- 
 dition ended in defeat and failure, no one blamed 
 
46 AMERICAN HERpES 
 
 Washington, because everybody felt that he had 
 done all that could be done under the circumstances. 
 
 This expedition was really the beginning of a 
 great war between France and England. The next 
 year troops came over from England, the mother 
 country, to drive the Erench from Eort Duquesne. 
 Their commander, General Braddock, vv^as a brave 
 man, but he was foolhardy and obstinate. He had 
 been used only to the civilized countries of Europe, 
 with their good roads and well-drilled troops like 
 his own. So he laughed at the lank, careless- 
 looking frontiersmen, and treated the American 
 officers with contempt. If things had been left to 
 his decision, the Colonial troops would have been 
 dismissed on the spot. Eortunately this was not 
 done. Washington was so stung by Braddock's 
 treatment that he resigned his commission, although 
 later he accepted a position on the General's staff. 
 
 Rough as were the mountain roads, Braddock 
 set out for the frontier in a coach ! He kept his 
 men well up in marching array and laughed when 
 Washington suggested sending scouts out on either 
 side of the line. He would accept neither advice 
 nor assistance. 
 
 When they drew near to Fort Duquesne, Wash- 
 ington again asked Braddock to allow the Virginia 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 47 
 
 troops to take the lead, as ihcy were so well used to 
 the woods. But the old General only snorted in 
 disdain. The result of his ohstinacy was one of 
 the most distressing- episodes in Colonial history. 
 
 As they were 
 marchin^C' alon.c a 
 n a r r o w t r a c k 
 throui^h the woods, 
 July 9, 1755, the 
 French and Indians 
 suddenly l)urst upon 
 them. ''All at once," 
 says Eg-g-leston,''the 
 w^oods rang with 
 the wild war-cry of 
 the Indians, like the 
 barking" of a thou- 
 sand wnld animals. 
 
 GENERAT. BRADDOCK 
 
 The forest, but a 
 
 minute before so silent, w^as alive with screaming- 
 savages. From every tree and thicket the Indians 
 leveled their rifles at the red coats of the English, 
 wdio fell like pigeons under their fire. Unable to 
 see anybody to shoot at, the English soldiers did 
 not know^ what to do. The Americans took to 
 the trees and stumps and returned the fire in Indian 
 
48 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 fashion, and Washington begged the General to 
 order the British to do the same; but Braddock 
 made them stand up in Hne, where they could easily 
 be shot down." 
 
 At length the British General fell mortally 
 wounded, and Washington took command. He 
 bravely did his best to rally the troops and save the 
 battle. He dashed recklessly here and there; two 
 horses were shot from. under him and four bullets 
 pierced his coat; but his life was preserved for a 
 greater work than saving the day of Braddock's 
 defeat. The army, however, was too broken to be 
 rallied and what was left of the men fled back to 
 the settlements. Washington's conduct in this 
 affair made him a hero everywhere. He was at 
 once placed in command of the Virginia troops 
 and commissioned to defend the frontier. 
 
 The war between the French and the English 
 was not finally closed until 1763, but Washing- 
 ton performed no great feats in the conflict after 
 the year 1758. Then he led the Virginia volunteers, 
 in connection with the English General Forbes, in 
 an attack upon Fort Duquesne. The fort was aban- 
 doned and burned, November 24, before the Eng- 
 lish reached the Ohio River. They rebuilt a fort 
 upon its site, which they named Fort Pitt, in honor 
 of Lord Pitt, England's great Prime Minister. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 49 
 
 On one of his trips to confer with the Governor 
 at WilHamsbnrg, Washington stopped for (Hnner 
 one clay at the home of a hospitable planter. He 
 was introduced to a lovely young widow, Mrs. Mar- 
 tha Custis. Her manners and conversation were so 
 pleasing to Washington that he tarried until the 
 next day, and then finally rode away, leaving his 
 heart behind him. The young Colonel found him- 
 self unable to forget the beautiful Mrs. Custis, and 
 soon became a most devoted lover. Their marriage 
 took place January 6, 1759, ''in good old hospitable 
 Virginia style, amid a joyous assemblage of rela- 
 tives and friends." Time proved the union to be a 
 most happy one. The Washingtons had no children 
 of their own, but Washington filled a father's place 
 to his wife's two children, Martha and John. Later 
 he adopted Mrs. Washington's grandchildren, 
 Eleanpr Parke Custis and George Washington 
 Parke Custis. 
 
 Washington was said to be "the largest land 
 holder in the Old Dominion." He was also the 
 richest man in Virginia, if not in the Colonies. 
 Notwithstanding all this, Washington was a hard 
 w^orker. He rose early and got through an amazing 
 amount of hard work in a day. He was in the 
 saddle much of the time and gave his personal 
 
50 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 supervision to the work of his farms. It was his 
 special pride and pleasure to have everything first 
 class, and he did much tow^ard improving the agri- 
 cultural methods of his day. Mount Vernon was 
 his favorite estate, and through all the years of his 
 life was his heloved home. 
 
 Washington loved to hunt and to fish. He was 
 also fond of company and kept "open house." In- 
 deed, he frequently referred to Mount V^ernon as 
 '' a well resorted tavern." He also gave largely to 
 the poor and to charities of every sort.* The drain 
 upon his income w-as enormous, and had he not 
 been such a careful man of business he would have 
 been ruined. Like most of the Southern proprie- 
 tors, Washington had considerable trouble with his 
 slaves. Yet, he managed to keep about four thou- 
 sand acres under cultivation during the last years 
 of his life. 
 
 At one time more than five hundred negroes and 
 laborers were employed at Mount \^ernon alone. 
 '' The Mount Vernon grist-mill not only ground all 
 the flour and the meal for the help," says Blaisdell, 
 '' but it also turned out a brand of flour w^hich sold 
 at a fancy price. The coopers of the place made the 
 flour barrels, and Washington's own sloop carried 
 the flour to market. A dozen kinds of cloth, from 
 
»i 
 
 AT THE WHARF ON A VIRGINIA PLANTATION 
 
52 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 woolen and linen to bed ticking and toweling, were 
 woven on the premises." 
 
 During the peaceful and pleasant years which 
 Washington spent at Mount Vernon, immediately 
 following the French and Indian War, he was still 
 in the service of his country. As a member of the 
 House of Burgesses of Virginia, he was a model 
 legislator, always concerned for the public welfare. 
 He was constantly serving on committees, in which 
 his sound sense and wide knowledge of affairs w^ere 
 utilized in shaping the important measures of the 
 colony. 
 
 "In the First Continental Congress (1774), to 
 which he was a delegate, he gained a reputation for 
 practical wisdom not surpassed by .any other man 
 in that illustrious body." He was not an orator. 
 He was a counselor, and the few speeches he made 
 in the Continental Congress thus carried the more 
 weight. He never talked unless he had something 
 to say, and once having determined upon the right 
 course to take, he never thought of giving up. Even 
 in the darkest moments of the Revolution, when 
 failure stared the patriot army in the face and 
 people were despairing all about him, Washington 
 never lost his courage. 
 
 Small wonder, then, that the Second Continental 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 53 
 
 Congress and the people of the colonies called with 
 one voice for Washington when a commander-in- 
 chief for the armies was to be chosen! They knew 
 their man. Washington had proven what he could 
 do upon the battlefield. He was courageous, brave 
 even to recklessness when seeking to inspire his 
 disheartened men, and was never discouraged by 
 failure. 
 
 When Washington assumed command of the 
 army, beneath the elm at Cambridge, July 3, 1/75, 
 the task before him was one to appall the stoutest 
 heart. Never was an army in sorrier plight. 
 They w-ere few^ in number, poorly fed and clothed, 
 and entirely without discipline, for the colonies had 
 never had the money to maintain a standing army. 
 Moreover, there w^as but little powder in the coun- 
 try, and a scarcity of guns and artillery. Supplies 
 were slow in coming. " But the indomitable will 
 and sublime patience of Washington triumphed 
 over all difficulties, and for eight months he kept 
 the British shut up in Boston, while he trained and 
 ■disciplined his army, and gathered ammunition and 
 supplies." * 
 
 As soon as he felt strong enough, he suddenly 
 sent an army to fortify Dorchester Heights. The 
 men worked like beavers and in a single night 
 
54 
 
 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 threw up breastworks, formed of dirt and bales of 
 hay, to the great amazement of the enemy. From 
 this stronghold they poured shells into Boston with 
 
 INDEPENDENCE HAEL,* 
 
 such success that it soon became too uncomfortable 
 for the British. So they got into their ships and 
 sailed for safer quarters. Up to this time the 
 Americans had been fighting only to obtain their 
 
GEORGE WiVSlUNGTUN 55 
 
 rights as Englishmen. They wanted England to 
 repeal the unjust taxes, and to give them represen- 
 tation in J Parliament. They soon saw that their 
 demands would never be granted, and determined 
 to set up a government of their own. On July 4, 
 1776, the Colonies issued the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, declaring themselves "free and inde- 
 pendent." But they had yet to prove it. 
 
 The English government at once sent a fleet to 
 take the city of New York. Washington made a 
 brave defense, but he was forced to fall back across 
 the Delaware River into New Jersey. Everything 
 now looked black indeed for the patriot army. There 
 was less than ten thousand pounds of powder in 
 camp, and in a military sense the army was little 
 more than a rabble. To add to the trouble, many 
 of the officers were jealous and quarrelsome. 
 
 Then, too. Congress, which was made up largely 
 of meddlesome politicians who thought more of 
 their own interests than they did of the good of 
 the country, kept interfering with Washington's 
 plans. The Tories also were an evil factor. These 
 were people ^^•ho did not wish to separate from 
 England; and as some of them were high officials 
 and i)ersons of wealth, they had it in their power 
 to w ork the struggle for independence much harm 
 
56 A.AIERICAN HEROES 
 
 • 
 
 Altogether, in those days of 1776 the patriot 
 cause seemed at its lowest ebb; but Washington 
 alone did not lose heart. Instead, he determined 
 upon a daring feat to infuse new life and courage 
 into the people. England had hired large numbers 
 of German soldiers, or Hessians, to serve in their 
 army.''' These men were stationed at Trenton. The 
 American army of six thousand men lay on the 
 opposite side of the Delaware. Washington's plan 
 had been to divide his troops into three divisions, 
 cross the Delaware in the night, and fall upon the 
 Hessian camp. Tw^o of the division commanders 
 failed to do their part and only Washington's own 
 corps of twenty- four hundred men and twenty small 
 pieces of artillery succeeded in crossing. The night 
 was bitterly cold, and the river dangerously high 
 and full of floating ice; but Colonel Glover's regi- 
 ment of Marblehead fishermen rowed them safely 
 over. However, it was three in the morning before 
 all had crossed, and the little army was nine miles 
 from Trenton; but through a driving storm of 
 snow and sleet those brave Continentals and their 
 intrepid leader pushed on and completely surprised 
 the Hessian garrison, who were hardly awake. 
 Washington took one thousand prisoners, and 
 slipped back across the Delaware into Pennsylvania. 
 
58 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 The news of this victory was so glorious that 
 the people could not believe it. To convince them, 
 the Hessians were marched through the streets of 
 Philadelphia, and one of their flags was sent to 
 Baltimore to be inspected by Congress. The eft'ect 
 was miraculous. The discouraged country became 
 aflame with enthusiasm. '^Militia was hurried for- 
 ward ; the Jerseymen gathered at Morristown ; 
 money w^as raised ; the New England troops, wdiose 
 time of service had expired, were persuaded to stay 
 six weeks longer, and December 29, 1776, Washing- 
 ton again entered Trenton." 
 
 This came near being a fatal step. The British 
 General, Cornwallis, anxious to avenge the capture 
 of the Hessians, came hurrying down from the 
 North with eight thousand men and hemmed the 
 Americans in between his army and the Delaware 
 River. Arriving too late on January 2, 1777, to 
 begin an attack, Cornwallis went to bed, boasting 
 that he ''would bag the fox in the morning." 
 But he was mistaken in ''the fox!" During the 
 night Washington, under the feint of camp-fires 
 brightly burning, had slipped out by an unfre- 
 quented road back of Cornwallis' army and made 
 for Princeton, where three regiments of British 
 regulars were stationed. Cornw^allis never knew 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 59 
 
 "the fox" was gone until the next morning when 
 he heard the firing at Princeton, where Washington 
 had completely routed a division of his regulars. 
 Then he had to hasten with all speed to New 
 Brunswick to save his military stores. Washington, 
 well satisfied, let him go and went into the hills 
 
 MARCHING THROUGH THE SLEET ON TRENTON 
 
 about Alorristown for winter (juarters. Jn this 
 short campaign of three weeks, Washington had 
 won tw^o victories, taken two thousand prisoners, 
 and infused new life into a defeated army. 
 
 When the news of the x\merican victories 
 
60 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 reached England the King and his ministry were 
 furious. ''The unhappy affair of Trenton blasted 
 our hopes/' they said; but it "saved the Revo- 
 lution" and won for Washington a place among 
 the greatest Generals of his time. People looked 
 upon his march through the lines of the enemy as 
 little less than a miracle, and began to realize that 
 the man at the head of the American forces was a 
 great and safe military leader. Furthermore, he 
 had the most tender regard for and sympathy with 
 his heroic men, and was '' the father as well as the 
 commander of his soldiers." He looked after their 
 spiritual and physical welfare, trying to induce them 
 to lead moral lives as well as to fight well, and con- 
 stantly urging Congress to supply them with food 
 and clothing. It is small wonder that his men 
 adored him. 
 
 The war was at a standstill until late in May, 
 when Washington moved slowly from his head- 
 quarters at Morristown into New York State. The 
 British General, Howe, who was quartered in New 
 York city, made no effort to stop him. He had 
 made up his mind to capture Philadelphia, where 
 Congress was in session, and set sail for that city 
 as soon as Washington was well on the way. For- 
 tunately, a letter from Howe to General Burgoyne, 
 
THE MARQUIS OF LAFAYETTE 
 
62 AMERICAN HEROES . 
 
 who was then at w^ork near Albany, fell into 
 Washington's hands. He learned that the British 
 were going to try to separate the Middle and East- 
 ern States by cutting a way through New York, 
 and he surmised that Howe had embarked for 
 Philadelphia. Washington at once turned about 
 and hurried for that city, arriving August 2, 1777, 
 slightly in advance of the troops. Here he first met 
 the noble young Frenchman, Lafayette, who had 
 just been commissioned a Major-General in the 
 Continental army, having volunteered his services 
 to the American cause without pay. It was the 
 beginning of a lifelong and affectionate friendship 
 between the two men. 
 
 While Washington waited for Howe, he was 
 delighted to hear of the success of the Northern 
 Continentals at Bennington and Oriskany,* and of 
 the flying of our first national flag at the latter 
 place. He had sent General Schuyler, with Morgan 
 and Arnold, to check Burgoyne's march from 
 Canada southward, and he felt that they were 
 doing it thoroughly. Indeed, from the time a por- 
 tion of Burgoyne's army met Colonel John Stark 
 and the ''Green Mountain Boys" at Bennington, 
 that General's defeat was certain. Howe was at 
 sea, no one knew just where, and was powerless 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 63 
 
 to aid him. "The whole country was up in arms," 
 says Eg'gleston. "The miHtia, often barefoot, and 
 sometimes in their shirt-sleeves, carryini^- fowling- 
 pieces, flocked to the American standard. These 
 men were used to hunting, and knew how to shoot. 
 
 WASHINGTON'S RAGGED CONTINENTALS 
 
 They also knew the country round about in every 
 nook and corner. Burgoyne, on the other hand, 
 did not know the woods, and had no scouts who 
 knew them. Wherever he met the Americans a 
 
64 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 desperate battle followed. He found it impossible 
 to force his way to Albany, and the road back was 
 also closed to him. The x\mericans were, in fact, 
 all aromid him, and the final struggle was des- 
 perate," ending in his complete defeat. 
 
 Congress, to its shame, removed Schuyler from 
 command just at the moment of victory; but 
 thanks to the brave work of Arnold and Morgan, 
 Gates — who succeeded him — was able to force 
 Burgoyne to surrender his fine army of six thou- 
 sand men at Saratoga, October 17, 1777. It was 
 a glorious victory and covered Washington's defeat 
 at Philadelphia. For the commander-in-chief had 
 crippled his forces to aid the North. He had but 
 seven thousand poorly fed, half-barefooted men, 
 and they were no match against the flower of the 
 British army, when Howe finally arrived. Wash- 
 ington was forced to retreat at Brandywine; and 
 at Germantown, October 4, his army became con- 
 fused and panic-stricken by smoke and fog, and 
 fled almost at the moment of victory. This mis- 
 fortune left Philadelphia helpless before Howe. 
 
 During the winter of 1777-78, Washington went 
 into winter quarters at Valley Forge, on the west 
 bank of the Schuylkill River. The people had not 
 vet been aroused to the full value of the victorv at 
 
WASHINGTOX AND BAROX STEUBEN AT VALLEY FORGE 
 
66 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Saratoga. Everything seemed very black indeed. 
 The country round about had been pretty thor- 
 oughly foraged by the British. The people, tempted 
 by British gold, carried what little produce they 
 had to Philadelphia. The Continentals were starv- 
 ing. Their clothes were falling away in rags ; some 
 of them were without blankets; and they suffered 
 beyond description in the log huts which had been 
 hastily built for them. Many were ill and dis- 
 couraged, and death and desertion rapidly thinned 
 the ranks. As a last straw, some of the officers 
 formed a plot to displace Washington and put Gates 
 in command. It was called the " Conway Cabal," 
 from its ringleader. 
 
 "Never," says Parsons, "did Washington's 
 character appear to better advantage than when 
 he was passing through this, the severest ordeal 
 of his life. With dignity and seK-restraint he bore 
 up under this grievous trial, which, in addition to 
 his other burdens, he found a heavy load to carry. 
 The scheme failed and reacted upon its authors, 
 while Washington found himself growing in public 
 esteem and confidence." 
 
 But it is always the darkest just before dawn. 
 England, influenced by Burgoyne's defeat, offered 
 the Americans representation in Parliament, or 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON (>? 
 
 anything else they wanted, except independence. 
 France, alarmed lest they accept England's offer, 
 listened at last to the pleas of Franklin and La- 
 fayette, and sent a fleet and a large sum of money 
 to help the Americans to win their independence. 
 The Dutch loaned the patriots several millions of 
 dollars. Spain also offered friendly aid. A Prus- 
 sian soldier, Baron Steuben, joined the Continental 
 army and turned the camp into a military school. 
 Under his discipline the soldiers became stronger 
 than ever, and, at last, independence was sure. But 
 England w^ould not acknowledge it. 
 
 So the war went on with varying fortunes, which 
 wx cannot follow here, for the next two or three 
 years. In this time the scene of the conflict had 
 been largely transferred to the South. 
 
 General Cornwallis, who once had Washington 
 surrounded in Trenton, had won several victories 
 in the Southern States. But the people would not 
 stay whipped. They rebounded like a rubber ball 
 after each defeat. In the spring of 1781, General 
 Greene drove the British General out of North 
 Carolina into Virginia. Here Arnold had been 
 ravaging the country and Lafayette trying to 
 checkmate him. Cornwallis was in a dilemma. 
 Greene would not let him go back to North Caro- 
 
68 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 lina; he feared to go farther north, so he began 
 to entrench himself at Yorktown, awaiting help 
 from General Clinton and the British fleet. 
 
 At this juncture, Washington, who was in the 
 North watching New York, which was occupied by 
 British troops, made up his mind that if only he 
 could capture Cornwallis' fine army the war would 
 be ended. So, making every sign that he intended 
 to attack New York, in order to keep the British 
 from sending soldiers to aid Cornwallis, Washing- 
 ton slipped away at the head of two thousand 
 American and four thousand French troops for 
 \^irginia. On the way he visited his home at 
 Mount A^ernon, which he had not seen for six years. 
 
 Leaving West Point August 19, 1781, Washing- 
 ton reached Yorktown September 18, making the 
 march of four hundred miles in a month's time. 
 In the meantime, Wayne had reinforced Lafayette 
 with sixteen hundred men and shut Cornwallis up 
 in his ''mouse-trap." A splendid French fleet under 
 Admiral Grasse, who had landed several thousand 
 French troops, took up its station in front of 
 Yorktown, and kept the British ships away. Soon 
 Cornwallis was completely hemmed in by the French 
 fleet and sixteen thousand men. Resistance would 
 have been of no avail, so he surrendered, October 
 
■■:•;-■*-?; 
 
 
 THE aUliKENDEK OF COli.XWALLIS 
 
70 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 19, 1 781, with seven thousand men and eighty-four 
 cannon. This defeat so crippled the British that 
 it was considered virtually the end of the war. 
 While General Washington planned the brilliant 
 campaign, the victory was very largely due to the 
 help afforded by the French. 
 
 There was not much more actual fighting, though 
 the British troops were not called home until nearly 
 two years later. So long as they stayed in America, 
 Washington urged the necessity of being always 
 ready for battle, lest the Americans be taken un- 
 awares and lose what they had earned so dearly. 
 The treaty of peace was signed November 3, 1783, 
 and the last of the British troops left New York in 
 November. 
 
 Washington took leave of his troops at Annapo- 
 lis, December 2;^, 1783, having served eight and 
 one-half years as commander-in-chief. While all 
 the world was ringing with his praises, he joyfully 
 took up his w^ork at Mount Vernon and never in- 
 tended to return again to public life. But this 
 dearly earned rest was to be denied him. He was 
 to be head of the state as he had been head of the 
 army and lead it to safety. The new nation was 
 in danger of falling to pieces. Each State was a 
 little country by itself. The Articles of Confedera- 
 
.«/,vi<-';5*^v ■ .rt,.iCiv;"v«^t?>:: 
 
 WASHINGTON AT iMQUXT VERNON 
 
n AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 tion, by which they were united together, were 
 entirely inadequate for the new conditions. Some- 
 thing better and stronger was needed. Accordingly, 
 a convention was called to meet in Philadelphia 
 five years (1787) after the clofee of the war. 
 Washington was sent as one of the delegates from 
 Virginia, and was at' once made President of the 
 convention. 
 
 The convention sat in secret for several months. 
 At last they produced our present Constitution, 
 binding all the States together into one country, 
 under the rule of a President and Congress. It 
 was at once submitted to the different States for 
 approval, but more than a year went by before it 
 had been accepted by a majority of the States. 
 
 When it came time to elect a President, again 
 there was but one man for the place — Washing- 
 ton! He was elected by nearly all the votes cast. 
 A messenger was sent from New York, which was 
 then the capital of the country, to Mount Vernon 
 to tell General Washington that the people had once 
 more chosen him to lead them. 
 
 Washington set out for New York in April, and 
 his entire journey was a triumphal progress. 
 People all along the way turned out to do him 
 homasfe. Little girls strewed flowers before him; 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 73 
 
 men of influence rode beside his carriage ; and the 
 towns welcomed him with pubhc banquets. At 
 Trenton, where Washington's genius and daring 
 had turned the fortunes of our despairing peo])le, 
 the l)ridge over which he had passed toward Prince- 
 ton on that never-to-be-forgotten night was spanned 
 
 TP**./-^ '-X'**:*.! 
 
 -^, 
 
 
 
 FEDERAL HALL, OUR COUNTRY'S FIRST CAPITOL 
 
 by a beautiful arch. Girls dressed in white sang 
 songs of victory and strewed flowers before him. 
 At New York he was welcomed with every possil)le 
 honor. He took the oath of oftice, April 30, 1789, 
 standing on the balcony in front of Federal Hall, 
 in the presence of Congress and a great multitude 
 of people. 
 
 In the Presidential chair, which he accepted not 
 
74 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 from desire but from his strong sense of duty to 
 his country, Washington guided the nation ''with 
 an unswerving eye and a steady hand through dark- 
 ness and through storm." Nor was it an easy 
 matter, as we may gather from a brief glance at 
 the condition of the country at this time. The 
 government was new and untried. ]\Iany questions 
 arose which perhaps only "the Father of his 
 Country" could have settled satisfactorily. There 
 w^as no other American who stood so high in popu- 
 lar estimation. People had unbounded confidence 
 in his honor, truthfulness, and justice, and in the 
 high and controlling sense of duty which governed 
 his every action. He w^as reelected President in 
 1792. He refused election a third time, and re- 
 turned to Mount Vernon to spend his remaining 
 days in the active out-of-door life which he loved. 
 On December 12, 1799, Washington made his 
 usual daily horseback ride over his estate in the 
 midst of a driving storm of sleet and rain. He 
 became thoroughly wet and chilled, and took a 
 severe cold. He treated it lightly at first, refusing 
 to be "coddled," and saying the cold could go as it 
 came. Later, quinsy developed, and he died on the 
 evening of December 14, at the age of sixty-seven, 
 leaving to his countrymen the priceless heritage of 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 75 
 
 his inimorlal deeds and words. The greatest tril)- 
 utes ever paid to mortal man have l)een paid to him 
 who was " First in peace, first in war, and first in 
 the hearts of his countrymen," — the grandest type 
 of an American our country has ever produced. 
 
 WASHINGTON S COAT-OF-ARMS. 
 
THE STATUE OF NATHAN HALE 
 
NATHAN HALE, THE PATRIOT SPY 
 
 After his defeat in the battle of Long Lsland, 
 August 2y, 1776, Washington was greatly troubled 
 as to what he should do. He had withdrawn his 
 forces to New York City, but he knew not whether 
 it was wiser to stay and defend the city or to fly 
 to a place of greater security. The outlook was 
 dark indeed. A fourth of the army was sick; a 
 third had no tents ; and a large number, chiefly new 
 recruits, were short of clothing, shoes, and blankets. 
 Altogether the patriot army numbered only four- 
 teen thousand men fit for duty, and these were 
 scattered along a distance of twelve or more miles. 
 
 The British army of twenty-five thousand brave 
 and well-trained veterans lay encamped in front of 
 them along the shores of New York Bay and the 
 East River. Moreover, the British had a large fleet 
 of warships lying at anchor and ready for service, 
 while spy ships sailed about continually, watching 
 every movement of the Americans. 
 
 Winter was not far away, and Washington 
 feared the effect upon the patriot cause, if no effort 
 
 77 
 
78 ■ AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 was made to attack the British; yet it must be 
 made in the face of ahiiost certain defeat. His 
 raw, suffering troops had Httle chance against twice 
 the number of British regulars. What should be 
 done ? 
 
 Washington's headquarters were in the home of 
 Robert Murray, a Quaker merchant, and here he 
 called his officers together to consider the grave 
 and perplexing question. It had just been decided 
 to move northward to Harlem Heights — a posi- 
 tion much stronger than New^ York, as it admitted 
 of a more open line of retreat if that were neces- 
 sary; for Washington had no intention of being 
 surrounded on Manhattan Island for the winter by 
 the King's forces, or, more probably, of losing his 
 entire army in one swoop — w4ien scouts came 
 hurrying with the news that the British seemed 
 to be getting ready to move. But no one knew 
 where they were going. 
 
 '' Gentlemen," said Washington, " the fate of 
 our army depends upon our finding out the plans 
 of the enemy at once." As all agreed to this, it 
 was determined to send a spy into the British camp 
 to pick up all the information he could find. 
 
 Washington intrusted the matter of finding the 
 right man to Colonel Knowlton, one of his aids. 
 
NATHAN MALE 79 
 
 who had greatly distinguished himself on many 
 occasions. It proved to be a diflicult task. All 
 who were capable of filling the part shrank from it. 
 At last Colonel Ivnowlton bethought himself of a 
 clever scout who had undertaken many daring 
 deeds, and w-as noted for his rashness and bravery. 
 He w^as sent for; but the perilous task was too 
 much even for him. The penalty, if captured, was 
 too dreadful to contemplate. 
 
 '' No, Colonel Know^lton," he said firmly, " I am 
 willing to serve my country in any honorable way. 
 I will take any risks as a scout, or fight the red- 
 coats anywhere; but, sir, I cannot be a spy, even 
 for General Washington, much as I respect and 
 admire him." 
 
 This seemed to be the sentiment of all. Colonel 
 Know'lton w^as about to give up the search, when 
 he was startled by a low, firm voice at his elbow: 
 " I W'ill go. A soldier should never consult his fears 
 when duty calls." 
 
 He turned in surprise. The voice was that of 
 Captain Nathan Hale, a brilliant young officer, 
 scarcely recovered from a severe illness. Hale's 
 friends pleaded with him not to go. It w^as mad- 
 ness, they said, for one whose prospects were so 
 brilliant to undertake so perilous a mission. But 
 
80 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Hale was not to be dissuaded, for he did not con- 
 sider the vakie of his Hfe where his country's needs 
 were concerned. 
 
 *' I wish to be useful," he said, with kindling face 
 and eyes alight with the fire of patriotism, "and 
 the mission is not without honor, since it involves 
 the fate of the army. My country's claims are 
 imperious, and I am glad of this opportunity to 
 serve her." 
 
 Nathan Hale was Captain of a company of 
 Connecticut volunteers. His men fairly worshiped 
 him. He was the steward of their rations, clothing, 
 and money, and the sympathetic confidant of 
 every lad in his regiment. He was a careful stu- 
 dent of military tactics, and often served on picket 
 duty. But, in spite of all this, he found time to 
 arrange wrestling matches for his men, to play ball 
 and checkers, and, on Sundays, to hold open-air 
 religious services. 
 
 He was born in a little old-fashioned house in 
 Coventry, Conn., June 6, 1755. Eight brothers and 
 three sisters made the home a bright and joyous 
 place. Both father and mother were people of 
 sterling worth. Mr. Hale governed his family in 
 strict Puritan fashion, in fear of the Lord. He 
 was very loyal to his country, and, after the war 
 
NATHAN HALE 81 
 
 began, all the wool raised on his farm was made 
 into blankets for the army. Three of his sons he 
 dedicated to the ministry. Nathan was one of these. 
 
 As a lad, young Hale was bright and active and 
 filled with a love for all boyish sports. He liked 
 books, and read with interest everything that came 
 his way. He entered Yale College at the age of 
 fifteen, and graduated in 1773, just two years be- 
 fore the Battle of Bunker Hill. Shortly afterwards 
 he entered upon the career of " schoolmaster," and 
 was later elected principal of a select school at New 
 London, not far from his home town. 
 
 Professor Hale was well liked by all his pupils. 
 He earnestly sought to implant in their minds the 
 principles of courage, manliness, and patriotism. 
 On the playground, as well as in the schoolroom, 
 he was their leader. No one was a better wrestler 
 or ball player. 
 
 When news came of the bloodshed at Lexington, 
 young Hale was fired with enthusiasm. Lie at- 
 tended a rousing mass meeting that very evening 
 and was one of the most ardent speakers. '' Let us 
 march at once," he cried, ''and never lay down our 
 arms until we obtain our independence!" 
 
 A company was formed at white heat, and 
 marched for Cambridge the next day. The same 
 
82 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 promptness and dispatch marked his conduct after 
 accepting Washington's mission. Within a few 
 hours he had taken leave of his friends and, in 
 company with one of his own trusted soldiers, lay 
 in wait for an opportunity to cross Long Island 
 Sound. This was an impossibility in the vicinity 
 of Harlem, on account of the British spy ships 
 patrolling the Sound. So Hale and his companion 
 crept stealthily along the Connecticut side until 
 Norfolk was reached — a distance of fifty miles. 
 Here a sloop was found to carry Hale across to the 
 other side. 
 
 En route he changed his uniform for a suit of 
 citizen's clothes, and landed on Long Island as a 
 schoolmaster in search of a school. Of course, he 
 ''accidentally" stumbled into a British camp and 
 at once began to make friends with the dragoons, 
 who, as Hale was a most likable young fellow, 
 received him cordially. 
 
 Thus two weeks passed away. Hale journeyed 
 from one point to another, always keyed to the 
 highest pitch, and scarcely sleeping at night, so 
 anxious was he to make note of everything which 
 might be of service to the American cause. 
 
 At last his mission was completed. He had made 
 the rounds of the British camps and returned to 
 
NATHAN HALE 
 
 83 
 
 his starting point, unharmed and unsuspected. He 
 had learned all that his General desired and more, 
 and had his drawings and notes carefully concealed 
 in the soles of his shoes. It seemed as if he was 
 
 CAi'TLllK UF NATilAN HALE 
 
 going to get home in safety. Perhaps this fact 
 made him the least bit careless. He was very tired 
 and hungry, and, feeling that no one would recog- 
 nize him in the schoolmaster's garb, he ventured 
 boldly into a tavern''' kei)t by a woman nicknamed 
 "Mother Chick" that was the favorite loafing place 
 
84 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 of all the Tories in the vicinity. Hale should have 
 been wise enough to keep away from such a place, 
 but the goal was so near that our hero felt no fear. 
 He ate a good supper and spent the night at the 
 tavern. 
 
 Bright and early next morning Hale was up and 
 secretly on the lookout for the boat he expected to 
 meet him. Suddenly old Mother Chick burst into 
 the room, crying, '' Look out, boys ! A strange boat 
 is heading close in shore!" The Tories scattered 
 like wildfire, and Hale carefully reconnoitered. It 
 was not exactly the spot where he had arranged to 
 meet his friends, yet it looked very much like the 
 sloop ; so he hastened down to the beach. 
 
 It was not the boat he expected, but he did 
 not find out his mistake until he was too close 
 to retreat, with six British marines pointing their 
 muskets straight at him, and the cry, '' Surrender 
 or die!" ringing in his ears. Escape was impos- 
 sible, and poor Hale was forced to give himself 
 up almost in sight of victory! But he did it 
 bravely and unflinchingly, as became a true and 
 noble soldier, and the British captain and sailors 
 could but admire him. When young Hale was 
 brought before General Howe he looked him fear- 
 lessly in the eye and bravely owned that he was 
 
NATHAN HALE 85 
 
 ail American ofilccr. He said he was sorry that 
 he had not heen able to serve his country better. 
 Without trial of any kind, the British General 
 condemned him to die the death of a spy. 
 
 Poor, brave boy! how cruelly brief was the time 
 left him. Yet he took the sentence as calmly and 
 nobly as he had the capture, but this time no words 
 of sympathy came from the heart of his captor. 
 He was unf eelin^^ly turned over to Cunningham, 
 the brutal provost-marshal, and confined, under 
 strong guard, in the greenhouse at the rear of the 
 mansion where Howe had his headquarters. 
 
 Here he spent the night alone, denied by his 
 heartless keeper even the Bible he had asked for; 
 but morning found him calm and ready. At the last 
 moment, while preparations for his execution were 
 being made, a young officer, moved by Hale's noble 
 bearing, kindly allowed him to sit in his tent long 
 enough to write brief messages of farewell to his 
 mother and his sweetheart. These were passed to 
 Cunningham to be sent. After reading these sacred 
 letters, the brutal officer tore them into shreds 
 before the eyes of his captive, declaring that the 
 '' rebels should never know they had a man who 
 could die so bravely." 
 
 Just before sunrise September 22, 1776, on a 
 
86 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 lovely Sabbath morning, Nathan Hale was led out 
 to die. Early as it was, a number of men and 
 women had gathered about the apple tree which 
 was to serve for a gallows. This, perhaps, excited 
 the provost-marshal to more than his usual show 
 of cruelty, for, as the doomed youth mounted the 
 ladder, he bawled coarsely, ''Give us your dying 
 speech, you young rebel ! " 
 
 Nathan Hale paused where he was, and, lifting 
 his eyes to heaven, said in a clear, steady voice, 
 '' I only regret that I have but one life to lose for 
 my country." 
 
 So perished Captain Nathan Hale, the earliest 
 martyr in the cause of American freedom. He 
 gave his life fully and freely to his beloved country, 
 and thereby won immortal fame. More than a 
 century later a handsome statue"^ was erected to his 
 memory in the city of New York. It stands in 
 City Hall Square, one of the busiest spots of the 
 metropolis in which he made his great sacrifice. 
 
"MAD ANTHONY" WAYNE, THE HERO 
 OF STONY POINT 
 
 After the battle of Monmouth, which took place 
 June 28, 1778, no military events of importance 
 occurred until the next spring. Some time during 
 the night after that engagement, Sir Henry Clinton, 
 who commanded the British forces, slipped quietly 
 away and escaped to New York, where he remained 
 all winter. Washington retired to White Plains, 
 N. Y., and afterward crossed the Hudson to Middle- 
 brook, N. ]., where he could more easily protect his 
 defenses at West Point and King's Ferry. 
 
 Early in the spring, Washington, thinking to 
 make his position more secure, made up his mind 
 to fortify Verplanck's Point and Stony Point, twin 
 headlands on opposite sides of the Hudson, thirteen 
 miles below West Point, and the natural gateway 
 to the lower Highlands. 
 
 Before the patriots had completed their work on 
 Stony Point, Sir Henry Clinton cast covetous eyes 
 on this fine strategic point and determined to pos- 
 sess both the forts, so he sent an expedition to 
 
 87 
 
88 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 capture them. Owing to the unprotected condition 
 of Stony Point, he accompHshed this very easily. 
 
 The British were overjoyed at their success and 
 straightway set to work to make a "Little Gibral- 
 tar" of Stony Point. For this it was especially 
 well adapted, being a rocky, thumb-shaped prom- 
 ontory, 150 feet high, extending nearly half a mile 
 into the river, which washed it on three sides. 
 On the land side was a morass that could be crossed 
 only at low tide by a bridge or causeway. It was 
 not long before all four sides bristled with breast- 
 works, and the top with cannon pointing in every 
 direction. Alons* each side of the causewav was 
 placed a row of sharpened and spiked logs to form 
 an abatis. The fort was garrisoned by six hundred 
 men, while a man-of-war constantly patrolled the 
 river. Altogether, when the British completed their 
 work on Stony Point it was well worthy of the name 
 of " Little Gibraltar," and not a very easy proposi- 
 tion for an enemy to think of storming. But the 
 man whom Washington later selected for this diffi- 
 cult task was, like the famous Paul Jones. *' all kinds 
 of a fighting man." 
 
 Both armies, though it was midsummer, were 
 comparatively quiet: Washington because he was 
 not strong enough to take the offensive, and Clinton 
 
''MAD ANTHONY" WAYNK 89 
 
 because he could nut force his antai^onist into rash 
 action. As a final effort he sent Governor Tryon, 
 who was noted for his l)rutality, into Connecticut, 
 with a force of Tories and Hessians, to ravage the 
 country and slay and outrage the people. And he 
 went about his work with the utmost cruelty. 
 
 General Washington deeply sympathized with 
 the unfortunate people, but dared not leave his posi- 
 tion on the Hudson to go to their relief, which was 
 just what Clinton wanted him to do. However, 
 Washington soon planned a counter move. This 
 was nothing more nor less than the recapture of 
 Stony Point. It was indeed a very hazardous 
 undertaking; but this stronghold in British hands 
 w^as a constant menace to Washington's control of 
 the Highlands and must be recovered. The only 
 question was how^ it should be done. Not by o])en 
 assault, surely; but stealthily and under cover of 
 the night. But what brave soldier would Washing- 
 ton select for this daring deed? Instinctively he 
 turned to General Wayne, a gallant officer, fash- 
 ioned after a model dear to his own heart. Although 
 so daring that he was called '' Mad Anthony " by 
 his soldiers, he was likewise warv, vio-ilant, and 
 firm as a rock, and is said to have been the hardest 
 fighter on either side in the Revolution. As might 
 
90 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 have been expected, General Wayne eagerly ac- 
 cepted the mission. 
 
 The expedition was planned by Washington him- 
 self with the greatest secrecy and skill. Not a detail 
 was omitted. Even the dogs within three miles of 
 Stony Point were killed, lest an milucky bark should 
 betray the presence of the oncoming soldiers. Only 
 light infantry* was to compose the attacking party. 
 
 The men were to be divided into two columns, 
 each preceded by a vanguard of one hundred and 
 fifty chosen men and officers who were to make the 
 surprise; and these in turn by a band of twenty 
 tried and determined men, who were to remove the 
 obstructions, secure the sentries, and drive back the 
 guards. The men were all to wear white cockades 
 and shout a w^atchword, after they had scaled the 
 ramparts, to distinguish them from the enemy. The 
 work was to be done with the bayonet only. 
 
 An undercurrent of excitement ran through the 
 camp when it was known that over thirteen hundred 
 picked veterans had been selected for some impor- 
 tant service ; and there was much speculation when 
 these men, fully equipped and under command of 
 General Wayne, marched rapidly southward from 
 Sandy Beach. They had proceeded only a short dis- 
 tance when they left the highway and plunged into 
 
"MAD ANTHONY" WAYNE 
 
 91 
 
 the wilderness. Sing-le file and in silence, they sped 
 along rocky hillsides and through gloomy defiles. 
 About 8 o'clock in the evening they came to a 
 final halt at Springstcel's farm, about a mile and 
 a half in the rear of Stony Point and fourteen miles 
 
 THE STORMING OF STONY POINT 
 
 from camp. Here the men dropped wearily to the 
 ground and ate their supper of bread and cold meat 
 in silence. 
 
 Here for the first time the men learned of their 
 destination, and while, perhaps, many a brave fel- 
 low's face blanched at the news, their hearts were 
 all as brave as was that of their valiant leader. 
 
92 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Quickly and silently the preparations went on as 
 planned. General Wayne himself was to lead the 
 right column. 
 
 Half an hour before midnight found the troops 
 again in motion. Slowly and cautiously they fol- 
 lowed their guide, a faithful negro who had been in 
 the habit of selling fruit to the British. He had 
 obtained the countersign for the night on the plea 
 that he could not come in the daytime because his 
 master wanted him to hoe corn."^ 
 
 As the causeway w^as overflowed, it was about 
 half-past 12 before the troops could cross. The 
 whole affair had been so skillfully managed that 
 our men were almost upon the outworks before 
 they were discovered. Then there was a severe 
 skirmish wath the pickets, and instantly the fort 
 was in an uproar. The British leaped quickly into 
 action, but before they could rally their forces the 
 two main columns had scaled the ramparts and on 
 every side were seen the white cockades and heard 
 the shouts, '' The fort is ours ! The fort is ours ! " 
 
 Colonel Fleury was the first man to enter, and 
 it was the hand of the gallant Frenchman that 
 hauled down the British flag. Just at the moment 
 of victory General Wayne was struck in the head 
 by a musket-ball, and for a moment it was thought 
 
'MAD AXTHONY" WAYNl^: 
 
 93 
 
 he had received his death wound. But the country 
 was not yet to lose brave General Wayne. He was 
 soon ready to rejoice with his men, for at i o'clock, 
 thirty minutes from the time the marsh was crossed, 
 the men were shoutino- in honor of their victory!* 
 
 GOLD MEDAL GIVEN BY CONGRESS TO GENERAL WAYNE 
 
 In carrying out this brilliant exploit the Amer- 
 ican loss was 15 killed and 83 wounded; that of 
 the British, 63 killed and 543 taken prisoners, in- 
 cluding- 70 wounded, with 15 cannon and military 
 supplies. 
 
 Of course ''Mad Anthony" and his men were 
 the heroes of the hour, and well they might be, for 
 the brave deed they had done in that midnight hour 
 was one of the most brilliant exploits of the war 
 for independence, or, in fact, of any war, and won 
 great applause from friend and foe alike. General 
 
94 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Washington hastened to congratulate these brave 
 heroes in person, while Congress gave General 
 Wayne a gold medal and passed a resolution prais- 
 ing him for his ''brave, prudent, and soldierly 
 conduct." 
 
 The effect of this victory was to put heart into 
 the discouraged and sorely tried soldiers, and to 
 give them greater confidence in their fighting 
 powers. Clinton withdrew the evil Tryon from 
 Connecticut and massed his forces to w^atch 
 Washington. 
 
 Stony Point is now the property of the State of 
 New York, and will ever be a proud monument to 
 the daring valor of '' Alad Anthony" Wayne. 
 
 There is one thing in connection with the cap- 
 ture of Stony Point that is of lasting honor to 
 the American soldiers, and that is that not one of 
 the captured men was killed after the surrender; 
 and this in face of the fact that the British were 
 killing defenseless people in a neighboring state 
 and destroying their property. They thus proved 
 that huinanity as well as bravery was a virtue of 
 the American soldier. 
 
 The record of General Wayne's life is briefly 
 this: He was born in Waynesboro, Pa., January i, 
 1745. His father was a man of wealth, and had 
 
"MAD ANTHONY" WAYNE 95 
 
 been a captain in the Provincial service. As a 
 schoolboy he loved to study mathematics and play 
 war. He was always drilling his schoolmates and 
 making them dig ditches and throw up breastworks, 
 much to the detriment of their studies and the 
 anger of the schoolmaster. As a youth he excelled 
 as a surveyor. He was a devoted patriot, ancf early 
 entered the army. On January 3, 1776, when he 
 was just twenty-one, he was made Colonel of the 
 Fourth Battalion of the Pennsylvania Line. 'He 
 was ever the idol of his men.* 
 
 While General Wayne is popularly known as the 
 hero of Stony Point, he was in fact one of the best 
 generals in every respect in the patriot army. He 
 excelled as a drill master, and no troops wxre better 
 trained than those of the Pennsylvania Line. He 
 always had the confidence of Washington, and 
 could always be depended on for firmness and wis- 
 dom as well as for hard fighting. This was proven 
 on some of the most hardly fought fields of the 
 Revolution. And his patriotism was of the purest. 
 No shade of personal jealousy ever clouded his 
 sense of duty or his love of country, no matter how 
 ill-treated he might be for political reasons. 
 
 But brilliant as Wayne's services to his country 
 had been in its struggle with England, it remained 
 
96 AINIERICAN HEROES 
 
 for him to render it his greatest service at the close 
 of his Hfe. In the autumn of 1790 war broke out 
 with the Miami Confederation of Indians in that 
 part of the Northwest Territory known as Ohio. 
 The Indians were very powerful and were led by 
 Little Turtle, an able and renowned warrior. 
 General Harmar had set out from Fort Washing- 
 ton with two thousand men to subdue the savages, 
 and had pursued them almost to Fort Wayne, when 
 his 'force was ambuscaded and nearly destroyed. 
 The next year a similar expedition was organized 
 against the hostile Indians under General St. Clair, 
 governor of the territory. In less than two months 
 he had been surprised by his wily foes and his 
 command nearly destroyed. 
 
 In despair Washington ( 1792) appointed General 
 Wayne commander-in-chief of the army and sent 
 him West to whip the Indians and restore peace to 
 the distracted country. On taking command, " Mad 
 Anthony " at once set about raising a force of three 
 thousand men. These he drilled for many months, 
 with the greatest care, until they were fleet as deer 
 and could load and fire while running. When 
 Wayne had his men fully trained he set out for 
 the Indian country in Northwest Ohio, along the 
 Maumee and Auglaize. At the junction of these 
 
1 
 
 
 
 1 ^ i;^. 
 
 
 i 
 
 ... .^ 
 
 '%^' 
 
 ^ii. 
 
98 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 two streams he built and garrisoned Fort Defiance. 
 Then he sent proposals of peace to Little Turtle 
 and the other chiefs, who were holding a great 
 council on the Maumee. Peace was favored by 
 Little Turtle, but most of the chiefs wished war. 
 
 So General Wayne (August 20, 1794) marched 
 on the Indians at once, and came up with them near 
 Waynesfield. The savages had taken their position 
 in a lot of fallen timber, and fought desperately in 
 their usual style; but nine hundred of Wayne's 
 fleet-footed troops charged them with bayonets, 
 and routed them with terrible slaughter. The 
 campaign was a complete success, and the Lidians 
 purchased peace by ceding a large tract of land 
 east of the Miami to the United States. Wayne 
 returned to Pennsylvania after this great victory at 
 the "Fallen Timbers," which brought permanent 
 peace to the Northwest, and was received with the 
 greatest honors and applause. He returned to 
 Ohio to conclude the treaty with the Indians, and 
 died on Lake Erie, December 15, 1796. He is 
 buried at Radnor, Pennsylvania. 
 
PAUL JONES 
 
PAUL JONES, OUR FIRST NAVAL HERO 
 
 When Congress provided for the organization 
 of the navy, at the beginning of the Revolutionary 
 War, one of the first men to beg for a ship and 
 a commission was John Paul Jones, a wiry little 
 Scotchman about thirty years of age. ''I ask no 
 pay for my services," he said; "but give me a good 
 ship, please, for I mean to go in harm's way." 
 
 Robert Morris, one of the members of the marine 
 committee, was much pleased with Jones. Pie 
 placed his name at the head of the list of the thir- 
 teen lieutenants he had enrolled because he found 
 that Jones was easily their superior in point of 
 military tactics and knowledge of the sea. 
 
 John Paul, youngest in a gardener's family of 
 seven children, was born in Kirkcudbrightshire, 
 Scotland, in 1747. He was early crowded out to 
 make his own way in the world, being a shipmaster's 
 apprentice at twelve. He was mate on his master's 
 ship at seventeen, and captain of a merchantman 
 at twenty-one. After making several voyages he 
 gave up his ship and came to America to visit his 
 
 99 
 
100 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 oldest brother, who had been adopted by a relative 
 named William Jones, a planter of considerable 
 wealth near Fredericksburg, Va. After remaining 
 here a couple of years he again took command of 
 an English ship. In 1773, his brother having died 
 wathout heirs, he returned to America to take pos- 
 session of the estate, which became his by the wall 
 of their relative, with the provision that he should 
 assume the name of Jones. 
 
 Trusting his newly-acquired plantation to his 
 brother's able overseer, for more than two years 
 Jones gave himself up to society and study, acquir- 
 ing, among other things, French and Spanish. He 
 entertained with lavish hospitality and formed the 
 acquaintance of Colonel Washington, of Jefferson, 
 Livingston, the Lees, Franklin, and many other 
 prominent men south of New England. He became 
 a cultivated man of the world, well able to take his 
 place among the distinguished people with whom 
 his genius later brought him into contact. Li 1776 
 the British destroyed his plantation and carried his 
 slaves aw^ay to Jamaica. He had only his sword 
 and his genius left. 
 
 For some reason, Jones had always had the most 
 intense hatred of England. Even as a child, when 
 watching the ships go by his home on Solway Firth, 
 
PAUL JONES 
 
 101 
 
 "RATTLESNAKE" FLAG 
 
 he had resolved to cross the ocean, fit out a great 
 ship, and return to England to "destroy her com- 
 merce, and in a hundred ways spread disaster and 
 ruin throughout her domain." 
 
 On Jones' admission to the navy, it consisted of 
 only two ships, two brigan- 
 tines, and one sloop. Thirteen 
 new frigates, however, were to 
 be completed within the year. 
 Men to man these ships were 
 enrolled at once and placed on 
 board the Alfred, under com- 
 mand of Paul Jones, who was 
 to "instruct them in the arts and practices of war." 
 Here Jones received his title of " Founder of the 
 American Navy." Here, also, he hoisted the first 
 flag of the Revolution — the ''Rattlesnake flag,"* 
 with its significant motto, '' Don't Tread on Me." 
 
 On May lo, 1776, Jones was made Captain 
 of the vessel Providence, carrying twelve four- 
 pounders. His business was to convey military 
 stores from New England to Washington's army 
 on Long Island. This was a difficult undertaking, 
 because the coast and sound swarmed with British 
 cruisers from Howe's fleet; but he succeeded so 
 well that he won the admiration of Washington, 
 
102 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 as well as the approval of Congress. In the autumn 
 he made a six weeks' cruise, during which he cap- 
 tured sixteen prizes, besides doing considerable 
 damage to the enemy's fishing and trading ships. 
 Among the valuables taken was a ''considerable 
 quantity of clothing and provisions." These were 
 promptly sent to Washington's destitute army on 
 the Delaware. 
 
 As a reward for these valuable services, Paul 
 Jones was promised the command of a splendid 
 ship then being built in Amsterdam for the Ameri- 
 can navy. In the meantime he was ordered to take 
 command of the Ranger, an old sloop-of-war being 
 fitted for the sea at Portsmouth, N. H. He went 
 on board June 14, 1777. This was the day Con- 
 gress adopted the stars and stripes as the national 
 ensign. Paul Jones at once hoisted the new flag on 
 the Ranger, and for the first time the stars and 
 stripes floated over the sea. 
 
 In November, 1777, he set sail for France with 
 news of Burgoyne's surrender. In that country a 
 sharp disappointment awaited him. He did not 
 receive command of the fine new ship promised him. 
 Great Britain had raised such a storm ^over the 
 building of the frigate for the American colonies 
 that it had been passed over to the French for safe- 
 
PAUL JONES ■ 103 
 
 keeping. Of course this was a bitter disappoint- 
 ment, but Jones, with his usual happy facuUy for 
 making the best of things, at once set about making 
 the decrepit old Ranger more seaworthy. For fight 
 he would, ship or no ship ; and he now had one more 
 private grievance against England. 
 
 Soon he was ready for sea, and at once deter- 
 mined to secure a salute to his flag from the splen- 
 did French fleet in Quiberon Bay. His way of 
 going about it was laughable, to say the least. He 
 sailed proudly into the harbor and sent very polite 
 letters both to the French Admiral and the Amer- 
 ican agent, announcing his arrival and hinting at 
 his expectation. The American agent dined with 
 Jones on shipboard the following day, but carefully 
 avoided any mention of the salute. Jones was very 
 angry, but he did not permit his guest to suspect it. 
 When the agent had gone ashore, however, the fiery 
 little Scotchman sat down and wrote the French 
 Admiral a letter. He told him very plainly that 
 he considered his ship worthy of recognition as a 
 representative of the American government, and 
 closed by saying that he could show a commission 
 as respectable as any the French Admiral could 
 produce. 
 
 The letter had the desired effect. The French 
 
104 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Admiral sent word that he would be proud to 
 recognize the stars and stripes when the Ranger 
 appeared in the upper bay. The message reached 
 Jones toward evening. He desired the salute to 
 take place during the day, that all about might see 
 the compliment. So he tarried in the lower harbor 
 until morning, when he sailed up through the double 
 line of the French fleet. You may be very sure it 
 was a proud moment for him when the French 
 guns roared out in honor of the American flag. 
 It was not only the first salute which the stars and 
 stripes had ever received, but it meant that France 
 was from that day openly, as she had long been 
 secretly, the friend of the American colonies. 
 
 In April, 1778, the daring Scotchman suddenly 
 pulled up his anchor and sailed into the realm of the 
 great Mistress of the Seas. It was a bold move — 
 one which the French admirals, with their great fleet 
 of fifty-five ships, dared not risk — and our hero 
 took all the chances of destruction. But fortune 
 ever favors the brave. He cruised about for several 
 days, burning and destroying many merchant ships. 
 Then finally, growing bolder, he swooped down 
 upon St. Mary's Isle, intending to carry off the 
 Earl of Selkirk, his father's old employer, as a host- 
 age. He only failed because the Earl was gone! 
 
PAUL JONES 105 
 
 At Whitehaven, where hundreds of English ships 
 lay at anchor, he entered the harhor, in the stiHness 
 of midnight. Here he spiked some of the guns in 
 the fort and escaped in safety. He had not yet, 
 however, accompHshed the desire of his heart. This 
 was to find a ship-of-w^ar, not too strong for him, 
 and fight it out, yard-arm to yard-arm. 
 
 An occasion soon presented itself. He fell in 
 wath the Drake, a ship not much superior to his own 
 in point of strength, manned hy hrave men and a 
 fighting Captain. Jones was flying the stars and 
 stripes. "What ship is that?" asked the Drake. 
 The reply was characteristic of Jones : " It is the 
 American Continental ship. Ranger. We challenge 
 you and heg you to come on. The sun is an hour 
 high. We are due in port and must soon have you 
 in tow. Come on ! " 
 
 The Drake accepted the challenge with spirit. 
 She made "a good and gallant defense," as Jones 
 himself said, hut w^as obliged to haul down her flag 
 at the end of one hour and four minutes. She lost 
 her Captain and first lieutenant and thirty-eight 
 men killed and w^ounded; the Ranger's loss was but 
 two killed and six w^ounded. Two weeks later 
 Jones appeared at Brest with his prize. The French 
 pilots vied with each other as to which should have 
 
106 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 the honor of piloting the two vessels through the 
 channel, and Jones had now no occasion to ask for 
 a salute — every French ship in sight boomed out 
 congratulations to the brave Scotchman and his 
 beloved stars and stripes. For this exploit the 
 American government made him a Commodore. 
 
 Messengers from the French government, now 
 openly at war with England, hurried to Jones and 
 begged him to accept the command of a fleet which 
 they were about to fit out. Our hero was delighted. 
 So much deference had been shown him that he 
 expected a splendid command, but it w^as not forth- 
 coming. For reasons which the French seem to 
 have been unable to control, Jones was kept waiting, 
 idle and wretched under hope deferred, for a w^iole 
 year. Then he was offered the command of a 
 motley squadron composed of two frigates, a cutter, 
 a brig, and the flagship Due de Duras, an old, worn- 
 out vessel, no better than the Ranger, but larger. 
 
 Jones had long since learned that ''beggars can- 
 not be choosers,'' so he accepted the command and 
 renamed his flagship the Bonhomme Riehard, in 
 honor of his friend, Dr. Franklin, and set about 
 manning her at once. Fortunately, a number of 
 exchanged American prisoners had just arrived 
 in France, and Tones was able to select his officers 
 
FIGHT OF THE BOXHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS 
 
108 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 from them. His first lieutenant was Richard Dale, 
 " one of the most gallant seamen the American navy 
 ever produced." Much of Jones' after-success was 
 due to the courageous assistance of this brave 
 officer, and the utmost confidence and love existed 
 between them. 
 
 The crew was made up of men of all nationali- 
 ties; many of those in the forecastle did not even 
 understand the w^ord of command. Yet Paul Jones 
 put courageously to sea, as confident of success as 
 wxre those who expected great things from him. 
 Disappointment, however, seemed to lie in wait 
 for him on every hand. Landais, the captain of 
 one of the frigates, was mutinous and insanely jeal- 
 ous of his commander. Lack of discipline was 
 everywhere apparent. The whole squadron seemed 
 incapable of either acting together or acting sepa- 
 rately. Wind and weather, too, were unfavorable. 
 Twice Paul Jones bore down upon Edinburgh, intent 
 upon its destruction, but each time the wind blew 
 him out to sea again. '^' The cruise seemed likely to 
 end in a manner crushing to his hopes, when, soon 
 after noon on September 22, 1779, a single ship was 
 seen rounding Flamborough Head. It proved to be 
 the first of the Baltic fleet of forty merchantmen, 
 which Paul Jones had long desired to intercept. 
 
PAUL JONES 109 
 
 He at once gave chase. The merchant vessels 
 scattered Hke wild pigeons and ran for the shore, 
 but the two warships which were convoying them 
 came on, eager for the conflict. The largest of these 
 vessels was a fine new frigate, called the Scrapis. 
 She carried fifty guns and had a force almost equal 
 two to one of the poor old Bonhominc Richard. She 
 was commanded by Captain Pearson, a brave and 
 capable officer, w^ho chose to make sport of the 
 Americans, as soon as he came w^ithin hailing dis- 
 tance, by pretending that he thought the Bonhouune 
 Richard a merchant ship, as indeed she once had 
 been. 
 
 "'What ship is that?'' he called lustily. ''And 
 what are you laden with ? " 
 
 '"Tis the Continental ship Bonhoniinc Richard'' 
 shouted the mate of the plucky American ship, 
 " and we are loaded w^ith round, grape, and double- 
 headed shot ! Come on ! " 
 
 Drummers at once beat to quarters on both ships, 
 but it was nearly seven o'clock in the evening when 
 the cannonading begap. At the second broadside 
 two of the heaviest guns on the Richard burst ; the 
 rest cracked and could not be fired. The small 
 guns had all been dismantled, and Jones had only 
 three nine-pounders to play against the heavy 
 
110 AIMERICAN HEROES 
 
 • 
 
 broadsides of the enemy. Furthermore, ''the shot 
 from the Sera pis had made several enormous holes 
 in the crazy old hull of the Bonhoinine Richard, and 
 she was leaking like a sieve, while she was afire in 
 a dozen places at once." 
 
 Almost any other Captain would have surren- 
 dered, but such a thought never entered the head of 
 Paul Jones. He called out cheerily, " Never mind, 
 lads, we will have a better ship to go home in!" 
 and went on bravely striving to overcome the heavy 
 odds. He was ably aided by his gallant men and 
 his heroic lieutenant. Dale, who seemed everywhere 
 at once, urging on the crew of the useless guns in 
 an attack against the ravages of fire and water, 
 and at last forcing the prisoners in the hold to work 
 at the pumps for their lives. 
 
 The Richard was soon literally torn to pieces 
 between decks, and Jones saw that his only chance 
 lay in grappling with his enemy and having it out 
 at close quarters. He managed to bring his ship 
 close to the Serapis, and with his own hands made 
 fast the bowsprit to his mizzen-mast. ''Now, my 
 brave lads, we have her!" he called encouragingly, 
 leading an attempt to board the Serapis. The guns 
 of the BonJioniiue Richard now touched those of 
 the Serapis. As the gunners loaded they thrust 
 
PAUL JOx\ES 111 
 
 their ramrods into the very ports of the eneniw 
 Never before had an Eiii^lish coniniander met such 
 a foe or fought such a battle. Captain Pearson's 
 better ship and heavier guns now gave him but Httle 
 advantage, yet he managed to resist the first 
 onslaught of the Americans. 
 
 Soon the two ships had worked into such a posi- 
 tion that neither could fire a shot. Locked in a 
 grim and deadly embrace, each repeatedly catching 
 fire from the other, they lay enshrouded in smoke 
 and darkness, till a voice suddenly boomed out from 
 the bloody decks of the Serapis, " Have you 
 struck?" 
 
 "No," cried Paul Jones; ''we have just begun 
 to fight ! " 
 
 With a mighty wrench the Serapis freed herself 
 enough to pour a heavy broadside into the hull of 
 the Bonhomme Richard. Imagine the condition 
 of Paul Jones at that moment ! Every gun silenced, 
 except the one at which he himself stood, and his 
 ship gradually settling beneath him! To make 
 matters worse, the mutinous Captain of the Alliance 
 — one of Jones' fleet — now ran up and treacher- 
 ously turned his guns on the poor old Bonhouiuie 
 Richard, tie thought to destroy her and take the 
 Serapis himself. Finding this impossible, he turned 
 
112 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 and ran off to windward, leaving the vessels to 
 their fate. 
 
 For a time it seemed as though both would cer- 
 tainly be destroyed. The topmen of the American 
 ship kept up a hurricane of destruction on the decks 
 of the enemy. She retaliated by pouring broadside 
 after broadside through the hull of the doomed old 
 trader. Finally a prisoner escaping from the Boii- 
 houune Richard told Captain Pearson that the 
 American vessel was sinking. He called again to 
 know if Jones had struck. 
 
 "No," cried Paul Jones, in a voice that thrilled 
 friend and foe alike; "if we can do no better, we 
 will go down with colors flying! " 
 
 Once again the ships lurched and locked together. 
 The shot from the Sera pis riddled the sides of the 
 Richard and drove the men to the upper deck for 
 safety. But as the Americans came up the English- 
 men went down, and for the same reason. For the 
 moment it was a victory for the British below deck, 
 and for the Continentals above. Then one of Jones' 
 countrymen crept carefully out on the main yard- 
 arm with a bucket of hand grenades. He managed 
 to get directly above the main hatch of the 
 Serapis, coolly fastened his bucket to the sheet- 
 block, and began to throw the grenades down the 
 
PAUL JONES 113 
 
 hatchway, where the huddled sailors were working 
 iheir guns. Almost the first one ignited a row of 
 cartridges left exposed by the carelessness of the 
 powder-boys, and the resulting demoralization was 
 complete. It was the turning point. In another 
 moment the men from the Richard were scram- 
 bling down the yards of the Sera pis. Human 
 endurance could withstand no longer. Captain 
 Pearson himself lowered the tlag, which had been 
 nailed to the mast. 
 
 So ended the most des]:)erately fought battle 
 between single ships known in naval warfare either 
 before or since the days of Paul Jones. It is the 
 only instance in history of the surrender of a 
 British man-of-war to a ship of not much more than 
 half her force. The battle was also remarkable for 
 the fact that the ship which surrendered destroyed 
 and sunk the ship which conquered her, for the 
 poor old Donhonunc Richard settled into her watery 
 grave about ten o'clock the following morning, with 
 a tattered American flag flying at her mizzen ])eak. 
 
 Jones' loyal frigate, the Pallas, under Captain 
 Cottineau, had, from the very first, engaged the 
 attention of the smaller vessel accompanying the 
 Scrapis, and at length succeeded in capturing her. 
 The victors at once set sail for port and arrived 
 
114 
 
 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 in due time in the harbor of Texel. Such was the 
 blow to the pride of England that she caused the 
 
 Dutch government to 
 demand that Paul Jones 
 leave her harbor at once. 
 This he refused to do, as 
 Texel was a neutral port. 
 The Dutch government 
 then threatened to drive 
 him out, and had thirteen 
 double-decked frigates to 
 enforce this threat, while 
 twelve English ships 
 cruised outside waiting 
 for him. But Paul Jones 
 kept his flag flying in the 
 face of these twenty-five 
 hostile ships, and firmly 
 refused to leave until he 
 
 Reverse 
 
 MEDAL VOTED TO PAUL JONES waS rCadv 
 BY CONGRESS -^ * 
 
 AND EXECUTED IN PARIS All thc VCSSCls iu JOUCS' 
 
 fleet, with the exception of the Alliance, belonged to 
 France, and Jones himself sailed under a French 
 commission. Consequently the French claimed the 
 Sera pis as a French prize and Jones was under the 
 necessity of hoisting a French flag on the Serapis, 
 
PAUL JONES 115 
 
 or of taking the inferior Alliance under the Amer- 
 ican flag. Bitter as it was to give up the splendid 
 Serapis, he nobly preferred the weaker ship under 
 the American flag, and in the Alliance, *m the midst 
 of a roaring gale on a black December night, he 
 escaped from Texel. 
 
 ''The British government offered ten thousand 
 guineas for him, dead or alive, and forty-two 
 British ships of the line and frigates scoured the 
 seas for him. Yet he escaped from them all ; passed 
 within sight of the fleets at Spithead; ran through 
 the English channel; and reached France in 
 safety." "^ 
 
 The name of Paul Jones was now on everybody's 
 tongue. He made a tour of the chief cities of 
 France as the guest of the nation. King Louis 
 XVI, loyal friend of the American colonies, pre- 
 sented him a gold mounted sword and made him a 
 Chevalier. He was also invested with the Military 
 Order of Merit, an honor which had never before 
 been conferred on anyone who had not actually 
 borne arms under the commission of France. 
 
 In the meantime the Americans were also busy 
 doing honor to Paul Jones. General Washington 
 wrote him a letter of congratulation ; Congress 
 passed a resolution of thanks in his honor; gave 
 
116 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 him a gold medal, and voted him a large sum of 
 money, which, by the way, was never paid. Jones 
 now expected a ship worthy of his fame, but the 
 country was too impoverished to furnish it. He 
 was finally obliged to return to America, in 1781, 
 in the Ariel, a lightly armed vessel, carrying sup- 
 plies for the Continental army. The close of the 
 war in the year following gave him no further 
 opportunity for naval distinction, but in 1783 he 
 was sent to Paris as agent for prizes captured in 
 Europe under his command. It was a difficult 
 undertaking, but Jones was very successful in get- 
 ting the prize money for himself and his men. 
 
 The subsequent career of Paul Jones was most 
 unfortunate. In 1787 he entered the service of the 
 Empress of Russia with the rank of rear-admiral. 
 In 1789 he was in command of a naval expedition 
 against the Turks in the Black Sea, but the Russian 
 naval officers were so jealous of him that he was 
 maligned and abused, and, although he succeeded 
 in clearing himself, he left Russia with disappoint- 
 ment and disgust. 
 
 He returned to Paris in 1790, and died there 
 July 18, 1792. The last two years of Paul Jones' 
 life were spent in the midst of the terrible scenes 
 of the French Revolution. He was ill in body and 
 
PAUL JONES 117 
 
 greatly distressed in mind because of the daily 
 scenes of horror. But he bore up with the same 
 
 MEMORIAL CHAPEL AT ANNAPOLIS, WHERE PAUL JONES 
 IS BURIED 
 
 brave courage which had sustained him on the 
 Bonhomme Richard. The noble Lafayette was his 
 friend to the end. He was attended by the Queen's 
 physician and was buried in the St. Louis cemetery 
 
118 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 for Protestants. The French people always had the 
 greatest esteem and admiration for- Paul Jones, 
 many of the highest nobility being his devoted 
 friends. Napoleon himself greatly deplored his 
 untimely death, saying it had deprived France of a 
 great admiral.''' 
 
 In 1899, more than a century later, General 
 Horace Porter, the United States minister to 
 France, began the search (which continued six 
 years) for the great sea captain's remains. In 
 July, 1905, after most imposing ceremonies in 
 France, his body was convoyed by a fleet of Amer- 
 ican warships, under Admiral Sigsbee, to the be- 
 loved land of his adoption and placed with naval 
 honors under the dome of the beautiful Memorial 
 Chapel at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. 
 
i 
 
DANIEL BOONE, THE FOUNDER OF 
 KENTUCKY 
 
 Every schoolboy is familiar with the name of 
 Daniel Boone, the famous hunter and Indian 
 fighter. He was the hero of the pioneers and the 
 most noted figure in frontier history. While Wash- 
 ington and his ragged Continentals were fighting 
 for independence along the Atlantic coast, Boone 
 and other frontiersmen, as the ''rear guard of the 
 Revolution," were laying the foundations of a great 
 commonwealth in the wilderness, two hundred 
 miles from the nearest Eastern settlements. 
 
 Boone was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 
 February ii, 1735. Fie was a hunter from the 
 time he was old enough to hold a gun. He loved 
 the woods and liked to play at pioneering. One 
 day, the story runs, he did not return from one of 
 his hunting trips. His family and the neighbors 
 searched for him many days. At last they found 
 him roasting a piece of meat before a camp-fire. 
 The young hunter had been very busy in those days 
 of absence, as was shown by the little cabin he 
 
 119 
 
120 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 had built of sod and boughs, and the skins of ani- 
 mals he had killed drying near by. He was having 
 the time of his life. But his father thought he was 
 too young to live in the great forest alone, and 
 forced him to break camp and return home. 
 
 When Daniel was thirteen eastern Pennsylvania 
 became too thickly settled for the Boones, so they 
 moved to the wild region along the Yadkin River, in 
 North Carolina, where they might live undisturbed 
 by civilization. While Daniel's father and brothers 
 built the little cabin and cleared a space for corn, 
 the lad supplied the table with meat, and roamed 
 the country far and wide, studying the forest until 
 he could read its secrets as well as the Indians. 
 
 As the years went by young Boone became known 
 all along the Yadkin as one of the best hunters 
 in that part of the country. One night he was 
 hunting deer by torchlight and peering intently 
 into the forest for a glimpse of the deer's shining 
 eyes, when suddenly he saw a pair of eyes gazing 
 at him from a neighboring thicket. He thought 
 they were deer's eyes and raised his gun to shoot, 
 when he was startled by a girlish scream, and a 
 beautiful young woman stepped from behind the 
 screening bushes. It was the daughter of one of 
 his neighbors. Daniel gazed admiringly into the 
 
DANIEL BOONE 121 
 
 big, soft, brown eyes and lost his heart in their 
 clear depths, llie two were married not long 
 afterwards. 
 
 Young Boone built a log cabin for himself and 
 his wife at the headwaters of the Yadkin, in the 
 depths of the wilderness. Soon, however, he had 
 neighbors in plenty, for the country was being set- 
 tled rapidly. Then Daniel, true to the instincts of 
 his backwoodsman ancestry, became restless. He 
 longed to see what was in the wilds beyond the 
 wall of the Alleghany Mountains. As with him 
 to desire was to do, he was soon hunting bear and 
 other wild game in what is now Tennessee. This 
 was fifteen years before the War of the Revolution 
 began. 
 
 Eight or nine years drifted by. Tennessee be- 
 came too tame for Boone. He organized a party 
 of six and went over into Kentucky to hunt buf- 
 falo. Here he had his first experience with the 
 ''prairie kings," when he came near being run 
 down by a herd of them, but escaped in the hair- 
 breadth fashion so characteristic of him. 
 
 One day Boone and a comrade, named Stewart, 
 were captured by the Indians. Our hero treated 
 the affair as a matter of course. He pretended 
 that he would just as soon go along with the Indi- 
 
122 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 ans as not, and did all that he cpuld to entertain 
 them. Time went by and no chance of escape 
 offered. Stewart was in despair, but Boone was 
 patiently waiting. 
 
 At last a day came when the savages had more 
 than their usual luck in the hunt. A great feast 
 was prepared and the redmen ate till they could 
 eat no more. Night fell upon a gorged and drowsy 
 company. Boone knew that then, if ever, was the 
 opportunity to escape. He pretended to be very 
 sleepy and was one of the first to drift off to the 
 land of Nepahwin. Finally, when all was still, 
 he sat up cautiously. An Indian moved. Boone 
 lay down again. Presently he sat up again. Now 
 all was still. He got up and moved silently across 
 the camp to the sleeping Stewart. The backwoods- 
 man awoke at the cautious touch. Not a w^ord was 
 spoken, but soon the two, guns in hand, were creep- 
 ing noiselessly away. They succeeded in getting 
 back in safety to their cabin in the woods. The 
 place was deserted, and not a trace was left of their 
 four comrades, who were never heard from again. 
 
 Shortly afterward Daniel's brother and another 
 man from North Carolina came to look for them. 
 But the hunters had not yet had enough of the 
 wilderness, so they persuaded the two men to tarry 
 
DANIEL BOONE 123 
 
 with them awhile. One day while Boone and 
 Stewart were out hunting, Stewart was shot by a 
 party of Indians who were hidden in a canebi-ake. 
 His brother's companion was eaten by wolves 
 shortly afterw^ard, and so only the two Boone boys 
 w^ere left. Still Daniel was not ready to return, lie 
 got his brother to go back home for ammunition 
 and horses, and lived alone until his return, three 
 months later, with Indians and all kinds of wild 
 creatures for neighbors. He had more than one 
 dreadful encounter with wolves, and once the 
 Indians chased him for many miles. 
 
 In 1773, the Boone brothers brought their fami- 
 lies and a party of friends into Kentucky, intend- 
 ing to make a settlement in the vicinity of their old 
 cabin. Before they could reach it, however, they 
 were attacked by Indians. Six of the party were 
 killed, among them Boone's oldest son. This so 
 frightened the women that they went back to the 
 nearest settlement. Tw^o years later, just at the 
 beginning of the war, Boone Iniilt a fort in Ken- 
 tucky which he named Boonesborough, and here 
 he brought his wife and daughters. They were 
 the first white women in the State. Friends of 
 the family soon followed, and thus the first settle- 
 ment in Kentucky was begun by Daniel Boone. 
 
124 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 For the next few years the people in the little 
 settlement at Boonesborough had all they could do 
 to hold their own. Many and fierce were the bat- 
 tles they fought with the Indians, and that part of 
 the State surely justified the meaning of its Indian 
 name — "dark and bloody ground." In the thickest 
 of the fray fought always Daniel Boone. A record 
 of his many encounters and hairbreadth escapes 
 would fill a volume. 
 
 On one occasion Boone and an armed party went 
 to Salt Lick, about one hundred miles north of the 
 fort, to get a supply of salt. Here they met a large 
 party of Indian warriors, who captured them and 
 carried them ofif to Old Chillicothe, a noted Indian 
 town in Ohio. A number of Boone's companions 
 were afterward ransomed, but Boone himself was 
 adopted into the family of Blackfish, the Shawnee 
 chief. The Indians shaved ofif all his hair except 
 the scalp lock, painted his face, and dressed him in 
 Indian garb. 
 
 For many moons Boone tarried with the savages, 
 and dared not make a single effort at escape, though 
 now and then a chance was cunningly offered him. 
 Finally the Indians ceased to watch him so closely. 
 Still Boone tarried. He w^anted to make sure of his 
 escape. At last he learned that the Indians were 
 
DANIEL BOONE IN THE KENTUCKY WOODS 
 
126 ■ AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 preparing to make another attack upon Boones- 
 borough. Then he got ready to escape. 
 
 Providence sent him a chance the very next morn- 
 ing. He was squatted before a wigwam, eating 
 his breakfast, when a deer appeared in sight. 
 Hastily catching up a gun, with his meat still in 
 his hand, he gave it chase. The braves about 
 thought nothing of it, and stolidly waited for him 
 to bring in the venison. Of course, he did not 
 return. Later, when they set out to look for him, 
 they could not find his trail, which he had carefully 
 hidden by traveling in water for many miles. He 
 lived on roots and berries, and ventured only once, 
 when nearly famished, to shoot some game and cook 
 it before a low fire in the dead of night. 
 
 Disappointment, however, was in store for him 
 when he at last reached Boonesborough. His fam- 
 ily had given him up for lost and had returned to 
 North Carolina. He hurriedly helped the people 
 to strengthen the fort, and beat off the Indians, who 
 followed close upon his arrival. 
 
 Later the old hunter brought his family again 
 to Kentucky. As soon as lie reached Boones- 
 borough he took command of a band of nearly 
 two hundred settlers just starting out to punish a 
 large force of savages who, under the command of 
 
DANIEL BOONE 127 
 
 Simon Girty, a rcnei^adc while nicin, were laying 
 waste the country. At Blue iJcks the settlers fell 
 into an anihush laid hy the Indians and were nearly 
 all killed. This was the most important of Boone's 
 Indian battles, and would not have resulted disas- 
 trously if the settlers had heeded his advice to be 
 cautious. 
 
 After the Revolutionary War Kentucky became 
 too thickly settled to suit the heroic old backwoods- 
 man, so at the age of sixty he wandered off into 
 Missouri to get "elbow room," as he said. Here 
 he could lie in wait for the deer; stalk wild turkeys ; 
 have bear steak occasionally, and hunt for bee trees. 
 He died in 1820, at the ripe old age of eighty-five 
 years.* 
 
1 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON, THE SAGE 
 OF MONTICELLO 
 
 On the 13th of April, 1743, in a farmhouse 
 anions- the mountains of Central Virginia, a male 
 child was born who was destined to stamp his genius 
 and personality upon the future nation. The father 
 was a backwoods surveyor, of Welsh origin, and a 
 giant in stature and strength. His name was Peter 
 Jefferson, and he called his boy Thomas. 
 
 Peter Jeft'erson was the Owner of thirty slaves 
 and of a wheat and tobacco farm of nearly two 
 thousand acres. He was a stern man, though kind 
 and just. One of his favorite maxims was, " Never 
 ask another to do for you what you can do your- 
 self." He died when Thomas was but fourteen 
 years of age, and was ever remembered by his son 
 with pride and veneration. 
 
 From the very first young Thomas was an espe- 
 cially bright child. He inherited his mother's gentle, 
 thoughtful disposition and her love for music and 
 nature. He also took naturally to books and studi- 
 ous pursuits. He might have been overstudious, 
 
 129 
 
130 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 but his love of nature made him a keen hunter, 
 a fine horseman, and as fond as Washington of 
 out-door sports. 
 
 There were ten children in the Jefferson home. 
 Young Thomas was the third. He had a great 
 affection for his elder sister, Jane. The two were 
 always together in the home nest, and she did much 
 toward elevating and ennobling his character. Her 
 early death, at the age of twenty-five, was regretted 
 by Jeff'erson to the end of his long life. 
 
 Young Jefferson entered William and Mary Col- 
 lege when he was seventeen. He was described 
 as one of the ''gawkiest'' students of the session, 
 but professors and students alike soon found out 
 his worth. Dr. Small, the Scotch professor of 
 mathematics, w^as particularly attracted to him, 
 and exercised a great and beneficial influence over 
 his character. 
 
 Among Jefferson's early companions was a jovial 
 young fellow noted for ''mimicry, practical jokes, 
 fiddling, and dancing." His name, like Jefferson's, 
 has since been written indelibly upon the country's 
 history. Every school boy and girl knows it. It 
 was Patrick Henry. The two were boon compan- 
 ions in their youthful sports. 
 
 Shortly after Jefferson entered college, Henry 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON 
 
 131 
 
 strolled into his room one clay, and delighted him 
 with the news that he had been studying- law since 
 they parted and that he had come to Williamsburg 
 to get a license to practice. Jefferson questioned 
 
 r- 
 
 WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 
 
 him eagerly. When he found that the young man 
 had in reality studied law only about six weeks, he 
 was doubtful of the outcome; but, needless to say, 
 young Henry secured his license. 
 
 Some time afterward, when Jefferson was him- 
 self a law student and young Henry was a member 
 of the House of Burgesses, which met at Williams- 
 burg, matters between the King and the colonies 
 were brought to a straitened pass by the issue of 
 the Stamp Act. Henry felt at once that it was 
 
132 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 time to rebel, and prepared his famous set of Five 
 Resolutions, and went to the assembly chamber 
 primed for the occasion. It is possible that he 
 gave his young friend, whose guest he was, a hint 
 of what he intended to do. At any rate, young 
 Jefferson watched him intently. Suddenly he saw 
 his friend draw himself to his full height and 
 " sweep with a conqueror's gaze the entire audience 
 before and about him." "^ Then, in a voice rich and 
 full and musical, he poured out his impassioned 
 plea for the liberties of the people. In the midst of 
 it, his voice suddenly rang out in electric tones : 
 
 ''Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his 
 Cromwell, and George the Third — " He paused. 
 The house was in an uproar. The Speaker and 
 many of the members were upon their feet shout- 
 ing, "Treason! Treason!" They thought that 
 he was going to threaten the overthrow of 
 George III, who was King of England and of the 
 colonies. But young Henry did not flinch. He 
 looked the Speaker squarely in the eye, and, with 
 a superb gesture, added in a tone which thrilled 
 all hearers, "May profit by their example. If that 
 be treason, make the most of it." 
 
 Young Jefferson never forgot the scene. He 
 listened enthusiastically to the heated debate which 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON 
 
 133 
 
 followed. The '' torrents of sublime eloquence " 
 which fell from the lips of Patrick Henry almost 
 took his breath away, and a well-spring of patriot- 
 ism bubbled into being in his strong young heart. 
 He resolved that he, too, would strive to serve his 
 
 PATRICK HENRY MAKING HIS IMMORTAL SPEECH 
 
 country, and to this end redoubled his studious 
 efforts, sometimes spending fifteen hours a day over 
 his books. The result was that he soon became the 
 most accomplished scholar in America. He ex- 
 
134 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 celled in mathematics and was acquainted with five 
 languages beside his own. 
 
 But first and foremost Jefferson was a farmer. 
 He once said: ''No occupation is so delightful to 
 me as the culture of the earth, and no culture com- 
 parable to that of the garden." 
 
 He celebrated the occasion of his coming of age 
 by planting a beautiful avenue of trees near his 
 house, which he had built upon a high hill and given 
 the name of '' Monticello," meaning ''little moun- 
 tain." He delighted in trying new things and 
 imported a large number of trees and shrubs to 
 beautify his grounds, which were marvelous indeed. 
 
 We are told that "his interests were wide and 
 intense," but in nothing, perhaps, did he display a 
 more unfaltering zeal than in the cause of educa- 
 tion. In his epitaph, which he wrote himself, 
 Jefferson makes no mention of his having been Gov- 
 ernor of Virginia, Minister to France, Secretary of 
 State, Vice-President, and President of the United 
 States. Instead, there is a modest mention of the 
 three things which he considered had won him his 
 most enduring title to fame, viz. : that he was the 
 " Author of the Declaration of Independence ; of the 
 statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and 
 Father of the University of Virginia." All of these 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON 
 
 35 
 
 had freedom for their core. " T^rce ooycmnicnt; 
 free faith; free thought," says Ellis, in his biog- 
 raphy — "these were the treasures which Thomas 
 
 MONTICELLO 
 
 Jefferson bequeathed to his country and his State; 
 and who, it may well be asked, has ever left a nobler 
 legacy to mankind?" 
 
 Jefferson was a member of the convention which 
 met in Richmond in March, 1775, to decide what 
 part Virginia should take in the coming war. 
 He fully indorsed the words of his friend, Henry, 
 when that "Demosthenes of the woods" electrified 
 his hearers with the thrilling cry: "Gentlemen 
 
136 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 may cry, ' Peace, peace ! ' but there is no peace ! The 
 war has actually begun ! The next gale that sweeps 
 from the North will bring to our ears the clash of 
 resounding arms ! Our brethren are already in the 
 field. Why stand we here idle? What is it the 
 gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life 
 so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the 
 price of chains and slavery? Forbid it. Almighty 
 God ! I know not what course others may take, but 
 as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" 
 
 When Washington was elected commander-in- 
 chief, Jefferson took the place which he vacated in 
 Congress. He was at once recognized as an influen- 
 tial member. No one was better than he on com- 
 mittees. He was so prompt, frank, and decisive. 
 Again, no one had a clearer insight of a situation 
 or understood his countrvmen better. He was 
 sagacious, wise, and prudent; by birth an aristo- 
 crat, but by nature a democrat. He cared very 
 little for pomp and ceremony, and despised titles 
 and the insignia of rank. He could not make a 
 brilliant speech, but in his hand the pen waxed 
 mighty indeed 
 
 Indeed, Jefferson is known to fame chiefly because 
 of his authorship of that immortal document, the 
 Declaration of Independence. In June, 1776, he 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON 
 
 137 
 
 was appointed one of a conimiltcc of five to draw 
 up such a document. The .other members were 
 
 DISCUSSING THE DECLARATION* 
 
 Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, 
 and Robert R. Livingston. Providence must have 
 decreed that the lot of writing it should fall to 
 Jefferson, for no one else could have written it so 
 
138 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 eloquently, so inspiringly. The achievement was 
 dear to his heart, for he directed that these lines be 
 carved upon the granite obelisk at his grave : " Here 
 lies buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declara- 
 tion of Independence." Glory enough for one man! 
 
 On New Year's Day, 1772, Jefferson was mar- 
 ried to Mrs. Martha Wayles Skelton, a beautiful, 
 childless young widow. 'Their life together was a 
 most happy one ; Jefferson was an ideal husband and 
 father, and his wife was ''one of the truest wives 
 with which any man was ever blessed of heaven." 
 She died just after the close of the Revolution. Six 
 children were born to them, but only two — Martha 
 and Mary — lived to grow up. 
 
 Jeff'erson looked at life through the lens of a 
 philosopher. Here are ten rules which he con- 
 sidered necessary for a practical life : 
 
 '' I — Never put oft' till tomorrow what you can 
 do today. 2 — Never trouble another for what you 
 can do yourself. 3 — Never spend your money be- 
 fore you have it. 4 — Never buy what you do not 
 want, because it is cheap: it will be dear to you. 
 
 5 — Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, or cold. 
 
 6 — We never repent of having eaten too little. 7 — 
 Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly. 
 8 — How much pain have cost us the evils which 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON 
 
 139 
 
 have never happened! 9 — Take ihini^s always 
 by their smooth handle. 10 — When angry count 
 ten before you speak; if very angry, a hundred/' 
 
 THE HOUSE WHERE JEFFERSON WROTE THE DECLARATION* 
 
 Needless to say that he followed these rules 
 to the letter. 
 
 Jefferson was known far and wide for his fair- 
 ness and justice. He had hosts of friends every- 
 \vhere, and he entertained them with such lavish 
 hospitalitv that, in his old age, he w^as brought to 
 the verge of w^ant, and had to mortgage his estate. 
 
140 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Jefferson deplored slavery as a great moral and 
 political evil. He once said: "I tremble for my 
 comitry wnen I remember that God is just." He 
 treated the slaves on his large estate so kindly that 
 they almost worshiped him. It is said that when 
 he returned from his five years' absence as Minis- 
 ter to France, his negroes were so overjoyed that 
 they took him from the carriage and carried him 
 into the house, laughing and crying, and otherwise 
 expressing their joy because '' massa done got home 
 again." 
 
 When Washington became President, he made 
 Jefferson a member of his cabinet as Secretary of 
 State. Here he collided with Alexander Hamilton, 
 the Secretary of the Treasury. The two were exact 
 opposites in many ways, and could no more mix 
 than oil and water. It required all of Washing- 
 ton's tact to keep peace between them. " Each 
 found the other so intolerable that he wished to 
 resign that he might be freed from meeting him." 
 At last Jeft'erson could stand it no longer. He 
 resigned in January, 1794, and returned to his 
 beloved farming at Monticello. 
 
 Two years later he and John Adams were the 
 candidates for the Presidency. Adams received 
 seventy-one votes and Jeff'erson sixty-eight. As 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON 141 
 
 the law then stood, this made hiin Vice-Pi*esident. 
 Adams was a Federalist, Jefferson a Republican. 
 Therefore, it was not perhaps to be expected that 
 they should aoree. Mr. Adanis, however, did not 
 try. He simply ignored Jefferson in all political 
 matters. At the next election, Jefferson and 
 Adams were again the candidates for the Presi- 
 dency. Jefferson was elected. The quick-tempered 
 Adams was so nettled over the affair that he arose 
 at daybreak, on the day of the inaugural, and set 
 out in his coach for Massachusetts, refusing to wait 
 and see his successor installed in office. In later 
 years, however, he repented of his foolishness. 
 Jefferson and he became reconciled and kept up 
 a friendly correspondence to the end of their lives. 
 
 As President, Jefferson was much beloved. His 
 inauguration was observed as a national holiday 
 throughout the country. Of course, this was 
 distasteful to Jeff'erson, who hated pomp and cere- 
 mony. A story is on record to the effect that he 
 rode to the Capitol on horseback and hitched his 
 horse to the fence, w^hile he went in, unattended, to 
 take the oath of office. 
 
 Whether it be true or not, we know that during 
 his term of office Jefferson frowned upon all dis- 
 play, and would have no honors shown to him that 
 
142 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 might not have been offered to him as a citizen. 
 
 Jefferson chose James Madison, his most intimate 
 friend at that time, for his Secretary of State. 
 Congenial men made up the remainder of the 
 cabinet. This ''happy family" worked together in 
 peace and harmony throughout the two terms of 
 Jefferson's presidency. Many important national 
 events marked his administration. Chief of them all 
 was the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from 
 France, in 1803, for fifteen millions of dollars. 
 Eleven entire States and parts of four others have 
 since been carved from this vast domain. 
 
 Jeff'erson retired forever from public life at the 
 close of his second term. '' From that time," says 
 Daniel Webster, " Mr. Jefferson lived as becomes 
 a wise man. Surrounded by aff'ectionate friends,* 
 his ardor in the pursuit of knowledge undiminished; 
 with uncommon health and unbroken spirits, he 
 was able to enjoy largely the rational pleasures of 
 life; and to partake of that public prosperity to 
 which he had contributed so much. His kind- 
 ness and hospitality ; the charm of his conversation ; 
 the ease of his manners; and especially the full 
 store of revolutionary incidents which he possessed, 
 and which he knew when and how to dispense, 
 rendered his abode attractive in a high degree to 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON 143 
 
 his admiring countrymen. His high pubHc and 
 scientific character drew toward him every inteUi- 
 gent and educated traveler from abroad." 
 
 " The Sage of Monticello " died on the afternoon 
 of July 4, 1826. A few hours afterward John 
 Adams, too, breathed his last. Thus passed away, 
 on the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of 
 Independence, the two men who had been the most 
 instrumental in bringing it about. ''Their country 
 is their monument; its independence their epitaph." 
 
ROBERT FULTON 
 
ROBERT FULTON AND THE STEAMBOAT 
 
 In Revolutionary times and, indeed, for many 
 years after, the people's easiest method of getting 
 about, and of carrying their goods from one point 
 to another, was by boats. There were but few 
 roads, and these were sometimes almost impassable 
 on account of ruts and mud. Breakdowns and up- 
 sets were of everyday occurrence. Passengers had 
 frequently to help the driver of the stage-coach 
 pull the wheels out of the mud before a journey 
 could be completed. Accidents by water were few 
 and the going easier and swifter. Dutch sloops 
 and schooners were used considerably on the larger 
 streams in the East, and all kinds of small sail- 
 boats and canoes were also in use. 
 
 On the Western rivers the flatboat was the most 
 familiar form of craft. It was merely a box, some 
 fifty or more feet in length, and about sixteen feet 
 wide, and was propelled by long poles. As it was 
 used chiefly to carry produce, it was usually torn 
 to pieces at the end of the journey, after its cargo 
 of flour, pork, lumber, molasses, etc., had been sold. 
 
 145 
 
146 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Hundreds of these boats went down the Ohio and 
 Mississippi Rivers every year, and even in this 
 day an occasional one may be seen. 
 
 The favorite passenger craft was the keelboat. 
 It phed up and down the rivers with more or less 
 regularity, being pushed up stream with long poles. 
 Where the current was too strong for this, the boat- 
 men went ashore and hauled the craft along by 
 ropes. Small wonder, then, that one of the prob- 
 lems of the day was to invent a boat which could 
 move along with swiftness and ease, and which 
 should not be dependent on the ever-varying wind 
 for its speed. 
 
 James Watt, a Scotchman, had so improved the 
 steam-engine that people began to hope that steam 
 might be utilized to work for man. Naturally the 
 thoughts of many inventors turned toward it.* 
 Why could not some sort of machinery be devised 
 for applying the power of the steam-engine to the 
 movement of boats? 
 
 One ingenious Englishman tried to run a boat 
 by making the engine push through the water a 
 device shaped somewhat like a duck's foot. But it 
 was not a success. In 1730 another Englishman, 
 Dr. John Allen, tried to run a boat by taking in 
 water through an opening in the bow of his boat, 
 
ROBERT FULTON 
 
 147 
 
 and then driving- it out at the stern with so much 
 force as to push the boat forward. This, too, was 
 a failure. In 1786 John Fitch, an American, 
 built a steamboat and launched it on the Dela- 
 ware. His boat was moved bv means of a row of 
 
 FITCH'S STEAMBOAT 
 
 engine-worked paddles, arranged along its sides. 
 For more than three months it plied up and down 
 the river, but it moved so slow^ly that few passen- 
 gers cared to ride in it. 
 
 Fitch grew ragged and poor, and at last gave 
 up the trips. Three years later, another American. 
 James Rumsey by name, built a steamboat : but, like 
 Fitch's boat, it never became practicable. 
 
148 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Time passed. One inventor after another ex- 
 perimented with the steamboat and failed. People 
 began to think that such a boat could not be built. 
 But there were two Americans, over in Paris, who 
 were not yet ready to give up. These were Chan- 
 cellor Livingston, American Minister to France, 
 and Robert Fulton, a young inventor. Both were 
 much interested in steam navigation, and they 
 formed a partnership for its promotion. Living- 
 ston was to furnish money and advice, and Fulton 
 was to do the work. 
 
 Robert Fulton was born in Chester County, 
 Pennsylvania, in 1765. His father was an L'ish 
 tailor. Young Robert, like many other boys, did not 
 care to learn his father's trade. Neither was he 
 especially interested in books. He was a born 
 inventor, and also had considerable talent as an 
 artist. At the age of seventeen he was a miniature 
 painter in Philadelphia, and succeeded so well that 
 in four years' time he was able to buy a little farm 
 for his mother. After seeing her comfortably set- 
 tled, he sailed for Europe to study art under the 
 direction of Benjamin West. 
 
 But his inventive genius continually interfered 
 with his studies. Every now and then he would 
 abandon art and turn out some mechanical inven- 
 
ROBERT FULTON 
 
 149 
 
 tion. One was a submarine torpedo, which he tried 
 in vain to persuade Napoleon to buy. After enter- 
 ing into partnership with Livingston, he went over 
 to England to see a steamboat which William 
 Symington, a Scotchman, had invented. This 
 
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 H^!^^ 
 
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 THE TRIAL TRIP OF THE CLERMONT, 1807 
 
 steamboat had a side-wheel, and was fashioned 
 after an idea which Fulton had already in mind. 
 It could make five miles per hour. 
 
 Young Fulton was certain that he could improve 
 on Symington's model, and went back to France 
 full of enthusiasm. The firm immediately built a 
 boat which they launched on the river Seine ; but it 
 
150 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 broke in pieces when the engines were placed on 
 board. FuUon proved his mettle by immediately 
 building another boat. He was not a man to be dis- 
 heartened by one failure. The second venture was 
 more successful. He made a trial trip in sight 
 of a large crowd of Parisians. The great Napoleon 
 was deeply interested in the boat. '' It is capable 
 of changing the face of the world ! " he exclaimed. 
 Notwithstanding all this, the two Americans de- 
 cided to return to their own country, where the need 
 for steamboats was much greater. 
 
 One of the first things to be done was to get 
 the best engiite which could be built. Fulton imme- 
 diately sent to James Watt for an engine, which 
 was to be fashioned according to his own plans. 
 While it was being made, he set about building 
 a steamboat at New York. The Clermont was 
 the name he gave his model. It was the first side- 
 wheel steamboat built in America. It did not ap- 
 peal to the people at large. They laughed at it and 
 styled it "Fulton's Folly" ; but they assembled in 
 large numbers when he was finally ready, one day 
 in August, 1807, to watch it make a trial trip. It 
 was an anxious moment to Fulton, as every one was 
 sure he would fail; and, indeed, when the signal 
 was given, the boat moved for a short distance. 
 
ROBERT FULTON 151 
 
 then it stopped and became immovable. But Fulton 
 hurried below and soon discovered the cause of 
 the trouble. This being easily remedied, the boat 
 went on. 
 
 The Clcnuont made the distance from New York 
 to Albany (150 miles) in thirty-two hours and came 
 back successfully. Still many pronounced it a fail- 
 ure, and declared that it could not be made to repeat 
 the trip. But it did ; and not once, but many times. 
 Then the usefulness of the invention was, at last, 
 appreciated. In 1808, a line of steamboats went 
 regularly up and down the Hudson, and others were 
 put in operation in various parts of the country. 
 
 At first the steamboat created terror and con- 
 sternation all along its way. For in those days 
 newspapers were scarce and news traveled slowly. 
 Few knew of its existence until the horrid monster 
 "marched by on the tides, lighting its path by the 
 fires which it vomited." This was especially true 
 in the sparsely settled country along the Ohio and 
 the Mississippi, where many amusing stories are 
 told of the fear it inspired. Some of the vessels 
 were run ashore to escape the terrible creature. The 
 passengers and crews on board ships which could 
 not get out of the way hid themselves in the hold to 
 escape the dreadful doom which threatened them. 
 
THE MAURETANIA, A TWENTIETH CENTURY ATLANTIC STEAMSHIP 
 
154. ._ AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Robert Fulton died in New York, in 1815. He 
 lived long enough, however, to see the beginning 
 of the prophecy which Napoleon had made concern- 
 ing his invention. Hundreds of steamboats were 
 already in use in our country alone. Today they 
 are numbered by the thousands. Not just like Ful- 
 ton's model, to be sure ; but built along the same gen- 
 eral plan as that which he in turn had copied from 
 Symington's invention. But neither man could ever 
 in his wildest dreams have imagined the great 
 ocean steamers and battleships that have grown out 
 of their seemingly insignificant little boats. We give 
 pictures of both so that you may judge for your- 
 selves. In 1909 New York celebrated with a mag- 
 nificent pageant the centennial of the first trip of 
 the little Clermont, which was the real beginning 
 of steam navigation, and the ter-centennial of the 
 discovery of the Hudson River by Henry Hudson. 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, THE HERO 
 OF TIPPECANOE 
 
 When "Mad Anthony" Wayne was engaged 
 in defending the settlers in the Ohio Valley, there 
 came to his quarters, one day, a gallant young offi- 
 cer bearing a note of introduction from President 
 Washington. This officer was William Henry 
 Harrison. His father, Benjamin Harrison, was 
 one of the signers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, and a close friend of Washington. The 
 young man had given up the study of medicine to 
 fight the Indians, and Washington urged Wayne 
 to make him useful. This the General promptly 
 did by placing him on his staff. 
 
 No better opening could have been secured for 
 a young man who desired to learn the principles 
 of military tactics, and most carefully did he study 
 the methods of '' the chief who never sleeps." There 
 were many opportunities that came to prove his 
 mettle, and General Wayne soon found that he could 
 depend upon his young aide, even in the face of 
 overwhelming difficulties. Obstacles seemed to melt 
 
 155 
 
156 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 before him, and he had the power of firing his men 
 with his own courage and enthusiasm. 
 
 In 1 80 1, wdien the new territory of Indiana was 
 formed, embracing the coimtry now comprised by 
 the States of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, 
 Harrison w^as made Governor because of his wide 
 knowledge of Indians and frontier life generally, 
 for it w^as felt that, sooner or later, trouble would 
 again arise with the Indians. 
 
 The position was a difficult one, and for that 
 reason, Harrison, w^ho was anxious to rise to the 
 head of his profession, accepted it all the more 
 eagerly. Almost immediately he found himself 
 pitted against a young Shawnee warrior called 
 Tecumseh. This young savage had fought against 
 Wayne in 1794. He was much opposed to the red 
 men selling their lands, and maintained that no tribe 
 had a right to sell without the consent of the other 
 tribes. He was not a born chief, but he went here 
 and there, airing his views, until he had quite a band 
 of followers. Tecumseh was aided in his efforts to 
 stir up the savages by his brother, an Indian prophet 
 known as "The Open Door," who threatened the 
 tribes with all sorts of evil if they did not join in 
 the cause. 
 
 In 18 10 Governor Harrison made a treatv at 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON 157 
 
 Fort Wayne by which the Indians ceded to the 
 United States a tract of about 3,000,000 acres of 
 land along the upper Wabash. Some of this land 
 included territory on which Tecumseh's Indians had 
 settled, although they had no right to do so. The 
 Shawnee chief was greatly enraged, and threatened 
 to kill the Indians who had made the treaty. He 
 immediately took to the warpath, and gathered 
 about him enough Indians to endanger the whole 
 Northwest. Still Governor Harrison hoped to 
 settle the difficulty without war. To this end he 
 invited Tecumseh and his leading chiefs to council 
 with him at A^incennes. They accepted. But, when 
 the white chief asked them to be seated upon the 
 veranda of his home, Tecumseh refused. He said 
 he preferred to have the council held in the grove, 
 near at hand. In the discussion that followed 
 Tecumseh grew very angry, and some of his war- 
 riors sprang to their feet, tomahawks in liand. 
 Governor Harrison promptly drew his sword, and 
 others of his party cjuickly presented arms of vari- 
 ous kinds. They had feared treachery; and in a 
 twinkling the soldiers bore down upon the Indians, 
 but Harrison stopped them. He then told Tecum- 
 seh there was no use in trying to discuss things 
 with an angry man, and bade him leave. 
 
158 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 The next day Tecumseh sent a messenger to the 
 Governor, saying that he was ready to talk with 
 him at length, and to come to a friendly settlement 
 if possible. This was what Harrison wanted. 
 With only one companion, he went to the chief's 
 tent. They were courteously received, and Harri- 
 son did his best to put the matter favorably before 
 Tecumseh; but he could get no satisfaction, and 
 was finally convinced that he was but wasting time. 
 
 The red chief immediately started southward to 
 complete his plans for a general raid on the whites. 
 Friendly Indians brought word of this to Governor 
 Harrison, who thought, if there must be war, that 
 he would rather choose the time and place. 
 
 A large number of Indians had collected at the 
 Indian village of Tippecanoe, which was Tecum- 
 seh's home. "The Open Door" w^as in command, 
 as the great red chief had not yet returned from 
 his mission to the south, and here Harrison deter- 
 mined to attack without loss of time. Knowing that 
 the Indians would try to ambush him if they sus- 
 pected his intentions, he veiled his plans most care- 
 fully. Under cover of a hunting expedition, he 
 advanced his forces up the opposite side of the 
 Wabash almost to Tippecanoe. Here a messenger 
 from the prophet came to them, November 6, 1811, 
 
160 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 saying that the Indians were ready to make peace. 
 
 Harrison doubted this greatly. He told his men 
 to hold themselves in readiness for attack at any 
 moment. All that night the soldiers lay on their 
 arms. About four o'clock a sentinel fired at a 
 skulking Indian, and the war-whoop resounded on 
 every hand. Elarrison immediately ordered the 
 camp-fires to be put out, and red men and white 
 fought fiercely hand-to-hand in the darkness. Day- 
 light saw many a painted savage stretched upon the 
 ground beside his fallen foe. Moreover, Harrison's 
 men had succeeded in scattering the savages in 
 every direction, and in burning the village of Tip- 
 pecanoe. For the time being all hope of carrying 
 out Tecumseh's plan of driving the white people 
 back over the Alleghanies was at an end. But 
 neither Tecumseh nor his brother despaired. They 
 were unhurt and had, in no wise, lost their hold 
 upon their red brothers. 
 
 At this time England and France were engaged 
 in a deadly struggle, and our American ships had 
 been doing a fine business in carrying supplies to 
 the two nations; but soon England tried to pre- 
 vent the Americans from going to France, and 
 France was just as eager to keep them out of Eng- 
 land. American ships were captured and plun- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON 161 
 
 dered, and all sorts of trouble arose. To make 
 matters worse, England began to overhaul our ves- 
 sels on the high seas, and to carry away men to man 
 her w^arships. Thus our foreign trade was well- 
 nigh ruined and our liberty threatened. The elec- 
 tions of iSio brought into Congress many men who 
 were in favor of going to war with England to pro- 
 tect our commerce, and so on June i8, t8t2, war 
 w^as formally declared by Congress. 
 
 The Americans planned to invade Canada and 
 conquer it before troops could arrive from Eng- 
 land. To this end, WilHam Hull, the Governor of 
 Michigan Territory, was placed in command of the 
 troops who were to invade Canada. But he proved 
 entirely unfit for the trust. He marched bravely 
 over the Canadian line, but made no effort to seize 
 a British military post near by ; and when news came 
 that England had fortified Fort Mackinac, he with- 
 drew to Detroit. Later, when the British general. 
 Brock, crossed into Michigan he surrendered not 
 only Detroit, but his army and the w^iole Territory 
 of Michigan, without a fight. 
 
 Hull's shameful conduct drove the people of the 
 West into a frenzy of anger. They quickly volun- 
 teered to form an army for the recapture of 
 Detroit. The command was iriven to General 
 
162 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Winchester, a Revolutionary officer. But the sol- 
 diers wanted General Harrison, and finally went 
 so far as to refuse to follow any other leader. 
 Under these circumstances, the President was 
 forced to give the command to Harrison, while 
 General Winchester was placed second. 
 
 Scarcely had they begun to drill the troops when 
 word came that Tecumseh and his followers had 
 formed an alliance with the English. The com- 
 bined forces had fallen upon the defenseless village 
 of Frenchtown, in Michigan, on the River Raisin. 
 General Winchester at once hurried forward to 
 their relief. He was met by a large body of Eng- 
 lish and Indians, under the brutal General Proctor, 
 in January, 1813. Winchester's men were so far 
 outnumbered that he was forced to surrender under 
 promise of protection. No sooner had he done so, 
 however, than the Indians fell upon the prisoners 
 with their tomahawks. As soon as Tecumseh 
 learned what was going on he rushed to the rescue 
 and stopped the murderous work. 
 
 General Harrison promptly hurried his forces 
 into Fort Meigs. Here Proctor and Tecumseh, 
 with a superior force, attacked him in May. But 
 the garrison, sheltered behind the great earthworks, 
 beat them off. Tecumseh was furiously angry. 
 
164 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 ''' Harrison is a miserable ground-hog," he declared. 
 '' He will not come out into the open and fight like 
 a man ! " Harrison, however, knew he could not 
 hope for victory under such heavy odds, so he 
 patiently bided his time. In July, the Indians fell 
 upon him again in increased numbers, and again he 
 repelled them. Stung with fury, a part of Proctor's 
 command fell desperately upon the stockade at Fort 
 Stephenson. This was commanded by the brave 
 young Kentuckian, Major Croghan, who made a 
 most brilliant defense and succeeded in holding 
 the fort. 
 
 The cry '' On to Canada ! " now became strong 
 indeed. But General Harrison was not yet ready. 
 He knew that an invasion would not succeed until 
 our country controlled the Great Lakes. So he 
 waited to hear from Commodore Perry. That gal- 
 lant young officer, with a gang of ship carpenters, 
 had been hard at work since early the previous win- 
 ter cutting down trees and using the green timber to 
 construct a fleet with which he hoped to defeat the 
 British squadron. On the first day of September 
 word came that Perry had set sail with nine 
 vessels. Fourteen days later General Harrison 
 was overjoyed to receive Perry's famous dispatch : 
 "We have met the enemy, and they are ours." 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON 165 
 
 The way into Canada \vas now open. Harrison 
 set out at once and soon had his army drawn up 
 on the shore of Lake Erie. LI ere I^erry met him 
 and quickly helped to transport the troops to the 
 Canadian side near Maiden. This was the head- 
 quarters of Proctor and Tecumseh. Llarrison 
 marched upon them immediately, hut when he 
 reached the fort he found only smouldering ruins. 
 Proctor had set fire to it and fled in deadly terror 
 of the vengeance of the men whose only watchword 
 was '' Remember the River Raisin." 
 
 From one point to another Harrison chased the 
 fleeing forces until, at last, he forced them to make 
 a stand on the banks of the River Thames. Here, 
 under cover of a wood, they prepared to fight in 
 Indian fashion. Colonel Richard Johnson and his 
 famous band of Kentuckians opened the assault. 
 These men were used to riding pell-mell through the 
 forest, with rifles in hand. It was impossil)le for 
 the British to withstand their impetuous onslaught. 
 The line broke, and their cowardly commander fled 
 in haste for his life. The brave Tecumseh fell at his 
 post and the howling savages became panic-stricken. 
 The British straightway threw down their arms, 
 and the whole force surrendered, October 5, 1813. 
 
 Shortly after this battle Llarrison left the army, 
 
166 
 
 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 and Generals Winfield Scott and Andrew Jackson 
 finished the work which Harrison had begun. 
 
 For a time various important civil offices occupied 
 Harrison's time, but he finally retired to his farm 
 
 THE DEATH OF TECUMSEH 
 
 at North Bend, Ohio. Here, in 1840, he received 
 the nomination for President of the United States 
 on the Whig ticket. Party feeling in those days ran 
 very high, and the Harrison campaign was one of 
 the most exciting in the history of the country. The 
 Democrats ridiculed their opponents' candidate for 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON 167 
 
 his poverty and Western surroundings, and a cer- 
 tain newspaper declared that Harrison would be 
 more at home " in a log cabin, drinking hard cider 
 and skinning coons, than living in the White House 
 as President/' 
 
 This furnished the cue for the Whicrs. Thev 
 instantly made the log cabin the emblem of their 
 party. All over the country log cabins (erected 
 at some cross-road, village common, or vacant city 
 lot) became the Whig headquarters. On the door 
 was a coon skin, a leather latchstring hung out as 
 a sign of hospitality, and beside the door stood a 
 barrel of hard cider. Every Whig shouted for 
 "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," and knew by heart 
 all the songs in the famous Log Cabin Songster. 
 Immense mass meetings were held. Weeks were 
 spent in getting ready for them. In the West, 
 where railroads were few, the people came in cov- 
 ered wagons with provisions, and camped on the 
 ground days before the meeting. At a monster 
 meeting held at Dayton, Ohio, 100,000 people were 
 present, covering ten acres of ground.''' 
 
 Of course, Harrison was triumphantly elected. 
 He was the people's favorite, as had been plainly 
 shown. They had not forgotten the great service 
 he had rendered the countrv. He took the oath of 
 
168 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 office March 4, 1841 ; but his career as President 
 was short, for to the consternation and sorrow of 
 the country, he died one month from the day of his 
 inauguration. He was succeeded by Vice-President 
 Tyler, whose administration greatly disappointed 
 the admirers of General Harrison. 
 
ANDREW JACKSON 
 
ANDREW JACKSON, THE HERO OF 
 NEW ORLEANS 
 
 "Here comes little Andy Jackson; let's have 
 some fun, boys!" cried a big, freckle- faced lad, 
 with a sly wink at his companions. "Hi, Andy! 
 How's your nerve? Can you hit that pan on the 
 fence?" 
 
 " Steady as steel ; hand her over," answered the 
 little chap, and reached a grimy hand for the heavy 
 gun. He took careful aim. Bang! A yell went 
 up from the boys, and the little marksman went 
 down in a heap. The gun was the hardest 
 " kicker " within fifty miles of the Carolina border, 
 and many a huge joke had it helped to perpetrate. 
 But this time there was no sport. 
 
 In a tw^inkling Andy had scrambled to his feet. 
 His Irish blue eyes shot fire, and his red hair 
 fairly stood on end, as he jerked the heavy gun into 
 position, and yelled furiously : " Death to the boy 
 that dares to laugh!" 
 
 Apologies were forthcoming and overtures for 
 peace extended at once. Soon all were playing 
 
 169 
 
170 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 merrily again, but Andy's comrades never again 
 attempted sport at his expense. 
 
 When the Revohitionary War began, Andy was 
 a lad of thirteen.* He longed, with all his fiery 
 little soul, to take part in the struggle; but he was 
 too young to enlist. Every moment he could spare 
 that was not employed in fighting sham battles 
 with his comrades was spent at the blacksmith shop 
 hammering out weapons of various kinds. In the 
 South the conflict was intensely bitter, neighbor 
 often battling with neighbor. Andy managed to 
 take part in several of these skirmishes. 
 
 On one occasion he and his brother joined an 
 outlying picket post. The force was captured and 
 the boys sent in, along with the other prisoners. 
 The British Colonel took a fancy to Andy and de- 
 cided to make him his page. He ordered the little 
 chap to clean his boots. Andy indignantly refused 
 and got a severe sword cut on his head for his 
 impudence. His brother was treated in the same 
 way. Then the two wounded lads were thrown 
 into a wretched prison, where smallpox was raging. 
 They caught the disease, and no doubt would have 
 died had not their mother succeeded in getting them 
 exchanged, and in nursing them back to health. 
 
 Years went by. ''Little Andy" grew into an 
 
• ANDREW JACKSON 171 
 
 athletic young giant. At the age of eighteen, hav- 
 ing acquired a fair common school education, he 
 began the study of law in the village of Salisbury. 
 North Carolina was in the path of the settlers cross- 
 ing the mountains to make homes in the rich lands 
 to the westward. Soon the young law student 
 caught the fever of emigration, and followed in the 
 wake of the home seekers. He settled in Nashville, 
 Tennessee, and began the practice of law. Here, 
 in this rough new country disputes were often set- 
 tled by bullet or cold steel, and it took a great deal 
 of courage to practice law. But young Jackson 
 was equal to every emergency. He was very brave, 
 and so quick-tempered that he was feared by all 
 who knew him. 
 
 Though a rough man, Jackson was honest and 
 true in his own way. He was recognized as an 
 able lawyer and rose to the distinction of Judge of 
 the Su|)reme Court of Tennessee. Later he became 
 a member of the United States Senate. When the 
 second war with England broke out, in 1812, he 
 was made commander of a force of Tennessee 
 volunteers sent to defend New Orleans. They 
 marched as far as Natchez. Here an order reached 
 Jackson to disband his troops at once, as they were 
 not needed. The fiery young General vowed he 
 
172 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 would do no such thing. "By the Eternal!" he 
 cried, ''if the United States cannot afford to buy 
 food for my men and disband them decently, I can 
 and will." 
 
 Accordingly he pledged his own property for 
 supplies for his army, and marched them back to 
 Tennessee. His spirit awoke the admiration of the 
 officials at Washington, who had given the order 
 unthinkingly, and they set him down as a man to 
 be called upon in an emergency. His troops loved 
 and honored him and respectfully dubbed him '' Old 
 Hickory," because in his hardness, toughness, and 
 strength he reminded them of the tall, stately 
 hickories of the forest. 
 
 In the autumn of 1812, when Tecumseh made 
 his memorable trip into the Southwest, striving to 
 stir up the Indians, he labored long and valiantly 
 with the half-breed chief of the Creeks. This man 
 was known to the whites as Wethers ford, but his 
 Indian followers called him Red Eagle. Tecumseh 
 could not make him promise to make war on the 
 whites, and he vowed to bring a terrible vengeance 
 upon his tribe. Shortly afterward a comet ap- 
 peared. Then a few weeks later a slight earth- 
 quake occurred. The Creeks felt assured that 
 Tecumseh had indeed turned the hand of the Great 
 
ANDREW JACKSON 173 
 
 Spirit against thcni, and they resolved to take up 
 the hatehet at onee. lliey appealed to their Spanish 
 neighbors at Pensacola, and through them succeeded 
 in getting arms from the British. The white 
 people of the surrounding country had fled for pro- 
 tection to Fort Minims, not far from Mobile. Here 
 the Creeks attacked them, in August, 1813, and 
 the entire company of four hundred men, women, 
 and children were slain. 
 
 A cry of horror went up all over the South. Gen- 
 eral Jackson, though ill in bed at the time with a 
 painful wound, hurriedly marched into the wilder- 
 ness to attack the savages. For a few days all 
 went well. Then the hastily collected supplies gave 
 out and the hungry soldiers rebelled. Half the 
 men laid down their arms and turned homeward. 
 But "Old Hickory" was too much for them. He 
 fell upOn them with the remaining half of his army 
 and forced them to return. 
 
 Providentially the matter of supplies was soon 
 solved, and Jackson was able to do good work with 
 his wild mountaineers. In March, 18 14, he fell 
 upon a strongly fortified band of Creeks at Horse- 
 shoe Bend, on the Tallapoosa River. A terrible 
 fight ensued. Neither Red Eagle''' nor Old Hickory 
 would surrender. But the odds were too heavy. 
 
174 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 The whites outnumbered the redmen, and soon the 
 forest was dyed with the blood of the fallen sav- 
 ages. At length, most of the surviving Indians 
 surrendered, and ceded a large part of their terri- 
 tory to the United States. Some, however, fled 
 into Florida, which at that time belonged to Spain. 
 
 Word now came that a British force had landed 
 at Pensacola and fortified themselves there, after 
 being heavily reinforced by Florida Indians. Jack- 
 son was so ill that he could scarcely sit in the sad- 
 dle, yet his fiery spirit was not subdued. '' Zounds ! " 
 he cried. '' Do those black-hearted Spanish and 
 white-livered Seminoles think that they are going 
 to give further aid to the enemies of our country? 
 No, by the Eternal ! Not if my name is ' Old Hick- 
 ory ' ! " His angry enthusiasm electrified his troops, 
 as always, and they were soon hastening southward 
 by enforced marches. But it was November be- 
 fore they reached Pensacola, which soon fell before 
 their resistless onslaught. 
 
 He was now called upon to hasten to the defense 
 of New Orleans, as a fleet of fifty ships, carrying- 
 ten thousand of England's best fighting men, had 
 just sailed from Jamaica for that point. England 
 expected to take this far outlying post with the 
 greatest ease. She would then have control of the 
 
ANDREW JACKSON 
 
 175 
 
 Mississippi River and could soon have the Amer- 
 ican nation at her mercy. 
 
 The ships came to anchor off Lake Borgne, about 
 twenty miles from New Orleans, on December 9, 
 1814, in the midst of a driving storm. Twelve 
 
 Fiom an old print 
 
 JACKSON'S HEADQUARTERS AT NEW ORLEANS 
 
 hundred marines at once engaged the attention of 
 the little fleet of five gunboats which guarded Lake 
 Pontchartrain. In the fierce hand-to-hand fight 
 which followed, three hundred British were killed 
 and wounded. As the Americans had onlv two hun- 
 
176 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 clrecl men, they could not long hold out against such 
 heavy odds. The commander was severely wounded 
 and his gunboats captured. 
 
 In the meantime all was excitement in the Creole 
 City. Old Hickory had arrived a short time before 
 and w^as busy creating an army out of such ma- 
 terials as he could find. It w^as hard work, for New 
 Orleans was foreign in character, and had little 
 in common with our people except a bitter hatred 
 for the English. But the people were anxious to aid 
 Jackson, and the force he raised was a motley 
 crowd. "He formed companies of free colored 
 men, and other companies of convicts taken from 
 the prisons, and enlisted all the merchants and their 
 clerks who were fit to fight." He even called in 
 Lafitte, popularly known as the "Pirate of the 
 Gulf," and his crew. " The streets resounded with 
 Yankee Doodle and the Marseillaise, sung in Eng- 
 lish, French, and Spanish." 
 
 Jackson was encouraged by the arrival of Colonel 
 Coffee with some three hundred Tennessee volun- 
 teers, whose mettle he had himself tested in the 
 furious war with the Creeks. Colonel Carroll and 
 his famous riflemen from Nashville also floated 
 down the river in flatboats and marched into the 
 city on the same day that the British arrived. Clad 
 
ANDREW JACKSOX 177 
 
 in coonskin caps, l)uckskin shirts, and fringed leg- 
 gins, with their long rifles slung over their shoul- 
 ders and hunting-knives in their belts, these tall 
 gaunt fellows carried a sense of security wherever 
 they went. Old Hickory felt it, and determined 
 upon instant action. 
 
 That evening, while the British were eating their 
 supper, they were surprised at the appearance of 
 a strange vessel, which dropped quietly down the 
 river and anchored within musket shot. A few 
 inquiring shots were hurled at her. The answer 
 was a deep, hoarse voice: '' Now% give it to them, 
 boys, for the honor of America ! " and shot and 
 shell rained on every hand. One hundred men w^ere 
 killed or disabled in less than ten minutes. The 
 British hastily trampled oilt their camp-fires, and 
 fled behind the levee for shelter. 
 
 Shortly afterward Jackson charged upon them, 
 and the surprise was complete. For more than two 
 hours the darkness was rife with deadly hand-to- 
 hand fights between the British bayonets and the 
 American hunting-knives. The struggle was ended 
 by a thick fog which crept up from the river, 
 enshrouding friend and foe alike. 
 
 New Orleans was now safe from immediate 
 attack. Tackson had ^-aincd what he desired — 
 
178 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 time to throw up intrenchnients and thus make his 
 position secure. The British had lost more than 
 five hundred in killed and wounded, and been filled 
 with a little whole-souled respect for the Americans. 
 Still, they did not anticipate defeat, and when Sir 
 Edward Pakenham arrived, on Christmas morning, 
 they spent the day in fitting celebration. 
 
 Early the next morning Pakenham was at work 
 mounting cannon in a redoubt''' on the bank of the 
 river. As soon as his guns were in position he 
 began to throw red-hot shells at the two war vessels 
 on the Mississippi. The little Carolina, which had 
 given the British such a warm reception on the 
 night of their arrival, soon blew up. The other 
 vessel was towed out of range and escaped. 
 
 The following day Pakenham advanced upon the 
 city. About three miles out he came upon an 
 advance guard of the Americans and was driven 
 back by a brisk fire. Nothing more w^as attempted 
 until shortly after midnight on New Year's morn- 
 ing, when Pakenham, under the cover of darkness, 
 advanced his men to within three hundred yards 
 of Jackson's first intrenchnients. The morning was 
 foggy, and the Americans, behind their barricade 
 of cotton bales, knew nothing of the presence of 
 the enemy until about ten o'clock, when a slight 
 
180 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 breeze lifted the mist. There, before their aston- 
 ished gaze, frowned the English cannon. At the 
 same moment the guns roared and the cotton bales 
 caught fire. 
 
 But it took a good deal to dismay those staunch 
 men of the woods. In a twinkling, the Tennessee 
 riflemen were cracking away with a murderous 
 fire ; the cannon were returning shells with interest ; 
 the Louisiana had drawn in at close range and was 
 raking Pakenham's defense of sugar hogsheads into 
 a thousand pieces. Altogether, the British were 
 getting a warm reception — so warm, indeed, that 
 after a few moments Pakenham fell back to safer 
 quarters. For sixty hours Jackson made it so lively 
 for the invaders that they had opportunity for 
 neither food nor rest. 
 
 Pakenham drew off still farther and sat down 
 to consider the matter. Jackson improved the time 
 by further strengthening his intrenchments. " He 
 had redoubts thrown up, even to the city itself. 
 The main line of defense, over which not a single 
 British soldier passed, except as a prisoner, was a 
 mud bank about a mile and a half long. In front 
 of it w^as a ditch — or half-choked canal — which 
 ran from the river to an impassable cypress swamp 
 on the left wing."^ 
 
ANDREW JACKSON 181 
 
 Finally the British General made up his mind to 
 storm the Americans on both sides of the river at 
 once. All night long, Saturday, January 7, he spent 
 in preparing for the conflict. Jackson, on the other 
 hand, was ready. Shortly after midnight, however, 
 he mounted his horse and rode from post to post, 
 making sure that every man was in his place and 
 everything in readiness for the fray. 
 
 Early morning (January 8) showed the long 
 line of red-coated veterans in readiness. Imme- 
 diately the bugle sounded and the line advanced. 
 Jackson's riflemen watched them stolidly; only the 
 cannon impeded their progress. But each furious 
 thunder mowed a long lane through the advancing 
 battalions. On they came on the double-quick, the 
 strongest side making for Jackson's left wing, which 
 a deserter had told them was the w^eakest spot in 
 the defenses. So it was, so far as earthworks were 
 concerned; but it was just here that General Jack- 
 son had placed Carroll and his deadly riflemen. 
 Quietly the men waited until the advancing column 
 had covered nearly three-fourths of the distance. 
 Then Colonel Carroll's voice rang out in one quick, 
 clear command, ''Fire!" 
 
 The result was almost a miracle. A sheet of 
 flame burst from the earthworks, and not a rifle 
 
182 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 • 
 
 cracked in vain. In addition to this, '' an old thirty- 
 two-pounder had been loaded to the muzzle with 
 musket balls, the first volley of which killed or 
 wounded two hundred of the enemy." It was more 
 than flesh and blood could endure. The advancing 
 line faltered, stopped, broke, and ran in confusion. 
 
 General Pakenham rushed to the rescue with 
 eight hundred Highlanders, the very flower of the 
 army. An attempt was made to rush across the 
 ditch, and a few men were successful, but Death 
 met them the moment their heads showed on the 
 other side. From the mud earthwork belched forth 
 a continuous sheet of flame as the grim riflemen 
 delivered their death-dealing volume. Again the 
 proud column gave way. 
 
 *' Forward, men, forward ! " cried the brave 
 Pakenham. '' Don't give way ! The day is ours ! " 
 
 But the day was not theirs, and the men knew 
 it, though they gallantly responded to the call of 
 their chief. A rifle ball shattered Pakenham's leg;" 
 another killed his horse; and, finally, a third laid 
 him low in the dust. All about him were strewn 
 the brilliantly uniformed of^cers. They were easy 
 marks for the sharpshooters. The Highlanders, 
 too proud to run, stormed the ditch until but few 
 of their number were left. These dauntless soldiers 
 
ANDREW JACKSUX 
 
 183 
 
 then slowly retired with their faees toward the foe. 
 The Americans were safe behind their breast- 
 works. The flag- flew gayly; the band pla}ed a 
 rousing tune; and the guns of death roared hid- 
 eously. In twenty-five minutes all w'as over. The 
 
 THE HERMITAGE 
 
 British retreated out of harnvs way, and the Battle 
 of New Orleans went down in history as one of 
 the most amazing conflicts ever fought. The 
 Americans had eight killed and fourteen wounded ; 
 the British loss was seven hundred killed; fourteen 
 hundred wounded; and five hundred prisoners! 
 
184 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 But the sad part of it all was that the battle was 
 unnecessary. Peace had been declared about two 
 weeks before. Had there been steam vessels or 
 telegraphs in 1815, the life of many a brave man 
 would have been saved. For a week and more the 
 two armies glared at each other from the safety 
 of their intrenchments. Finally, General Lambert 
 skillfully retreated to his ships, and soon afterward 
 the fleet sailed for England. 
 
 So ended the siege of New Orleans and the 
 hopes of the British for gaining a foothold on 
 United States territory. People could not say 
 enough in praise of " Old Hickory." He became 
 *' the darling of his country." Honors fell upon him 
 thick and fast. Even to this day his memory is 
 revered in the Creole city, where the Battle of New 
 Orleans is still celebrated. 
 
 In 181 7, trouble arose with the Creeks and Semi- 
 noles in Florida, and General Jackson was sent 
 down to settle the disturbance. This he did in his 
 usual fiery fashion. Utterly disregarding the fact 
 that the Indians were on Spanish soil, he rushed 
 over the border, took the villages of vSt. Marks and 
 Pensacola, reduced the Indians to a peaceable con- 
 dition, and hanged two English traders as spies! 
 This was a serious matter, and for a time Congress 
 
AXI)RI-:\V JACKSOX 185 
 
 fairly Ireniblccl. lni[)(,)rlaiU treaties \\ere then under 
 way with Spain and Great Britain, and they feared 
 that his acts would stop them. But happily nothini; 
 came of the affair. In 1819, when Florida was pur- 
 chased from Spain, Jackson was sent down to take 
 possession of the country. 
 
 Jackson was a candidate for the Presidency in 
 1824. There were three other candidates in the 
 field. None of them received a majority of votes, 
 and the choice was made by the House of Repre- 
 sentatives. John Ouincy Adams was elected. Jack- 
 son's friends were bitterly disappointed. They 
 accused Adams of having a secret understanding 
 with Henry Clay, w4io was Speaker of the House. 
 There was no proof that such bargain had been 
 made, but no Jackson follower could be convinced 
 of it. A strong party rose in his favor. They 
 called themselves *' Jackson men" or Democratic 
 Republicans, and at once nominated Jackson for 
 the next President. . 
 
 Up to this time the Presidents had all been 
 chosen from the aristocracy.''' But now a cry rose 
 all over the country for a President who was a 
 man of the people. Jackson was such a man ; rough 
 in speech and ])lain in manner, but with many (iuali- 
 ties to commend him to the public. He became the 
 
186 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 people's candidate and was elected, in 1828, by an 
 overwhelming majority. 
 
 In the Presidential chair "Old Hickory" ruled 
 with a strong hand. He was the first President to 
 put out of office those who had voted against him, 
 and to appoint his own friends in their places. He 
 managed affairs with other nations in such a man- 
 ner as to make the United States greatly respected 
 abroad. He served two terms, and at the close of 
 his administration was still so popular with his 
 party that he was able to dictate the choice of his 
 successor. This was his friend and Secretary of 
 State — Martin Van Buren. 
 
 Jackson was the last President who had had any 
 part in the Revolution. He died at The Hermitage, 
 his home near Nashville, in 1854. "He was a man 
 of iron will and fierce passions ; obstinate but honest 
 in his opinions, and one of the ablest soldiers 
 America has ever produced." 
 
PROFESSOR SAMUEL F. MORSE 
 
SAMUEL MORSE AND THE TELEGRAPH 
 
 Can you imai:^"inc what ihc world was like before 
 Benjamin Franklin unlocked the doors to the world 
 of electricity with the key of his own house door, 
 a silk kite, and a piece of hemp string? Then no 
 swift wire messengers of thought encircled the 
 giobe. News traveled slowly. It sometimes took 
 weeks and wxeks to get a letter or a message from 
 even one part of our own country to another, to 
 say nothing of crossing the ocean and journeying 
 into foreign lands. The introduction of the loco- 
 motive into this country, in 1829, was a great boon 
 to new^s distribution, but it was the invention of 
 the telegraph, in 1837, which carried news with the 
 Hghtning\s rapidity, that really revolutionized the 
 world. 
 
 This marvelous invention was the work of 
 Samuel Finley Breese Morse, and is a monument 
 of his perseverance and courage, of his industry 
 and self-denial. Often its struggling author went 
 without bread and meat, to buy ware and chemicals 
 for his exj^criments. He worked early and late, 
 
 187 
 
l^S AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 and never for one moment gave up hope of suc- 
 cess, even when certain defeat seemed to stare him 
 in the face. 
 
 Like all men who have achieved greatness, 
 Samuel Morse had a studious childhood and youth. 
 He was born in Charleston, Mass., in 1791. When 
 he was four years old he was sent to school to an 
 old lady who was lame and not able to leave her 
 chair. She managed her scholars with a long rattan 
 stick. Little Samuel was very apt at making pic- 
 tures, and often drew caricatures of the old dame 
 and his schoolmates when he should have been 
 about the tasks set for him; consequently the cane 
 often flourished in his direction. But, fortunately, 
 it did not break up his love for drawing. 
 
 As he grew older he made up his mind to go to 
 college. He studied hard and finally managed 
 to enter Yale College. From the very first he took 
 a deep interest in experiments in electricity, but he 
 could ill afford to buy material for private experi- 
 ments. He had to pay his own way, and was often 
 much exercised how to earn enough to purchase the 
 necessaries of life. His early talent for drawing 
 and painting stood him in good stead during 
 this time. In those days there were no photogra- 
 phers. When people wanted pictures of themselves 
 
SAMUEL MORSE 180 
 
 they had U) have ihem i)aiiUed. This was usually 
 done on ivory. Young Morse was most skillful at 
 such work, and in this w^ay earned many an honest 
 dollar. 
 
 He became absorbed in the w^ork and, shortly 
 after leaving college, w^ent to Europe to study art, 
 where he soon acquired no little fame as an histor- 
 ical and portrait painter. But fame did not bring 
 him riches. He returned to America at the end of 
 four years as poor as when he left, and began seri- 
 ously to think of turning his talents to some other 
 purpose. 
 
 Like Fulton, he had considerable inventive genius 
 and, as a lad, had made many mechanical toys and 
 useful contrivances for his home; but none of them 
 had any money value. He now interested his 
 brother in the invention of a pump. But the i)ump 
 not proving a success, young Morse was forced to 
 give it up and travel from town to town painting- 
 portraits for a living. 
 
 By and by he scraped up money enough to go 
 abroad again. Here he lived, chiefly in Paris, until 
 he had passed his forty-first year. Then he sailed 
 for America once more. One evening, in the cabin 
 of the ship, something was said about electricity. 
 One of the gentlemen told of an interesting 
 
190 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 experiment which he had seen performed in Paris 
 recently. Electricity had been sent instantaneously 
 through a great length of wire arranged in circles 
 about a room. 
 
 The incident appealed instantly to ]\Iorse's in- 
 ventive genius. '' If such a thing Avere possible," 
 he asked himself, ''why could not messages be sent 
 long distances by means of electricity?" He 
 retired to his bunk and at once began to plan a 
 telegraph. But you may be sure it was not all 
 done that evening. He made many drawings before 
 he evolved a plan which seemed practical. 
 
 The idea on which he worked was not a new one. 
 Since Volta had discovered that two different 
 metals, when joined together in contact with acid 
 water and separated from other substances, pro- 
 duced a current of electricity which would travel 
 any distance, so long as the circuit was not broken, 
 scientists had thought it might be possible to use 
 this cvu'rent for making signals at a distance. Yet 
 there w^as always the difficulty of how to make the 
 signs at the other end. 
 
 Morse saw at once that an operator, by depressing 
 and raising a button at his end of the wire, might 
 alternately break and complete the electric circuit 
 in such a manner as to make it instantly perceived 
 
SAMUEL MORSE 191 
 
 at the other end of the wire. The number and 
 length of these interruptions of the circuit would 
 stand for the different letters of the alphabet. He, 
 therefore, devoted his time to planning a machine 
 which should record the telegraphic alphabet on 
 paper tapes. He also experimented on making 
 batteries of various kinds. 
 
 But all this took time and money. Morse had 
 little of either to spare for experiments. He told 
 his brothers about his invention, and they good- 
 naturedly gave him a room for a studio, though 
 they had little faith in his inventive genius. 
 Morse went on painting portraits and teaching 
 drawing, using the time when most men wevt sleep- 
 ing, and all the other precious moments which he 
 could hoard, for the perfection of his scheme. 
 
 Finally, in 1835, Morse was made Professor of 
 Fine Arts in the University of the City of New 
 York. Later he became President of the New York 
 National Academy of Design — an office which he 
 held for many years. But these positions of honor 
 brought him little money. He was still too poor to 
 carry out his plans. He took one of his brother 
 professors into partnership, but their combined 
 resources proved insufficient to perfect their ma- 
 chine and bring it before the public in any sort of 
 
192 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 practical test. Both were convinced of its value, 
 however, and refused to let circumstances dis- 
 courage them. 
 
 One day, when they were exhibiting their inven- 
 tion to a party of friends, by means of seventeen 
 hundred feet of wire stretched back and forth 
 across the room, a student named Alfred Vail hap- 
 pened in. He was the son of Judge Vail, a wealthy 
 mill-owner. The young man had spent some years 
 in his father's shops, and was a far better mechanic 
 than either Morse or Gale. His quick eye imme- 
 diately took in the details of the scheme, and he was 
 filled with enthusiasm. 
 
 "There is no reason why it should not work!" 
 he exclaimed heartily. "Of course, you mean to 
 try it out on a large scale?" 
 
 ''We do if we can get the money," answered 
 Professor ]\Iorse. 
 
 ''Money?" cried Vail, who was not accustomed 
 to stop for want of that commodity. ''Money? 
 Will you take me into partnership if I furnish the 
 funds necessary to carry out your plans ? " 
 
 " Yes," agreed Morse and Gale, almost in one 
 breath. 
 
 "Very well," said Vail; "tell me just what you 
 hope to do." 
 
SAMUEL MORSE 
 
 193 
 
 For a lono- lime they talked and planned; then 
 yonn^- Wail rushed off to interest his father. The 
 old Indite was decidedly doubtful, but he finally 
 
 THE MORSE INSTRUMENT FOR SENDING MESSAGES 
 
 promised to advance two thousand dollars for the 
 making of a perfect telegraph. 
 
 " But, mind you, not one cent more w^ill I give ! " 
 he exclaimed, resolutelv. " If it is a success, vou 
 
 a. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 V 
 
 ?r 
 
 
 yC{^ 
 
 f / 
 
 THE MORSE TELEGRAPHIC ALPHABET 
 
 can put the matter before Congress. They are 
 interested in public improvement, and ought to fur- 
 
194 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 nish the money to build the first Hue. If it fails, 
 you will have been provided with a season's amuse- 
 ment, and it would cost about that much, anyway! " 
 
 So Judge Vail washed his hands of the matter; 
 but his son was well satisfied. He fitted up a work- 
 shop in one of the factory rooms at Speedwell, N. J., 
 near his own home. Here, with the help of a lad 
 fifteen years old, whom he took from the factory, 
 he worked for many months behind locked doors; 
 sometimes so absorbed that the day passed into 
 night and came again wathout his leaving the shop. 
 He made several improvements in Morse's machine. 
 The Professor had planned a series of zigzag marks 
 for the alphabet. Vail made the machine write in 
 dots and dashes, and composed the telegraphic 
 alphabet as shown on page 193. 
 
 While Vail perfected the machine Morse was 
 busy getting out a patent, and Gale was making 
 batteries. The construction of the first telegraphic 
 circuit moved slowly; but at last a day came when 
 the telegraph was as complete as the inventors knew 
 how to make it. 
 
 "William," said young Vail, joyfully, ''run up 
 to the house and ask father to come down and see 
 the telegraph machine work." 
 
 The excited lad, in his shop clothes and without 
 
SAMUEL MORSE 195 
 
 a coat, burst in upon the old Judge and cai^crly 
 made known his errand. Judge Vail had all along 
 testily refused to look at the machine. But now 
 he followed the boy back to the little room without 
 a word. He wrote upon a slip of paper, "A patient 
 waiter is no loser," and handed it to his son. 
 
 "There," he said, "if you can send that so Pro- 
 fessor Morse can read it at the other end of the 
 wire, I shall be convinced." 
 
 This was done in a twinkling, and the old Judge 
 was overjoyed. 
 
 "It is wonderful!" he cried, '' wojidcrfiil! How 
 do you propose to string the wires ? " 
 
 Professor Morse modestly explained the i)lan of 
 sinking a hollow pipe into the earth and running 
 the wires through it. 
 
 "Then," cried the Judge, his eyes alight with 
 enthusiasm, "you have the greatest invention of 
 the age! You have made it possible to unite the 
 old world and the new, for wires can be laid in the 
 ocean's bed. I congratulate you from the depths of 
 my heart ! " 
 
 Others, however, were not so quick to grasp the 
 importance of the telegraph. Business men were 
 slow to try new things in those days, and Judge 
 \^ail stuck to the idea of having the government 
 
196 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 build the first line. Finally, in 1842, five years 
 later, the House of Representatives passed a bill 
 appropriating thirty thousand dollars for the con- 
 struction of a telegraph, on Morse's plan, from 
 Washington to Baltimore. The bill had yet to pass 
 the Senate and receive the President's signature 
 before it could become a law. A large number of 
 appropriations of one kind and another were in 
 advance of it, and the friends of the telegraph had 
 every reason to fear that the bill would be killed 
 in the Senate. 
 
 The last hours of the session drew nigh, and 
 Professor Morse, who had been in Washington for 
 days doing what he could to advance the interests 
 of his invention, was buoyed up with hope one 
 moment, and in the depths of despair the next. 
 Then a senatorial friend came to him and told him 
 that the bill could not possibly be passed; there 
 were too many others before it. But the next 
 morning, while he was at breakfast, ]\Iiss Ellsworth, 
 the daughter of the Commissioner of Patents, 
 brought Morse word that his bill had passed the 
 night before. For a moment he could not speak 
 for joy; then he thanked Miss Ellsworth for her 
 kindness and said that she should send the first 
 message over the telegraph line. 
 
SAMUEL MORSE 197 
 
 As it had been Morse's orig-inal plan to lay the 
 wires in underground i)ii)cs, work on the ditches 
 was begun at once. But, when only seven thousand 
 dollars were left of the thirty thousand appro- 
 priated, it was discovered that the naked wires let 
 the electricity escape into the ground. Clearly a 
 line built in this fashion would never be a success. 
 What was to be done? After much perplexity, the 
 machine for digging the ditches was purposely run 
 against a stone and broken. This furnished an 
 excuse for delaying matters, and gave the inventor 
 a chance to plan something else. 
 
 After a year's delay it was decided to stretch the 
 wires on poles. This was accomplished in 1844, 
 and Miss Ellsworth. sent the first message flashing 
 over the wire from Washington to Baltimore — 
 a distance of forty miles. It was, " Wliat hath 
 God wrought!" The first news sent by telegraph 
 was that James K. Polk had been nominated 
 for President. 
 
 The introduction of the telegraph into general 
 use was very slow. People did not understand its 
 mechanism, and they would not believe the mes- 
 sages that came over the wire until they could 
 verify them by the mail. At first the operators 
 w^orked for nothing, and slept under their telegraph 
 
198 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 tables. Soon, however, business men began to gain 
 confidence in the telegraph and its success was 
 assured. In 1845, ^^^ York and Philadelphia were 
 connected ; but, as wires could not be made to work 
 under water, the messages were received on the 
 New Jersey side of the Hudson and carried to New 
 York by boat. By 1856, telegraph lines wxre spread 
 well over our country and in foreign lands as well. 
 Professor Morse was now no longer in need of 
 money. He was honored, both at home and abroad, 
 and had in his possession many valuable decora- 
 tions in gold and diamonds, wdiich were given to 
 him by foreign powers. 
 
 When the telegraph first rose to popularity in 
 our country some forty companies competed for 
 the business. This was ruinous, and, in 1856, a 
 union of Western companies w^as formed and called 
 the Western Union Telegraph Company. Today it 
 has more than seventy thousand offices, and has in 
 use more than a million and a half miles of wire. It 
 has a capital stock of a hundred million dollars, and 
 does the greater part of the telegraph business in 
 the United States. 
 
 From the very first, Professor Morse had an 
 idea that a telegraph line could be built under 
 water, but he never experimented with the ocean 
 
SAMUEL lAlOKSl-: 199 
 
 cable. 11iis wris left to Cyrus W. Field, who, in 
 1858, laid the llrst telegraph caljle across the 
 Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 Professor Morse lived to be eighty-one years of 
 age. He saw his invention in use all over the world ; 
 but, doubtless, he never thought of the telegraph as 
 being used for anything but the sending of mes- 
 sages. What would he say could he return to earth 
 and see how alarm bells and time bells are rung by 
 means of the telegraph, and how clock hands at 
 points remote from each other are moved in unison? 
 Above all, what would he say of that wonderful 
 invention of today — wireless telegraphy? 
 
DAVID GLASGOW FARRAGUT 
 
ADMIRAL FARRAGUT, OUR GREAT 
 NA\ AL. COMMANDER 
 
 In the year 1801 there was bom in a certain 
 comfortable log cabin not far from Knoxvillc, 
 Tenn., a baby boy who was destined to become 
 famous. David Glasgow Farragut the Jittle one 
 was christened, and he soon grew into a sturdy 
 little chap wholly befitting his name. 
 
 His father, Major George Farragut, was a leader 
 among the hardy frontiersmen in his section. A 
 Spaniard by birth, from a good old fighting stock, 
 he came to America in 1776 and fought with great 
 credit in the Revolution. He was brave and daring 
 to the point of recklessness. He had his own ideas 
 fdr bringing up his three boys, and used to take 
 them with him on all kinds of perilous enterprises, 
 to teach them courage and self-reliance. In 1807 
 a friend secured for him a sailing-master's com- 
 mission and the conimand of Gunboat tt, then sta- 
 tioned at New Orleans. He started immediately 
 for his new post, leaving his wife to follow later 
 with the children and household effects on a flatboat. 
 
 201 
 
202 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 Most women would have shrunk in dismay from 
 the undertaking; but Elizabeth Farragut was no 
 ordinary woman. Their home stood on the edge of 
 the unbroken forest; wolves and hostile Indians 
 prowled about ; and she had often been called upon 
 to defend herself and children. She knew that the 
 new home was situated in a troubled and perilous 
 part of the country; yet she embarked on the long 
 and tedious journey as cheerfully as though she 
 were merely setting out on a pleasure trip with 
 her little flock. 
 
 Shortly after their arrival at the new home, 
 David, then a little lad of six summers, had his 
 first ride on salt water. It was across Lake Pont- 
 chartrain in a yawl"^ with his father, in the midst 
 of a driving gale. This was the beginning of 
 David's many trips with his father and brothers 
 in all kinds of crafts and in all kinds of w^eather. 
 When the sailing-master's friends remonstrated 
 with him for subjecting his sons to so much danger, 
 he would laughingly reply: ''Now is the time to 
 conquer their fears ! I want them to be able to go 
 where danger calls, and to face peril with unruffled 
 composure." 
 
 Associated with George Farragut at the New 
 Orleans naval station was Captain David Porter, 
 
ADMIRAL FARRAGUT 203 
 
 of Revolutionary fame. I le was a man well ad- 
 vanced in years, and in poor health. One day 
 Farragut found him in the bottom of a small fishing- 
 boat, unconscious from sunstroke. He at once car- 
 ried the unfortunate man to his plantation, where 
 Mrs. Farragut attempted to nurse him back to 
 health. In a few days, however, she was stricken 
 with yellow^ fever, and her death followed Porter's 
 so closely that the two were buried on the same day. 
 
 Not long afterward, the Captain's son, Com- 
 mander David Porter, came to New Orleans to 
 take charge of the naval station. He w^as so grate- 
 ful to the Farragut family for their kindness to 
 his father that he offered to adopt one of the 
 motherless boys and train him for the navy. The 
 lot fell to David, now a lad of seven years. His 
 elder brother, William, was already a midship- 
 man,* and the lad had heard a great deal about 
 the glories and adventures of a military career. 
 
 Commander Porter had distinguished himself in 
 the naval war with France and in many remark- 
 able fights with pirate crews in the West Indies and 
 the Mediterranean. None w^as better acquainted 
 with military tactics than he, nor was more kind and 
 chivalrous. Flad Farragut sought far and wide, he 
 could not have found a better guardian and teacher 
 
204 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 for his little son. That the boy soon stood high in 
 the affections of the Captain is evident. He took 
 him at once to his own home, and there set about 
 training him by daily companionship, much as the 
 lad's own father had done. 
 
 David enjoyed the adventurous life on board 
 the gunboats in river and bayou; now chasing the 
 famous pirates, Jean and Pierre Lafitte; and again 
 sailing about on some government errand, whose 
 chief value to the lad lay in impressing upon him 
 the importance of doing one's duty faithfully in the 
 small things as well as in the great. 
 
 Finally, the good Captain carried David away to 
 Washington and placed him in school there. They 
 called on the Secretary of the Navy. He looked 
 with favor upon the sturdy little lad. '' Study hard, 
 David," he said, ''and when you are ten years old 
 I will make you a midshipman." 
 
 In the latter part of 1810, Captain Porter was 
 relieved of duty at New Orleans, and journeyed 
 North to see how David was getting on at school. 
 The lad begged so hard to be taken away that the 
 Captain persuaded the Secretary of the Navy to 
 "issue a midshipman's warrant to the little chap," 
 who was then just nine years, five months, and 
 twelve days old. Captain Porter, however, had no 
 
ADMIRAL FARRAGUT 205 
 
 place ready on his vessel then; so, after a short 
 vacation, he put the boy in school at Chester, Pa. 
 
 Here David w^aited for nearly a year. Then a 
 summons came to join his guardian at Norfolk, Va. 
 He was to serve under Captain Porter on the frigate 
 Esscx,"^ one of the most noble ships of the navy, and 
 a vessel destined to win fame in the War of 1812 
 second only to that achieved by the Constitution. 
 
 Barnes, in his Midshipman Farragiit, tells us 
 that, according to Captain Porter, David was made 
 up of '' three pounds of uniform and seventy pounds 
 of fight." And we may well believe it when we 
 remember the fighting stock of his Spanish ances- 
 tors, and the examples of courage and daring which 
 his parents had ever set before him. He was, more- 
 over, a jolly, active lad, — "the life of the midship- 
 men's mess," as another of his biographers states, 
 " full of fun and as agile as a cat." 
 
 The Essex carried a crew of three hundred fifty 
 brave men, and was manned by a Captain so willing 
 and eager for the fray that, like Paul Jones, he was 
 ever ''venturing in harm's way." But we have not 
 space here to follow her course. You may read all 
 about it in Spears' David G. Farragnt. There, also, 
 you may read a full account of how the young mid- 
 shipman commanded a ship when but twelve years 
 
206 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 of age. Briefly, it happened in this wise: The 
 Essex, in her campaign of clearing the sea of Brit- 
 ish whalers, captured a number of prizes not far 
 from the equator in the South Pacific. Captain 
 Porter changed the name of the swiftest of these 
 to the Essex Junior, and manned her with a picked 
 crew under his faithful and trusted Lieutenant 
 Downes, whom he instructed to convoy four of the 
 captured ships to the harbor of Valparaiso. Each 
 of these ships was also provided with Captain and 
 crew, and on one of them, the Barclay, Midshipman 
 Farragut shipped as Captain with a crew of faithful 
 fellows from the Essex. 
 
 All went well until on a certain day the Barclay 
 fell behind the other ships. The navigating officer 
 was Captain Randall, the ship's former comman- 
 der. He was an old seaman, and in no humor to 
 take orders from a twelve-year-old midshipman. 
 He determined to seize the ship and go whaling 
 as soon as he could get clear of the Essex Junior. 
 He began to bluster about in a way calculated to 
 overawe the lad and his crew; but Farragut was 
 not to be intimidated. He considered that the time 
 had come for him to be a man, so he faced the 
 sailing-master and stoutly ordered him to fill away 
 the maintopsail and overtake the Essex Junior. 
 
ADAIIRAL FARRAGUT 207 
 
 " I will shoot the first man wlio dares to toucli a 
 rope without my orders!" yelled Captain Randall, 
 beside himself with rage. '' I will go my own course. 
 I have no idea of trusting myself wath a miserable 
 nutshell ! " 
 
 He rushed below for his pistols. Alidshipman 
 Farraeut at once summoned his faithful lieutenant 
 
 BATTLE OF THE ESSEX WITH THE CHERUB AND PHOEBE 
 
 and explained the situation, telling him at the same 
 time that he wished the maintopsail filled away. 
 "He answered, 'Ay, ay, sir!' in a manner which 
 was not to be misunderstood," says Farragut, in his 
 diary, "and my confidence was perfectly restored." 
 From that moment the lad was master of his ship. 
 He ordered Captain Randall not to come on deck 
 
208 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 with his pistols, unless he wished to go overboard, 
 and gave orders to overtake the Essex Junior, 
 
 Arriving abreast of her in a few hours' time, 
 young Farragut went over and reported the cir- 
 cumstances to Captain Downes. Randall also went 
 over and attempted to palm the matter off as a prac- 
 tical joke on the young midshipman to test his nerve. 
 Captain Downes was not for a moment deceived; 
 but, at the request of young Farragut, he sent the 
 two back to the Barclay, w^ith the midshipman still 
 serving as master, and as such he continued until 
 port was reached. There Captain Downes learned 
 that a British squadron was on its way to capture 
 the Essex, and he rushed away with all speed to 
 warn Porter, carrying along the officers and men 
 who had handled the prize ships. All in all, in one 
 cruise that was not a year long, ''the Essex — a 
 ship that had cost but $154,687.77 fully armed and 
 equipped for war — had earned in damage done to 
 the enemy, and in property saved for her nation, at 
 least six million dollars." 
 
 But she was not now in condition to wrestle with 
 a strong enemy such as was approaching, and 
 Captain Porter made haste to get his fleet to 
 \^alparaiso, where ])oth the Esse A' and Essex Junior 
 might be repaired and made fit for a fight. 
 
ADMIRAL I AKUACJUT 209 
 
 How ihc CJicnib and the PJiocbc, two fine ships 
 from the enemy's squadron, at last engaged them 
 there and conquered them hy force of numbers, is 
 too long a story to tell here. It is sufficient to know 
 that our midshipman fought bravely and well and, 
 at last, threw down his arms with tears in his eyes. 
 
 Porter arranged with the victor for the privi- 
 lege of carrying his officers and crew^ home on parole 
 in the Essex Junior. Shortly after arriving in New 
 York, he took young Farragut to Chester, Pa., 
 where he placed him in a school managed by "a 
 (jueer old individual, named Neif," wdio conducted 
 a school as odd as himself. The pupils were drilled 
 like soldiers; studied no books; and rambled about 
 in the fields with their master, w4io taught them 
 geology, mineralogy, botany, and the languages in 
 a truly delightful fashion as they went. 
 
 In 1814, Farragut, then almost fourteen years 
 old, was exchanged and assigned for ship duty on 
 a brig w^hich was to make up one of a squadron 
 with which Commodore Porter hoped to damage 
 the enemy's commerce in the West Indies. For the 
 next three or four years Midshipman Farragut 
 served faithfully here and there, striving in odd 
 hours to get an education. For, by this time, he 
 had made up his mind to become a great naval com- 
 
210 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 mander, and to this end bent all his energies. The 
 latter part of 1817 found him, by his own request, 
 in the quaint old city of Tunis, "the Gate of the 
 Orient," studying hard under the guidance of Rev. 
 Mr. Folsom, the United States Consul. 
 
 In 1 819, 3^oung Farragut became acting lieu- 
 tenant under Porter. When orders came for them 
 to proceed against the West Indian pirates, our 
 hero rejoiced. The fleet cruised along the Cuban 
 coast, without meeting a pirate, as all had been 
 w^arned of their approach. They finally anchored 
 in disappointment at the naval station at Key West. 
 For more than two years they cruised about the 
 Southern seas without accomplishing the glory 
 which young Farragut had fondly pictured when 
 they set out, for piracy had already received its 
 death blow. 
 
 On September 2, 1824, Farragut was married to 
 Miss Susan Marchant, of Norfolk, Va. He was 
 devotedly attached to his wife, who, after years of 
 ill health, died at Norfolk, December 20, 1840. 
 
 Young Farragut was commissioned a full-fledged 
 lieutenant in 1825. He w^as on the Natchez, in 
 Charleston harbor, in the memorable year of 1833, 
 when South Carolina was threatening to withdraw 
 from the Union because of the high tarift*"^ laws. 
 
ADMIRAL I^VRRAGUT 211 
 
 Andrew Jackson, the famous ^' Old Hickory," was 
 then President. He was not himself in favor of a 
 protective tariff, but he did not believe that the 
 Union could long hold together if any State could 
 thus nullify a national law. So he told them that 
 tJic la-a's of the United States imist be enforced, and 
 sent word to the collector at Charleston to collect 
 the usual duties, by force if necessary, and ordered 
 the Xatchej: and other battleships to be on hand to 
 assist him. But the gunboats w^ere not called upon, 
 as South Carolina did not secede. 
 
 Farragut was given a ship of his own in 1841. 
 For two years he was stationed at a South Atlantic 
 port, and then was returned to Norfolk. Here, 
 December 26, 1843, he married Miss Viroinia 
 Loyall, of that city. During the Mexican War he 
 commanded the Saratoga, one of Commodore 
 Perry's fleet of gunboats. 
 
 When the Civil AVar broke out, Farragut, who 
 had, in the meantime, been made a Captain, was 
 again stationed at Norfolk. He was a Southerner, 
 with a warm love for the South and its people ; but 
 more than forty years before he had given oath to 
 support the Constitution and to protect the nation's 
 flag, and he now saw no reason why he should not 
 remain firm for the Union. Not being willing to 
 
212 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 cast his lot with the Confederacy, he at once left 
 Norfolk, with his wife and child, and went to 
 Hastings-on-the-Hudson, where he waited appoint- 
 ment. For some time he waited in vain, amidst all 
 sorts of suspicions and indignities. Those in author- 
 ity hesitated to choose him for fear that he might 
 be lukewarm in the Union cause. But at last, in 
 December, 1861, he was chosen to command an 
 important naval expedition against New Orleans — 
 the principal city in the South, as she commanded 
 the Mississippi. 
 
 As commander of the "Southern Gulf -Blockading 
 Squadron,'' Farragut had a fleet of seven sloops-of- 
 war, a large side-wheel ship-of-war, and nine gun- 
 boats; besides the steamers of the mortar flotilla* 
 under the immediate command of his adopted 
 brother. Commander D. D. Porter. Farragut's 
 flagship was the Hartford. The task before Farra- 
 gut was one to test the bravery and skill of the most 
 skillful and undaunted commander. New Orleans 
 was defended by Forts Jackson and St. Philip — 
 two strong forts on the opposite side of the Missis- 
 sippi, at Plaquemine Bend, w4iere the river is not 
 more than half a mile wdde. Below these a formi- 
 dable boom of cypress logs, cables, and dismantled 
 boat hulks stretched across the stream, in the form 
 
214 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 of a floating bridge or a "truss lying flat on the 
 water." Above the forts lay a strong Confederate 
 fleet of fifteen vessels, among them being the 
 famous iron-clad ram* Manassas. But our hero 
 was not one to be frightened by obstacles. He 
 steamed up to the barrier on April i8, 1862, and 
 began a fierce bombardment with the mortar boats. 
 
 Five days of heavy firing made no impression on 
 the forts. Indeed, Farragut had not expected that 
 it would. The plan was made before he accepted 
 command, and he had not protested, for he knew 
 that later he could shape his course as he pleased. 
 All along he had been determined to pass the forts 
 if the mortars failed ; so now he called his Captains 
 to the flagship to discuss how best this might be 
 done. Of course, the first thing was to break the 
 boom. Lieutenant Caldwell, of the Itasca, at once 
 volunteered to do this, if another vessel would sup- 
 port him. This Lieutenant Crosby, of the Pinola, 
 was eager to do. So at ten o'clock on the night of 
 April 20 the two vessels set forth on their perilous 
 undertaking. 
 
 Captain Porter opened fire with the mortars, 
 hoping thus to cover the advance of the vessels, but 
 they were soon seen and subjected to a heavy can- 
 nonade. Neither one thought of turning back. They 
 
ADMIRAL LWRRAGUT 215 
 
 attacked the raft with energy and tried to hreak 
 it with a torpedo. But the electric wires parted 
 and frustrated this plan. The Itasca then managed 
 to get a firm hold of one of the hulks, hut she 
 grounded herself while trying to j-erk it from the 
 raft. The P'uiola came to the rescue and, after 
 breaking two hawsers, managed to pull the Itasca 
 from the mud, and to bring her tow with her. 
 
 The space where the old hulk had been was wide 
 enough to allow the Itasca to pass. Lieutenant 
 Caldwell at once took advantage of this. He 
 slipped through, turned about, and drove with a 
 full head of steam into the raft, which w^as, of 
 course, much weaker on that side. The hulks parted 
 at once, and the chain w^as effectually broken. A 
 little more w^ork and the old boats were freed of 
 logs and cables and left to drift down stream. The 
 w^ay was opened most gloriously, without even an 
 attempt from the Confederate gunboats to check the 
 process — a fact that, according to Spear, has never 
 been explained. 
 
 How the gunboats passed the barrier and worked 
 their way past the hostile forts is too long a story 
 to tell here. It was accomplished under a terrible 
 fire. Not only did the Confederates man every gun 
 which they possessed, but they towed out raft after 
 
216 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 • 
 
 raft, "piled high with blazing pine and tar," and 
 cast them loose upon the river to work such de- 
 struction as they might. Something of the awful 
 strain of the conflict may be gleaned from a letter 
 w^hich Farragut wa-ote to his wife the day after the 
 battle. " I am so agitated that I can scarcely write," 
 he said, '' and I shall only tell you that it has pleased 
 Almighty God to preserve my life through a fire 
 such as the w^orld has scarcely knowai." 
 
 The tale of Farragut's further struggles and 
 triumphs in opening the Mississippi is of thrilling 
 interest but too long to dwell on in this brief sketch. 
 In appreciation of his glorious work, ''one of the 
 greatest victories of any time," Congress created 
 for him the rank of Rear- Admiral. 
 
 In January, 1864, Farragut journeyed southward 
 for his last great battle — the capture of Mobile. 
 You may read the story of the desperate struggle 
 in Mobile Bay, the greatest sea-fight in our history, 
 in many places."^ Farragut spoke of it as "one of 
 the hardest victories of my life, and the most des- 
 perate battle I ever fought since the days of the old 
 Esscxf' Congress created the new rank of Vice- 
 Admiral to do him honor. The citizens of New 
 York met him on his return with a set of resolutions 
 recognizing his " illustrious service, heroic bravery. 
 
218 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 and tried loyalty." They also begged him to become 
 a citizen of New York, and presented him a purse 
 of fifty thousand dollars as a means to that end. 
 
 Two years later, Congress, believing that it was 
 unjust to the navy not to rank its leader as high as 
 the greatest general on shore, further honored 
 Farragut by making him an Admiral, with a salary 
 of ten thousand dollars per year and a secretary 
 whose salary '' should be equal to the sea pay of a 
 lieutenant of the navy." He was the first to hold 
 that rank m the American navy. It was well be- 
 stowed, for Admiral Farragut, with the exception 
 of Nelson, was the peer of the greatest sea-captains 
 of all time. 
 
 In June, 1867, Farragut was sent to command 
 the European scjuadron. His wife accompanied him. 
 The story of their triumphal cruise along the coast 
 of the Old World, where the people did their best 
 to show all honor and appreciation to the great 
 Admiral, is told in Montgomery's Tlie Cruise of 
 Admiral Farragut. Two years later he visited the 
 Pacific coast and was delightfully entertained by 
 the Californians. On his return he was taken very 
 ill in Chicago. It w^as found that his heart was 
 seriously affected and that the end could not be far 
 away. He died August 14, 1870, while visiting 
 
ADMIRAL FARRAGUT 219 
 
 his kinsman, Rear-Admiral Pennock, of the Ports- 
 nioulh navy yards. His body was temporarily laid 
 to rest at Portsmouth. In September, the Navy 
 Department carried it to New York, where a great 
 public funeral was held and the body interred in a 
 beautiful plot in Woodlawn Cemetery. 
 
 Congress ordered a twenty thousand dollar monu- 
 ment for the man who was a commander at twelve, 
 and who had oiven sixtv vears of faithful and 
 supreme service to his country. It is a bronze 
 statue of the Admiral and was erected in Farragut 
 Square, Washington. On May 21, i88t, the citi- 
 zens of New York unveiled a fine statue of their 
 beloved hero in Madison Square. 
 
^^:^. /^. <^^cCf 
 
JAMES ?>. EADS, THE MASTER ENGINEER 
 
 In the first half of the nineteenth century* there 
 Hved in Cincinnati, Ohio, a gentleman who had his 
 small fortune swept away at one stroke. He then 
 decided to go to Louisville, Ky., where hetter oppor- 
 tunities seemed to await him. In those days the 
 Ohio River was the natural highway betv/een the 
 two towns, and Mr. Eads and his family took pas- 
 sage on one of the steamboats which plied between 
 them. 
 
 On the trip his small nine-year-old boy hung 
 spellbound about the boat's engine. He asked all 
 sorts of questions of the good-natured engineer, 
 who did his best to explain things to the lad's satis- 
 faction. The father was delighted to find his 
 mischievous boy so greatly interested. Here, per- 
 haps, was the very thing needed to make a fine man 
 of him ; so, after they had become settled in their 
 new home, he asked James how he would like a 
 workshop and tools of his own. 
 
 The boy was overjoyed and gave his father no 
 rest until the promised shop was ready. Here he 
 
 221 
 
222 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 • 
 
 tinkered quietly away for hours at a time. And 
 such wonderful models of sawmills, fire-engines, 
 steamboats, and electrotyping machines as he made 
 with only the chance instruction he had found on 
 the boat! The boy was a natural mechanic, and 
 had a large bump of inventive genius besides. 
 
 But misfortune seemed to pursue the father. He 
 w^as so unsuccessful in Louisville that he resolved 
 to try his fortune farther West. Having decided 
 to open a shop in St. Louis, he sent his family ahead 
 by steamboat, intending to follow later with their 
 household goods and supplies for the shop on a 
 flatboat. 
 
 Just as the boat on which they took passage 
 entered St. Louis she caught fire. The Eads family 
 escaped, barely clothed, and thus found themselves 
 penniless and alone in a strange place. It w^as a 
 cold, bleak morning, and their situation was des- 
 perate indeed. But Mrs. Eads w^as a resourceful 
 woman. She had long been used to making the 
 best of things. 
 
 So she did not now sit down to weep and bewail 
 her "hard luck"; instead, she turned eagerly to 
 some kind French ladies, who had come forward 
 W'ith offers of help, and in a short time she had 
 rented a house and was keeping boarders! 
 
JAMES B. EADS 223 
 
 James, as resourceful aud reliant as his mother, 
 at once set about fmding" a way to help her. He 
 was only thirteen, and not very rugged. No one 
 seemed to be needing a boy. But he did not despair. 
 He knew he w^ould find something, if he kept on. 
 Presently, while passing a fruit stand, a bright idea 
 came to him. He touched his cap respectfully and 
 stepped up to the vender. 
 
 " What will you give me, Mister," he asked, '' to 
 sell a basket of those apples for you?" 
 
 The man looked at him sharply. Fortunately, 
 he was a good judge of character and knew an 
 honest countenance when he saw it. So he named 
 a price, and James started off with a small basket 
 of apples, confident of success. In less than an 
 hour he was back for more. This time the dealer 
 gave him a much larger basket than before, which 
 he disposed of with equal success. Before night 
 this had been repeated many times. The fruit 
 dealer was delighted, and offered the lad a generous 
 commission to sell apples daily. Of course, James 
 was glad to accept, and for some time he rustled 
 trade with unbounded success. 
 
 But James had too much talent for the apple 
 business. A merchant who w^as one of his mother's 
 boarders liked his pluck, and soon offered him a 
 
224 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 • 
 
 good situation, which he gladly accepted. The gen- 
 tleman saw that he was fond of books, and gave him 
 the use of his library. Works upon mechanics and 
 engineering were his favorites. He had a passion 
 for watching machinery in motion, and engineers 
 were always pleased to explain fully to him the 
 various parts of an engine. So the boy obtained 
 both a practical and a theoretical knowledge of 
 engineering. He also added materially to his edu- 
 cation by steady miscellaneous reading. 
 
 At the end of five years, warned by continual 
 poor health, James left the dry-goods business and 
 took a clerkship on a steamboat. Here he had a 
 fine opportunity to learn all about the machinery 
 of the boat and to study navigation at the same time. 
 He was never idle. When off duty he was studying 
 the river — its channel; its sandbars; its cross- 
 currents ; and all the hindrances to free navigation, 
 from St. Louis to the Gulf. He was as well-posted 
 in steamboating on the Mississippi as any old pilot 
 at the wheel. And at this time ( 1839) the class of 
 river pilots was a large and respectable one, for no 
 steamboat could ply up and down the river without 
 the aid of these alert and skillful men. 
 
 To understand the problems of these men, it is 
 necessary to know something about the Mississippi. 
 
JAMES W. EADS 225 
 
 This o-rcat river drains the lari^cr part of the United 
 States. Its branehes toueh the Alleghanies on the 
 East, and the Roekies on the West. The main 
 stream is four thousand two hunch'ed miles lone, 
 and averages about a mile in width, though some- 
 times, in the spring and fall freshets, it rises with 
 a terrifying rapidity and overflows its banks in cer- 
 tain places until it is sixty miles wide. Frequently, 
 when the flood subsides, it is found that the current 
 has chosen a new channel. 
 
 The water always flows along with tremendous 
 force, ceaselessly eating away its banks, and carry- 
 ing a muddy sediment. The clay that is washed ofif 
 in the bends is deposited in the juts; and so the 
 river goes on changing the outline of its banks from 
 day to day. Here and there are hidden sandbars 
 and snags capable of wrecking and sinking the 
 strongest boats, and this is often done in spite of 
 the most careful pilots. 
 
 This capricious river ever held a strange fasci- 
 nation for James Eads, and well it might, for it 
 was the scene of the future triumphs of his engi- 
 neering genius. He longed to thwart and conquer 
 it, and, in 1842, gave up his clerkship to organize 
 a ''wrecking company," whose business it would 
 be to raise wrecked shi])s and save their cargoes. 
 
226 x\MERICAN HEROES 
 
 The business proved to be an unbounded success. 
 The insurance companies were wiUing to give the 
 wreckers a large interest — sometimes nearly half 
 of the rescued cargoes — and there was a law by 
 which a vessel that had been wrecked for five years 
 belonged to anyone who could rescue it. Eads and 
 his partners worked up and down the river for 
 hundreds of miles, with a variety of appliances for 
 pumping out sand; for raising hulls; for diving, 
 etc., most of which were the inventions of young 
 Eads himself. 
 
 Success did not spoil our hero. He had no great 
 dreams of fame in the future, and he seems not 
 to have thought of turning his clever inventive 
 genius into capital. He was an earnest, hard- 
 working young man, devoted to the comfort and 
 happiness of his parents, whom he established on a 
 farm in Iowa he had purchased for them. His 
 grandson describes him at twenty- five as '' generous, 
 proud, brave, and courteous; reverent in religion, 
 a lover of nature, of poetry, of people, and of good 
 books; and an inveterate early riser." 
 
 About this time young Eads married Miss 
 Martha Dillon, of St. Louis, and retired from the 
 hazardous wrecking business. In company with 
 others, he built the first glass factory west of the 
 
JAMES B. EADS 227 
 
 Ohio River and slarlecl in to learn a 1)usiness of 
 \vhich he knew nothing- at all. From the very first 
 the odds were too heavy, and, after running two 
 }ears, the works were obliged to shut down. 
 
 James found himself twenty- five thousand dollars 
 in debt ; but neither he nor his creditors seem to 
 have been alarmed. The men he owed had such 
 faith in his ability and integrity that they advanced 
 him fifteen hundred dollars with which to go back 
 into the wrecking business. He bought in with his 
 former partners, and was soon busily striving to 
 pay off his indebtedness. So w^ell did he succeed 
 that in ten years' time he was entirely free of debt, 
 and had, besides, his share of the half million which 
 his company was then w^orth. 
 
 In 1849 Eads became so prosperous that he had 
 no need, as he wrote to his wife, of joining the 
 rush to the gold fields of California. He began to 
 clear the channel of the river and to improve the 
 harbor of St. I.ouis. In 1856 he asked Congress to 
 commission him to remove all the obstructions in 
 the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Arkansas, and 
 the Ohio, and to keep their channels open for a term 
 of years. . A bill for this purpose found favor in 
 the House, btit was killed in the Senate. The follow- 
 ing year Eads retired from business on account 
 
228 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 • 
 
 of his increasing poor health. His wife had died 
 some time before. He now married his cousin's 
 widow and sailed for Europe. On his return he 
 bought a home and put in his time improving it, and 
 for two years lived a life of leisure, the only 
 resting-place in his busy life. 
 
 Then the War of the Rebellion broke out. Presi- 
 dent Lincoln at once saw the necessity of controlling 
 the Mississippi. Attorney-General Bates, a Mis- 
 souri man and warm personal friend of James B. 
 Eads, at once proposed sending for him, as the 
 person most able to give them all the information 
 they needed about the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, 
 and the use of steamboats upon them. Eads 
 responded with eagerness to the summons. Later, 
 when the government asked for bids for a fleet of 
 gunboats for the Mississippi, he was the lowest 
 bidder and was awarded the contract, promising 
 to have the gunboats ready for action in the 
 incredibly short space of sixty-five days! 
 
 It was a task to quell the stoutest heart, and none 
 but a rich man would have dared to undertake it. 
 Turmoil and confusion were everywhere ; machine- 
 shops, foundries, rolling-mills, saw-mills, and forges 
 were all idle, and many of the workmen had gone 
 to war. It would take the work of several well- 
 
JAMES r.. KADS 229 
 
 equipped factories to get the boats coiiiplctcd in 
 time, and Eads ^vent to work with a self-reliance 
 and energy equaled only by his patriotism. He 
 risked all his princely fortune to get the work done. 
 
 Reproduced from liarpLT's Wet-kly, October, 18G1 
 GUNBOATS ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER IN 1861 
 
 "Most of the machine shops and foundries of 
 St. Louis were at once set to work night and day, 
 and, for hours at a time, the telegraph wires to 
 Pittsburg and to Cincinnati ^vere in use. Twenty- 
 one steam-engines and thirty-five boilers were 
 needed. Prepared timber was brought from eight 
 dififerent States, and the first iron plating used in 
 
230 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 the war was rolled not only in St. Louis and Cin- 
 cinnati but in small towns in Ohio and Kentucky. 
 Within two weeks four thousand men were at work 
 in places miles apart — working by night and seven 
 days a week." "^ 
 
 At last the seven gunboats were finished, and no 
 greater feat was accomplished during the war. To 
 be sure they were not done quite on time, but they 
 would have been had not Congress been unduly 
 meddlesome and stingy. Eads used all of his own 
 fortune and then called on patriotic friends to assist 
 him. No doubt he felt amply repaid later for his 
 persevering, self-sacrificing patriotism. For he re- 
 joiced with exceeding satisfaction in the great good 
 his boats were able to do for the cause. Historians 
 have given him great credit for his work. Boynton 
 tells us that ''such men deserve a place in history 
 by the side of those who fotight our battles." 
 
 But the patriotic usefulness of James B. Eads 
 did not end with the construction of the many gun- 
 boats he built first and last for the navy. Many 
 checks went from his hand for the relief of sufferers 
 in the war. He was especially kind and considerate 
 to the boys in gray. Indeed, giving to others seems 
 always to have afforded Mr. Eads much pleasure. 
 
 His manners were calm and dioiiified, more like 
 
JAMES B. EADS 231 
 
 those of a luiropcan <;ciUlenian of l)irth and breed- 
 ing, than of a man Avho had worked hard most of his 
 hfe. ''His hospitahty was princely," says his biog- 
 rapher. " In his large house in the suburbs of St. 
 Louis he received not only the young friends of his 
 five daughters and his own friends, but also officers 
 of the river fleet and of the army ; officers sent West 
 on inspection duty, and foreign officers following 
 the course of the war, and of the improvements in 
 gunboat building. His mind was as active as his 
 heart was generous, and the course of his life mir- 
 rored that activity. Now he was at home; now in 
 Washington; now at Cairo visiting the gunboats 
 to see how^ they worked under fire.'' He was always 
 busy with some kind of plan or project; but, no 
 matter how busy, he managed to get a little time 
 each day for solid reading. Thus he kept abreast 
 of the times and added continually to his culture 
 and education. 
 
 The war seems to have aroused Kads to a great 
 desire to be helpful. Naturally he turned to the 
 Mississippi for the field of his activities. The people 
 of St. Louis wanted a bridge across the Mississippi 
 to the Illinois shore. Eads drafted a plan for this 
 bridge which all the old engineers declared to be 
 impracticable; but, in spite of the most formidable 
 
2Z2 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 obstacles the bridge was finally built according to 
 his plan. This grand highway of the nation cost 
 ten millions of dollars. It stands, ninety feet above 
 the floods, a monument to the creative genius of the 
 self-reliant '' apple boy " w4io knew no such word as 
 fail. 
 
 The building of the bridge, with all the vast ener- 
 gies it required, did not, for one moment, cloud the 
 purpose which had now become the cherished ob- 
 ject of James B. Eads' life — that of opening the 
 Mississippi to large ocean-going ships. He was a 
 man capable of doing more than one great under- 
 taking at a time, ill"^' in body as he was ; and he daily 
 turned the problem of river improvement over in 
 his mind. 
 
 Below New Orleans the river becomes a sluggish 
 wanderer, dividing into many mouths or " passes," 
 and creeping through the marshlands into the Gulf. 
 The end of each shallow mouth was formerly 
 blocked by a sandbar. These obstructions w^ere 
 the despair of the river commerce, and of the engi- 
 neers who studied the problem of their removal. 
 
 Various schemes had been suggested for deepen- 
 ing the river channel, such as stirring up the bot- 
 tom, dredging, constructing jetties,* and building 
 a ship canal from New Orleans to the Gulf. The 
 
i^L 
 
 
 '^^""'^j.-m-^^.: 
 
 t 
 
 .-^! 
 
 ^■v.^\ -. 
 
 
 
 THE EADS BRIDGE ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI AT ST. LOUIS 
 
234 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 first two were tried repeatedly without success. A 
 contract w^as let for the construction of a jetty sys- 
 tem, but the builders were unable to cope with its 
 obstacles and gave up in despair. A bill for the con- 
 struction of a ship canal was already in the House 
 when Eads came forward with the solution w4iich 
 he had at last worked out. 
 
 "All things being equal," said he, in his simple, 
 straightforward way, " the amount of sediment 
 which a river can carry is in direct proportion to 
 its velocity. Wherever the current becomes slower 
 it drops part of its burden ; when it becomes faster, 
 it picks up more. One thing that makes a river 
 slower is an increase of wadth. Now, then, if you 
 will narrow the Mississippi at its mouth, it will 
 become faster; consequently, it wall pick up more 
 sediment and carry it out into the Gulf. The thing 
 is as simple as A-B-C: aid the river to keep its 
 waters together, and it will scour out its own 
 bottom." 
 
 Of course his plan met with great opposition. 
 Those w^ho were interested in building the ship canal 
 opposed it on business motives; the government 
 engineers were against it because they were jealous 
 of Eads; others w^re against it because his plan 
 involved building jetties, which had been proven 
 
JAMES l\. EADS 235 
 
 impossible. But our hero was greater than the 
 opposition. He had studied many jetties in Europe. 
 He knew they could be used in the Mississippi, and 
 he had faith in his own power to build them. More- 
 over, he soon succeeded in making many others 
 think so too. 
 
 He wanted eleven million dollars to make a chan- 
 nel deep enough to float ships drawing twenty-eight 
 feet of water. This was considerably less than the 
 ship canal people w^ere asking for; still Congress 
 hesitated. Then Eads offered to take the contract 
 at his own figures, and wait for his pay until the 
 w^ork was finished and accepted by Congress. 
 
 Still so loud and w^eighty were the objections 
 that Congress asked a little time to consider. A 
 commission of capable engineers was sent to 
 Europe to look into the matter. Eads also went 
 abroad and made a careful study of the works at 
 the mouth of the Danube, the Rhone, and other 
 rivers* of importance. 
 
 When he returned, Congress was ready to accept 
 his offer, with provisions. He wanted to put his 
 works in the Southwest Pass — the largest of the 
 mouths and the one best adapted to the needs of 
 commerce. But Congress would not listen to this 
 at all. It favored the South Pass, a channel about 
 
236 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 one-third the size of the other, both in width and 
 volume of water; but it wanted the same resuUs 
 that could be expected of the larger ! And instead 
 of increasing the payment to correspond wdth the 
 greater difficulties, it wanted the work done for less 
 money! Eads pleaded, argued, and reasoned, but 
 the government stood firm; and, finally, so great 
 was his desire to do the work, that he accepted 
 their terms. 
 
 Soon houses were built on the marsh for a large 
 force of engineers and workmen, and the great task 
 was begun with his customary dispatch. The work 
 progressed amidst a storm of difficulties, but no 
 obstacle was too great for Eads. '' He grappled 
 with great problems in engineering, and solved them 
 as easily as a boy subtracts two from six." * All 
 the world knows the result of his efforts. Today 
 the jetty system so piles up the mighty floods of the 
 Mississippi in heaps that the great ships of all 
 nations can come and go at pleasure. 
 
 Eads was now of world-wide fame, and was 
 wanted all over the globe for advice and assistance 
 in engineering matters. ■ 
 
 At the age of fifty-nine he removed to New 
 York, where he might "be more in the center of 
 things ! " He made extensive private tours in the 
 
238 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 search of health and engineering- knowledge. He 
 explored about eight hundred miles of the Danube ; 
 he visited the Suez Canal and a canal in Amster- 
 dam, for already the question of the canal across 
 the American isthmus was stirring, and he was 
 deeply interested. Many honors and awards came 
 to him, chief among them being the Albert Medal 
 bestowed upon him by England, " as a token of ap- 
 preciation for the services he had rendered to the 
 science of engineering." He refused scores of 
 political honors, among them being the offer of the 
 nomination for the presidency. 
 
 At sixty years of age, we find him " rich, hon- 
 ored, and frail ; not content to rest on the laurels 
 of his gunboats, his bridge, or his jetties," but full 
 of a scheme to build a ship-railway across the 
 Isthmus of Tehuantepec from the Gulf of Mexico 
 to the Pacific. This was to take the place of the 
 proposed Panama Canal. People were astounded, 
 and called the idea "a decidedly picturesque vision." 
 Eads, as usual, met the opposition with plain, com- 
 monsense statements, which should have been most 
 convincing. 
 
 The idea of a ship-railway was not original with 
 Eads. He had met with a simpler form of his plan 
 in his travels, and he was, moreover, convinced that 
 
JAMES P.. EADS 239 
 
 "science could do anythino- if ii had money enoui^-h." 
 His plan was to build a twelve-rail track on which 
 monster, double-headed locomotives were to haul a 
 strong", many-wheeled car. llie car was to be pro- 
 vided with a huge cradle, into which the ship was 
 to be Roated and carefully prop])ed. To guard 
 against straining- the ship, all curves were to l)e 
 managed by the use of turntables. As usual, Eads 
 was willing to stake money on his project, and 
 "preached this new crusade of science with his cus- 
 tomary vigor." He converted many to his way of 
 thinking and had several financiers ready to put 
 money into the project, when he fell sick, and his 
 doctors ordered him aw^ay to Nassau. He was des- 
 perately ill, but he would not give up. 
 
 "I shall not die," he said. "I have not finished 
 my work. I w ant to see great ships pass over the 
 land from ocean to ocean." 
 
 His friends, however, knew that it could not be. 
 James B. Eads was dying. He passed from earth 
 on March 8, 1887, not quite sixty-seven years of 
 age. No one has finished his work! Perhaps that 
 remains for some bright boy who may read this tale 
 of America's greatest civil engineer. 
 
PETER COOPER 
 
PETER COOPER, THE MAN WITH A 
 NOBLE PURPOSE 
 
 One dark night, in the year 1791, a humble 
 hat-maker walked down Broadway, New York, in 
 deepest thouoht. A baby boy had recently been 
 born to him, and he felt that, somehow, the child 
 was destined, to do a great good in the world. He 
 ought, therefore, to have a name somewhat out of 
 the ordinary. What should it be? Suddenly it 
 seemed as though a voice said to him clearly and 
 distinctly: "Call him Peter!'"' 
 
 So the litde babe was christened Peter Cooper. 
 As soon as he grew old enough to understand, his 
 parents told him how he had received his name, and 
 the great hopes they had for him. Possibly their 
 faith and desires acted as a stimulus to the bov, 
 for he was studious and thoughtful beyond his 
 years, and his little brown hands were never idle. 
 "He was always doing the small deeds that are 
 the beginning of the great ones." 
 
 His father and his grandfather, General John 
 Campbell, had both fought gallantly in the Revolu- 
 
 241 
 
242 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 tioii, and little Peter never tired of hearing them 
 tell of deeds of valor. No doubt these stories first 
 fired him with the desire to do something useful. 
 He had come into the world on the wings of a new 
 country, as it were. "He was to see a new-born 
 nation grow into strength and greatness. A thou- 
 sand miracles of progress wxre to transpire, and 
 the boy was to be a part of it all." 
 
 While Peter was still a very small child, his fam- 
 ily removed to Peekskill-on-the-Hudson, then an old 
 Dutch village such as one finds in the pages of 
 Washington Irving. There his father built a store 
 and a church. The store w^as not a very profitable 
 venture, and traveling preachers visited the little 
 church and faithful John Cooper's table so fre- 
 quently ''that what small profit there was seems 
 to have been eaten up by these hungry gentlemen. 
 They were a rather solemn-looking lot ; but there 
 was a supreme faith in God and His beneficence in 
 their hearts, and Peter caught some of the good 
 seed they w^ere scattering, and his early sense of 
 religion never left him." * 
 
 The Cooper family was a large one. There were 
 six children besides Peter, and the tired, overworked 
 mother often pressed him into service about the 
 house. The lad used cheerfully to cook, w^ash, make 
 
PETF.R COOPER 243 
 
 beds, sweep, or do anything to help alono*. One of 
 his first useful inventions was a device for washini^ 
 and ])ounding soiled clothes. His mother was de- 
 lighted. She had not yet lost her faith that Peter 
 was a wonder child. If he could do one remarkable 
 thing, he could do another. And so it ])rove(l. 
 Peter's next triumph was a pair of shoes! In the 
 eyes of the Coopers there was not a greater hero 
 along the Hudson. One pair of shoes meant shoes 
 for seven Cooper children — an item of great impor- 
 tance in those days! 
 
 Finally the time came when Peter was no longer 
 needed at home. He was a bright, hearty lad of 
 seventeen; straight and strong, with a sturdiness 
 which he had inherited from his father. So the 
 youth set out to make his own way in the world. 
 He went to New York, for he felt that in the heart 
 of the rapidly growing city lay his chance to prove 
 there was something in his name of Peter after all. 
 
 Shortly after arriving in the city Peter appren- 
 ticed himself to John Woodward, a coach-builder, 
 at the corner of Broadway and Chambers Street. 
 For his work he was to receive twenty-five dollars 
 a year and board with his master, who was to teach 
 him the trade of carriage-making. 
 
 The life of apprentices in those days was any- 
 
244 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 thing but enviable. Their masters often proved 
 hard and treated them Httle better than brutes. As 
 a class, they had no social standing. There were 
 no night schools, no reading-rooms, no free libra- 
 ries, no free lectures open to young apprentices and 
 mechanics. The world was barred to them, and the 
 thought stirred young Cooper to his very soul. He 
 had, however, been very fortunate in the. choice of 
 a master. Mr. Woodward was most kind and con- 
 siderate, and his young apprentice repaid him by 
 being both diligent and capable, trying eagerly to 
 learn all about the trade. 
 
 King's College was not far from the coach shop. 
 Young Cooper often paused in his work to watch 
 the sons of the rich run across College Square. 
 They knew things he did not. The best lectures, 
 the best music, the best libraries, the best colleges, 
 were everywhere ready to welcome and aid them. 
 But there was no place for the greasy mechanic 
 and apprentice. More and more the iron of this 
 fact pierced the young man's soul. He determined 
 that he would one day break this "galling yoke of 
 bondage," and found a great school which should 
 be free to the poor and friendless alike. But he 
 formed no definite plan for doing this. He only 
 knew that he must patiently work and strive until 
 
PETER COOPER 245 
 
 he had, in some way, managed to amass money 
 enough to make himself a power. 
 
 So he worked and thought, and grew stronger in 
 his purpose day by day. He made several inven- 
 tions for the betterment of his trade, among them 
 a contrivance for mortising hubs, which had 
 hitherto been done by hand. Finally the end of 
 his four years of servitude drew nigh. 11 is grate- 
 ful employer kindly offered to set him up in busi- 
 ness. The young inventor did not accept, because, 
 as he said in later life, he feared he might fail and 
 be imprisoned for debt! 
 
 Instead, he went to Hempstead, Long Island, to 
 visit his brother. Here there was a factory which 
 made machines for shearing cloth. Young Cooper 
 worked there for three years, earning nine dollars 
 a week. This was considered an excellent salary 
 in those days, when a dollar would buy about five 
 times what it will now. He lived very carefully and 
 put away a large part of his wages each week. At 
 the end of three years he had saved enough to 
 patent his own device for shearing cloth. The first 
 purchaser of a county-right for the machine was 
 Matthew Vassar of Poughkeepsie, who afterward 
 founded Vassar College for the higher education 
 of women. He paid the young inventor five hun- 
 
246 
 
 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 dred dollars. This was Cooper's first real start in 
 
 life, and the founda- 
 tion of the fortune he 
 hoped one day to win. 
 The manufacture 
 and sale of the Cooper 
 shearing machine be- 
 came a prosperous 
 business, and the 
 young inventor was 
 very happy. So he worked and waited; toiling, 
 unaided, up the steep path of learning in the quiet 
 of his own room at night. Though his life purpose 
 was to make it easy for 
 others to obtain an educa- 
 tion, Air. Cooper never 
 talked of learnino- and 
 
 RAILROAD COACH IN 1830 
 
 THE FIRST LOCOMOTIVE BUILT IN AMERICA (1829) 
 
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 Jfl 
 
 ji 
 
 i 
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 *** 
 t 
 
 
 f 
 
 JK^B 1^ < ^ 
 
 i 
 
 • 
 
 
 A- 
 
 ^^M ,1 |t 
 
 Jp^^^Wi 
 
 - 
 
 H{« 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 ^^^^^^^KJIi , 
 
 € 
 
 ^Hl ' ' 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 HI 
 
 : ^1; 
 
 
 If 
 
 
 
 
 ^r p> 
 
 
 If 
 
248 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 seldom made any mention of books, even after he 
 had accompHshed his hfe mission. It is micertain 
 how much he acquired in his broken studies, but 
 he conversed on many subjects, and his language 
 was always the best. 
 
 On December i8, 1813, young Cooper married 
 Sarah Bedell, a charming young lady of Huguenot 
 descent, and set up housekeeping at Hempstead. 
 The union proved a happy one. From the first 
 Mrs. Cooper was in sympathy with her husband's 
 secret purpose, and warmly seconded his efforts. 
 He often lovingly referred to her as his guardian 
 angel. Storm clouds never visited the Cooper home, 
 for the master possessed a sweetness of nature 
 seldom found with the inventive faculty. When 
 he had become a white-haired old patriarch, his face 
 was so stamped with serenity and kindness that one 
 of his biographers says : " Some who saw old Peter 
 Cooper, and studied him at the age of ninety-three, 
 must have thought of the faraway little boy that 
 he once was.'' 
 
 When the march of time and progress sounded 
 the death knell of Cooper's shearing machine, he 
 moved his family to New York and went into the 
 grocery business. The venture was a fair success, 
 but profits were slow, so he bought a glue factory. 
 
PETER COOPER 249 
 
 Mr. Cooper knew nothing about the manufacture 
 of glue; but he knew what a good gkie ought to 
 be, and he made up his mind that he would make 
 the best glue that could possibly be made. Soon 
 shopmen and laborers began to talk of the excel- 
 lence of Cooper's glue, and there was a ready mar- 
 ket for all he could produce. 
 
 Gradually hard work, sound, honest business 
 methods, and living always below his means, 
 brought success. His business field widened. He 
 became interested in iron, and made many inven- 
 tions, not the least of which was a Tom Thumb 
 locomotive, the first railroad locomotive made in 
 America.* His rolling-mills and glue factory gave 
 employment to thousands of men. The name of 
 Peter Cooper was known far and wide. The Iron 
 and Steel Institute of Great Britain bestowed on 
 him the Bessemer gold medal. He had become a 
 millionaire! Now% indeed, he was ready for the 
 realization of his purpose, and he knew just what 
 he wanted to do. 
 
 Years before he had heard a gentleman who had 
 just returned from Paris describe the school of arts 
 and trades founded in that city by the First Napo- 
 leon. He was deeply impressed when told of the 
 hundreds of poor young men who lived on a crust 
 
250 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 of bread a day in order to get the benefit of this 
 school, which they could attend without charge. 
 Just such an institution had long existed in vague 
 form in his own brain. He asked many questions, 
 and then and there determined to build an institute 
 which should be dedicated forever "to the union of 
 art and science, and their application to the useful 
 purposes of life.'' 
 
 He looked about at once for a suitable location 
 for such an institution. There was a lot for sale 
 at the junction of Third and Fourth Avenues. Mr. 
 Cooper bought it. At intervals, as he had the 
 money, he added to his purchase until he owned the 
 whole block. Then, in 1854, he laid the founda- 
 tion of that noble structure, the Cooper Union. 
 The building, which stands today practically un- 
 changed, cost somewhat more than half a million 
 dollars. It has a library of more than twenty 
 thousand volumes, and the best papers and maga- 
 zines of the world are on its tables. Fifteen hun- 
 dred persons daily visit the comfortable reading 
 rooms. The great hall, with seating capacity for 
 two thousand people, is thrown open on Saturday 
 nights. Here free lectures are given on a variety 
 of subjects interesting to the working classes. 
 
 In its art schools the very best instructors are 
 
i't.""?r : r;? «! Vi"^: ^ ti^;i ' V:ag, ' I 'tZi^ y > J'::il!'K.''. ':" 
 
252 AMERICAN HEROES 
 
 employed to teach engineering, drafting, drawing, 
 chemistry, natural philosophy, painting, telegraphy, 
 etc. Day and night this great institution, which is 
 maintained at a cost of more than fifty thousand 
 dollars per year, opens wide its doors to all who care 
 to enter. Here hundreds and thousands of poor 
 boys and girls of all classes, creeds, and races have 
 received the benefit of the labors of a little country 
 lad who was himself once a slave of toil and knew 
 the pathos of the cry, ''Oh, .if I only had an 
 education ! " 
 
 Probably no happier man ever walked the streets 
 of New York than was Mr. Cooper when he saw 
 his cherished plans in successful operation. It was 
 his delight to drive to the institute daily and witness 
 the earnest students hard at w^ork, making the most 
 of their opportunities. No one was so humble as 
 to be beneath his notice, and many a stranded stu- 
 dent from the backwoods received food as well as 
 education at the hands of " Grandpa Cooper." 
 
 He was especially interested in poor girls and 
 struggling women who had no means of support. 
 He delighted to bring such to his school, where they 
 might learn how to be self-supporting. It was his 
 creed that there would be fewer broken-hearted 
 women in the world if each one knew some useful 
 
MK. PETER COOPERS CARRIAGE 
 
254 AAIERICAN HEROES 
 
 occupation which would make her self-supporting 
 and therefore independent. " Too many girls 
 marry for a home," said he. "Too many mothers 
 struggle along trying to keep ^ the breath of life 
 in themselves and their little ones by doing heavy 
 washings for which they are wholly imfit, and 
 which soon bring them to an untimely grave." 
 These ever found his ready aid, and not unfre- 
 quently he supported a whole brood while the 
 mother learned some useful and congenial trade. 
 
 Every little waif in the streets of New York 
 knew Good Peter Cooper. His name was endeared 
 in countless homes. He was the best loved man in 
 America. Wherever Peter Cooper appeared in his 
 little old-fashioned carriage,"^ cabmen and carters 
 of every description would respectfully touch their 
 caps and give him the right of way. 
 
 And that carriage! It stands today at Cooper 
 Union, in the center of the hall which fronts on 
 the old Bowery road. '' It is a funny, old- 
 fashioned affair, made in the time when gentlemen 
 wore broadcloth and nankeens, and ladies rode 
 abroad in wide flowered prints and poke bonnets. 
 There is nothing very remarkable about its appear- 
 ance." But what an eloquent story it has to tell! 
 Peter Cooper rode in it while at his daily toil of 
 
PETER COOPER' 255 
 
 making" a fortune large enough to l)uil(l Cooper 
 Union! Carriages have 1)een fashioned for many 
 centuries, and men have used them to gratify all 
 the emotions of the human mind ; but it is seldom 
 that the owner of a carriage has, through its use, 
 made his name and deeds immortal ! 
 
 Peter Cooper's great soul passed from the eartli 
 on April 4, 1883. On the day that his body was 
 borne down Broadway a so-called miracle occurred. 
 The great noisy avenue was as still and silent as 
 the grave which was soon to hold the loved remains 
 of the people's dearest friend; not a person or a 
 vehicle of any description marred the broa'd street. 
 It was a beautiful tribute to the quiet, peace-loving, 
 kindly man, whose life was, in such full measure, 
 what a noble life should be! 
 
 Peter Cooper made his name immortal. '* It will 
 go down the centuries with a bright halo of unfad- 
 ing glory." The secret of his success was in having 
 a noble purpose toward which he bent every energy ; 
 never swerving to the right or to the left, but ever 
 pressing on eagerly and hopefully toward the goal. 
 He lived for something. He did good and left 
 behind him a monument of virtue which the storms 
 of time can never destrov.* 
 
NOTES 
 
 p. 2. Captain Staiidish's sword is preserved among the relics in 
 Plymouth Hall. 
 
 P. 5. Originally all the land in the territory from what is now 
 Maine to Florida was called Virginia. King James of England 
 created two companies to settle upon this land. The first was called 
 the London Company. It had the right to establish settlements any- 
 where between thirty-four degrees and forty-one degrees north 
 latitude. The Plymouth Company, as the second band of mer- 
 chants was called, could place settlements anywhere between the 
 thirty-eighth and forty-fifth degrees. All settlements were to be 
 along the seacoast, and neither company could locate within one 
 hundred miles of the other. 
 
 P. 8. Pilgrims: This was the name given to them in after years 
 because of their wanderings. 
 
 P. 10. By some strange oversight the Pilgrims had forgotten to 
 bring fishing tackle with them from Holland. 
 
 P. 12. Squanto died in 1622, much to the sorrow of the Pilgrim 
 colony. 
 
 P. 13. Hovuitaer: A small, mortar-like cannon. 
 
 P. 22. Nathaniel Bacon was born in Suffolk, England, January 2, 
 1642. 
 
 P. 2y. Bacon wished to mount a few cannon he had on the 
 breastworks, but he did not want to risk the lives of his men. He 
 hit upon a novel and ingenious plan to do this. He .sent out to 
 the plantations near by of the chief men of the Governor's party and 
 brought their wives and daughters into his camp. He made them 
 sit down on the breastworks while the cannon were being placed. 
 Of course, not a shot was fired by the Governor's party. When 
 the work was finished Bacon courteously thanked his fair and 
 angry foes and permitted them to return home. 
 
 P. 28. The place consisted of a church and some sixteen or 
 eighteen widely scattered houses. 
 
 P. 31. The following is Washington's reply to the President of 
 Congress, who announced the appointment: "Though I am truly 
 
 257 ' 
 
258 NOTES 
 
 sensible of the high honor done me in this appointment, yet I feel 
 great distress from a consciousness that my abiHties and military 
 experience may not be equal to the extensive and important trust. 
 However, as the Congress desires it, I will enter upon the momen- 
 tous duty, and exert every power I possess in their service and for 
 the support of the glorious cause. I beg they will accept my most 
 cordial thanks for this distinguished testimony of their approbation. 
 " But, lest some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my 
 reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the 
 room, that I this day declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not 
 think myself equal to the command I am honored with. As to 
 pay, sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that, as no pecuniary 
 consideration could have tempted me to accept this arduous em- 
 ployment at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do 
 not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account 
 of my expenses. Those I doubt not they will discharge, and that 
 is all I desire." 
 
 P. 39. A doubloon was a Spanish coin and worth about $15.60 
 in our money ; a pistole was one-quarter of a doubloon. 
 
 P. 53. Hero Stories from American History, by Blaisdell. 
 
 P. 54. Here, in the city of Philadelphia, July 4, 1776, the 
 Declaration of Independence was signed by the Colonial Congress. 
 
 P. 56. Hessians: So-called because the greater number of them 
 came from the Hessian states in Germany. 
 
 P. 62. The battle of Oriskany has been claimed both by Fed- 
 erals and British. 
 
 P. 83. The place is still standing, and then, as now, was known 
 as 'The Cedars." 
 
 P. 86. There was no portrait of Hale extant; but he was 
 described as a well-built young man about six feet tall, with a broad 
 chest, full face, light blue eyes, fair complexion, and light brown 
 hair. By careful study of descriptions given of his appearance 
 Mr. MacMonnies believes he has given a truthful portrait of the 
 young hero. 
 
 P. 90. These men were of the Pennsylvania Line. They had 
 been drilled and trained by Wayne himself, and were devotedly 
 attached to their leader. 
 
 P. 92. Later he was handsomely rewarded for his services; and 
 
NOTES 259 
 
 his master was so delighted with his wit and the success with which 
 he led the patriots that he not only gave him a fme horse but his 
 freedom also. 
 
 P. 93. Only one man escaped from the fort, a gallant young 
 captain who leaped boldly into the Hudson and swam to the British 
 ship, a mile away. The news of the storming of Stony Point was 
 carried to General Clinton in this way, who affected not to care 
 much about it ! 
 
 P. 95. General Wayne was a very handsome man, and much 
 given to dress, so much so that he was called a dandy. It always 
 caused him much distress that his troops could not be "clean-shaven, 
 well-powdered, and fully equipped," because he thought a well- 
 dressed soldier had much more respect for himself than a ragged 
 one, and would therefore fight better. His theory may have been all 
 right, but the Continental soldier fought as well in rags as any other 
 way. At any rate, Wayne did what he could in this respect, for he 
 had a barber appointed in each company of his command ! 
 
 P. loi. In the early days of the Revolution two classes of flags 
 were much in vogue. These were the " pine-tree " flags of New 
 E'ngland, and the '" rattlesnake " flags, which were more national in 
 character. On the latter the rattlesnake was variously represented 
 on a white ground. Jones' adopted state being Virginia he naturally 
 hoisted the Culpcper flag. The need of a national flag became 
 evident in 1775. The first flag adopted by Congress consisted of 
 thirteen stripes with the British union. On June 14, 1777, Congress 
 ordered the union to be displaced by thirteen stars, thus fixing the 
 form of our national flag. This day—" flag " day— is observed as a 
 national holiday. 
 
 P. 108. On one of these occasions, the story is told, that, as he 
 neared the village of Kirkaldy, a few miles below Leith, on the 
 coast of Fife, the inhabitants observed his approach from the 
 church, and knew him at once as "the bold pirate, Paul Jones." 
 whom every heart held in fear. The parson and his flock imme- 
 diately deserted the church and gathered on the beach. Here the 
 Reverend Shirra offered the following very remarkable prayer: 
 
 "Now, dear Lord, dinna ye think it a shame for ye to send this 
 vile pirate to rob our folks o' Kirkaldy? Ye ken that they are puir 
 enow already, and hae naething to spare. The way the wind hlaus. 
 lu-'ll be bore in a iiffv. a wlia kens what be may do?' He's nae 
 
260 NOTES 
 
 too good for onything. He'll burn their hooses, take their very 
 claes, and strip them to the very sark. And woes me, wha kens 
 but that the bloody villain might tak' their lives. The puir weemin 
 are most frightened out of their wits, and their bairns screeching 
 after them. I canna think of it ! I hae long been a faithful 
 servant to ye, O Lord. But gin ye dinna turn the wind aboot 
 and blow the scoundrel oot of our gate, I'll nae stir a foot, but 
 will just sit here till the tide comes. Sae tak' your will o't." 
 
 Never was a prayer more promptly answered. 'Tn a jiffy" the 
 wind changed and Kirkaldy was saved. But other ports were not 
 so fortunate. Many merchant ships fell into Paul Jones's hands, 
 and the greatest excitement and alarm was felt all along the coast, 
 for none knew at what moment he might appear. 
 
 P. 115, Seawell's Tzvchc Naval Captains. 
 
 P. 118. In 1815, Napoleon, musing gloomily over the defeat of 
 the French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar, asked Marshal Berthier : 
 "How old was Paul Jones when he died?" Berthier replied that 
 he thought he was about forty-five years old. "Then," said Napo- 
 leon, "he did not fulfill his destiny. Had he lived to this time 
 France might have had an admiral." 
 
 P. 127. The fame of Boone's exploits traveled beyond his own 
 country over to Europe, and Lord Byron so admired the sturdy back- 
 woodsman that he eulogized him in one of his greatest poems. 
 
 P. 132. In those days no provision was made in the Assembly for 
 spectators. There was no gallery from which they could look down 
 upon the contestants. — Ellis. 
 
 P. 137. This illustration shows Jefferson reading the draft of 
 the Declaration to the other members of the committee. 
 
 P. 139. In May and June of 1776 Mr. Jefferson rented the second 
 floor of this house, which stood at the southwest corner of Seventh 
 and Market Streets (now 7C0 Market Street). Here the Declaration 
 of Independence was written. The house was demolished, and its 
 side is now included in the Penn National Bank building. The 
 black upright lines define the house. 
 
 P. 142. Mr. Jefferson's daughter Martha, her husband and chil- 
 dren, and the children of his daughter Mary, who died in 1804, 
 made his last days pleasant indeed. 
 
 P. 146. Just one hundred years before (1707) a Dr. Papin, who 
 had made a number of inventions for the use of steam, made 
 
NOTES .261 
 
 a steamboat somewhat similar to Fulton's, which he ran on the 
 Fiikla River in Hesse Cassel, Germany. He was confident his 
 boat would be a success ; but the men who had water-craft thought 
 their business was endangered and dragged his boat from the water 
 and destroyed it. He went to London, but met with no better 
 success there. Disheartened he returned to France, his native 
 country, where he devoted his time to other experiments in steam. 
 It remained for Fulton to succeed a century later. 
 
 P. 167. McMaster's School History. 
 
 P. 170. Andrew Jackson M^as born on the border of North and 
 South Carolina, March 15, 1767. He began his military career at 
 Hanging Rock at thirteen. 
 
 P. 173. Red Eagle was among those who escaped. The whites 
 sought him on every hand, determined to end his life. But he had 
 disappeared. One day, to the astonishment of all, he came riding 
 fearlessly into camp, and begged Jackson to send aid to the Indian 
 women and children who were starving in the forest. Cries of 
 " Kill him ! Kill him ! " rose on every hand. But Jackson would 
 not permit it. He drew his pistol and himself stood guard over 
 the red chief. " For shame, men ! " he cried. *' He who would 
 shoot this brave, defenseless man would rob the dead ! " 
 
 P. 178. Redoubt: A small fort or defensive outwork. 
 
 P. 180. Hero Stories from American History. 
 
 P. 185. This was twelve years before the election of Harrison. 
 
 P. 202. Yawl: A ship's small boat, usually rowed by four or 
 six oars. 
 
 P. 203. Mids/iipinan: An officer of the lowest rank on a ship 
 of war. 
 
 P. 205. Essex: For a description of this unique shii), read 
 Preble's Ships of the Nineteenth Century. 
 
 P. 210. Tariff: A charge or duty imposed by the government on 
 goods shipped out of or into our country. 
 
 P. 212. Flotilla: A fleet of small vessels especially designed for 
 throwing bombs. 
 
 P. 214. Ram: An engine of war used for butting and battering. 
 
 P. 216. That contained in David G. Farragiit, by Spears, is 
 most concise and interesting, and one of the best extant. The 
 Southerners, by Cyrus Townsend Brady, contains some graphic 
 descriptions. Read, also, Parker's The Battle of Mobile Bay. 
 
262 NOTES 
 
 • 
 
 P. 221. James E. Eads was born in Lawrenceburg, Ind., May 22,, 
 1820. 
 
 P. 230. James B. Eads, by How. 
 
 P. 2^2. During the building of the bridge he was obliged to 
 spend many months in Europe for his health's sake. He left trust- 
 worthy engineers in charge, and continually kept in touch with the 
 work, planning and directing. While abroad, he picked up many 
 ideas which were of use to him in perfecting his plans. 
 
 P. 232. Jetties are simply dikes or levees laid under water and 
 act as banks to a river to prevent the expansion and diffusion of its 
 waters as they enter the sea. The Eads jetties are one of the most 
 brilliant achievements of modern engineering. They were formed 
 of layers of brush mattresses ranging from 95 to 35 feet wide and 
 each weighted with broken stone. 
 
 P. 236. In connection with this fact it must be remembered that 
 Eads had not the school training of an engineer. He knew nothing 
 of the higher mathematics which enabled his rivals to figure out 
 problems, but his quick mind jumped to conclusions which were 
 lightning-like in truth and accuracy. 
 
 P. 241. Concerning his name someone has said he was to be 
 called " Peter " because he was the " rock on which the family was 
 to be built." 
 
 P. 242. Lives of Great Philanthropists, by Cootc. 
 
 P. 249. Mr. Cooper designed this locomotive to go around 
 curves, because the English locomotives could go only on a straight 
 track. ' This locomotive was built in 1829 for the Baltimore & Ohio 
 Railroad and ran from Baltimore to Ellicott Mills, a distance of 
 thirteen miles. 
 
 P. 254. The body of this old carriage of Peter Cooper stands 
 in the rotunda of Cooper Union. It bears this inscription: 
 
 "Body of carriage owned by Mr. Peter Cooper, in which he 
 drove himself to business every day and around New York. 
 
 " It was sent to be repaired, but was partly destroyed by fire 
 while in the shop. 
 
 " Presented to the Cooper Union by Mrs. A. S. Hewitt." 
 
 The picture for this illustration was taken especially for this book. 
 
 P. 255. Dr. Chalmers. 
 
APR 35 1913 
 
ONGRES^