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OUR PATRIOTS 
 
1 
 
From a photograph copyrighl by Underwood & Underwood. 
 
 American engineers marching in London 
 
 "These young men are going to fight for that which is most dear to them, their 
 freedom and the freedom of mankind" [Page S] 
 
OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 BY 
 
 WILBUR F. GORDY 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 'stories of early AMERICAN HISTORY, AMERICAN BEGINNINGS IN EUROPE, 
 
 "ABRAHAM LINCOLN," ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 CHICAGO NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO 
 

 COPYRIOHT, 1918, BY 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 JUL 27 1918 
 
 A 
 
 .50 
 ©Ci.A501307 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This is one of a group of books designed to 
 teach American ideals and American patriotism. 
 The author has no intention of narrating his- 
 torical events or of presenting biographical de- 
 tails. His leading purpose is rather to make 
 definite and clear the meaning of patriotism 
 and to give a true conception of our country 
 as a land of freedom and opportunity, where 
 the government is of the people, for the people, 
 and by the people. To this end he has made a 
 careful selection of the men and women whose 
 lives give expression to these ideas, and has 
 tried to set forth clearly their patriotic aims 
 and the ideals which animated and inspired 
 their words and deeds. 
 
 Two large groups of readers have been kept 
 in mind. The first includes all those children 
 who are certain to leave school as soon as the 
 law for compulsory attendance will permit. Of 
 these one-half leave school before reaching the 
 
vi PREFACE 
 
 end of the sixth year and more than a third 
 before they have finished the fifth year. Ten 
 milhon out of twenty milHon children will never 
 have the advantage of much more than five 
 years in school. The other group, and it is 
 very large, consists of foreign-born adults. Of 
 these there were in 1910 in this country two 
 million five hundred thousand who were unable 
 to speak or write English. 
 
 Both these groups should be made ready to 
 meet the responsibilities of intelligent citizen- 
 ship in a democracy like ours. They should be 
 taught the fundamental elements of our insti- 
 tutions, the basal facts in our national history, 
 and the moral idealism which has guided and 
 controlled the lives of our leaders and heroes. 
 Thus will our children be socialized, the foreign- 
 born adults Americanized, and the standard of 
 citizenship elevated throughout our land. 
 
 In carrying on this work of education and 
 training, it is hoped "Our Patriots" may be 
 made to play a useful part. The author has 
 tried to present the facts in such simple lan- 
 guage as to make the book easy to read either 
 by young children or by adults who have not 
 
PREFACE vii 
 
 advanced far in their ability to read English. 
 The typographical arrangement and the sug- 
 gestions to be found in "Some Things to Think 
 About" will, it is hoped, assist in bringing 
 vividly before the mind of the reader the 
 events and ideals presented in the text. 
 
 In conclusion, I wish to acknowledge my 
 deep obligation to Miss Elizabeth P. Peck, of 
 the Hartford Public High School, who has read 
 the manuscript and has made many valued 
 criticisms and suggestions, and also to my 
 wife, whose helpful sympathy and able assis- 
 tance have done much to give the book what- 
 ever merit it may possess. 
 
 Wilbur F. Gordy. 
 
 Hartford, Conn., July 1, 1918. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. What It Means to Be a Patriot . . 1 
 
 II. The Pilgrims 6 
 
 III. John Winthrop 13 
 
 IV. Roger Williams 19 
 
 V. Thomas Hooker 25 
 
 VI. John Smith 30 
 
 VII. The Baltimore Family and the Settle- 
 ment OF Maryland 39 
 
 VIII. Henry Hudson 44 
 
 IX. William Penn 49 
 
 X. James Oglethorpe 54 
 
 XL Patrick Henry 58 
 
 XII. Samuel Adams 69 
 
 XIII. Paul Revere 77 
 
 XIV. The Declaration of Independence . 84 
 XV. George Washington 91 
 
 ix 
 
X CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XVI. John Paul Jones 115 
 
 XVII. George Rogers Clark 120 
 
 XVIII. Francis Marion 127 
 
 XIX. Oliver H. Perry 132 
 
 XX. Andrew Jackson 136 
 
 XXI. Daniel Webster 143 
 
 XXII. Frances E. Willard 150 
 
 XXIII. Clara Barton 154 
 
 XXIV. Abraham Lincoln 163 
 
 XXV. How We May Be Patriots .... 180 
 
 Index 187 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 American engineers marching in London . Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 An Indian welcome on Charles River 14 </ 
 
 Washington at Valley Forge 110. 
 
 General Andrew Jackson receiving the plaudits of his army 
 
 after the battle of New Orleans 138 ' 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PATRIOT 
 
 These are wonderful days in which you 
 are Hving. No other children, since the world 
 began, have grown up amid such stirring events. 
 It is a time of great and swift change. The 
 world of a few years hence will be very dif- 
 ferent from the world of to-day. 
 
 The thought of the awful war raging across 
 the sea is constantly before our minds. 
 
 We are told that a fair region has been laid 
 waste, its crops ruined, its trees cut down, and 
 its soil torn by shells and gashed with trenches. 
 
 We see pictures of heaps of ashes and broken 
 stones, where once stood beautiful churches, or 
 comfortable hom-^s in which little children lived 
 and played. 
 
 We learn that those who lived in this region 
 have been driven forth, the little children often 
 separated from their mothers, and all suffering 
 as you cannot imagine. 
 
2 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 We read that over these lands far and wide 
 rolls the thunder of great guns; while from the 
 battle-front streams a long line of wounded or 
 weary soldiers, and toward it advances a great 
 company of others who are to take their places 
 in the trenches that face No Man's Land. 
 
 We see young men — perhaps our own fathers 
 or brothers among them — go away to be trained 
 for service. 
 
 We see soldiers and sailors, clad in khaki 
 or blue, marching in our streets with the flag 
 carried high before them. We hear the crowds 
 cheer as they pass. 
 
 We know that the soldier boys are soon to 
 go far away from home and country, to cross 
 the sea with its hidden perils, and to brave the 
 dangers and hardships of the trenches, in order 
 that they may join in the fierce fighting of the 
 great world war. 
 
 We see that those left at home, while they 
 may be sad or lonely at times, are proud and 
 glad that the one who has gone is doing his 
 part. We see the service-flag with its star hung 
 in the window of the soldier's home. We see 
 churches and shops and business oflSces all 
 
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PATRIOT 3 
 
 proudly displaying the banner upon which the 
 stars show how many of those who have been 
 with them have gone "into the service." 
 
 We listen to stories of heroic and sacrificing 
 deeds, and our hearts beat faster. We are 
 thrilled as never before. 
 
 We ask: "What does it all mean? Why 
 do men leave their peaceful homes and go to 
 places of such awful suffering.'*" 
 
 The answer comes: "These young men are 
 going to fight for that which is most dear to 
 them, their freedom and the freedom of man- 
 kind. For that right their forefathers fought 
 and died, and the young men of to-day are but 
 defending their birthright. It was at their 
 country's call that they dropped their daily 
 tasks to give themselves in the cause of free- 
 dom and, by their loyal service, they are prov- 
 ing their patriotism." 
 
 PATRIOTISM AND OUR BIRTHRIGHT OF FREEDOM 
 
 And what is patriotism ? It is love for one's 
 country — a strong desire to serve her, to pro- 
 tect her, and to make and keep her strong, and 
 true, and honored among nations. 
 
4 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 By some this service is shown in one way, 
 by others, in another. Some are gallantly fac- 
 ing the guns. Some are making guns. Some 
 are building ships or airplanes. Some are pro- 
 ducing food. Some are making cloth for the 
 soldiers and sailors. Some are nursing the 
 wounded. Some are making bandages. But 
 all, if truly patriotic, are loyally putting their 
 country's good ahead of selfish interests. 
 
 You see, then, that patriotism is something 
 fine and strong, calling out the Lest in human 
 nature, and that for us Americans it means 
 not only love of country but love of freedom. 
 
 Freedom is the very breath of our life. Our 
 nation was born free, and upon ideas of freedom 
 it has been nourished and has grown strong. 
 It is our free life which has brought so many 
 millions of people from other lands to America. 
 
 We must not, therefore, think lightly of 
 our precious birthright of freedom. We cannot 
 prize it too highly, for it was won for us by the 
 sacrifice and unselfish devotion of the founders 
 of our nation, and has been cherished and 
 handed down by a long line of patriots. 
 
 If we read or study about the past days 
 
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PATRIOT 5 
 
 of our country and the wonderful growth of 
 our nation, we see that there are some men 
 and women who stand out as leaders in dif- 
 ferent periods. They had high hopes for this 
 country and unselfishly worked to make those 
 hopes real. Without their service, America 
 would not be the fair land that it is. 
 
 These were all true patriots, each serving 
 his country in his own way, according to the 
 service needed, just as our patriotic men and 
 women of to-day are doing their service in the 
 present time of need. 
 
 By learning about the patriotic men and 
 women of earlier days, we may see how strong 
 and noble was their love for their country, and 
 perhaps catch something of their spirit of ser- 
 vice so that we too can become patriots. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. What is a service-flag, and why should every American 
 
 boy and girl be proud to have one hung in the window 
 of their home ? 
 
 2. What is patriotism? By what kinds of service are people 
 
 showing their patriotism to-day? 
 
 3. What has brought so many millions of people from other 
 
 lands to America? Why? 
 
 4. In what way can we learn how to become patriots? 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE PILGRIMS 
 
 If we close our eyes and think far back to 
 a long time before our great-grandfathers lived 
 — a time about three hundred years ago — we 
 may see, or imagine we see, a little ship tossing 
 at anchor in a wintry harbor on our New Eng- 
 land coast,, not far from where the city of Bos- 
 ton now stands. 
 
 The little sailing-vessel cannot come close 
 to the shore, but stanch and sturdy men are 
 carrying the women and children across the 
 shoals to the land. There are about one hun- 
 dred people in all. 
 
 The ship is the Mayflower. It has just ended 
 a stormy voyage of sixty-four days across the 
 Atlantic. The passengers are the Pilgrims, of 
 whom we have heard so often. 
 
 At great sacrifice these brave people have 
 left their comfortable homes in the Old World, 
 and have come to an unsettled country to build 
 up a state far away from the land whose laws 
 
THE PILGRIMS 7 
 
 they found so hard. They have sought a place 
 where they could worship God in their own way, 
 and bring up their children to be God-fearing, 
 liberty-loving men and women. 
 
 Here they are bent on beginning a New 
 World, where they shall be free men in a free 
 land. The people of this new world are to rule 
 themselves. They are full of faith and courage 
 for the future. 
 
 The Pilgrims call the place where they land 
 Plymouth, after the town from which they 
 sailed in England. 
 
 Let us watch them at their first task of mak- 
 ing a settlement; and we shall see with what 
 courage and loyalty they meet the difficulties 
 of starting a home in a new, strange land, and 
 how they work out their ideas of freedom and 
 justice. 
 
 As soon as they land (December 21, 1620), 
 all set to work. Some of the men and boys 
 are chopping down trees, others are sawing the 
 trunks into logs of proper length, and still others 
 are dragging the logs to the places where they 
 are to be used. 
 
 All the work has to be done by hand, for we 
 
8 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 must remember that the Pilgrims have brought 
 no horses or oxen, and in fact no animals at all, 
 except a dog or two. How cheerfully the blows 
 of the axes and the voices of the men ring out 
 in the wintry air ! 
 
 While the men and boys are doing their 
 part in chopping and sawing and in building 
 huts, the women and girls are quite as busy 
 kindling fires, washing clothes, cooking food, 
 and doing the many other things that are need- 
 ful for the family comfort. You see how loyally 
 they work together. All are helpful; all are 
 eager to help. 
 
 The cabins they put up are alike in form 
 and size. The logs are laid one upon another 
 to make the walls of the building. The cracks 
 are filled with straw and mud, and the roof 
 covered with reeds. 
 
 THE FIRST WINTER AT PLYMOUTH 
 
 During that first winter their food is plain, 
 and very often there is little of it. Bread made 
 of wheat, rye, or barley is about all they have. 
 Only once in a while, when a hunter kills a deer 
 or a wild fowl, can they have meat, for we must 
 
THE PILGRIMS 9 
 
 remember that they have not even a chicken. 
 Cold water is their only drink. There are no 
 cows to give milk even for the children. 
 
 No doubt the thoughts of the Pilgrim boys 
 and girls often go back to the good things they 
 enjoyed eating and drinking in the homes they 
 have left across the Atlantic. But they are too 
 brave to speak about it. 
 
 Besides having little good food, the Pilgrims 
 suffer much from cold, for they are without 
 warm houses to live in. Until their dwellings 
 are finished, they must go aboard the Mayflower 
 each night to sleep. 
 
 The lack of good food and of warm clothing 
 and shelter causes much illness. At one time 
 only their minister, Elder Brewster, and their 
 military leader. Captain Standish, and five 
 others are well enough to care for the sick. 
 Captain Standish, although a fierce warrior in 
 time of battle, is a gentle and kind nurse in 
 sickness. He cheerfully helps out in cooking, 
 washing, and other household duties. He is 
 loyal to the struggling little settlement, and 
 gladly gives his time and strength in the ser- 
 vice that is most needed. 
 
10 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 The life proves too hard for the weaker 
 ones, and at tnnes there is a death every day. 
 At the end of that first terrible winter one- 
 half the settlers have died. Yet, when in the 
 spring the Mayflower sails back to England, 
 how many do you think want to go ? Not one ! 
 So firm are they in their determination to found 
 a free land. 
 
 THE PILGRIMS IN THEIR MEETING-HOUSE 
 
 When the milder days of spring come, the 
 Pilgrims join in building a meeting-house, where 
 they hold gatherings of all kinds. On Sunday 
 it is a place of sincere and humble worship. 
 On week days it is the meeting-place when they 
 wish to talk over some plan for the public good, 
 such as the building of a road or bridge. 
 
 These week-day meetings are like the town 
 meetings held in some places to-day. Let us 
 see how the Pilgrims give each man a voice in 
 the laws. We will attend a week-day meeting. 
 
 The Pilgrim men all come, wearing their 
 broad-brimmed hats. They have no voting- 
 machines, no printed ballots, not even a slip 
 of paper to write upon. They use corn and 
 
THE PILGRIMS 11 
 
 beans, a kernel of corn meaning yes, and a bean 
 no. Simple as the method is, it makes each 
 man one of the rulers of the little state, for his 
 vote counts in making the laws and in le\^ing 
 the taxes. 
 
 Slowly the little Pilgrim community grows. 
 But it does grow and is successful. In the fall, 
 in spite of the suffering and sorrow they have 
 undergone, the colonists proclaim a thanks- 
 giving to God for His goodness to them. 
 
 Although weak in numbers and poor in 
 all that money can buy, the Pilgrims are rich 
 in those things which are worth far more — 
 faith in God, the desire and will to do what is 
 right, and the willingness to endure great hard- 
 ship and suffering for the sake of a great ideal. 
 These priceless qualities of faith and goodness 
 and courage they put into their daily living. 
 They are implanted also in their laws and in- 
 stitutions, and so still live to guide and inspire 
 us. 
 
 We can never cease to be thankful for our 
 inheritance from these Pilgrim forefathers. Its 
 value is beyond measure. It goes on increasing 
 with the years. 
 
12 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 In this little struggling community are the 
 beginnings of our American republic, the first 
 to proclaim liberty to the world. The Pilgrims' 
 gift of freedom and justice is not only to this 
 country but to all nations. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Why did the Pilgrims come to the New World? 
 
 2. Imagine yourself at Plymouth with them during their first 
 
 winter in New England, and tell about their sufferings. 
 
 3. What kind of man was Captain Standish, and how did he 
 
 help out m the dark days of trial ? 
 
 4. What do you admire about the Pilgrims? Why should 
 
 we be thankful to them for what they did ? 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 JOHN WINTHROP 
 
 From time to time news of the free life of 
 the Pilgrims reached a group of people in Eng- 
 land who were suffering under the same kind of 
 tyranny as that from which the Pilgrims had 
 fled. 
 
 They were called Puritans, because they 
 wished to make more simple, or pure, the forms 
 of worship of the Church of England, of which 
 they were members. 
 
 finally they too resolved to leave their 
 comfortable homes in the Old World, where 
 Kings and bishops were so powerful, and sail 
 away across the sea to take up their fortunes 
 in a land of freedom. 
 
 These were not simple folk like the Pilgrims. 
 Many were rich, some belonged to families of 
 high rank, and some had great learning. 
 
 But they were like the Pilgrims in their 
 firm resolve to go to a place where they could 
 
 13 
 
14 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 live under laws of their own making and wor- 
 ship God as their own hearts bade them. 
 
 A small company came over in 1628 and 
 settled at Salem. But not until 1630 — ten 
 years after the Pilgrims reached Plymouth — 
 did the great body of Puritans begin to come 
 over in throngs. Nine hundred of them, led 
 by John Winthrop, a rich lawyer and country 
 gentleman, settled first at Charlestown, and 
 then spread out to Boston and other towns 
 near by. 
 
 The first part of this company arrived in 
 eleven vessels, bringing horses, cattle, and many 
 other things useful in settling a new country. 
 The voyage had taken nearly nine weeks; so, 
 although they had left England in early spring, 
 it was about the middle of June when they 
 reached the Massachusetts coast. 
 
 A TIME OF TRIAL AND SUFFERING 
 
 Their plans had been carefully made and a 
 small company sent ahead to build houses and 
 do the spring planting. 
 
 But in spite of their foresight, all did not 
 go as they had planned. Cold weather came 
 
fr-Xip%3^r>'/;r^ 
 
 An Indian welcome on Charles River 
 
 Nine hundred Puritans . . . settled first at Charlestown, and then spread out to 
 Boston and other towns 
 
JOHN WINTHROP 15 
 
 before they were ready for it. The crops were 
 disappointing. For food, they had to depend 
 on the fish, clams, and mussels that they could 
 pick up on the wind-swept shore, the acorns 
 and ground-nuts they could dig from under 
 the snow, and the small amount of corn they 
 could get from the Indians. "Bread was so 
 very scarce," wrote one of the Puritan settlers^ 
 "that I thought the very crusts from my fa- 
 ther's table would have been sweet to me." 
 
 Moreover, to provide shelter for this large 
 number was no small task. At first the poorer 
 settlers lived in tents or booths hastily put up 
 on the hillsides. These frail structures of course 
 would afford little protection against storms or 
 cold, and would have to be replaced by cabins. 
 
 Dismayed by the cheerless outlook and 
 fearing death by famine or freezing, about one 
 hundred sailed back to England before the win- 
 ter set in. 
 
 But John Winthrop was not of the kind 
 that turns back. Cheerfully making the best 
 of things and sharing his goods with the less 
 fortunate, he set to work with a will. 
 
 Shelter was the most pressing need; so. 
 
16 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 shirking no humble task, he joined in felhng 
 trees and building log huts. Soon rows of little 
 cabins with stone chimneys and windows made 
 of oiled paper showed the result of their labor. 
 
 But in spite of their brave endeavors, the 
 severe trials of that winter — the scant, coarse 
 food which did not agree with them, the bad 
 drinking-water (for they had not discovered 
 that they were in a land rich in pure springs), 
 the poor shelter, and the hard labor to which 
 they were not used — proved burdens too heavy 
 for the weaker ones to bear. 
 
 Before December two hundred had died. 
 "It may be said," wrote one of the Puritan 
 leaders, "that there is not a house where there 
 is not one dead." 
 
 Yet amid all this suffering and sorrow they 
 held to their faith in God. Hope and courage 
 did not desert them, and in the darkest hour 
 John Winthrop wrote to his wife, who had not 
 yet joined him: "I thank God I like so well 
 to be here, as I do not repent my coming." 
 
JOHN WINTHROP 17 
 
 THE BRAVE AND FEARLESS JOHN WINTHROP 
 
 It was this man of strong and beautiful 
 character who held the colony together. His 
 brave spirit and unselfish devotion during that 
 distressing winter cheered and heartened the 
 others. Brave and fearless, he had no thought 
 of giving up. Forgetting his own trials and 
 sufferings, he set his mind and heart on the 
 great task of building up a community in which 
 he and his fellow Puritans could carry out their 
 own ideas of religion and government. 
 
 Founded upon such courage and faith, the 
 colony prospered and grew, spreading out into 
 the surrounding country. 
 
 In the early days, when the colony was small, 
 all the freemen met with the governor and other 
 high officials and helped to make the laws. But 
 as the towns increased and the freemen became 
 so many, it was not easy for all to gather in one 
 place. So the voters in each town then began 
 to elect men to represent them in a lawmaking 
 body called the General Court. This was the 
 beginning of representative government in New 
 England. 
 
18 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 John Winthrop lived to see the colony, whose 
 charter he had brought over, grow to include 
 many towns, and Boston, which he had founded, 
 become a prosperous capital. During twelve 
 years he was governor. 
 
 Little as he gave thought to his own place in 
 the colony, he played a large part in its success- 
 ful growth, and to-day we think of him as one 
 of our country's first patriots. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Why did the Puritans come to New England? 
 
 2. What kind of experience did they have during their first 
 
 winter there ? 
 
 3. How did John Winthrop show his loyal spirit? 
 
 4. What kind of man was he, and what do you admire about 
 
 him? 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 ROGER WILLIAJVIS 
 
 The Puritans had given up their homes in 
 old England and faced the hardships of an un- 
 settled country because they held their religion 
 dearer than anything else in the world. Since 
 freedom to worship in their own way had cost 
 so much, they wished to be sure of not losing 
 it. 
 
 So they made very strict laws. In these 
 they said: 
 
 "Every one must go to the Puritan Church. 
 No one shall vote or take any part in the govern- 
 ment except members of that church." 
 
 But some of the Puritans did not like these 
 laws. Among them was Roger Williams, a 
 young minister recently come to the settlement. 
 He was much loved for his gentle and noble 
 qualities, but he alarmed the Boston elders 
 by the freedom of his views. He went, there- 
 fore, to Plymouth, where they made him as- 
 
 19 
 
20 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 sistant to the pastor, and later he went as pas- 
 tor to the church in Salem. 
 
 It was while he was in Salem that he said 
 openly many things which the Puritans of 
 Boston did not like. Imagine their dismay at 
 hearing one of their own number say to them 
 and to the world: "You do not own the land 
 you live on; it belongs to the Indians." And 
 again: "You have no right to tax people to 
 support a church to which they do not belong. 
 Nor have you any right to force people to go 
 to church. Every man should be allowed to 
 settle with his own conscience whether he will 
 go to your church, or whether he will go to any 
 church." 
 
 He was only speaking what he believed to be 
 the truth, but the Puritans feared he would 
 break up the spirit of union among them, and 
 therefore thought him unsafe. They had suf- 
 fered so much to settle a place where they could 
 make their own laws that they could not allow 
 any one to talk against them. Such a person 
 as this young minister, if not of their mind, 
 should go elsewhere, they thought, and leave 
 them to carry out their own ideas. 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS 21 
 
 ROGER WILLIAMS FORCED TO LEAVE THE COLONY 
 
 They held a council and decided to send 
 him back to England. But as he was too ill to 
 go at that time, they gave him permission to 
 stay in the colony through the winter if he 
 would not preach. 
 
 As soon as he grew stronger, however, his 
 Salem friends began to visit him and spend 
 much time in discussion. Many came around 
 much to his way of thinking. So the Puritans, 
 fearing his influence in the colony, determined 
 to send him at once to England, and a ship was 
 then in the harbor about to sail. 
 
 When Roger Williams received notice that 
 he was to go, he bade a hasty good-by to his 
 wife and two children — one a little girl two 
 years old and the other a baby — and three days 
 later, when the men who were to escort him to 
 the ship arrived at his home, he was not there. 
 
 He had set out for the home of Massasoit, 
 who lived near Mount Hope, seventy or eighty 
 miles to the south. He had made friends with 
 this Indian chief and also with other Indians 
 while living at Plymouth. 
 
22 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 The outlook was dark. It was midwinter, 
 and the snow lay deep on the ground. As no 
 road had been cut through the forest, he had 
 to depend on his compass for a guide. To keep 
 from freezing, he carried an axe to chop wood 
 and a flint and steel to kindle fires. 
 
 This long journey in extremely cold weather 
 was indeed a severe trial to the lonely traveller, 
 still weak from his recent illness. 
 
 The Indian chief welcomed him to his cabin, 
 and there Roger Williams passed the rest of the 
 winter. 
 
 THE SETTLEMENT OF RHODE ISLAND 
 
 When spring came, he left Massasoit and 
 went to seek a new place of settlement. He 
 started out in a frail canoe for a place called 
 Seekonk, but he tells us that Governor Winthrop 
 wrote him to go to the land of the Narragan- 
 setts, which would be free from English claims. 
 
 Canonicus, chief of the Narragansetts, is 
 said to have loved as a son this fair-minded 
 young man who defended the Indians' claim 
 to their land; and he made him a gift of the 
 island lying across Narragansett Bay. 
 
ROGER WTLLIAMS 23 
 
 The Indians told him where there was a good 
 spring of water, and, with five or six friends 
 who had joined him, Roger WilHams went there 
 and made a settlement. He called it Providence, 
 because of God's mercy to him in his time of 
 danger. This was the beginning of Rhode Is- 
 land, a colony where all men, no matter what 
 might be their religion, were welcome. 
 
 Roger Williams believed he was right in 
 taking the bold stand that the Puritans should 
 not force their religion upon any one. 
 
 It took much courage to stand up against 
 the Puritan laws in a Puritan community. He 
 knew that in doing so he was risking the com- 
 fort of himself and his loved ones, and that he 
 might suffer the loss of home and friends. But 
 he believed that men should be governed in 
 their religious faith only by their own conscience, 
 and was willing to suffer himself if in so doing he 
 was able to help on religious freedom for others. 
 
 He wanted to build up a community where 
 each man might be free to act in matters of 
 religion according to his own best motives; and 
 in giving up his comfort and well-being to found 
 such a state he was a true patriot. 
 
24 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Roger Williams said many things which the Puritans of 
 
 Boston did not like. Tell what some of these things were. 
 
 2. Why was he sent out of the colony ? 
 
 3. Imagine yourself with him during his mid-winter journey, 
 
 and tell what happened. 
 
 4. In what ways did Roger Williams show that he was a brave 
 
 and true-hearted man '^ 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THOMAS HOOKER 
 
 If we could go back to the early summer 
 of 1636, and look down from some lofty height 
 upon the valley of the Connecticut River, we 
 might see, one day in June, a pleasing sight. 
 A group of about one hundred men, women, and 
 children are travelling on foot through the leafy 
 wilderness and approaching the banks of the 
 river at the place we now call Hartford. 
 
 They have with them all their belongings. 
 Their household goods are piled high in carts 
 drawn by big, patient oxen, and before them 
 they drive their cows and other domestic ani- 
 mals. One of their number, the wife of the 
 leader, being ill, rides in a litter carried on the 
 shoulders of two stalwart men. The children 
 are laughing and skipping along or sedately 
 walking beside their elders. 
 
 The sky is cloudless, the trees are in fresh, 
 new foliage, and the air is sweet with the blos- 
 soms of wild honeysuckle already dropping its 
 
 25 
 
26 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 petals on the grass. When the lowing herds of 
 cattle stop to browse on the green shoots along 
 the w^ay, the children run to urge them on. 
 
 Who are the travellers, and from what place 
 do they come.'^ 
 
 They are a companj^ of settlers from the 
 INIassachusetts colony, seeking new homes in 
 the Connecticut Valley. 
 
 Thomas Hooker, the tall, majestic man you 
 notice, is their minister and leader. They have 
 come from Newtown, journeying forth like Roger 
 AYilliams in quest of greater freedom than the 
 Puritans allow. 
 
 They have been two weeks on the way. 
 This life in the open has been a new experience 
 to them, used as they once w^ere to much ease 
 of living in old England. 
 
 But the preaching of their minister has 
 kept them in good heart during their tiresome 
 journey, and they are happy in the thought of 
 the freedom they will have in their new homes. 
 
 As they approach the place where Hart- 
 ford now stands, they are much pleased with 
 its beauty. The rolling hills, the broad, peace- 
 ful river and its banks wooded with oaks, elms. 
 
THOMAS HOOKER 27 
 
 and tulip-trees, the rich, green meadows, the 
 wigwams of the Indians, and here and there 
 the few log cabins of earlier settlers, all make 
 a restful sight for the eyes of the tired travellers. 
 It is here on the beautiful banks of the Con- 
 necticut that Thomas Hooker, the apostle of 
 free government, is to make real his dream. 
 
 THE PEOPLE TO GOVERN THEMSELVES 
 
 From its first settlement, Hartford seems to 
 go quietly and steadily on its way. It has its 
 share of troubles within and without, but around 
 the little meeting-house as a centre, the colony 
 strikes its roots deep into the soil, and becomes 
 the first-fruits of free government, as Thomas 
 Hooker understands it, that is, "government of 
 the people, for the people, and by the people." 
 
 In the meeting-house here, on Sundays, at 
 the call of the church-bell, passing through 
 armed guards at the door, the pious and stead- 
 fast people meet for worship. The men sit on 
 one side, the women and children on the other, 
 all ranked in the order of their importance in 
 the community. The burning eloquence of 
 their pastor keeps faith and courage alive and 
 
28 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 greatly strengthens them for their weekly 
 duties. 
 
 On week-days, when a road is to be cut, or 
 a bridge built, or some other public matter 
 attended to, it is in the meeting-house again 
 that all the freemen assemble to cast their votes 
 — yes or no — each according to his wisdom and 
 judgment. 
 
 In all the affairs of the colony, both of reli- 
 gion and government, Thomas Hooker is their 
 leader. He is gentle and loving in spirit, espe- 
 cially to the poor, yet he can be severe to those 
 whom he believes unworthy. His religion is 
 warm and glowing, and makes itself felt in the 
 daily affairs of the colony. 
 
 This far-sighted patriot is a man of much 
 learning, of strong will, and deep sense of justice. 
 He has no liking for a community where only 
 church members can vote or hold office. He 
 believes that all are happier if they have a 
 voice in making the laws. Under his rule the 
 first written constitution in America is drafted. 
 
 All that he values most he cheerfully gives in 
 the cause of freedom; and in giving each man, 
 church member or not, a share in the govern- 
 
THOIVIAS HOOKER 29 
 
 ment, he helps on the cause of freedom for all 
 men. For this great service to mankind we 
 should never cease to honor the memory of 
 Thomas Hooker. 
 
 SOIVIE THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. A\Ti3' did Thomas Hooker leave Newtown and go to Hart- 
 
 ford ? 
 
 2. Imagine yourself with him in his journey through the woods, 
 
 and tell what happened. 
 
 3. What were Thomas Hooker's ideas of government? What 
 
 do you mean by "government of the people, for the people, 
 and by the people"? 
 
 4. Why should we honor the memory of Thomas Hooker? 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 JOHN SMITH 
 
 A VERY different picture is seen on the banks 
 of the James River, where was made the first 
 settlement in Virginia. 
 
 Thirteen years before the Pilgrims reached 
 Plymouth, a group of merchants, nobles, and 
 sea-captains in England, calling themselves 
 "The London Company," planned to start a 
 settlement in the New World. They had no 
 high religious purpose in view. They merely 
 wished that the settlers whom they sent over 
 might make the company rich by finding much 
 gold and silver and by building up trade. 
 
 The first group to come over (1607) consisted 
 of about one hundred five men — no women or 
 children. They were mostly "gentlemen," or 
 men who had never worked with their hands. 
 You can imagine how poorly they would be 
 suited for life in an unsettled country ! 
 
 They had intended to land at Roanoke 
 Island, but a storm drove them out of their 
 
 30 
 
JOHN SMITH 31 
 
 course. So they entered Chesapeake Bay and 
 sailed up a beautiful river with the flowers 
 of a Southern May blooming along its banks. 
 They named the river James in honor of their 
 King. 
 
 Fifty miles from the mouth of the river 
 they landed and, after looking about, chose a 
 place in which to settle, naming it also after 
 their King — Jamestown. 
 
 Before they were fairly settled trouble 
 began. It was very hot in the new country, 
 and the damp air rising from the undrained 
 swamps brought disease. Many fell ill and 
 tossed about in fever on their rough beds. Some- 
 times three or four died in a single night. 
 
 Then, too, food was scarce, their long sea voy- 
 age having used up most of their supply. Each 
 man had only a cupful of barley to last all day. 
 It was mouldy at that, and had to be mixed 
 with the muddy water of the James River. 
 
 To make matters even worse, the Indians 
 were unfriendly and kept the wretched settlers 
 in constant terror. Very soon after the white 
 men came, two hundred Indians had attacked 
 them, killing one and wounding eleven. After 
 
32 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 that guards had to be set, each man taking 
 his turn as watchman every third night. Lying 
 on the damp, bare ground caused more illness 
 and sometimes there were not five men strong 
 enough to carry arms. 
 
 How different was this sad plight from the 
 easy life they had expected ! We cannot help 
 feeling a deep pity for them. Their sufferings 
 were so great that before the summer ended 
 half of them had died. 
 
 SMITH A BRAVE, STRONG MAN 
 
 Perhaj^s none of them would have lived but 
 for a certain brave, strong man among their 
 number. This man was John Smith. 
 
 According to his story, he had already 
 passed through many dangers in foreign lands, 
 often barely escaping death. He had returned 
 to England just in time to join these men 
 coming to America. Being fearless and quick 
 to think what to do, he proved a very great 
 help to the colonists. Indeed the very life of 
 the colony often depended upon him. 
 
 The London Company had given him orders 
 to search for a passage to the South Sea, for 
 
JOHN SMITH 33 
 
 many even then believed America to be a thin 
 strip of land with the sea lying just beyond 
 the mountains to the west. But he dared not 
 leave the colony while it was in so great danger 
 of perishing. 
 
 Before long, however, the cooler days of 
 autumn set in and the future looked much 
 brighter. There was more food and less sickness. 
 Game began to run in the woods, their green 
 vegetables ripened, and water-birds and fish 
 were plentiful. New houses were built, and 
 fresh purchases of corn were made from the 
 Indians. 
 
 Smith now thought that he might leave 
 the colony for a while. So in December, with 
 nine white men and two Indian guides, he 
 started out to explore. 
 
 After some days he reached the Chicka- 
 hominy River. He had not gone far up this 
 little stream when he added another to his list 
 of exciting adventures. He had gone ashore 
 in a canoe when he suddenly found himself 
 surrounded by two hundred Indian warriors. 
 They captured him and carried him away, 
 taking him around to many of their villages 
 
34 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 and at last to the long wigwam of their chief, 
 Powhatan. 
 
 There it was decided to put him to death. 
 Some of the warriors placed two stones upon 
 the ground, then seized Smith and laid his head 
 upon these stones. Their clubs were raised to 
 strike a death-blow, Smith tells us, when the 
 chief's little daughter, Pocahontas, rushed for- 
 ward and threw her arms about his neck, beg- 
 ging her father to spare his life. Powhatan 
 yielded to the pleading of his little daughter. 
 Smith's life was saved, and three days later he 
 was set free. 
 
 He hurried back to Jamestown and found 
 that during his four weeks' absence the settlers, 
 again out of food, had lost heart and were 
 making ready to sail away in the pinnace. 
 
 By good chance a ship came from England 
 that very day, bringing fresh supplies and 
 one hundred twenty new colonists. What a 
 welcome they received ! The little Indian maid 
 Pocahontas also came with a band of Indian 
 braves, bringing baskets of corn, wild fowl, 
 and other kinds of food. 
 
 The next summer Smith made another 
 
JOHN SMITH 35 
 
 voyage, this time going up the Chesapeake as 
 far as the Susquehanna. Here he met a large 
 body of Mohawk Indians, proud and haughty 
 warriors of the North, and saw a large fleet of 
 their canoes on the bay. He continued his 
 voyage far up the Potomac River. 
 
 JOHN SMITH MADE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL 
 
 Returning to Jamestown, Smith was made 
 (September, 1608) president of the council, 
 and thus became the leading man in the colony. 
 Order and industry came with his rule. "He 
 who will not work may not eat," said he, and 
 the soft-handed "gentlemen," knowing that 
 Smith meant what he said, learned to chop 
 wood. Every one worked six hours a day and, 
 as you might expect, brighter days came. 
 
 Still troubles were not over. Powhatan, 
 alarmed by the coming of so many more settlers, 
 began to fear that his people would be driven 
 from their hunting-grounds. So he thought 
 out a way to kill off the Englishmen without 
 putting himself in too much danger. He re- 
 fused to give them corn, believing that they 
 would starve. 
 
36 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 But Smith had come to understand the 
 Indians and knew that the settlers must make 
 a brave stand. So with about forty men, well 
 armed, he made his way to Powhatan's village 
 and said in a firm voice: "We must have corn." 
 
 At first Powhatan pretended that the In- 
 dians had none, but as Smith repeated his de- 
 mand the wily old chief said: "I will give you 
 corn if for every basketful you will give me an 
 English sword." 
 
 But Smith knew better than to give swords 
 to the Indians. "No," he said, "I have no 
 swords and guns for you, but we must have 
 corn." And the Indians were compelled to 
 carry it on board his boat. 
 
 Powhatan then pretended to be friendly, 
 but in his heart he was planning to murder 
 Smith and his men that night, for he knew that 
 because of the low tide the boat could not leave 
 for several hours. 
 
 Again little Pocahontas proved herself the 
 whit-e men's friend, for at the risk of her life 
 she came in the darkness to warn them of their 
 danger. Smith was on his guard and the next 
 morning all sailed away unharmed. 
 
JOHN SMITH 37 
 
 Thus Smith, sometimes by friendliness and 
 sometimes by force managed the Indians. 
 
 smith's loyal service to JAMESTOWN 
 
 Another trial arose, not from the conditions 
 in the new land, but from the vain dreams of 
 the London Company that each vessel which 
 took colonists to Virginia should come back 
 laden with gold. The Company were spending 
 vast sums of money, and they were looking 
 impatiently for a return. 
 
 At one time a gold-seeking expedition for 
 several weeks went up the river, using up large 
 stores of much-needed provisions, besides wast- 
 ing the time of one hundred twenty men. 
 Smith saw clearly that it was best to give up 
 these useless journeys. "Nothing comes but by 
 labor," said he. 
 
 Besides the exploring trips we have men- 
 tioned, Smith made others of value. In one 
 of his voyages along the Atlantic he visited the 
 spot where later the Plymouth colonists landed. 
 He made the first map of this region and named 
 it New England. 
 
 It was owing to John Smith's courage and 
 
38 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 good sense that the Virginia colony lived through 
 those first hard experiences. He was wise and 
 firm. He knew how to deal with the Indians 
 and how to make the idle work. His energy 
 and his love for daring adventure well fitted 
 him for the difficult task of settling a new coun- 
 try. 
 
 He sought neither freedom of religion nor 
 government by the people. Yet in following the 
 romance of his nature he gave himself freely 
 in loyal service to the founding of Jamestown. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Tell about the sufferings of the Jamestown settlers. 
 
 2. In what way did little Pocahontas save John Smith's life? 
 
 3. How did he manage the Indians, and also the settlers ? 
 
 4. How did he show his loyalty to Jamestown? For what do 
 
 you admire him ? 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE BALTIMORE FAMILY AND THE SETTLEMENT 
 OF MARYLAND 
 
 Among the people in England who were 
 having a hard time because they were unwilling 
 to obey the laws about public worship were 
 the Catholics. Some were fined, and some put 
 into prison. They suffered so much on account 
 of their religion that one of their number, George 
 Calvert, Lord Baltimore, resolved to plant a 
 settlement in the New World, where they could 
 be free to worship God in their own way. 
 
 Being a personal friend of King James, it 
 was easy for him to get permission to plant 
 such a colony in New-found-land. But as it was 
 too cold there for the settlers, they remained 
 only a single winter; and Lord Baltimore then 
 got the consent of the new King, Charles I, to 
 plant a colony in the land lying north of the 
 Potomac. 
 
 Before he could carry out his plans Lord 
 Baltimore died; but his son, the new Lord 
 
 39 
 
40 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 Baltimore, took up the work of planting a 
 Catholic settlement in the New World. By 
 the King's request, the colony was to be named 
 Marjdand, in honor of the Queen, Hen-ri-et-ta 
 Ma-ri-a. 
 
 In November, 1633, the company, made 
 up of twenty "gentlemen" and three hundred 
 laborers, sailed from England in two ships. 
 They were well supplied with food, tools, and 
 other things needed in a new country. Lord 
 Baltimore himself bearing most of the cost, 
 which was equal to nearly a million dollars of 
 our money to-day. 
 
 After a voyage of more than three months 
 and a stay of eight or nine days for rest at Point 
 Comfort in Virginia, they reached the Potomac. 
 Near its mouth, on a little wooded island, they 
 planted the cross as a sign that it belonged to 
 a Catholic people. 
 
 The settlers were charmed with the beauty 
 of the land — with its broad rivers, fertile plains, 
 and wooded hills. The strange trees, the wild 
 grape-vines, the flocks of wild turkeys, and the 
 birds of bright colors — all these delighted the 
 newcomers. 
 
THE BALTIMORE FAMILY 41 
 
 Friendly Indians, crowding the river banks, 
 gazed in wonder at the huge ships, scooped, they 
 thought, Hke their canoes, out of single tree 
 trunks. They wondered where such great trees 
 could grow. 
 
 THE CATHOLIC SETTLERS IN MARYLAND 
 
 Sailing a few miles up the Potomac, the 
 settlers entered a broad bay, near the head of 
 which was a good landing. They chose this 
 for their first settlement, and called it Saint 
 Mary's. 
 
 The settlers bought a tract of land from 
 the Indians, paying for it with steel hatchets, 
 hoes, and pieces of cloth. These Indians seemed 
 glad to have the white strangers dwell in their 
 country and allowed the settlers to plant at 
 once in the lands already cleared for their own 
 corn-fields. 
 
 The Indian braves helped the white men in 
 their work, and the squaws taught the white 
 women how to bake "pone" and to fry "hom- 
 iny" — two dishes which were new to the settlers. 
 When later the Indians came to the settlement 
 with wild turkeys and other food, they received 
 
42 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 a fair price and often spent the night with the 
 white men, without fear on either side. 
 
 But even though the Indians were friendly, 
 the colony had its troubles. Its neighbors, the 
 colonists of Virginia, claimed the land where 
 the Ma-ry-land-ers had settled and were angry 
 at them for taking it. They disliked, also, to 
 have a Catholic colony so near to them. 
 
 In time, however, this trouble passed over. 
 Lord Baltimore made people of all Christian 
 faiths welcome, and every one might worship 
 as he pleased. Many came from the other 
 colonies of the New World, as well as from Eng- 
 land. 
 
 The climate, also, was mild, and the soil 
 fertile. So the settlers were successful and con- 
 tented in their new homes. 
 
 You see in all we have said about Maryland 
 the work of two patriotic men. The first Lord 
 Baltimore desired to plant a colony where a 
 group of his fellow Catholics should be free to 
 worship God in their own way, without fear of 
 being punished for doing what they believed 
 to be right. The second Lord Baltimore was 
 quite willing to allow other Christian men and 
 
THE BALTIMORE FAMILY 43 
 
 women to come into this Catholic settlement 
 and attend any church they might choose for 
 themselves. Both men helped in the cause of 
 freedom. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Why did the first Lord Baltimore wish to plant a settle- 
 
 ment in the New World ? 
 
 2. How did the second Lord Baltimore help out the Catholic 
 
 settlers he sent over to America? 
 
 3. In what ways did the Indians show their friendly feeling 
 
 for the newcomers ? 
 
 4. In what ways did the first and the second Lord Baltimore 
 
 help in the cause of freedom? 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 HENRY HUDSON 
 
 Among the people of the Old World who 
 were waking up to new ideas of liberty and 
 freedom were some who were not at that time 
 suffering any hardships of religion or govern- 
 ment, but were seeking more freedom in other 
 ways. The Dutch, for instance, who had long 
 been a seagoing people, were thrifty traders. 
 They were seeking a share in the riches of the 
 New World and, also, a short route to India. 
 It was for this purpose that they employed 
 Henry Hudson, a bold and skilful sea-captain, 
 to make the voyage that gave them a place in 
 free America. 
 
 About two years after the settlement of 
 Jamestown, he sailed, trying first to make a 
 northeast passage through the Arctic Sea; but 
 finding that way blocked with ice, he changed 
 his course toward the west and south. Reach- 
 ing the Atlantic coast, he touched the shores 
 of the New World in several places. 
 
 44 
 
HENRY HUDSON 45 
 
 Arriving near the mouth of the James River, 
 then coasting along to the north, he entered a 
 broad inlet which he thought might be a passage 
 through America. It proved to be what we 
 now .call the harbor of New York. There, in 
 September, 1609, he cast anchor. 
 
 His mate gives a lively picture of what hap- 
 pened there. According to his account, the 
 Indians came on board, "seeming very glad of 
 our coming," and bringing green tobacco, which 
 they exchanged for knives and beads. Some 
 were dressed in mantles of feathers and some 
 in furs. "Some women, also," he adds, "came 
 to us in hemp," wearing "about their necks 
 things of red copper." 
 
 About ten days later, Hudson sailed again, 
 directing his course northward in his little vessel, 
 the Half Moon, still looking for the Northwest 
 Passage, or the short water route to the Pacific 
 Ocean. 
 
 He went only as far as the place where Al- 
 bany is now, for it became plain to him that 
 this was a river and not a strait after all, and 
 he turned back toward the open sea. The high 
 banks on either side led Hudson to call it the 
 
46 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 River of Mountains; but it was afterward 
 named Hudson for him. 
 
 HENRY HUDSON AND THE INDIANS 
 
 During this voyage on the river he saw many- 
 Indians. At some places they sent flights of 
 arrows from the shore, and other bolder ones 
 shot out in canoes, swarming around the boat. 
 When the arrows were answered by bullets, the 
 Indians turned and fled. 
 
 But some were friendly, and one old Indian 
 chief came out in his canoe to invite Hudson 
 to his wigwam. Hudson went, and was sur- 
 prised to find a well-built, circular house of 
 oak bark, with an arched roof. Food was served 
 for him in red wooden bowls; and as a special 
 honor to their guest the Indians shot two 
 pigeons with their bows and arrows, and also 
 killed a fat dog which they skinned with shells. 
 
 But Hudson could not remain with the 
 chief overnight to enjoy the feast which was to 
 be made ready for him. He returned in a few 
 hours down the river. At other places, as in the 
 harbor, the natives came aboard and sold small 
 skins for trifles. 
 
HENRY HUDSON 47 
 
 Henry Hudson sailed back to Europe with- 
 out having found the Northwest Passage. But 
 he had done something far greater. He had 
 started the fur trade with the Indians, which 
 brought the Dutch to America; and -he had 
 also found the best seaport on the shores of the 
 Atlantic. 
 
 NEW NETHERLAND BECOMES NEW YORK 
 
 The Dutch made friends with the Indians, 
 and round the trading-post on Manhattan 
 Island, New Amsterdam, there rapidly grew 
 up the thriving colony of New Netherland. 
 People flocked there from many countries, for 
 trade was profitable and all religions were al- 
 lowed. 
 
 Settlements spread along the rivers and 
 around the harbor. Dutch governors came 
 and went, brave old Peter Stuyvesant being 
 the last of them. After him came an English 
 government under the Duke of York and New 
 Netherland became New York. 
 
 But the passing of the Dutch governors 
 did not mean the end of what the Dutch settlers 
 had brought to America. Many of their names 
 
48 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 and customs have come down through well- 
 known families and still live with us to-day. 
 
 Our great city of New York is very little 
 like the peaceful region which Henry Hudson 
 saw as he lay at anchor in the mouth of the 
 river. If he could have been given a glimpse of 
 the towering buildings that now surround that 
 busy harbor, he would have known that his 
 voyage was very far from being a failure ! Yet 
 he did not need to foresee all this, for even in 
 the face of hardship and dangers and what 
 seemed failure, he stuck to his task, and thus 
 did a lasting service to New Netherland and to 
 America. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. What was Henry Hudson seeking in his voyage to America? 
 
 What did he find ? 
 
 2. Tell about some of his experiences with the Indians. 
 
 3. In what way did his voyage prove of great value to the 
 
 Dutch? 
 
 4. What do you admire about him? How was his service of 
 
 lasting value to America? 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 WILLIAM PENN 
 
 About fifty years after the Pilgrims and 
 Puritans went to New England, there was an- 
 other body of worshippers in England who 
 were having a hard time because they insisted 
 on their own way of worship. They called 
 themselves Friends. By others they were nick- 
 named Quakers. 
 
 Some of their customs were new and strange. 
 For instance, they would not go to war, nor 
 pay taxes to support war, because they believed 
 it was wrong to fight. And because they be- 
 lieved all men were equal, they would not take 
 off their hats to any man, even to the King. 
 
 One of these Quakers, William Penn, was 
 a rich man, and the son of a powerful admiral. 
 He saw that the only way for his Quaker friends 
 to have peace was to make their home in the 
 New World, as others had done who suffered 
 for their religion. 
 
 49 
 
50 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 As the Quakers were poor, he used his own 
 large fortune to carry out his plan. It hap- 
 pened that King Charles II owed him $80,000. 
 For a King who liked to spend money as well as 
 Charles II did, this was a big debt to pay. But 
 there was something Penn wanted more than 
 money, and he proposed to the King a way to 
 settle the debt without having to pay out a 
 penny. 
 
 "Will you give me land in the New World 
 instead of money .^" he asked. 
 
 "Willingly," said the King. 
 
 You see that the land had cost the King 
 nothing, and giving up claim to it meant very 
 little. So he set off for Penn a large tract lying 
 west of the Delaware River. King Charles II 
 was so well pleased with this easy payment of 
 his debt that he courteously named the land 
 Pennsylvania (meaning Penn's woods). This 
 was in 1681. 
 
 penn's QUAKER COLONY 
 
 In the same year, a colony of about three 
 thousand Friends, rejoicing to escape from 
 their dangers and sufferings in England, went 
 
WILLIAM PENN 51 
 
 to the New World and settled on the banks of 
 the Delaware, 
 
 In October of the next year, Penn himself 
 left England to join his colony. On his ship 
 were one hundred passengers, most of them 
 Quakers who had been his neighbors in Eng- 
 land. Imagine the quick beating of their hearts 
 when they reached the colony and were wel- 
 comed with shouts of joy that came not only 
 from the Quakers who had preceded them, but 
 from the Swedes and Dutch among whom these 
 Quakers had settled. 
 
 A little later they sailed up the river until 
 they came to the mouth of the Schuyl-kill 
 (Skoll'kill) River, where a new city was to rise. 
 The plan of the city was simple. The streets 
 were to cross each other at right angles, and 
 were named Pine, Spruce, Chestnut, Cedar, 
 and so on, after the trees that were blazed in 
 the forest to show where these streets should lie. 
 
 Penn named the city Philadelphia, which 
 means "City of Brotherly Love." The name 
 showed the kindly feeling which Penn had for 
 the settlers and which he wished them to have 
 for one another. 
 
52 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 WILLIAM PENN AND THE INDIANS 
 
 Penn's own loving spirit overflowed even to 
 the Indians. He paid them Hberally for the 
 land, although he had already paid the King 
 a large sum ; for he believed that the Indians had 
 rights, and he wished to deal fairly with them. 
 
 This purchase of land was made very im- 
 pressive at a council meeting under the branches 
 of a spreading elm, where Penn said to the red 
 men: 
 
 "The friendship between you and me is 
 not like a chain, for the chain may rust; neither 
 is it like a tree, for the falling tree may break. 
 It is as if we were parts of one man's body. We 
 are all one flesh and blood." 
 
 These were beautiful words and they showed 
 plainly the kindness which the great Quaker 
 leader felt toward the men of the forest. Their 
 hearts responded, and they said: "We will live 
 in love and peace with William Penn as long 
 as the sun and moon shall last." 
 
 Penn often met the Indians and visited in 
 their cabins, and the rulers of the colony and 
 the natives kept their faith with one another. 
 
WILLIAM PENN 53 
 
 The poor savage people believed in God, they 
 said, and they would teach them their rights 
 as men. 
 
 In the next few years, settlers from many 
 countries came in large numbers to Pennsyl- 
 vania, falling easily into the quiet, prosperous 
 life of the colony. People liked to live where 
 the laws were wise, and where they could be 
 free to worship as they pleased. 
 
 It was the law of kindness and the love of 
 freedom, not only for his Quaker friends, but 
 for all men, which guided William Penn in plant- 
 ing the colony that became in time the great 
 State of Pennyslvania. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Why did William Penn wisli to plant a Quaker settlement 
 
 in the New World ? How did he treat the settlers ? 
 
 2. Tell what you can about the meeting between Penn and 
 
 the Indians under the elm-tree ? Why were they friendly 
 to him ? 
 
 3. Why did people like to live in Pennsylvania ? 
 
 4. In what ways did William Penn show his loyalty and pa- 
 
 triotism ? 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 JAMES OGLETHORPE 
 
 In the days when America was being settled 
 by peoples who sought religious freedom, there 
 were men in England who were suffering from 
 other troubles than those brought about by 
 their religious beliefs. 
 
 At that time the laws about debt caused 
 great and hopeless misery. When a man could 
 not pay what he owed, he was put in prison, and 
 if he had no friends to get him out, he might 
 stay there the rest of his life. Indeed, many 
 died in a short time from starvation, filthy 
 quarters, and despair. 
 
 Among the rich men of high birth who lived 
 in England at this time was James 0-gle-thorpe, 
 a brave soldier and noble, kind-hearted gentle- 
 man. He resolved to do something to help 
 these poor men, who in many cases were not 
 dishonest but victims of hard and unwise laws. 
 
 His plan was to set the most worthy free, 
 after getting their debts paid, if they would 
 
 54 
 
JAMES OGLETHORPE 55 
 
 agree to come with him to America, where he 
 beHeved they could begin over again and make 
 their hves more successfuL 
 
 Besides his wish to help these poor men, 
 James Oglethorpe had another purpose in mind. 
 He thought that by planting a colony far to 
 the south strong enough to ward off attacks 
 from the Spaniards who had settled in Florida, 
 he would be serving his country as well. 
 
 He carried out his plan, and early in 1733 
 with his company of men, he reached the south 
 coast of North America and chose a high bluff 
 near the banks of a river as a place of settle- 
 ment. He called the settlement Savannah, 
 after the beautiful Indian name for the river, 
 and named the colony Georgia in honor of King 
 George II, who had granted him the land. 
 
 At first Oglethorpe made his home in a tent, 
 sheltered by four beautiful pine-trees, and there 
 he lived for more than a year. 
 
 Like Penn, he treated the Indians fairly, 
 and thus won their friendship. 
 
 As a token of good feeling, one day they 
 handed him a buffalo-skin, on the inside of 
 which was a picture of the head and feathers 
 
56 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 of an eagle. "Here is a little present," they 
 said: "The feathers of the eagle are soft, and 
 this means love. The skin of the buffalo is 
 warm, and this means protection. Therefore 
 love and protect our people." 
 
 Such was the beginning of a lasting friend- 
 ship between Oglethorpe and the Indians. They 
 were friendly to him because he was just and 
 kind to them. They lived in peace with him, 
 just as the Indians farther north lived in peace 
 with William Penn. 
 
 He tried hard to be fair in his dealings with 
 the settlers also. But they did not like his way 
 of governing, because they were not allowed 
 any share in making the laws. 
 
 There were other things they did not like. 
 No rum could be made or sold in the colony, 
 nor could the colonists have any negro slaves. 
 Although Oglethorpe had good reasons for the 
 stand he took on these questions, the settlers 
 were not satisfied. They declared that they 
 needed the rum, and that the climate was so 
 hot and bred such fevers that they must have 
 negroes to do the work. 
 
 In the course of years the colonists were 
 
JAMES OGLETHORPE 57 
 
 allowed to have their way in these matters and 
 to make their own laws. 
 
 Before that time came, however, Oglethorpe 
 returned to England, greatly disappointed be- 
 cause there had been so much ill feeling toward 
 him among the colonists. 
 
 But James Oglethorpe knew that his mo- 
 tives were right. He had unselfishly given 
 up comfort and ease in old England for un- 
 ending care and labor in the New World, in 
 order that he might give to the oppressed the 
 opportunity to make the most of their lives 
 and might serve his fellow countrymen in 
 America. 
 
 Although this colony did not at once prove 
 to be all that Oglethorpe had hoped, better 
 days came with the coming of better men, and 
 it lived to take its part as one of the thirteen 
 colonies that made the United States of America 
 a free and independent nation. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Wliat was Oglethorpe's plan? 
 
 2. How did he treat the Indians, and how did they feel toward 
 
 him ? 
 
 3. Why were the settlers in the Georgia colony dissatisfied? 
 
 4. What do you admire about James Oglethorpe? 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 PATRICK HENRY 
 
 "George, be King," said the mother of 
 George III, when he was crowned. She meant: 
 "Let no one tell you what to do." These words 
 had a pleasing sound to the young ruler, then 
 only twenty- two years old, for he wished to 
 have his own way as King. He cared little for 
 the rights of the people, either in England or 
 in America, because the more power they had, 
 the less he would have. 
 
 But the people did not take kindly to his 
 high-handed ideas. There were many, both in 
 England and in the American colonies, who 
 were resolved to oppose them rather than give 
 up the rights of free, liberty-loving men. 
 
 After the last French War ended, George III 
 wished to send to America a standing army of 
 at least ten thousand men. He brought the 
 matter before the English Parliament, saying: 
 "The army is to protect the land from the French 
 
 58 
 
PATRICK HENRY 59 
 
 and from Indian uprisings. Why, then, should 
 not the colonists help pay for its support?" 
 
 Parliament, being made up largely of the 
 King's friends and willing tools, was quite ready 
 to do whatever he wished, and passed a law 
 taxing the colonies for that purpose. The law 
 was called the Stamp Act because it required 
 the colonists to put stamps — varying in cost 
 from one cent to fifty dollars — upon all their 
 newspapers and upon such legal papers as wills 
 and deeds. 
 
 The passing of this law made the colonists 
 angry, and they were loud in their complaints 
 against it. They said: *'We care nothing about 
 the amount of the tax, but we do care about 
 paying money which we have had no share in 
 voting. 
 
 "We Americans are as free as the men in 
 England. In that country it is the law that 
 no freeman shall pay taxes unless they are levied 
 by those who represent him in Parliament. 
 
 "Since we have no one to speak for us in 
 Parliament, we stoutly refuse to pay taxes 
 which Parliament votes. The only taxes we 
 will pay are those voted by our own representa- 
 
60 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 tives in our own colonial assemblies. If we 
 pay taxes which are laid on us without our con- 
 sent, we are slaves. 
 
 "Besides," they added, "we believe the 
 King is sending the army over here to compel 
 us to do just as he says." 
 
 One of the strongest opposers of the Stamp 
 Act was Patrick Henry, a young lawyer of Vir- 
 ginia but little known outside of his own county 
 until he was elected a member of the Virginia 
 House of Burgesses, a body not unlike our State 
 Legislature. 
 
 We have a vivid picture of young Henry 
 at that time as he entered Williamsburg, then 
 the capital of Virginia, to take his seat for the 
 first time in this assembly. 
 
 He rode on a lean horse, carrying his papers 
 in a pair of saddle-bags. He was young, only 
 twenty -nine years old, tall and thin, with stoop- 
 ing shoulders. His face had a set look, and 
 there was a twinkle in his small blue eyes. He 
 wore a brown wig, a peach-blossom coat, leather 
 knee-breeches, and yarn stockings. One meet- 
 ing him would hardly have seen under his rough 
 appearance a great leader of men. 
 
PATRICK HENRY 61 
 
 GREAT EXCITEMENT ABOUT THE STAMP ACT 
 
 As he rode into the little town of Williams- 
 burg, he found great excitement. People were 
 standing in groups along the street and talking 
 in anxious tones. 
 
 "What shall we do about the Stamp Act?" 
 they asked. "Shall we tamely submit to it, as 
 if in fear of the English King.^^ Shall we beg 
 Parliament to repeal it.^ Or shall we take a 
 bold stand and say that we will not obey 
 it.?" 
 
 In the House of Burgesses, also, there was 
 grave discussion. Most of the members were 
 wealthy planters and owners of large estates. 
 What they thought had great weight in the 
 colonies. These men spoke of England as the 
 "Mother Country." They were loyal to her, 
 and wished to settle all disagreements as peace- 
 ably as possible. 
 
 So they said: "Let us do nothing rash, but 
 let us move slowly and carefully. Let us ask 
 the King to make changes in the laws that we 
 think unjust, and then, if he will not listen, it 
 will be time for us to refuse to obey." 
 
62 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 Patrick Henry, the new member, sat quietly 
 in his seat, following closely all that was said. 
 
 A THRILLING SPEECH 
 
 But he could not agree with these older 
 men. To him delay meant danger. The free- 
 dom of his countrymen was at stake. Some- 
 thing must be done and done at once. Upon 
 a blank leaf torn from a law-book, he hastily 
 wrote some resolutions, and then, rising to his 
 feet, he read them to the assembly. 
 
 The rather awkward-looking young man, 
 badly dressed, was in striking contrast to the 
 prosperous planters with powdered hair, ruffled 
 shirts, knee-breeches, and silver shoe-buckles. 
 
 When the new member began in quiet tones 
 to read his resolutions, these gentlemen looked 
 at him with great indifference, as if they would 
 say: "Who cares what this presuming fellow 
 thinks.'^ Who is he, anyway, and why should 
 he be so bold as to tell us what is best to 
 do.?" 
 
 But as they listened, their scorn changed 
 to breathless interest; for the speaker's eyes 
 began to glow, his stooping figure straightened, 
 
PATRICK HENRY 63 
 
 and his voice rang out clear and strong. They 
 leaned forward to catch his every word. 
 
 "The General Assembly of Virginia, and 
 only the General Assembly of Virginia,'" he ex- 
 claimed, "has the right and power to lay taxes 
 upon the people of this colony." 
 
 These thrilling words fell like a thunderbolt 
 upon the startled audience. No one had dared 
 voice such thoughts in public before. 
 
 An excited debate followed, in the course of 
 which Patrick Henry, blazing with indignation, 
 cried: "Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the 
 First his Cromwell, and George the Third . . ." 
 
 "Treason! treason!" interrupted angry 
 voices, for Caesar and Charles I had both been 
 put to death. 
 
 Pausing a moment, the young orator calmly 
 and fearlessly added, "may profit by their ex- 
 ample. If this be treason, make the most of 
 it." 
 
 Patrick Henry was more than a match for 
 all those older men of affairs. His wonderful 
 eloquence carried the day, and his resolutions 
 were passed. 
 
 It was a great triumph for the cause of liberty 
 
64 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 and for its leader. "Stick to us, old fellow, or 
 we're gone," said one of the plain people, as 
 he was going out of the door at the close of the 
 session. 
 
 In the same doorway, that day, there had 
 stood, intently listening, a tall, slim young man, 
 with a thoughtful, scholarly face. His name was 
 Thomas Jefferson. We shall hear of him later. 
 
 Not only in Virginia, but in other colonies 
 also, Patrick Henry's fiery words acted like 
 magic in uniting the people against the Stamp 
 Act. 
 
 FRIENDS OF THE AMERICANS IN ENGLAND 
 
 Even in England there were many leading 
 men who were against it. They saw that 
 George III was making a huge blunder in try- 
 ing to tax the colonies without their consent. 
 William Pitt was one of these. He was the 
 ablest man in the House of Commons and the 
 most powerful English statesman of his time. 
 In a great speech, he said: 
 
 "I rejoice that America has resisted. The 
 Americans have been wronged ! They have 
 been driven to madness by injustice!" 
 
PATRICK HENRY 65 
 
 Edmund Burke and Charles Fox, other 
 great statesmen, were also our friends and were 
 outspoken against the course George III was 
 taking. In fact, the greater part of the English 
 people were fair-minded and believed it wrong 
 to require the Americans to pay taxes which 
 they had had no share in voting. 
 
 So strained was the feeling in both countries 
 and the loss of trade to English merchants so 
 heavy that the Stamp Act was repealed about 
 a year after it had been passed. 
 
 Great was the rejoicing in the colonies. If 
 George III had been content to let matters 
 rest, history might have been very different. 
 But he could not be satisfied until he had had 
 his way. 
 
 ANOTHER GREAT SPEECH 
 
 Nine years later, the people of Virginia 
 were again deeply roused. King George had 
 caused soldiers to be sent to Boston to force 
 the people there to obey his commands, against 
 which they had rebelled. Because Virginia 
 had stood by her sister colony, the royal governor 
 of Virginia had forbidden the House of Burgesses 
 to meet at Williamsburg. 
 
66 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 But the Virginians were not to be overcome 
 in that way. Grimly determined to defend 
 their rights as freemen, they elected some of 
 their leaders to act for them in their day of 
 trial. These men, among whom was Patrick 
 Henry, met in Richmond, in old St. John's 
 Church, which stands to-day as a monument of 
 that historic gathering. 
 
 It was a critical hour in the life of Virginia. 
 Thoughtful men were very serious, for the war- 
 cloud was growing blacker every hour. The 
 people of the colony were already preparing to 
 fight if they must. But many still hoped that 
 war might be avoided, and advised moving 
 slowly and with caution. 
 
 Patrick Henry saw no wisdom in such policy. 
 Believing in prompt and fearless action, he 
 stood up in this meeting and offered a resolution 
 that Virginia should at once get ready for war. 
 Again, as in 1765, many leading men in the 
 gathering strongly opposed the resolution as 
 rash and unwise. 
 
 As the debate went on, there was great and 
 increasing excitement. For some time Patrick 
 Henry listened in silence. At length he rose to 
 
PATRICK HENRY 67 
 
 his feet, and in a voice trembling with deep emo- 
 tion, spoke with an eloquence which held the 
 audience in breathless stillness. Listen to his 
 thrilling words : 
 
 "Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper 
 use of the means which the God of nature hath 
 placed in our power. Three millions of people, 
 armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such 
 a country as that which we possess, are invincible 
 by any force which our enemy can send against 
 us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles 
 alone. There is a just God who will raise up 
 friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, 
 sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, 
 the active, the brave. . . . There is no retreat, 
 but in submission and slavery ! Our chains 
 are forged ! Their clanking may be heard on 
 the plains of Boston ! . . . The war is actually 
 begun ! The next gale that sweeps from the 
 north will bring to our ears the clash of resound- 
 ing arms ! Our brethren are already in the 
 field ! Why stand we here idle ? What is it 
 that 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 .^^ 
 
68 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 Forbid it, Almighty God ! I know not what 
 course others may take; but as for me, give me 
 liberty, or give me death !" 
 
 The speaker stopped, his arms raised and 
 his eyes ablaze with excitement. The audience 
 was deeply moved, and not a single voice was 
 raised to oppose him. The resolution passed 
 by a large majority. 
 
 Patrick Henry has been called the Orator 
 of the Revolution, he had such power to move 
 the people by his thrilling speeches. He v^as a 
 true patriot, and his burning love of freedom 
 leaped with lightning speed to the hearts of 
 his hearers. He knew his country was in dan- 
 ger, and did all in his power to save her. 
 What patriot could do more ? 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Why did Patrick Henry and other patriots oppose the 
 
 Stamp Act? What taxes were they wilUng to pay? 
 
 2. How did the greater part of the people of England think 
 
 about the American opposition to paying taxes which 
 had not been laid by the colonial assemblies ? 
 
 3. Tell all you can about Patrick Henry's speech in the House 
 
 of Burgesses. 
 
 4. What did he mean when he said: "Give me liberty, or give 
 
 me death"? 
 5 What do you admire about this great orator? 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 SAMUEL ADAMS 
 
 Let us imagine ourselves in Boston about 
 the time of the Stamp Act. It is night. The 
 town is wrapped in silence as well as darkness. 
 Yet, if we should pass through a certain quiet 
 street, we might perhaps see in a large, plain 
 dwelling one dimly lighted room, and possibly 
 the shadow of some one at a desk, writing. It 
 is Samuel Adams, whose days are not long 
 enough to do all that his active mind plans. 
 
 In town meeting, in colonial assembly, in 
 pamphlets, in the press, in the club, or on the 
 street, he is always at work with voice or pen, 
 talking to people of their rights, and showing 
 the way to that liberty of thought and action 
 which belongs to all freemen. 
 
 He is a man of medium size, with gray hair 
 and keen, gray eyes. His face, usually stern, 
 is kindly when he smiles. His clothes are well 
 worn, for his only means of support for himself 
 
 69 
 
70 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 and his family is the small salary he receives as 
 clerk of the Massachusetts Assembly. Besides, 
 he does not care about clothes. When they be- 
 come too rusty, his friends supply new ones. 
 
 He is especially the friend and teacher of 
 the working men, and although he is college- 
 bred and of an old family, they trust him as 
 one of themselves. In the shipyards, at the 
 wharfs, on street corners during the noon- 
 hours, wherever working men gather, he can 
 be seen explaining the new laws and urging 
 the people to stand for their rights as freemen. 
 
 His great power over the people has made 
 him dangerous to the British, and they have 
 tried more than once to bribe him with some 
 office under the King, or to buy him with gold, 
 but he has always spurned their offers. "Poor 
 as I am," he says, "the King of England is not 
 rich enough to buy me." 
 
 Such was the man who led the people of 
 Massachusetts in their struggle against the 
 King. After the Stamp Act was repealed (1776), 
 King George, so obstinate in giving way to the 
 Americans, thought up another plan to bring 
 them under his yoke. 
 
SAMUEL ADAMS 71 
 
 The very next year, he persuaded Parlia- 
 ment to pass a new law taxing glass, lead, paper, 
 tea, and a few other articles imported into the 
 colonies. 
 
 "Very well," replied the colonists. "Then 
 we will buy no goods from England." Feeling 
 against the mother country became very strong. 
 
 This made English merchants, who were 
 losing money, beg Parliament to repeal the 
 law. 
 
 THE STUBBORN KING AND THE TAX ON TEA 
 
 So at last the stubborn King said: "Parlia- 
 ment may take off all the taxes except the one 
 on tea. We must keep this tax in order to show 
 the Americans that we have a right to tax them." 
 And tea-ships sailed for America. 
 
 The King had arranged a plan with the 
 tea merchants which would make this tea 
 cheaper in America than in England. "Of 
 course," he said, "the Americans will buy it 
 if it is cheap, and will not think about the 
 tax." 
 
 In due time the tea arrived. Then the 
 simple-minded George III had a great surprise. 
 
72 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 He found out that the Americans would not 
 buy taxed tea at any price. They were thinking 
 of something much larger than the cost of the 
 tea, and that was their liberty. 
 
 In New York and Philadelphia the people 
 refused to let the tea be landed, and in Charles- 
 ton the people stored it in damp cellars, where 
 it spoiled. But in Boston, there was a most 
 exciting time, which led to the "Boston Tea 
 Party," the strangest tea-party ever known. 
 
 It was on a quiet Sunday morning, while 
 the people were at church, that the Dartmouth, 
 the first of three tea-ships bound for Boston, 
 sailed into the harbor. The news spread like 
 wild-fire. It reached the people in the churches. 
 Soon the streets were alive with excited crowds. 
 
 Before night, Samuel Adams and other 
 leading patriots met and had their plans in ac- 
 tion. First they got a promise from the owner 
 of the Dartmouth, Benjamin Rotch, that he 
 would not land the tea before Tuesday. This 
 gave time to spread the news and get the people 
 together. 
 
 On Monday morning there was a mass- 
 meeting of five thousand indignant men, some 
 
SAMUEL ADAMS 73 
 
 from near-by towns, at the Old South Church. 
 There it was voted that the tea should not be 
 landed, but should be sent back to England. 
 
 Thus began a bitter struggle between the 
 people, led by Samuel Adams, to prevent the 
 landing of the tea, and Governor Hutchinson, 
 who upheld England. According to the law, 
 if at the end of twenty days the tea had not 
 been sent back to England, it could be landed 
 by force. Here was a chance for trouble, be- 
 cause the tea could not leave the harbor with- 
 out permission from the clerk of customs or a 
 pass from the governor. 
 
 Eighteen days passed. The nineteenth ar- 
 rived, and still the ships were in the harbor. 
 It was a critical day in the life of Massachusetts 
 and our country. Men, talking angrily and 
 shaking their fists with excitement, were throng- 
 ing into the streets of Boston from surrounding 
 towns. By ten o'clock, over seven thousand 
 had gathered in the Old South Church and in 
 the streets outside. 
 
 They sent for Rotch, the owner of the Dart- 
 mouth. When he told them he could not get 
 a clearance from the clerk of customs, they 
 
74 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 ordered him to get a pass from the governor, 
 and report to them in the afternoon. 
 
 Late in the afternoon, a great throng of 
 earnest men again crowded into the Old South 
 Church to wait for the return of Rotch. It 
 was an anxious time. But while, in deep sus- 
 pense, the vast crowd waited, John Rowe asked : 
 ''Who knows how tea will mingle with salt wa- 
 ter .f^" A whirlwind of applause swept through 
 the large gathering. 
 
 A FAMOUS TEA-PARTY 
 
 While the meeting still waited, the shadows 
 of the short winter day crept on. Darkness 
 had followed dusk and candles were lighted 
 before the owner of the Dartmouth returned. 
 When he appeared, the church was breathlessly 
 still. "The governor refuses to give the pass," 
 he said. 
 
 An angry murmur arose, but the crowd 
 soon became silent, for Samuel Adams, the 
 presiding officer, had stood up. Quietly he 
 said: "This meeting can do nothing more to 
 save the country." 
 
 These words were plainly a signal. Outside 
 
SAMUEL ADAMS 75 
 
 a war-whoop sounded, and forty or fifty "Mo- 
 hawks," men wearing blankets in Indian fashion 
 and carrying hatchets in their hands, rushed 
 down Milk Street to Griffin's Wharf, where 
 the three tea-ships lay at anchor. 
 
 It was bright moonlight, and everything 
 could be plainly seen. Having set a guard, 
 these orderly "Indians" quickly boarded the 
 vessels, broke open the chests, and emptied 
 the tea into the harbor. It took them three 
 hours. At the end of that time, three hundred 
 and forty-two chests of tea had been poured 
 into the sea. Its value amounted to $100,000. 
 
 At this tea-party, there was no confusion. 
 Many stood on the shore and watched the "Mo- 
 hawks" at their work. Yet not a man reported 
 to the British officers what he had seen. 
 
 The next morning, while wet tea-leaves lay 
 heaped along the shore, the Boston housewives 
 cheerfully drank a tea brewed from sassafras 
 and pennyroyal ! 
 
 The Boston Tea-Party was a triumph for 
 the Boston patriots, and Samuel Adams was 
 the greatest patriot of them all. It was he who 
 had managed the affair from start to finish, and 
 
76 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 led in the struggle against the King. Few 
 battles of the Revolution meant so much. 
 
 Samuel Adams was a man who could com- 
 pletely forget himself if winning friends for the 
 cause of freedom; and he did more than any 
 man of his time to arouse the love of liberty 
 in the colony. Up to the last, his patriotism 
 was earnest and sincere, and his life was one 
 of great service to his country. He was per- 
 haps the first to look ahead to the time when 
 America should be a nation by itself. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. For what did Samuel Adams wish day and night? 
 
 2. "Why did King George beUeve the Americans would pay 
 
 the tax on tea ? 
 
 3. Wliy did they refuse to pay this tax? 
 
 4. What was the Boston Tea-Party ? Imagine yourself one of 
 
 the "Indians" and tell what happened. 
 
 5. What kind of man was Samuel Adams, and what do you 
 
 admire about him ? 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 PAUL REVERE 
 
 King George, very angry about the Bos- 
 ton Tea-Party, sent soldiers over to put down 
 "the rebels," as he called them, and he made 
 their commander, General Gage, military 
 governor of Massachusetts. This was not at 
 all to the liking of the colonists, for they were 
 constantly under the eye of a British general, 
 appointed to carry out the will of the King. 
 
 One of the first acts of the new governor 
 was to send home the members of the Mas- 
 sachusetts Assembly. The people of the colony 
 were no longer allowed to make their own laws. 
 
 But the Americans were not to be treated 
 like slaves ! No sooner had the assembly been 
 broken up than they appointed a new govern- 
 ing body, called the Provincial Congress. 
 
 With John Hancock as its president and 
 Samuel Adams as its leading spirit, this con- 
 gress began at once to get ready for war. They 
 called for an army of twenty thousand men, 
 
 77 
 
78 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 and began to collect military stores, such as 
 cannon, muskets, powder and ball, and flour, at 
 Concord. Everywhere companies were formed 
 called ''minutemen." They were to be ready 
 at a minute's notice to go wherever they might 
 be needed. 
 
 Soon General Gage received orders from 
 England to seize John Hancock and Samuel 
 Adams as traitors. He knew that these two 
 men were staying for a while with a friend at 
 Lexington. He had learned, also, through his 
 spies, that the minutemen had collected some 
 cannon and military stores at Concord, twenty 
 miles from Boston, and only eight miles beyond 
 Lexington. 
 
 General Gage planned to capture both 
 leaders and ammunition in one expedition. 
 But he did not catch the colonists napping. 
 
 Thirty young patriots, led by Paul Revere, 
 had formed a society to spy out the British 
 plans. Always on the watch, these young men 
 at once carried the news of any strange move- 
 ments to such leaders as Samuel Adams, John 
 Hancock, and Doctor Joseph Warren. 
 
 On the evening of April 18, 1775, Revere 
 
PAUL REVERE 79 
 
 and his friends brought word to Doctor Warren 
 that they beheved the British general was about 
 to carry out his plan of capturing Adams and 
 Hancock at Lexington and of destroying the 
 stores at Concord. 
 
 General Gage had forbidden any one to go 
 out from Boston that night. But without a 
 moment's delay, Doctor Warren arranged to 
 send Paul Revere and William Dawes on horse- 
 back to Lexington and Concord to warn the 
 people. They were to go by different routes, 
 with the hope that at least one might escape 
 capture by the British mounted officers, with 
 whom Gage had carefully guarded all the roads 
 leading from Boston. 
 
 Dawes was soon on his way across Boston 
 Neck, while Paul Revere went home to leave 
 orders for a lantern-signal to be hung in the 
 belfry of the Old North Church, to show by 
 which route the British forces were advancing, 
 "one if by land, and two if by sea." Then, 
 booted and spurred, he stepped into a light 
 skiff with two friends, who rowed him from 
 Boston across the Charles River to Charlestown 
 under the very guns of a British man-of-war. 
 
80 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE 
 
 On the Charlestown side, a fleet horse was 
 brought, and Paul Revere, waiting in the moon- 
 Hght, bridle in hand, strained his eyes to catch 
 the first glimpse of the signal-lights. At eleven 
 o'clock one light flashed forth. Intently he 
 gazed. A second light' gleamed out from the 
 belfry. "Two if by sea!" he said to himself. 
 "The Redcoats are crossing the Charles River 
 and will march through Cambridge." 
 
 Not a moment longer did he wait. Leaping 
 into his saddle, he sped like the wind toward 
 Lexington. Suddenly two British officers sprang 
 out, one trying to block his way, and the other 
 to take him. Quickly turning his horse, he 
 swung into the Medford road and was gone. 
 Ten minutes later, he was in Medford, where 
 he stopped long enough to warn the captain 
 of the minutemen there. 
 
 Again he was off in swift flight, pausing 
 only to wake the people at every house along 
 the road with his ringing shouts: "Up and 
 arm ! LTp and arm ! The regulars are out ! 
 The regulars are out!" Then the hoof-beats 
 of his flying horse died away in the distance 
 
PAUL REVERE 81 
 
 He reached Lexington just at midnight. 
 The eight minutemen who guarded the house 
 where Adams and Hancock were sleeping warned 
 him not to disturb the people inside with his 
 noise. "Noise!" cried Paul Revere. "You'll 
 have noise enough before long. The regulars 
 are out !" 
 
 William Dawes sooil joined Paul Revere in 
 Lexington, and after taking a little food, they 
 started off together to warn Concord. Doctor 
 Prescott, a prominent Son of Liberty whose 
 home was in that town, went with them. About 
 half-way there, a guard of four mounted British 
 officers ordered them to halt. Prescott managed 
 to escape by making his horse leap a stone wall, 
 and rode in hot haste to Concord, where he 
 gave the alarm. Paul Revere and William 
 Dawes escaped for the moment, but a little 
 later both fell into the hands of another group 
 of British officers. 
 
 Meanwhile, the British troops, numbering 
 eight hundred men, under the command of Colo- 
 nel Smith, were marching to Lexington. But 
 they had not gone far before they knew by the 
 ringing of church-bells, the firing of signal-guns, 
 the beating of drums, and the gleaming of bea- 
 
82 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 con-fires on the surrounding hilltops that the 
 minutemen had been warned. 
 
 Colonel Smith, disturbed by these signs of 
 coming danger, sent Major Pitcairn ahead with 
 a picked body of troops, in the hope that they 
 might reach Lexington before the town could be 
 aroused. 
 
 PATRIOTS WILLING TO DIE FOR THEIR RIGHTS 
 
 But the British commander was too late. Al- 
 ready the alarm signals had called to arms thou- 
 sands of daring patriots, willing to die for their 
 rights as freemen. Wakened suddenly from 
 sleep, men had snatched their old muskets from 
 over the door or fireplace, and, bidding good-by 
 to wife and children, were off to the meeting- 
 place long since agreed upon. 
 
 Just as the sun was rising. Major Pitcairn 
 marched into Lexington. Forty or fifty min- 
 utemen stood ready to oppose him. Riding 
 up to them, he shouted: "Disperse, ye reb- 
 els, disperse!" The minutemen bravely stood 
 their ground. Pitcairn gave the order: "Fire !" 
 Eighteen minutemen fell to the earth. 
 
 Before Pitcairn's arrival, the British officers 
 
PAUL REVERE 83 
 
 who had captured Revere and Dawes returned 
 with them to Lexington. Commanding Revere 
 to dismount, they kept his horse and let him 
 go. He ran at full speed to the house in which 
 Samuel Adams and John Hancock were staying, 
 told them what had happened, and then guided 
 them across the fields to a place of safety. 
 
 On their way they heard the guns firing on 
 Lexington Common, and the sound so stirred 
 the soul of Adams that in joy he cried out: "Oh, 
 what a glorious morning is this !" In the sound 
 of the guns he heard the coming of liberty. Men 
 were standing up for their rights. The first 
 battle of the Revolution had been fought. 
 
 Paul Revere's famous midnight ride for his 
 country we Americans shall always remember 
 with joy and pride. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. For what signal was Paul Revere looking? 
 
 2. Imagine yourself with him on that famous midnight ride 
 
 and tell what happened. 
 
 3. Why did he take this ride? 
 
 4. In what way did he show his patriotism? 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 
 
 One of the days of the year to which you 
 look forward is July Fourth. On that day you 
 "celebrate," and I think most of you know that 
 the event you celebrate is the signing of the 
 Declaration of Independence, by which our 
 country became a nation by itself. We will see 
 what events led up to that deed, so glorious for 
 our country. 
 
 Let us imagine ourselves in Philadelphia in 
 the early summer of 1775. It is now a thriving 
 town of thirty thousand, the largest in the 
 colonies. 
 
 We notice in the well-kept streets an unusual 
 stir. Distinguished strangers are approaching 
 and entering a red-brick building, Carpenters' 
 Hall, on Chestnut Street. They have come to 
 represent their various colonies in the second 
 meeting of the Continental Congress. 
 
 Shall we enter with them, and as they take 
 up their work try to find some of our old ac- 
 quaintances, and perhaps make some new ones ? 
 
 84 
 
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 85 / 
 
 SOME LEADERS IN THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS 
 
 The man acting as chairman is one of the 
 two Paul Revere saved by his daring ride to\ 
 Lexington — John Hancock. He is young, hand- 
 some, rich, of good family, and an earnest pa- 
 triot. He presides with ease and dignity and 
 seems to be a favorite with all. 
 
 Presently we recognize Samuel Adams. No 
 patriotic meeting would be complete without 
 this clear-headed thinker and devoted patriot. 
 
 His cousin, John Adams, already well known 
 as a brilliant lawyer and debater, is also pres- 
 ent. Although he is to become the second 
 President of our United States, he does not yet 
 know that there will ever be such a nation. 
 
 Standing near John Adams is a man who 
 would be noticed in any gathering. He is a 
 large, fine-looking gentleman, with long, white 
 hair, large, clear eyes, and broad, high fore- 
 head. His face is kindly, and his simple, easy 
 manner seems to indicate that he has seen much 
 of the world. He is Benjamin Franklin, now 
 in his seventieth year, a great thinker and 
 writer, well known on both sides of the Atlantic. 
 
86 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 He has just lately returned from England, where 
 he has been in the service of the colonies. 
 
 Patrick Henry, too, is there. He is ten 
 years older than when he took his seat in the 
 Virginia House of Burgesses, but still a young 
 man, showing at times sudden gleams of the 
 orator's fire beneath his usually quiet manner. 
 His great appeal, "Give me liberty or give 
 me death," has become the country's watch- 
 word. 
 
 The large, stately man, with grave face 
 and courtly manner, is George Washington. 
 He is in the uniform of a Virginia colonel. What 
 a fine presence and dignified bearing ! How 
 unconscious he is of the strong part he is to 
 take in the great drama of which we here see 
 the opening act ! 
 
 A tall young man with quiet, retiring 
 manner, and the face of a scholar and thinker, 
 seems in some way familiar. Finally we recog- 
 nize him as the one who stood in the doorway 
 listening earnestly and responsively to Patrick 
 Henry's speech on the Stamp Act ten years 
 before. He is a Virginian of wealth and good 
 family, a great student of law, and a clear writer. 
 
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 87 
 
 He, too, is to play a large part, about which we 
 are to hear presently. 
 
 The others — there are forty or fifty in all — 
 are men of importance in their colonies. They 
 are lawyers, planters, and merchants. 
 
 The first meeting of the Continental Con- 
 gress had been held in Philadelphia six months 
 before, in September, 1774. A plan for uniting 
 the colonies was then considered. The colonists, 
 still thinking of themselves as free-born Eng- 
 lishmen, sent a letter to their King, telling 
 him of their wrongs and asking him to right 
 them. 
 
 What answer do you think came.^^ Still 
 greater wrongs ! What a way to treat a high- 
 spirited people ! More soldiers were sent over, 
 and it was plain that King George would not 
 listen to any pleas. 
 
 Then Massachusetts prepared for war, and 
 events followed thick and fast. The battle of 
 Lexington and Concord was fought. Boston 
 was surrounded by minutemen, and Fort Ti- 
 conderoga was captured. That was the way 
 matters stood when the Continental Congress 
 met in Philadelphia the second time (May, 
 
88 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 1775). Whether they wished it or not, the 
 colonists were at war with the mother country, 
 and they must take steps to carry on that 
 war. 
 
 AT WAR WITH THE MOTHER COUNTRY 
 
 Plans were made to raise a Continental 
 army, and George Washington was made its 
 commander-in-chief. 
 
 Yet, after they had gone so far, Americans 
 still called themselves English colonists. They 
 were fighting only for their rights as free-born 
 Englishmen. 
 
 To give a last chance for a peaceful settle- 
 ment, Congress sent another letter to the King. 
 But King George was so angry that he would 
 not listen to the letter. He would not even 
 receive the messenger who carried it. 
 
 He called the colonists rebels. He ordered 
 ships of war to burn their towns. He at once 
 sent to Germany to hire Hessian soldiers to 
 make war upon the Americans. 
 
 This was very stupid of King George. He 
 thought to frighten the colonists so that they 
 would not dare to unite. Instead, he drove 
 
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 89 
 
 them closer together, for they saw they must 
 work shoulder to shoulder or else give up their 
 freedom. 
 
 THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ADOPTED 
 
 At first, only a few had thought of becoming 
 independent of the mother country. Now it 
 seemed to be the only course open. Listen to 
 what happened in the Continental Congress in 
 the summer of 1776. 
 
 On June 7, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, 
 rose and moved that the colonies "are and of 
 a right ought to be free and independent 
 states." 
 
 After long debate, a committee, of which 
 Thomas Jefferson is chairman, is chosen to 
 write the first draft of this great state paper, 
 the Declaration of Independence. Congress 
 makes some slight changes, and it is adopted on 
 July 4. One by one, the members step forward 
 to sign their names. 
 
 When John Hancock, the president of the 
 Congress, writes his name in large, bold letters, 
 he quietly says: "King George can read that 
 without spectacles." Then he adds: "We 
 
90 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 must all be unanimous. We must all hang 
 together." 
 
 *'Yes," says Franklin, with a flash of his 
 quick wit, "or we shall all hang separately." 
 
 These men know full well what signing such 
 a paper means. In case of the failure of their 
 cause, they will be hanged as traitors. 
 
 After the signing, old Liberty Bell peals 
 forth the glad tidings that the United States 
 is now a free nation. We are no longer to seek 
 or petition King George or his ministers. What- 
 ever dealings America and England have here- 
 after are to be as between two separate nations. 
 
 It took five years of hard fighting and great 
 suffering for the new nation to make good its 
 claim. But it had begun the task. July 4, 
 1776, was the birthday of our nation. Do you 
 wonder that we celebrate it.^ 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Do you know what event we celebrate on July Fourth? 
 
 2. What had we been fighting for before we declared our in- 
 
 dependence of England ? What were we fighting for after 
 the Declaration of Independence was signed? How did 
 the signers show their patriotism ? 
 
 3. Who wrote the first draft of this great state paper? 
 
 4. What is meant by our mdependence of England? 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 When we think of George Washington there 
 comes to us, not a picture of the boyhood days 
 on a Virginia plantation, nor of the youth can- 
 tering along the roadside with his elderly friend, 
 Lord Fairfax, seeking pleasure in a fox-hunt. 
 We do not think of him either as the young In- 
 dian fighter, saving General Braddock's sea- 
 soned soldiers, although at that time his name 
 was being spoken in the courts of Europe. 
 
 It is as a general, in the strength and vigor 
 of full manhood, that we see him, carrying the 
 fortunes of a new nation which is fighting for 
 independence and free government. As the 
 hero of the Revolution and commander-in-chief 
 of its army, Washington most completely holds 
 our attention. 
 
 He is now in the prime of life, forty-three 
 years old, and has been always so active in 
 private and public affairs that he has learned 
 
 91 
 
92 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 how to control not only himself, but other men. 
 That power will be very necessary to him as a 
 commander of the army. 
 
 A few days after receiving his appointment 
 as commander-in-chief of the Continental army 
 (see page 88), Washington was on his way to 
 Boston to join the minutemen, who were to 
 form the first army. 
 
 He had not ridden far from Philadelphia 
 when he met messengers from Bunker Hill, 
 who said there had been a battle. 
 
 "Did the men stand fire.^" asked Washing- 
 ton. 
 
 "Yes," was the reply. 
 
 "Then the liberties of the country are safe," 
 said Washington, and rode on. 
 
 All along the road the people received him 
 with warm greetings, and wherever he went all 
 eyes followed his noble figure. 
 
 WASHINGTON TAKES COMMAND OF THE ARMY 
 
 He reached Cambridge, and on July 3, 1775, 
 under the famous elm-tree, which is standing 
 to-day near Harvard University, he drew his 
 sword and took command of the American 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 93 
 
 army. Cheers and shouts and the booming 
 of cannon followed. 
 
 He was a tall man with fine figure, grave, 
 handsome face, courtly manner, and most dig- 
 nified bearing. As he sat upon his horse in 
 his provincial uniform of buff and blue, wear- 
 ing the three-cornered hat with the cockade 
 of liberty, and across his breast the broad blue 
 silk band denoting his rank, he looked every 
 inch a noble gentleman and fearless soldier. 
 
 The army liked and trusted him at once, 
 '^^d when Washington came to know his men, 
 ue saw in them, untrained and lacking uniforms 
 though they were, loyal hearts full of courage 
 and endurance, "materials for a good army," 
 as he said. 
 
 Washington at once set to work to drive 
 the British out of Boston. To do this, he had 
 the cannon which had been captured at Ticon- 
 deroga dragged on sledges over the ice and 
 snow to headquarters. He had small boats 
 built to make raids on the British ships for 
 ammunition and supplies. He sent messengers 
 to villages and towns in all the colonies to col- 
 lect powder, and he trained his army. He did 
 
94 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 all that could be done during the fall and 
 winter days, and in March he was ready to 
 move. 
 
 On the night of March 4, under cover of 
 darkness and the noise of cannon, Washington 
 led his troops and wagon-loads of supplies to 
 Dorchester Heights, which overlooked the city 
 of Boston. All night he stayed by his men, 
 passing back and forth with words of cheer, 
 while they put up defenses and placed their 
 siege-guns. 
 
 Imagine the surprise and excitement among 
 the British the next morning ! With the guns 
 of the Americans looking down from the heights 
 above them, Boston was no longer safe. They 
 left the city March 17, sailing toward Halifax, 
 while Washington and his troops marched in 
 on the other side, finding more powder and 
 ball than the American army had ever seen 
 before. 
 
 WASHINGTON GOES TO NEW YORK 
 
 Washington thought that the British, after 
 leaving Boston, would try to take New York 
 in order to get control of the Hudson River, 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 95 
 
 and thus cut off New England from the other 
 colonies. To outwit them, his army must get 
 to New York first. And it did ! 
 
 Reaching New York, Washington promptly 
 put up as strong defenses as he could, both in 
 New York and on Long Island. Dividing his 
 army, he sent General Putnam with one-half 
 to occupy Brooklyn Heights, while he remained 
 in New York with the other half. In all, the 
 army consisted of only eighteen thousand men, 
 most of them untrained, and all poorly equipped 
 with arms and food. 
 
 General Howe soon arrived with thirty thou- 
 sand men and a large fleet. 
 
 On August 27, Howe attacked that part of 
 Washington's army which was on the Brooklyn 
 side, and by his vastly larger numbers defeated 
 them. If he had pressed on, he might have 
 captured all of Putnam's men and even Wash- 
 ington himself, who, during the last of the bat- 
 tle, had crossed over from New York. 
 
 But it was late, and he thought the next 
 day would do just as well. The British fleet 
 lay in the harbor, so how could the Americans 
 get away? You see that General Howe was 
 
96 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 apt to put off till to-morrow, and that habit 
 often was very fortunate — for his enemies ! 
 
 When morning came, a heavy rain was 
 falling, and on the day following, a dense fog 
 settled down over the island. 
 
 Before noon of the third day, however, three 
 American officers riding down to the shore no- 
 ticed an unusual stir in the British fleet. Boats 
 were going to and fro as if carrying orders. At 
 once the officers reported this to Washington. 
 
 "It is very likely," thought Washington, 
 "that the British ships are going to sail up be- 
 tween New York and Long Island and cut us 
 off from the rest of the army." 
 
 WASHINGTON SAVES HIS ARMY 
 
 The situation was one of extreme peril. 
 The only thing to do was to secure all the boats 
 possible in order to get away that very night. 
 
 It was a desperate undertaking. Ten thou- 
 sand men to get across, the river at that point 
 nearly a mile wide, and the British encamped 
 within gunshot ! It seemed almost impossible. 
 
 But Washington did not hesitate. Without 
 a moment's delay — it was then about noon — 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 97 
 
 he sent trusty messengers across the river to 
 collect every boat of any sort or size that was 
 within reach. By nightfall these were got to- 
 gether at Brooklyn ferry and manned by fisher- 
 men from Marblehead and Gloucester, every 
 one an expert at the sail or the oar, and eager 
 to do his best. 
 
 To be ready and yet to keep his secret, 
 Washington gave orders to prepare for a night 
 attack upon the enemy; and, in order to de- 
 ceive the enemy, he directed that the camp- 
 fires should be kept burning. 
 
 What a night of swift rowing and anxious 
 watching ! We can imagine the stern silence 
 of the chief, who looked after every detail till 
 the last boat-load was ready to cfoss. Upon his 
 wisdom and courage rested the future of a na- 
 tion — your country and mine ! As the hours 
 went by, he asked himself: "Shall we be able 
 to keep our secret from the enemy ^ Or will 
 his sentinels discover us and give the alarm .f^" 
 How his great heart longed for success in this 
 momentous hour ! 
 
 A kind Providence seemed to protect them, 
 for a thick mist settled down upon land and 
 
98 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 sea that August night, and in the early morn- 
 ing it changed to a fog that shrouded East River 
 Hke a curtain. 
 
 By seven o'clock every gun except a few of 
 the largest and all the powder, food, and other 
 supplies had been safely ferried across the 
 river. 
 
 Washington's heart was lighter than it had 
 been for many days, although for forty-eight 
 hours he had known neither rest nor sleep. The 
 retreat was as brilliant as it was daring. Wash- 
 ington had saved his army. 
 
 On the following morning the British could 
 hardly believe their eyes. There was not so 
 much as a biscuit left in the American camp. 
 Again Howe had been outgeneralled by Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 NATHAN HALE, THE MARTYR SPY 
 
 Even after Washington had saved his army 
 from capture by making this wonderful escape 
 across East River to New York, the outlook 
 was one of great peril. The British, you may 
 be sure, lost no time in seizing Brooklyn Heights, 
 and then only the river separated them from 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 99 
 
 the Americans, while close by in the harbor lay 
 the British fleet. 
 
 There was yet grave danger that Howe with 
 his greater numbers might capture the army 
 and bring the war to a close. 
 
 "I must try to find out his plans," thought 
 Washington, "and the best way is to send over 
 some trusty and brave man to act as a spy." 
 So he called for a volunteer to go inside the 
 enemy's lines and get information. 
 
 Now, as you boys and girls know, spying is 
 dangerous business, for, if captured, the spy 
 will surely suffer death. None but a brave 
 and fearless lover of his country would risk his 
 life in this way. 
 
 Just such a man came forward in answer 
 to Washington's call. It was Nathan Hale. 
 
 "I am ready to go. Send me," he said. 
 
 He was only twenty-three, hardly more 
 than a boy, and life was dear to him. Yet he 
 loved his country more. 
 
 Washington, much pleased with the noble 
 bearing and grace of manner of this young man, 
 accepted him for the mission. 
 
 Nathan Hale disguised himself as a Tory 
 
100 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 schoolmaster and entered the enemy's Hnes. 
 He visited all the camps, taking notes, making 
 sketches of the fortifications, and hiding the pa- 
 pers in the soles of his shoes. All went well till 
 he was about to leave the camp, when he was 
 captured. The telltale papers in his shoes proved 
 his errand, and he was condemned to be hanged 
 as a spy before sunrise the next morning. 
 
 The marshal who guarded him that night 
 was a cruel man. He would not allow his 
 prisoner to have a Bible, and even tore in pieces 
 before the young man's eyes his farewell letters 
 to his mother and friends. 
 
 But Nathan Hale was not afraid to die, 
 and on that quiet Sunday morning he held 
 himself calm and steady to the end. Looking 
 down upon the few soldiers who were standing 
 near by as he went to his death, he said, "If 
 I had ten thousand lives, I would lay them down 
 in the defense of my injured and bleeding coun- 
 try," and his last brave words were: "I only 
 regret that I have but one life to lose for my 
 country." Here indeed was a true patriot ! 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 101 
 
 OTHER BITTER TRIALS OF WASHINGTON 
 
 The death of Nathan Hale brought sadness 
 to Washington's heart, but it was only one of 
 the bitter trials he had to bear in those dark 
 hours. 
 
 Washington saw that he could not hold 
 New York, for his army was much smaller than 
 Howe's and many of his men were new and 
 untrained. You see, the term of enlistment 
 was short, and when it was over, the men went 
 home. So Washington was constantly exchang- 
 ing trained soldiers for new recruits. Indeed, 
 at times his problem was not only to fight battles, 
 but to keep together any army at all ! 
 
 He could not hope to win a great victory, 
 but he fought a battle whenever he could, both 
 to hold back the enemy and to give his soldiers 
 experience. 
 
 Finally, the Americans had to withdraw up 
 the Hudson, fighting stubbornly as they re- 
 treated. 
 
 Washington, taking part of the army, crossed 
 over to the Jersey side, leaving General Charles 
 Lee with the rest of it at North Castle. 
 
102 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 The British, pressing on, captured two forts 
 on the Hudson River, taking three thousand 
 prisoners. The outlook was very dark. But 
 worse was to follow — treachery in one of his 
 own officers. 
 
 To prevent the British from capturing Phila- 
 delphia, Washington put his army between 
 them and that city. The British began to move 
 upon him. Needing every soldier that he could 
 get, Washington sent orders to General Lee to 
 join him. Lee refused to move. Again and 
 again, Washington commanded, but Lee did not 
 obey. We now know that Lee was a traitor. 
 He basely hoped that Washington would fail 
 so that he himself, who was second in command, 
 might become commander-in-chief of the Amer- 
 ican army. 
 
 WASHINGTON RETREATS ACROSS NEW JERSEY 
 
 In order to save himself and his army from 
 capture, Washington had to retreat once more, 
 this time across New Jersey toward Philadelphia. 
 With the British army, in every way stronger 
 than his own, close upon him, it was a race for 
 life. Sometimes there was only a burning bridge. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 103 
 
 which the rear-guard of the Americans had set 
 on fire, between the fleeing army and the pur- 
 suing forces. 
 
 To make things worse, Washington saw his 
 own army dwindHng every day, because the 
 men whose term of enKstment had expired 
 were leaving for their homes. When he reached 
 the Delaware River (December 8), he had barely 
 three thousand ragged, weary men left. 
 
 Here again Washington showed himself a 
 master. Having collected boats for seventy 
 miles along the Delaware River, he succeeded 
 in getting his army safely across at a place a 
 little above Trenton. This brought the British 
 to a halt. General Howe, as we might expect, 
 decided to wait for the river to freeze. 
 
 To most people, in England and in America 
 alike, the early downfall of the American cause 
 seemed to be certain. Said a British officer: 
 "I could take a corporal's guard and chase the 
 American army all over the continent." Even 
 Benjamin Franklin, it is said, began to think 
 the American cause hopeless. 
 
 Cornwallis — one of the ablest British gen- 
 erals sent over during the war — felt so sure 
 
104 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 the war would soon come to an end that he had 
 already packed some of his luggage and sent 
 it to the ship, expecting in a fortnight to return 
 to England. Truly these were "times that try 
 men's souls." 
 
 But there were some brave patriots who had 
 not lost hope, and the bravest of all was the 
 American commander. Others might say, "It's 
 no use to fight against such heavy odds. We 
 are certain to fail." Not so Washington. His 
 courage and energy never failed. Full of faith 
 in the cause and in his power to win, if only 
 the army would hold on, he watched earnestly 
 for the opportunity, which he was sure would 
 come, to strike his overconfident enemy a heavy 
 blow. 
 
 He had not long to wait. Over the river at 
 Trenton was stationed a body of hired Hessian 
 soldiers. He planned to surprise them on Christ- 
 mas night, when, as he knew, it was their custom 
 to hold a feast and revel. 
 
 A GLORIOUS VICTORY AT TRENTON 
 
 With two thousand four hundred picked 
 men, he prepared to cross to the Jersey side, 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 105 
 
 at a point nine miles above where the Hessians 
 were encamped. The ground was white with 
 snow and the weather bitter cold. As the sol- 
 diers marched to the place of crossing on this 
 winter afternoon, some of them, with feet almost 
 bare, left bloody footprints in the snow. 
 
 At sunset they were ready to cross. It was 
 a terrible night. Angry gusts of wind and great 
 swirling blocks of ice, swept along by the swift 
 current, threatened every moment to dash in 
 pieces their frail boats. In the dim light a soli- 
 tary figure was outlined. It was their general, 
 directing in person each detail. 
 
 As the men neared the opposite shore in 
 the darkness, shouts were heard from the river 
 bank. It was General Knox, who had been 
 sent ahead by Washington, to let the struggling 
 boatmen know where to land. 
 
 For ten hours boat-load followed boat-load 
 in the dangerous crossing. It was four o'clock 
 in the morning before the men, already weary, 
 were in line to march. Trenton was nine miles 
 away, and a fearful storm of snow and sleet 
 was beating fiercely in their faces ! Yet they 
 marched on ! 
 
106 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 General Sullivan discovered that the guns 
 were wet, and sent a messenger to tell Wash- 
 ington. "Then tell your general," answered 
 Washington, "to use the bayonet, for the town 
 must be taken !" 
 
 The Hessians were sleeping heavily after 
 their night's feasting, with no thought of the 
 approaching army. To be sure, a warning had 
 come to the Hessian commander that Washing- 
 ton was planning an attack; but holding the 
 Americans in contempt after their long retreat, 
 he laughed and gave little thought to the re- 
 port. 
 
 About sunrise, they were suddenly awakened 
 from their deep sleep by the firing of guns. They 
 rushed from their comfortable beds and seized 
 their weapons, but it was too late ! The struggle 
 was brief, the victory complete for Washington. 
 Most of the enemy were either killed or captured. 
 Only two Americans were killed, and two frozen 
 on the way. 
 
 It was a glorious victory. Like a gleam of 
 light in the darkness the great news shot through 
 the States. It brought hope to every patriotic 
 heart. The British were amazed and startled 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 107 
 
 at Washington's daring feat. Instead of sail- 
 ing for England, Cornwallis advanced post- 
 haste from New York with a large force upon 
 Trenton, hoping to capture Washington's army 
 before it could get away. 
 
 WASHINGTON AND THE BATTLE OF PRINCETON 
 
 At nightfall (January 2, 1777) hardly more 
 than a week after the Battle of Trenton, Corn- 
 wallis took his stand on the farther side of a 
 small creek near Trenton, and thought he had 
 Washington in a trap. "At last," said the over- 
 confident British general, "we have run down 
 the old fox and we will bag him in the morning." 
 In the morning again ! How easy it was for 
 the British generals to put off ! 
 
 But Washington was too sly a fox for Corn- 
 wallis to bag. He knew that his army was not 
 strong enough to risk an open battle. During 
 the night he left his camp-fires burning to de- 
 ceive the enemy. Then, while perhaps Corn- 
 wallis was dreaming about victory on the mor- 
 row, Washington quietly led his army around 
 the British camp, and pushed on to Princeton. 
 There he badly defeated the British rear-guard, 
 
108 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 and escaped to the heights of Morristown, where 
 he took up winter quarters. 
 
 When Cornwallis got up the next morning, 
 he saw before him an empty camp. Soon the 
 booming of distant cannon on the Princeton 
 road told him where the "old fox" had gone. 
 
 The effect of this triumph upon the feeling 
 in America was electric. Soldiers had been 
 deserting. People had been going over to the 
 British side. Congress was losing hope. The 
 cause was almost lost. Now a wave of joy and 
 confidence swept over the country. New recruits 
 came in. The colonies became more united; 
 and across the seas foreign nations were saying: 
 "England will lose her colonies." 
 
 Washington with his poor, ragged remnant 
 of an army had snatched a victory from the 
 well-seasoned, well-equipped troops of the con- 
 fident enemy. It was his generalship that had 
 saved the country. 
 
 VALLEY FORGE 
 
 Perhaps the darkest time of the Revolution 
 was the winter following that of which we have 
 just read. The war had been going on for more 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 109 
 
 than two years and victory seemed as far away 
 as ever. 
 
 Washington passed this winter with his 
 army at Valley Forge, a place in the wooded 
 hills about twenty miles northwest of Phila- 
 delphia. On arriving there early in December 
 the army spent the first two weeks in cutting 
 down trees and building cabins, so that before 
 long a village of log huts, with regular streets, 
 had sprung up. 
 
 While the soldiers were building these huts, 
 the weather was bitter cold, snow lay on the 
 ground, and the men had not enough to eat. 
 Their rations were mostly cakes made of flour 
 and water, with very small portions of meat 
 and bread. There were many times during 
 the winter when they had to go even without 
 bread. "For some days past," wrote Wash- 
 ington, "there has been little less than famine 
 in the camp. A part of the army has been a 
 week without any kind of flesh, and the rest 
 three or four days." 
 
 It was a period of intense suffering. Most 
 of the soldiers were in rags, and only a few 
 had bedclothing. Blankets were so scarce that 
 
110 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 many of the men had to sit up all night hud- 
 dled about the fire to keep from freezing; and 
 even some who were sick had no beds, or even 
 loose straw, to lie upon. 
 
 So many oxen and horses died from starva- 
 tion that the carts and wagons which brought 
 food and fire-wood into the camp had to be 
 drawn by men. Then there came a time when 
 they could not get through the deep snow to 
 chop wood. Shoes had given out; nearly three 
 thousand poor soldiers were barefoot; and many 
 had frozen feet. 
 
 To read about what these brave men passed 
 through during that wretched winter makes 
 one heart-sick. Yet, even though hungry, half 
 naked, and cold, they remained patient and 
 loyal through all their suffering. 
 
 A beautiful story is told, showing the humble 
 faith of Washington during these pitiful times. 
 
 One day, when "Friend Potts," a good 
 Quaker farmer who lived close by, was passing 
 a wood near the camp, he heard Washington 
 praying for help and guidance. On returning 
 to his home, the farmer said to his wife: " George 
 Washington will succeed; George Washington 
 
Washington at Valley Forge 
 
 Even though hungry, half-naked, and cold, Washington's troops remained patient 
 and loyal through all their suffering 
 
GEORGE WASHmGTON 111 
 
 will succeed ! The Americans will win their 
 independence." 
 
 "What makes thee think so, Isaac?" his 
 wife asked. 
 
 "I have heard him pray, Hannah, out in 
 the woods to-day, and the Lord will surely hear 
 his prayer. He will, Hannah, thee may rest 
 assured He will." 
 
 A PLOT AGAINST WASHINGTON 
 
 While the Americans were passing the winter 
 in such suffering at Valley Forge, the British 
 in Philadelphia were spending the season in 
 ease and comfort. Indeed, they were thinking 
 so much about their pleasure and amusement 
 that they let the winter go by without fighting 
 a battle. This, of course, was a good thing for 
 the Americans, for they had neither army nor 
 supplies to fight with and had trials enough in 
 their camp. 
 
 Yet even while carrying the burden of his 
 suffering soldiers, Washington himself had a 
 bitter trial which none of his officers or soldiers 
 could share. This had to do with his command. 
 
 At the approach of the British before Tren- 
 
112 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 ton, Congress had gone from Philadelphia to 
 Baltimore, and had given Washington full 
 power to manage the war. But since Congress 
 was so far from the battle-fields, it could not 
 know the great difficulties that Washington 
 was meeting, and began to wonder why he did 
 not win some great victory. 
 
 Then some, who disliked Washington be- 
 cause he had not helped on their selfish schemes, 
 began to say that he was not a fit man to be 
 commander of the American army and put 
 forward General Gates to take his place. Gates, 
 a weak, vain, selfish man, had been given the 
 glory of a victory at Saratoga. But this he did 
 not deserve. 
 
 Even Samuel Adams seemed to lose faith 
 in Washington, and John Adams thought Wash- 
 ington was too slow and cautious. "My toast 
 is a short and violent war," he said with strong 
 feeling. 
 
 Distrust and criticism, when one is doing 
 his best, are very hard to bear. But Washing- 
 ton, calm and dignified, went straight on, doing 
 whatever he believed to be best for the patriot 
 cause, and in the end all came right. The plot 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 113 
 
 failed and the plotters fell into disgrace. Then 
 the American people, as never before, realized 
 the true worth of the modest but great man 
 who was carrying the nation's burdens. 
 
 In time all learned to trust his wise leader- 
 ship, and came to see that through him the 
 independence of our country was being made 
 safe and sure. 
 
 When we think that Washington willingly 
 gave up the pleasant life on a Virginian plan- 
 tation for hardship and anxiety such as we have 
 just read about; that he pledged his own for- 
 tune to back a nation without money and with- 
 out credit; that he was the object of suspicion 
 and plots; that he put aside all ambition for 
 liimseK, even refusing any pay for his services; 
 that he did all this for the sake of his country; 
 we realize something of the splendid nature of 
 his patriotism. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Why was Washington made commander-in-chief of the 
 
 Continental armj^ ? 
 
 2. Where did he take command of the army? Tell all you 
 
 can about his personal appearance and dress at that 
 time. 
 
 3. In what way did Washington drive the British out of Bos- 
 
 ton.? 
 
114 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 4. Imagine yourself with him on the night when he was mak- 
 
 ing his escape with his army from Long Island, and tell 
 what happened. 
 
 5. What did he wish Nathan Hale to do as a spy ? 
 
 6. How did this young man show his patriotism? What do 
 
 you admire in him? 
 
 7. How did Charles Lee show his treachery? Why was he 
 
 unwilling to obey Washington's orders? 
 
 8. What other trials did Washington have at this time? 
 
 9. Tell all you can about the experiences of Washington and 
 
 his men the night before the battle of Trenton. 
 
 10. Describe the sufferings of the patriotic Americans at Valley 
 
 Forge. 
 
 11. What was the plot to injure Washington, and why were 
 
 the plotters against him? 
 
 12. What do you admire about Washington? 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Up to the time of the Revolution, the Amer- 
 icans had no navy. They had not needed it, 
 for they were under England's protection. 
 
 Very soon after the war began, however, 
 Congress saw that it was a great drawback to 
 our cause that the British ships could come 
 and go as they pleased in American waters, 
 and could attack the coast towns. So it or- 
 dered thirteen war-vessels to be built. 
 
 The little navy did good work in capturing 
 British vessels, many of which were loaded 
 with arms and powder, supplies sorely needed 
 by Washington's army. 
 
 Among the sea-captains who commanded 
 these vessels, the most famous was John Paul 
 Jones. He was a native of Scotland, but at 
 this time was living in Virginia. 
 
 When the Revolution broke out, he offered 
 his services, and Congress appointed him first 
 
 115 
 
116 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 lieutenant. He proved himself so skilful and 
 brave that he was later made captain of a ves- 
 sel called the Ranger, and sent to France. 
 
 At that time English vessels were annoying 
 American coasts by burning and destroying 
 property. Jones, therefore, got permission from 
 Benjamin Franklin, who was then American 
 commissioner at the French court, to attack 
 British coasts in the same way. 
 
 Sailing from France in the Ranger he cap- 
 tured many vessels in the Irish Channel, and 
 thoroughly frightened the people all along the 
 western coast of England. 
 
 So an English war- vessel, the Drake, with 
 more guns and a better trained crew than the 
 Ranger had, was sent out to capture her. But 
 after a battle of a single hour, it was the Drake 
 which surrendered, with the loss of many men. 
 The Americans lost only two men killed and 
 six wounded. 
 
 A GREAT NAVAL VICTORY 
 
 After this victory the young captain was 
 placed in command of a little fleet of four 
 vessels. He named his flag-ship Bonhomme 
 
JOHN PAUL JONES 117 
 
 Richard (Bo-nom Re-shar), after the Richard 
 of Poor Richard's Almanac, which Benjamin 
 Frankhn had written. 
 
 In this ship he sailed along the eastern coast 
 of England, looking for merchant vessels. At 
 noon on September 23, 1778, he sighted a fleet 
 of forty-two merchantmen guarded by two 
 English ships-of-war. At once he decided to 
 make an attack. This took place early in the 
 evening. The action was mainly between the 
 Richard and the English man-of-war Serapis 
 (Se-ra-pis), which was a large ship, new and 
 swift, and much more powerful than the 
 Richard. 
 
 During the first hour the American vessel 
 got the worst of the fight and was "leaking 
 like a basket." The British captain, feeling 
 sure of victory, called out: 
 
 "Has your ship struck .f^" 
 
 Our hero, Paul Jones, shouted back: "I 
 have not yet begun to fight." 
 
 As the British vessel came alongside his 
 own for a more deadly struggle, Jones seized 
 a strong rope and tied them together. Soon 
 both were badly leaking, but the fighting went 
 
118 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 on as fiercely as ever. Presently both caught 
 fire. 
 
 While they were still fighting, the ship's 
 doctor of the Richard came to Jones and told 
 him that his vessel was leaking so much that 
 the wounded were afloat, and asked Jones to 
 surrender. 
 
 "What, doctor, would you have me strike 
 to a drop of water.?" he said. "Here, help me 
 get this cannon over." 
 
 Then, with his own hands John Paul Jones 
 turned his cannon upon the mainmast of the 
 SerapiSf and when it threatened to fall the 
 British captain surrendered. 
 
 The Richard could not have held out much 
 longer, for even before the surrender she had 
 begun to sink. It was hard to keep her afloat 
 during the night, and next morning at ten 
 o'clock she went down. 
 
 This was a desperate sea-duel, and it lasted 
 from half past seven in the evening until ten 
 o'clock. It was important in its results, for 
 it won respect for our flag and gave a wonder- 
 ful uplift to the American cause. The victor, 
 John Paul Jones, was loaded with honors, and 
 
JOHN PAUL JONES 119 
 
 from that day took rank with the great sea- 
 captains of the world. His heroism and his 
 loyalty to our country should never be for- 
 gotten. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. With what purpose did John Paul Jones sail from France 
 
 in the Ranger? 
 
 2. Tell all you can about the terrible fight between the Richard 
 
 and the Serapis. 
 
 3. What do you admire about John Paul Jones? 
 
CHAPTER XVH 
 
 GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 
 
 At the time of the Revokitionary War the 
 vast region stretching from the Alleghanies to 
 the Mississippi was valued by England on ac- 
 count of its furs; and English fur- traders here 
 wished to keep the land in its wild state so 
 that it would continue to be good hunting- 
 ground for the Indians. 
 
 Even before the Revolutionary War began, 
 however, the rich soil of this Western country 
 was tempting American settlers in the sea- 
 board colonies to go over the mountains into 
 Kentucky and Tennessee and make settlements 
 there. The Indians did not like this, because 
 the cutting down of the forest-trees and the 
 clearing of the land would drive away the wild 
 animals and spoil their trade in furs. So they 
 became enemies of the settlers. 
 
 The British officer who was in command of 
 the Northwest was Colonel Hamilton. From 
 his fort in Detroit he sent out orders to the 
 
 120 
 
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 121 
 
 Indians to make as much trouble as possible 
 for the settlers throughout this region by burn- 
 ing their homes and b}^ murdering and scalping 
 the people. 
 
 The Indians gladly obeyed, not only be- 
 cause they disliked to have settlers come, but 
 because the British paid them for every scalp 
 they brought to the fort. When, however, 
 some of these parties crossed the Ohio and made 
 attacks upon the settlements of Kentucky, 
 they brought trouble upon themselves and 
 quite upset the plans of Colonel Hamilton. 
 
 Clark's brilliant plan 
 
 For among these sturdy men who had gone 
 from Virginia to Kentucky was a young sur- 
 veyor who had worked out a brilliant plan of 
 conquering for his country the vast stretch of 
 land north of the Ohio and east of the Missis- 
 sippi, the region of the Great Lakes. This man 
 was George Rogers Clark. 
 
 He was then about twenty-five years old, 
 straight and tall, with ruddy cheeks, sandy 
 hair, and honest blue eyes that peered out from 
 under heavy, shaggy eyebrows. His strong 
 
122 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 body could endure almost any hardship, and 
 his splendid health was equalled by his spirit 
 of adventure. He was a skilful woodsman and 
 had seen something of border warfare. 
 
 In the summer of 1777 he sent out two young 
 hunters as spies into the country north of the 
 Ohio. Early in October, taking with him the 
 reports which they brought back, he started 
 on horseback to ride through the forests and 
 over the mountains to Williamsburg, the capital 
 of Virginia. It took him a month to make 
 this journey, a distance of six hundred twenty 
 miles. 
 
 The plan which he laid before Patrick Henry, 
 then governor of Virginia, was a bold one. It 
 was to capture from the British the whole re- 
 gion lying north of the Ohio River. Patrick 
 Henry at once fell in with it; and Clark was 
 made a colonel, with power to raise men and 
 gather supplies at Pittsburgh. 
 
 THE CAPTURE OF KASKASKIA 
 
 In May (1778) he was ready to start with 
 about one hundred eighty men and a . flotilla 
 of boats. His purpose was to attack first the 
 
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 123 
 
 British post at Kaskaskia, which was near the 
 Mississippi, in what is now the State of Illi- 
 nois. 
 
 The men rowed and drifted down the Ohio 
 day and night for several weeks. When they 
 finally left their boats, they had to walk more 
 than one hundred miles across the prairies. On 
 reaching Kaskaskia, they surprised the garrison 
 and easily took the town. Within a month of 
 that time, before the British could gather their 
 forces, Clark had captured every post in the 
 Illinois country, including the strongest one at 
 Vincennes. 
 
 About the middle of December Vincennes 
 again fell into Hamilton's hands. Six weeks 
 later, as soon as Clark, who was then staying 
 at Kaskaskia, learned from an Indian trader 
 that the British garrison at Vincennes was 
 small, he set out on one of the most daring 
 adventures of the war. With only one hundred 
 seventy men — nearly half of them Creoles 
 (partly Indian and partly French blood) — he 
 started from his headquarters at Kaskaskia on 
 a journey of more than two hundred forty miles 
 to attack the fort. 
 
124 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 A PERILOUS MIDWINTER JOURNEY 
 
 It was the first week in February, and a 
 sudden thaw had melted the ice and snow, caus- 
 ing the rivers to overflow their banks so that 
 the meadows and lowlands along their route 
 were under water from three to five feet deep. 
 For five of the sixteen days spent on the march 
 the men had to wade through this water. The 
 weather was bitter cold and they were half 
 frozen. 
 
 To make matters worse, their supplies gave 
 out and the floods had driven off all game. 
 For two days there was nothing for these ex- 
 hausted men to eat, and many were so gloomy 
 over the outlook that they thought of turning 
 back. But Clark had not lost courage. Putting 
 on a brave face, and trying to treat the mat- 
 ter lightly, he laughed and said: "Go out 
 and kill a deer!" His cheerful spirit never 
 faltered. 
 
 As they neared the end of their journey 
 some were so weak that canoes had to be built 
 to carry them. When others who were strong 
 enough to Wade came to water which was up to 
 
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 125 
 
 their chins, they began to huddle together as if 
 all hope had fled. Clark could see that if some- 
 thing was not done to arouse them, they would 
 go down in a stupor. Blackening his face with 
 gunpowder, and sounding the war-whoop like 
 an Indian, he fearlessly sprang forward into the 
 ice-cold water. His men followed him without 
 a word. 
 
 Two days afterward they stood before the 
 town of Vincennes and demanded its surrender. 
 Hamilton at first refused, but as he was with- 
 out a fighting force, he had to give up the 
 fort. 
 
 Clark's capture of Vincennes was the finish- 
 ing stroke of his conquest. He had succeeded 
 in one of the boldest plans ever undertaken in 
 America. This region never again passed out 
 of our hands. 
 
 In carrying out his plans, Clark had not 
 only risked his health and his life, but he had 
 used up all his property, so that during his last 
 years he was a very poor man. 
 
 Led by his own undaunted spirit, he had 
 done more with his few brave followers than is 
 often given to huge armies to accomplish. It 
 
126 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 is hard for us to realize the vastness of his con- 
 quest, or to measure the greatness of his ser- 
 vice to his country. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. What bold plan did George Rogers Clark work out? 
 
 2. Tell about the journey to Kaskaskia. 
 
 3. Imagine yourself with Clark on his wonderful midwinter 
 
 journey to Vincennes, and tell about your experiences. 
 
 4. What kind of man was he ? In what ways did he show his 
 
 patriotism ? 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 FRANCIS MARION 
 
 South Carolina during the later years of 
 the Revolutionary War was the centre of bitter 
 partisan warfare. By *' partisans" we mean 
 private companies of soldiers not belonging to 
 the general command, who fought under their 
 own chosen leader. 
 
 Such companies were made up by both sides 
 (or "parties"), those loyal to the King fighting 
 for the British, the patriots fighting for their 
 own country. It often happened that families 
 were divided — brothers fighting against brothers 
 — so bitter was the fighting. . 
 
 This state of affairs came about because 
 there was no strong American army in the South 
 to protect the people. Some wanted to save 
 their large plantations and the ease and comfort 
 for which they stood; and others went over to 
 the British in fear. For the British threatened 
 
 127 
 
128 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 to hang the people as "rebels," if they would 
 not fight for the King. 
 
 Those who were too brave to submit were 
 angered at the insults of the British, and thus 
 it happened that the little "partisan" bands 
 of fighters were organized against them. They 
 could not fight battles, but they could harass 
 their foes by suddenly surprising them, break- 
 ing up their recruiting parties, snatching away 
 prisoners, and capturing supply-trains and out- 
 posts. 
 
 Perhaps, the most noted partisan leader 
 was Francis Marion, of South Carolina. He 
 was then about fifty years old, fearless in danger, 
 though never rash in action, careful for his men's 
 lives, but giving little thought to his own, and, 
 though small in body, able to endure great hard- 
 ships. 
 
 He had been a colonel in the regular army 
 and would have been taken a prisoner when 
 Charleston surrendered to the British, except 
 that he had broken his ankle in an accident, 
 and was away on leave. That was a lucky 
 chance for the Americans. 
 
 When he recovered from this accident, the 
 
FRANCIS MARION 129 
 
 British were swarming into South Carolina, 
 and he raised and drilled a company of neigh- 
 bors and friends, eager to put in their stroke 
 against the hated foe. They were known as 
 ^'Marion's Brigade." 
 
 MARION AND HIS BRIGADE OF PATRIOTS 
 
 These men were without uniforms or tents, 
 and served without pay. They did not look 
 much like soldiers on parade, but were among 
 the bravest and best fighters of the Revolution. 
 Their swords were beaten out of old mill-saws, 
 at the country forge, and their bullets were 
 made largely from pewter mugs and dishes. 
 They could go hours without food, and sleep 
 on the bare ground. Their rations were very 
 scant and simple. Marion, as a rule, ate hominy 
 and potatoes, and drank water flavored with a 
 little vinegar. 
 
 The story is told that one day a British 
 officer came to the camp with a flag of truce. 
 Marion, always the true gentleman, invited 
 the visitor to dinner. We can imagine the of- 
 ficer's surprise when, on a log which made the 
 
130 . OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 camp-table, there was served a dinner of roasted 
 sweet potatoes passed on pieces of bark ! The 
 officer was still more amazed to learn that even 
 potatoes were something of a luxury. 
 
 Marion's brigade, who were farmers and 
 hunters, seldom numbered more than seventy, 
 and often less than twenty. But with this very 
 small fo'rce, he annoyed the British beyond 
 measure. 
 
 One day a scout brought in the report that 
 a party of ninety British, with two hundred 
 prisoners, was on the march to Charleston. 
 Waiting for the darkness to conceal his move- 
 ments, Marion with thirty men sallied out, 
 swooped down upon the British camp, captur- 
 ing the entire force and rescuing all the Amer- 
 ican prisoners. 
 
 It was the custom of Marion's men, when 
 hard-pressed by a superior force, to scatter, 
 each man looking out for himself. Often they 
 would dash headlong into a dense, dark swamp, 
 to meet again at some place agreed upon. Even 
 while they were still in hiding, they would some- 
 times dart out just as suddenly as they had 
 vanished, and surprise another squad of British 
 
FRANCIS MARION 131 
 
 near at hand. "Swamp Fox" was the fitting 
 name the British gave to Marion. 
 
 "The Swamp Fox" and the brave and hardy 
 men who gathered about his standard in the 
 South CaroHna swamps were true patriots, 
 holding Hghtly their Hves and their money 
 in the service of their country. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Tell about how Marion and his men lived in the woods. 
 
 2. What kind of dinner did Marion give the British officer? 
 
 3. Why was Marion called the "Swamp Fox"? 
 
 4. How did Marion and his men show their patriotism ? 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 OLIVER H. PERRY 
 
 In twenty years of fighting with France, 
 England had lost only five vessels. In about 
 six months of the first year of fighting with 
 our country, during the War of 1812, she lost 
 every one of the six vessels that fought with 
 the Americans. Europe was amazed, and the 
 Americans were carried away with joy. 
 
 These six British vessels had been losers in 
 six naval duels on the sea, that is, when only 
 two vessels took part. Then a great naval 
 battle between an American and an English 
 fleet was fought on Lake Erie. 
 
 The American commander, Oliver H. Perry, 
 was a young officer from the naval station at 
 Newport. He had been sent in February to 
 Lake Erie, with orders to build and man a fleet 
 with which to conquer or destroy the British 
 squadron on the lake. 
 
 After a hard journey of several weeks 
 through snow and ice, travelling chiefly in 
 
 132 
 
OLIVER H. PERRY 133 
 
 sleighs, he reached the port of Erie about the 
 last of March. Everything had to be begun. 
 Trees had to be felled on the shores of the lake, 
 and vessels made from the green timber. Offi- 
 cers and men had to be brought there and 
 trained for naval warfare. So much had to be 
 done in the making and manning of the fleet 
 that no battle could be fought until early in 
 the autumn. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE 
 
 On September 10, 1813, the two fleets met. 
 In strength they were about equal. 
 
 For two hours after the battle began every 
 vessel of the British fleet poured its fire into 
 the American flag-ship, the Lawrence. Cap- 
 tain Perry staj^ed on the ship until her guns were 
 dismounted and all but a fifth of his men were 
 killed or wounded. 
 
 He saw there was but one way to avoid 
 defeat. Quickly jumping into a rowboat, with 
 his twelve-year-old brother and four seamen, 
 he fearlessly started for the Niagara a vessel 
 which stood in the rear and thus far had taken 
 little part in the battle. 
 
134 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 At once the British turned their guns upon 
 the rowboat. A shot crashed through it; then 
 an oar was sphntered. But Perry, standing 
 erect, flag in hand, still kept straight on in 
 his course and reached the Niagara in safety. 
 Quickly running up his flag, he gave the signal 
 to go close to the enemy and fire at short range. 
 In less than a half -hour he forced the British 
 captain to strike his colors. 
 
 It was a briUiant victory. On the back of 
 an old letter Perry wrote from the deck of the 
 Niagara this famous dispatch to the American 
 commander of the Northwest: "We have met 
 the enemy and they are ours." 
 
 For the first time in her history. Great 
 Britain had lost an entire fleet, and, this to a 
 young commander of twenty-eight ! Imagine 
 the joy that spread over the country, and the 
 pride of the Americans in their young navy ! 
 Captain Perry became the hero of the hour, 
 and great were the honors showered upon 
 him. 
 
 More than any other battle of the war, the 
 victory on Lake Erie was won by the courage 
 and energy of one man. For daring and bravery 
 
OLIVER H. PERRY 135 
 
 this battle can hardly be matched in the his- 
 tory of naval warfare. It gave Captain Perry 
 well-earned fame. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. What were some of Perry's difficulties when he reached 
 
 Lake Erie ? 
 
 2. Imagine yourself with him when he was in the little row- 
 
 boat on his way to the Niagara. 
 
 3. How did he show his patriotism? What do you admire 
 
 about him? 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON 
 
 When the Revolutionary War broke out, 
 Andrew Jackson was yet a lad, living in the 
 wilds of North Carolina. There was severe 
 fighting between the Americans and the British 
 near his home, and liltle Andrew, then only 
 thirteen, was made a prisoner of war. One 
 day, when he was ordered by a British officer 
 to clean a pair of muddy boots, Andrew flashed 
 back: "Sir, I am not your slave; I am your 
 prisoner, and as such I refuse to do the work 
 of a slave." 
 
 The fiery little lad, who had such a big idea 
 of justice and independence grew up into a 
 fearless, energetic man, and it was not a great 
 many years before he was himself an officer, 
 leading his forces against the Creek Indians 
 in the Southwest, the region between the Ohio 
 and the Mississippi. 
 
 The following incident is told of this period : 
 
 A soldier, thin and forlorn-looking, ap- 
 
 136 
 
ANDREW JACKSON 137 
 
 proached General Jackson, who was sitting 
 under a tree eating, and, not recognizing him, 
 begged for some food, saying he was nearly 
 starved. 
 
 "It has always been a rule with me," re- 
 plied Jackson, "never to turn away a hungry 
 man when it was in my power to relieve him, 
 and I will now divide what I have with you." 
 
 Putting his hand into his pocket, he drew 
 forth a few acorns, saying: 
 
 "This is the best and only fare that I have." 
 
 The story shows how his love of fair play 
 stayed with him, and how he won the confidence 
 and affection of his men. 
 
 As an officer he was firm yet kind, and he 
 caused his enemies to fear him. In this war 
 against the Creeks he conquered them and com- 
 pletely broke their power for all time. 
 
 Again he led an army in the War of 1812. 
 He was sent, with the rank of major-general, 
 to defend New Orleans against an attack of 
 the British. 
 
 The British army consisted of twelve thou- 
 sand veterans who had taken part in the war 
 against Napoleon. They expected to win and 
 
138 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 their confidence seemed reasonable, for, besides 
 having fought in many battles, they numbered 
 twice as many as the Americans. But the fear- 
 less spirit and quick action of "Old Hickory," 
 as Jackson was fondly called by his men, won 
 a great victory. 
 
 Jackson's honesty and patriotism 
 
 As a successful general, Jackson soon be- 
 came widely known. His honesty and patriot- 
 ism, too, took a strong hold on the people, and 
 they elected him President of the United States. 
 This was at the time when the feeling between 
 the North and the South was becoming very 
 tense, and the nation needed a strong leader. 
 
 Andrew Jackson was a man of passionate 
 feeling himself, loving his friends and hating 
 his enemies with equal warmth. But no one 
 doubted his fairness, especially in matters which 
 had to do with the good of his country. His 
 strong sense of justice and his high ideal of 
 duty are well shown by his prompt action when 
 the Nullification Act was passed. 
 
 To understand this act and why the South 
 passed it, we shall have to know something of 
 
General Andrew Jackson receiving the plaudits of his army after 
 the battle of New Orleans 
 
ANDREW JACKSON 139 
 
 how matters stood between the North and the 
 South in those days; for our nation had grown 
 rapidly in the years following the Revolution, 
 and had come to include a wide territory. 
 
 WHY THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH DID NOT AGREE 
 ABOUT THE TARIFF 
 
 The soil and climate of the South made the 
 people there mostly planters, for they could 
 make more money by raising cotton, rice, sugar, 
 and tobacco than in any other way. 
 
 Of course, on the big Southern plantations 
 slave labor was very profitable, and after the 
 invention of the cotton-gin (1793), the profits 
 in cotton-raising increased enormously. 
 
 In the North, however, there was no place 
 for slave labor. Factories had sprung up along 
 the streams and rivers and only a small part 
 of the people were farmers. Here manufac- 
 turing was the chief industry. 
 
 Wliat the North did want very much was 
 a tax on goods coming from England, since 
 labor was so cheap there that needed articles 
 could be made, brought across the ocean, and 
 sold at a lower price than American goods could 
 
140 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 be sold for. Such a tax, or duty, was called a 
 protective tariff, because it protected or helped 
 American manufacturers. 
 
 The Southerners did not like this tariff. 
 They wished to buy the things they needed — 
 such as cheap clothing for the slaves, household 
 tools, and farming implements — where they 
 could buy them cheapest, which was in Eng- 
 land, and the tariff would greatly increase their 
 cost of living. 
 
 THE HIGH-TARIFF LAWS AND THE NULLIFI- 
 CATION ACT 
 
 There arose bitter opposition, therefore, be- 
 tween the North and the South. But in spite 
 of it Congress passed a high-tariff law in 1828, 
 and another in 1832. 
 
 The people of South Carolina were indig- 
 nant, for they believed they were being treated 
 unjustly. So some of the leading men met in 
 convention and declared: "We here and now 
 nullify the tariff laws." By these words they 
 meant that the laws should not be carried out 
 in South Carolina. This was the Nullification 
 Act. 
 
ANDREW JACKSON 141 
 
 Then they added, in firm and threatening 
 language: "If the United States Government 
 tries to enforce these laws on our soil, South 
 Carolina will go out of the Union and form a 
 separate nation" (1833). Here was the be- 
 ginning of a long and bitter struggle between 
 the North and the South about slavery and 
 the tariff. 
 
 President Jackson himself did not favor a 
 high tariff, but he was firm in his purpose that 
 whatever law Congress might pass should be 
 enforced in every State in the Union. When 
 the news came to him of what South Carolina 
 had done, he was quietly smoking his corn- 
 cob pipe. In a flash of anger he cried out: 
 "The Union ! It must and shall be preserved ! 
 Send for General Scott!" 
 
 General Scott was commander of the United 
 States army, and President Jackson was ready 
 to use the army and navy, if it should be neces- 
 sary, to force any State to obey the laws of 
 the land. 
 
 Thus, we see how promptly and decidedly 
 Andrew Jackson met this first attempt of a 
 State to go out of the Union. Although he 
 
142 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 did not like the tariff, yet it was his duty as 
 President to defend the Constitution, and he 
 did it without a moment's hesitation. Thus 
 he fearlessly played his part and did what he 
 thought was right and best for the country 
 which he deeply and warmly loved. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. What kind of boy was Andrew Jackson? What kind of 
 
 man was he? 
 
 2. Why did the Northern manufacturers wish a tax to be laid 
 
 on things which were made in English factories? 
 
 3. Why were the Southern planters opposed to such taxes? 
 
 4. What did South Carolina do? What stand did Andrew 
 
 Jackson take? What do you admire about him? 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER 
 BOYHOOD DAYS 
 
 Another strong defender of the Union was 
 Daniel Webster, who devoted his splendid 
 powers as an orator to holding our nation to- 
 gether in the troubled days when the North 
 and the South were finding it hard to agree. 
 
 Even in early childhood this remarkable 
 man showed the serious nature, the strong 
 mind, and the warm love of country which 
 were to mark him in later years. 
 
 When a lad of eight, he saw in the country 
 store of his home town a cotton handkerchief 
 with the Constitution of the United States 
 printed on it. The price was twenty -five cents, 
 a big amount to this little boy. But he wanted 
 it very much, and gathering up all his small 
 earnings, he bought and treasured it. 
 
 From this copy, he learned the Constitution 
 word for word, so that he could repeat it from 
 
 143 
 
144 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 beginning to end. When later the great orator 
 powerfully defends the Constitution, we are 
 reminded of the quiet little lad poring over 
 the words on that cotton handkerchief. 
 
 The boy Daniel spent much of his time with 
 books, few in number, but good in quality. He 
 read them over and over again until he knew 
 them almost by heart. He liked to memorize 
 noble poems and selections from the Bible, 
 and in this way he stored his mind with the 
 highest kind of truth and became familiar with 
 fine and noble expression. 
 
 His liking for books did not prevent him 
 from living much out-of-doors. He fished and 
 hunted and roamed the hills, and engaged in 
 sports with his brothers. He had often, also, 
 as his companion an old English soldier and 
 sailor who lived on the Webster farm. The 
 two were good comrades. The old soldier would 
 entertain the young lad with thrilling tales of 
 adventure on land and sea, or the boy would 
 read to his friend from books which the old 
 man liked well. 
 
 In school, although Daniel Webster was a 
 thoughtful boy and had learned much from 
 
DANIEL WEBSTER 145 
 
 nature and from books, he did not rank high. 
 He was always a clear reasoner, however, and 
 his deep, musical voice was pleasant to hear. 
 
 In due time he became a very successful 
 lawyer, and his knowledge of law and of govern- 
 ment caused him to be elected by Massachusetts 
 to the Senate of the United States. It was 
 there, during the administration of Andrew 
 Jackson, that he gave most noble service to his 
 country. 
 
 A MOST UNUSUAL MAN 
 
 In appearance he was a man who drew all 
 eyes toward him and his voice moved deeply 
 all who heard him speak. Said a navvy one 
 day in the streets of Liverpool, as Webster 
 passed by, "There goes a King." At another 
 time, an English gentleman, after hearing him 
 speak, exclaimed: "Good Heavens, he is a 
 small cathedral in himself!" 
 
 We know, indeed, that he must have been 
 a most unusual man, and those who once had 
 seen his tall figure, with massive head, broad, 
 high forehead, and great coal-black eyes, could 
 never forget him. 
 
146 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 DANIEL Webster's bold stand for the union 
 
 When the Nulhfication Act, which Presi- 
 dent Jackson so promptly opposed; was be- 
 ing discussed, Daniel Webster took a bold 
 stand for the Union. He said: "Congress 
 passed the tariff laws for the whole country. 
 If the Supreme Court of the United States de- 
 cides that Congress has the power, according 
 to the Constitution, to pass such laws, that 
 settles the matter. South Carolina and every 
 other State must submit to this and to every 
 other law that Congress sees fit to make i" 
 
 Daniel Webster firmly believed that the 
 Union had power over the States. His deep 
 love for the Union breathes all through his 
 masterly speeches, the most famous of which 
 is his "Reply to Hayne" el this time. 
 
 Hayne, a senator from South Carolina, was 
 on the side of the South and set forth its views 
 in a public debate. He had declared that each 
 State was its own master, and so powerful seemed 
 his arguments that many doubted whether even 
 Daniel Webster could answer them. But had 
 he not known the Constitution by heart since 
 
DANIEL WEBSTER 147 
 
 a child, and had he not carefidly studied it 
 ever since? New England, especially, fearing 
 the dangerous doctrine of State rights and 
 needing the protection of the tariff, awaited 
 anxiously the outcome. 
 
 A GREAT VICTORY FOR THE UNION 
 
 When, therefore, on the morning of January 
 26, 1830, Mr. Webster entered the Senate 
 Chamber to make his reply to Hayne, he found 
 a crowd of eager men and women waiting to 
 hear him. "It is a critical moment," said a 
 friend to Mr. Webster, "and it is high time 
 that the people of this country should know 
 what this Constitution is.'' 
 
 "Then," said Webster, "by the blessing of 
 Heaven, they shall learn this day, before the sun 
 goes down, what I understand it to be." 
 
 The nation was Webster's theme, his sole 
 purpose being to strengthen the bonds of the 
 Union. For four hours he held his audience 
 spellbound, while he set forth in a convincing 
 way the meaning of the Constitution. 
 
 The orator won a great victory. Not only 
 were many of his hearers in the Senate Chamber 
 
148 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 that day convinced, but loyal Americans all 
 over the country, as they read it, felt a deeper 
 devotion to the Union. His last words, "Liberty 
 and Union ! one and inseparable, now and for- 
 ever!" became a watchword to the nation. 
 
 As he loved the Union, so he loved the em- 
 blem of the Union, our flag. Even to the day 
 of his death, he showed his deep affection for 
 it. During the last two weeks of his life, he 
 was troubled much with sleeplessness. A win- 
 dow near his bed looked out upon a body of 
 water, where lay his little boat at anchor. 
 
 He had a ship-lantern so hung that its light 
 would fall upon the Stars and Stripes of the 
 flag flying over the boat. The sight of the flag, 
 the emblem of the Union which had called forth 
 his noblest efforts, seemed to bring comfort 
 in the long hours of the night. Every evening 
 at six it was raised and kept flying until six 
 in the morning up to the day of Webster's 
 death. 
 
 To Daniel Webster we owe much for his 
 splendid patriotic service in helping to keep 
 our country united as one great nation. 
 
DANIEL WEBSTER 149 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Tell the story about Daniel Webster and the cotton hand- 
 
 kerchief. 
 
 2. Can you tell how he looked? 
 
 3. What was his idea of the Union ? 
 
 4. How did he show his splendid patriotism? 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 FRANCES E. WILLARD 
 
 In the making of our republic, women 
 played mostly a silent part. They were the 
 home-makers, and in the days when work was 
 largely done by hand, the ordinary tasks of 
 the household filled much of their time. 
 
 In the present age many things that used 
 to keep women busy in the home are done in 
 shops and factories. This has given women a 
 greater freedom to share in the interests of the 
 public good outside the home. 
 
 Among the first women to win national 
 fame was Frances E. Willard. She was a gifted 
 teacher who enjoyed her work with young 
 people, but she came to feel a deep interest 
 in the cause of temperance and chose to de- 
 vote her life to putting down the drink evil. 
 
 In 1874 she was made secretary of the 
 Woman's Christian Temperance Union — a 
 
 150 
 
FRANCES E. WILLARD 151 
 
 national body — and five years later was elected 
 its president. In 1888 she was made president 
 of the World's Christian Temperance Union. 
 
 Although she had almost no means of sup- 
 port, she refused to take any money for her 
 services. But this meant real hardship, for 
 she often had to go without bread, and some- 
 times she walked for miles at a time because 
 she had not even the price of a car-fare. Of 
 course, when the women of the Woman's Chris- 
 tian Temperance Union learned about her 
 poverty, they insisted upon paying her a small 
 salary. 
 
 Her beauty of character, her love for others, 
 her sympathy, and her enthusiasm made her 
 very successful in her work. She gave freely 
 of her strength, using all her powers of body 
 and mind to carry on the great life-work to 
 which she had devoted herself. 
 
 In a single year she travelled more than 
 thirty thousand miles, speaking in every State 
 in the Union. During a period of twelve years 
 she made one speech a day, on an average, al- 
 lowing herself only a scant six weeks in twelve 
 months to spend in her quiet home — Rest 
 
152 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 Cottage — with the loving companionship of 
 her mother. 
 
 Her whole life was an example of unselfish 
 devotion to others. Especially did those women 
 and children who were innocent sufferers from 
 the great curse of drink appeal to her warm 
 heart. 
 
 Her mind was very active. Even when 
 going from place to place on the rail way- train, 
 her pen was busy, her printed work reaching 
 those whom she could not reach by her voice. 
 Though filled with never-ending work, her days 
 were bright with love for the cause to which 
 she was giving her life, and faith in its final 
 victory. It was a joy and an inspiration to 
 know her; and wherever she went, she touched 
 the hearts and quickened the hopes of those 
 who came under her personal influence. 
 
 Said a cultivated Southern woman after 
 hearing her speak: "The first time I heard her 
 I lay awake all night for sheer gladness. It was 
 such a wonderful revelation to me that a woman 
 like Miss Willard could exist. I thanked God 
 and took courage for humanity." 
 
 It was courage like this that she gave to 
 
FRANCES E. WILLARD 153 
 
 the thousands who came under the spell of her 
 remarkable personality. They were encouraged 
 not only to do what they could by themselves, 
 but also to unite cheerfully with others in 
 carrying out their plans. To her friends and 
 coworkers she often said: "Alone we can do 
 httle." 
 
 Her life and work were not in vain, for the 
 eyes of the nation have been opened to the 
 great waste and wrong of the drink evil, and 
 the temperance cause has come to be one of 
 the leading issues of the day. We are not 
 likely to overestimate the value of Frances 
 E. Willard's patriotic service in making our 
 land better and happier to live in. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. What proof have we of Miss Willard's poverty after she 
 
 was made president of the Woman's Christian Tem- 
 perance Union ? 
 
 2. Tell all you can about how hard she worked. 
 
 3. What did a cultivated Southern woman say about her? 
 
 4. In what ways did she show her oatriotism? 
 
 5. What do you admire in her? 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 CLARA BARTON 
 
 Few bodies of public workers, especially in 
 time of war, appeal to us so much as the Red 
 Cross. You will be interested to know that 
 the American Red Cross was started by a small, 
 rather frail-looking woman — Clara Barton — 
 who had seen the wonderful work of the Red 
 Cross in Europe. 
 
 As a child she was shy and sensitive, with 
 an active mind and a very tender heart toward 
 all suffering. 
 
 Her imagination was quick, and she used 
 to listen breathlessly, upon her father's knee, 
 to his stories of patriotism and deeds of daring; 
 for he had fought in the Indian wars of the 
 Northwest, and never tired of sharing with her 
 his recollections of those days. The battle- 
 field thus came to have a familiar place in her 
 mind. 
 
 154 
 
CLARA BARTON 155 
 
 She was fond of all daring sports, being 
 able to run and ride like a boy. "When five 
 years old," she says, "I rode wild horses like 
 a little Mexican." 
 
 When she was only eleven years old, she 
 had her first experience in that service which 
 twenty-five years later became her great life- 
 work. At a barn-raising on her father's farm, 
 her brother David, who was known to be fear- 
 less in sports, took a dare and climbed to the 
 peak of the building to fasten the rafters to 
 the ridge-pole. A board broke under his feet, 
 and he fell to the earth, where his body struck 
 some heavy timbers. 
 
 For two years he lay a helpless cripple, lin- 
 gering between life and death. During all this 
 time, the faithful little Clara tenderly nursed 
 him. "For two years," she once said, in speak- 
 ing of that experience, "I only left his bedside 
 for one half -day. I almost forgot that there 
 was an outside of the house." 
 
 The strain of these years of inactive, indoor 
 life stopped her growth, and she was never 
 more than five feet three inches in height. But 
 though small in body, she had unusual power 
 
156 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 of endurance, for she had always been fond 
 of daring sports. 
 
 When she was only fifteen, she became a 
 teacher and continued to teach for eighteen 
 years. She had wonderful success, and her 
 pupils loved her; but she worked so hard that 
 she lost her voice for a time and had to give 
 up. 
 
 After a brief rest, wishing to be employed 
 at something useful, she took up government 
 work in the Patent Office at Washington, being 
 one of the first women to be thus employed. 
 
 CLARA barton's GREAT LIFE-WORK BEGINS 
 
 So it happened that she had been in Wash- 
 ington about five years when the Civil War, 
 which was her great opportunity for service, 
 broke out. Her patriotism breathes true and 
 warm in a letter written to a friend in the earh' 
 days of the war. She said: "I think the city 
 will be attacked in the next sixty days. If it 
 must be, let it come, and when there is no longer 
 a soldier's arm to raise the Stars and Stripes 
 above the Capitol, may God give strength to 
 mine ! 
 
CLARA BARTON 157 
 
 The first soldiers to arrive in Washington 
 (April, 1861), in answer to President Lincoln's 
 call, were from Massachusetts, near Clara Bar- 
 ton's old home. They had been attacked by 
 a mob in Baltimore, where the war was not in 
 favor, and many were wounded, among them 
 some whom Clara Barton had known in her 
 youth. She wrote home: "We bound their 
 wounds and fed them." Thus began her active 
 service in the war. 
 
 Always sensitive, feeling deeply the hurts 
 of others, and urged by her strong desire to 
 relieve pain, she at once became the centre of 
 relief for the suffering and needy soldiers. 
 
 During the following weeks of the summer, 
 she collected supplies, stored them, and gave 
 them out. She also met returning wounded 
 soldiers at the docks, washed their neglected 
 wounds, and took them to the hospitals, going 
 back and forth to each incoming boat. 
 
 CARING FOR THE WOUNDED ON THE 
 BATTLE-FIELD 
 
 But giving the wounded attention as soon 
 as they were brought to Washington was not 
 
158 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 enough. She grieved that so many must suffer 
 and even die without care on the battle-field. 
 She felt that she herself must go to the front 
 and give immediate aid to the men who had 
 fallen. It was months before she was allowed 
 to go, but when, after many rebuffs, she was 
 at last granted passports, she was so overcome 
 that she wept tears of joy. 
 
 It was on the day after the battle of Cedar 
 Mountain that she arrived at the front. A 
 letter from the field tells something of her ex- 
 periences there: 
 
 "Five days and nights with three hours of 
 sleep — a narrow escape from capture — and some 
 days of getting the wounded into hospitals at 
 Washington brought Sunday, August 30. And 
 if you chance to feel that the positions I occu- 
 pied were rough and unseemly for a woman — I 
 can only reply that they were rough and un- 
 seemly for men. But under all lay the life of 
 the nation. I had inherited the rich blessing 
 of health and strength of constitution — such 
 as are seldom given to woman — and I felt that 
 some return was due from me and that I ought 
 to be there." 
 
CLARA BARTON 159 
 
 Till the end of the war she gave all her time 
 and strength to nursing the wounded and dying 
 on the battle-field. No demand was too great, 
 no service was too small, if it added comfort to 
 the suffering soldiers. They called her "The 
 Angel of the Battlefield." Through her fore- 
 sight and efforts, the service in caring for the 
 wounded was much improved. 
 
 When the war was over, she spent four years 
 in tracing the forty thousand "missing" soldiers 
 of the war, and then she was obliged to rest. 
 
 During this period of rest she went to Eu- 
 rope, and while she was there the Franco- 
 Prussian War (1870) broke out. She was 
 caught up once more by a longing to do ser- 
 vice for the wounded and suffering. 
 
 Again her slight figure, in a plain dark dress, 
 could be seen on the battle-field, or in the 
 stricken cities, making its way through the 
 shattered streets, or entering bombarded houses 
 and villages to seek out the starving, half -clothed 
 women and children. For this work she had 
 been sought by the leaders of the International 
 Red Cross, as the fame of her service in the 
 Civil War had gone before her. 
 
160 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 THE WORK OF THE RED CROSS 
 
 This body of workers, organized for deeds 
 of mercy, was by agreement of the nations per- 
 mitted to work on all battle-fields. Through 
 their wonderful and perfect system Clara Barton 
 found they could get together in four days sup- 
 plies which it had taken her four years to gather 
 on the battle-field. 
 
 Believing that the United States should 
 join in this great work of mercy, to which twenty- 
 two nations had signed agreement, she came 
 back to the United States, hoping to accomplish 
 that end. Through her influence the American 
 Red Cross was organized (1881), and she be- 
 came its first president. 
 
 Everywhere now the emblem of the Red 
 Cross meets us. It stands for gentle, loving, 
 and skilful service to suffering humanity. 
 Those suffering from pestilence, famine, earth- 
 quake, and other calamities have reason to 
 love it. But the broadest field of Red Cross 
 service is in the war. The Red Cross gathers 
 up the wounded soldiers in arms of mercy, 
 and to them, far from the loving ministries 
 
CLARA BARTON 161 
 
 of home, it is "the greatest mother in the 
 world." 
 
 The red cross on a white background is 
 seen flying at every mihtary post; mihtary 
 surgeons and attendants wear it, and, accord- 
 ing to the agreement of nations, are thus 
 made free to carry on their work on the battle- 
 field, however the fortunes of war may waver. 
 
 Miss Barton as head of the American Red 
 Cross became a great power in any time of need. 
 All helpers bent to her will; wires flashed her 
 messages, papers published her requests, and 
 the country stood behind her. 
 
 After reaching a ripe old age, she was urged 
 to write the story of her life. "A great thing 
 like this," said admiring friends, "must never 
 be put aside for the multitude." But there 
 never seemed to be time for such a task. If 
 she began to write, some need for her service 
 stopped her pen. There was always time to 
 attend to that ! 
 
 Her own fame was left to take care of itself. 
 And well it did, for Clara Barton's name will 
 always be linked with the great and beautiful 
 work which she began. Wherever the Amer- 
 
162 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 ican Red Cross ministers to suffering, there 
 her memorial is erected. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Tell about Clara Barton's nursing her brother when she was 
 
 a young girl. 
 
 2. Do you remember what she said in a patriotic letter in the 
 
 early days of the Civil War? 
 
 3. Wliy did she feel that she must go to the battle-field and 
 
 aid the men who had fallen there? 
 
 4. What can you tell about the great work of the American 
 
 Red Cross, of which Miss Barton became the first presi- 
 dent? 
 
 5. What do you admire about this true patriot? 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Perhaps of all our patriots none is more 
 beloved than he who guided us through the 
 dark days of the Civil War — Abraham Lincoln. 
 To the people of our country the very name of 
 Lincoln suggests self-sacrificing devotion to 
 America. 
 
 Some day perhaps you will read the inspir- 
 ing story of his wonderful life; just now we 
 can only make brief mention of a few inci- 
 dents in it. From them, however, you may 
 come to know something of the strength and 
 nobility of his character and to love him for 
 his great kindness and good-will to others. 
 
 From the early days of his childhood 
 throughout the long, burdened years of his 
 later life, a spirit of helpfulness was one of his 
 marked traits. He could not see a need but 
 he longed to fill it. 
 
 When only a little boy of seven, he was his 
 
 163 
 
164 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 father's helper in building the cabin which was 
 to be the family shelter in the frontier forest 
 of Indiana. Manfully the little fellow worked 
 with his axe, clearing away the bushes and 
 underbrush, while his father cut down saplings 
 and made poles for the rude cabin which was 
 to be their home. 
 
 When, as a youth of seventeen, he assisted 
 the neighbors in their farm-work, we find the 
 same helpful spirit. He did the work that was 
 expected of him, and found time also to lend 
 a helping hand to the busy housewife — making 
 the fire, bringing in water, or doing some other 
 humble task. Wherever he was or whatever he 
 did, he won friends by his kindly, generous spirit. 
 
 When, at the age of twenty-two, he left 
 his father's home and became a storekeeper in 
 New Salem, he continued to be the same 
 ready helper that he had been in earlier years. 
 If a wagon mired in New Salem's crooked, 
 muddy street, it was Abraham's strong young 
 shoulders that lifted hardest. If a poor widow's 
 woodpile ran low, Abraham found time to 
 chop wood for her. He watched by the bed- 
 side of the sick. He rocked the cradle for tired 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 165 
 
 mothers. Wherever there was an opportunity 
 to reach out a helping hand, he stood ready 
 with friendly sympathy and kindly service. 
 
 Besides being a cheerful worker and ready 
 helper, he was also a good comrade because he 
 had so much good humor and told so many 
 funny stories. He liked to make speeches, too, 
 and in this way often amused and entertained 
 his friends. 
 
 A CAREFUL STUDENT OF BOOKS AND A GOOD 
 PUBLIC SPEAKER 
 
 While so generous to his friends, he was 
 also true to himself. He had a great thirst for 
 knowledge, and in spite of his scant schooling — 
 less than a year in his whole life — he lost no 
 opportunity to read and study. 
 
 There were few books in his home, but he 
 borrowed every one that he knew about, think- 
 ing a walk of ten or twelve miles a small price 
 to pay for the privilege of reading a good book. 
 Even the dictionary was carefully studied, and 
 a book of the Statutes of Indiana, which con- 
 tained also the Declaration of Independence 
 and the Constitution, gave him his first insight 
 
166 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 into the great subject of law, which later be- 
 came his chief study. 
 
 He was a good public speaker, for he thought 
 clearly and reasoned soundly. Then, too, his 
 honesty and sincerity helped in winning others 
 to his opinion, for he would make no argument 
 in which he did not himself believe. Early 
 in life he was called "Honest Abe," and he 
 grew up a true-hearted man, trusted by all 
 who knew him. 
 
 He was stalwart in body — six feet four 
 inches in height — and fond of all vigorous exer- 
 cise. In every group, whether of wrestlers, or 
 story-tellers, or debaters, he was, by consent 
 of all, the leader, for even in his early days was 
 revealed something of the qualities of later 
 years. 
 
 HE SEES SOMETHING OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD 
 
 Of course, the life of a boy growing up in 
 a new, sparsely settled town is quite shut off 
 from the outside world. But Abraham's read- 
 ing had widened his interests, and as he watched 
 the boats carrying freight up and down the 
 river, his thoughts eagerly followed them. 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 167 
 
 At last came his chance to see something 
 of the outside world. 
 
 First, it was a trip down the Ohio, and later, 
 down the Mississippi, both times in trading 
 flatboats. On the second trip, in the city of 
 New Orleans, Lincoln witnessed a sight which 
 he never forgot, and which had great influence 
 on his later life. 
 
 New Orleans was at that time full of slaves, 
 and their number was constantly increasing. 
 One of the saddest features was the slave-market. 
 Here Lincoln saw, for the first time, men and 
 women sold like animals. He saw negro slaves 
 chained and whipped. 
 
 Looking on at a slave-auction he received 
 a great shock. As one slave after another 
 was knocked down to the highest bidder, his 
 indignation grew until at length he cried out: 
 *'Boys, let's get away from this. If I ever 
 get a chance to hit that thing (meaning slavery), 
 I'll hit it hard." 
 
 It was after his return from this trip, and 
 while he was acting as storekeeper in New 
 Salem, that a piece of great good fortune befell 
 him. 
 
168 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 LAW STUDENT AND LAWMAKER 
 
 One day a man moving west drove up to 
 his store in a wagon loaded with the family 
 goods. He wanted to get rid of one barrel which, 
 he said, had nothing of special value in it. To 
 oblige him, Lincoln bought it for half a dollar. 
 His surprise was great when, at the bottom of 
 the barrel, he found a copy of Blackstone, a 
 great law book. To Lincoln it was a true 
 gold-mine. He read it day by day, never 
 tiring. 
 
 At the age of twenty-five, he had so many 
 friends and was so well thought of that he won 
 the election to the legislature of Illinois. Here 
 he was observed as a quiet, thoughtful young 
 man with good common sense and good nature. 
 He was really at school, listening, thinking, and 
 learning. 
 
 After leaving the legislature, he became a 
 lawyer. Twelve years later he was sent to Con- 
 gress at Washington. Here he was the same 
 plain, simple man that he had always been, 
 modest in dress, homely in speech, and sincere 
 in manner, making friends by his quaint, droll 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 169 
 
 stories, but taking no important place in the 
 doings of Congress. 
 
 LINCOLN BECOMES A NATIONAL FIGURE 
 
 Up to that time, he had lived the quiet life 
 of a simple-hearted backwoodsman. But he 
 was moving slowly yet surely to the place and 
 time where he would let fall the blow he had 
 promised when he saw the slave-auction at 
 New Orleans. 
 
 In the meantime, the question of slavery 
 was being talked over in all parts of the coun- 
 try. Lincoln had debated it many times in 
 the towns and cities of his State. 
 
 In 1857, came his great debate with the 
 brilliant and polished Stephen A. Douglas. 
 The eyes of the whole country were upon these 
 two men. Lincoln had become a national figure. 
 Those who wished to keep slavery feared him. 
 Those who wished to put an end to it hailed 
 him as their leader. 
 
 A few years after the debates with Douglas, 
 he had found so large a place in the hearts of 
 his countrymen that they chose him for the 
 highest office in the land — that of President of 
 
170 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 the United States. Then came the great op- 
 portunity of service for which the quiet years 
 of preparation had fitted him. 
 
 But at once a nearer evil than slavery was 
 thrown across his pathway. The South, where 
 slavery had its home, had threatened to leave 
 the Union, if Lincoln was elected. For he had 
 said: "A house divided against itself cannot 
 stand." By this he meant that in time the 
 whole country would be either slave or free, 
 and the South feared him. 
 
 Even before Lincoln could take his place 
 as President, several States attempted to leave 
 the Union. They did all that was in their power 
 except to force the government to give its con- 
 sent. So Lincoln's immediate duty was to save 
 the Union, even by war if need be. 
 
 THE DARK STORM BREAKS 
 
 Barely had he entered upon the duties of 
 his office when the dark storm that had threat- 
 ened broke. South Carolina seceded. Fort 
 Sumter was fired upon. The Union was in dan- 
 ger. Immediately a great army must be raised. 
 
 We will pass over the grim details of that 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 171 
 
 cruel war, the battles in the field, the bitter 
 struggles in Congress and in the country at 
 large. We can never know the suffering, the 
 heartaches, the sorrows, and privations of 
 those four years — 1861-1865. We can never 
 realize with what personal sacrifice and agony 
 of spirit President Lincoln served his country 
 through those perilous, dreary years. 
 
 But even when defeat followed defeat, his 
 faith and courage never wavered. In one of 
 the darkest hours, when the Merriinac threat- 
 ened to destroy the Union fleet and the country 
 was in a panic, we hear the clear, calm voice 
 of Lincoln declaring: "I have not the slightest 
 fear of any result that shall impair our military 
 and naval strength. This is God's fight and 
 He will win in His own time. He will take care 
 of us." 
 
 THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 
 
 Many expected that Lincoln would imme- 
 diately free the slaves when the South seceded, 
 and criticised him for not doing so. But Lin- 
 coln felt that he, as President, had no author- 
 ity to do this. 
 
172 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 It was to save the Union that his oath of 
 office bound him, and he said: "If I could save 
 the Union without freeing any slave, I would 
 do it; and if I could save it by freeing some 
 and leaving others alone, I would also do that. 
 What I do about slavery and the colored race, 
 I do because I believe it helps to save the 
 Union, and what I forbear to do, I forbear 
 because I do not believe it would help to save 
 the Union." 
 
 But as the war went on, he became certain 
 that the slaves, by remaining on the planta- 
 tions and by producing food for the Southern 
 soldiers, were aiding the Southern armies. It 
 was then that he felt it right as a war measure 
 to set the slaves free in all the territory where 
 people were fighting against the Union, just 
 as fast as that territory was conquered by Union 
 troops. By thus weakening the South he would 
 help bring victory to the Union. 
 
 The famous state paper in which Lincoln 
 declared that such slaves were free was called 
 the Emancipation Proclamation. It was issued 
 on January 1, 1863, and thus Lincoln made 
 true his words, "If ever I get a chance to strike 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 173 
 
 that thing [meaning slavery], I'll strike it 
 hard." 
 
 When Lincoln signed this great paper, he 
 struck the shackles from a million human 
 beings. 
 
 THE GETTYSBURG SPEECH 
 
 But the freeing of the slaves did not bring 
 an end to the fighting. The year wore on, and 
 some terrible battles were fought. One of the 
 most deadly was on the field of Gettysburg. 
 Here fell sixty-six hundred "Boys in Blue" 
 and "Boys in Gray," and here they were 
 buried. 
 
 A day was appointed (November 19, 1863) 
 for the consecration of the place made sacred 
 by the sacrifice of so many lives, and a vast 
 company assembled to do honor to the occasion. 
 Edward Everett was the orator of the day. 
 The President, also, was to make a brief speech. 
 Perhaps nowhere is his nobility of spirit better 
 shown than in the words he spoke at this dedi- 
 cation of the national cemetery at Gettysburg. 
 
 When Mr. Lincoln arose and came forward, 
 the vast audience sat hushed as, for a moment. 
 
174 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 he stood with bowed head and hands clasped 
 behind him. So impressed were the people 
 with the sad-eyed countenance, furrowed with 
 care and sorrow, that they almost forgot to 
 cheer. For a moment he met their gaze in 
 silence, as if unconscious of their presence, and 
 then spoke as follows: 
 
 "Four score and seven years ago our fathers 
 brought forth upon this continent a new na- 
 tion, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the 
 proposition that all men are created equal. 
 Now we are engaged in a great civil war, test- 
 ing whether that nation, or any nation so con- 
 ceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We 
 are met on a great battle-field of that war. We 
 have come to dedicate a portion of that field 
 as a final resting-place for those who here gave 
 their lives that that nation might live. It is 
 altogether fitting and proper that we should 
 do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedi- 
 cate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow 
 this ground. The brave men, living and dead, 
 who struggled here, have consecrated it far 
 above our power to add or detract. The world 
 will little note, nor long remember, what we 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 175 
 
 say here, but it can never forget what they did 
 here. It is for us, the Hving, rather to be dedi- 
 cated here to the unfinished work which they 
 who fought here have thus far so nobly ad- 
 vanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated 
 to the great task remaining before us, that from 
 these honored dead we take increased devotion 
 to that cause for which they gave the last full 
 measure of devotion; that we here highly re- 
 solve that these dead shall not have died in 
 vain; that this nation, under God, shall have 
 a new birth of freedom, and that government 
 of the people, by the people, and for the people, 
 shall not perish from the earth." 
 
 The words are few and simple, but they 
 fitted the occasion and went straight to the 
 hearts of the people. 
 
 Lincoln's relations with the soldiers 
 
 In no way did Lincoln's tender, sympathetic 
 nature better reveal itself than in his relations 
 with the soldiers. Most of them were only 
 boys under twenty-one years of age; so that 
 in their uniforms of blue capes and caps they 
 were in fact as in name "Boys in Blue." 
 
176 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 Lincoln's first visits to them were when 
 they were encamped just outside of Washing- 
 ton, before they had had any experience of 
 campaigns and battles, or knew anything of 
 the cruelties and hardships of war. It was there 
 that many came to know him, to feel his friendly 
 hand-clasp, to receive his "God bless you," 
 and to believe that he cared for them not only 
 as soldiers but as human beings. 
 
 When he visited their camp, and passed 
 down the long rows of tents, he showed an in- 
 terest in everything that touched their daily 
 living. To their hearty greetings he answered 
 by smiles and nods, and in many ways he made 
 it plain that he was their friend. Looking upon 
 his sorrow-stricken but kindly face, they said: 
 "He cares for us; he makes us fight, but he 
 cares." "Father Abraham" they loved to call 
 him, and to him every man bearing a musket 
 was as a son. 
 
 And in making friends of his "Boys in Blue," 
 Lincoln won his way to the hearts of thousands 
 of fathers and mothers throughout the North, 
 who had reason to bless his name and memory. 
 
 Through the days of the long and bitter 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 177 
 
 struggle he went his way, burdened and sor- 
 rowing, but always trusting that the right would 
 prevail. "Let us have faith," he said in one 
 of his speeches, "that right makes might; and 
 in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our 
 duty as we understand it." 
 
 THE KINDNESS OF A GREAT SOUL 
 
 However great his load, he always had a 
 cheerful word or a kind deed for those who were 
 in trouble. One day two women called to beg 
 the release of two men in jail for resisting the 
 draft. Their request led Lincoln to release all 
 the men in the same jail for that offense. 
 
 The elder of the women, an aged mother, 
 was much affected, and said to the President 
 quietly as she was leaving: "I shall probably 
 never see you again until we meet in heaven." 
 This touched the President keenly, and one of 
 his friends, observing the effect, told him that 
 he should protect himself against such trying 
 scenes. 
 
 "Things of the sort you have just seen don't 
 hurt me," Lincoln replied. "It is the only thing 
 to-day that has made me forget my condition 
 
178 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 or has given me any pleasure. Then he added 
 these beautiful words: "Die when I may, I 
 wish it said of me by those who know me best 
 that I always plucked a thistle and planted 
 a flower where I thought a flower would grow." 
 
 Hardly had the war ended and Lincoln 
 begun to look forward to days of peace after 
 the awful struggle, when the hand of an as- 
 sassin struck him down. 
 
 The nation mourned their martyr-President 
 as with a personal grief. Their great leader 
 and friend was gone. But he had fulfilled his 
 mission. He had saved the Union and freed 
 the slaves. 
 
 He gave the "last full measure of devotion" 
 in the service of his country, and in that coun- 
 try no name is held higher in love and honor 
 than that of Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. How did Abraham Lincoln show his helpful attitude when 
 
 a little boy, and also when a youth of seventeen ? 
 
 2. How do you know he had a great thirst for knowledge? 
 
 3. Tell about his trip to New Orleans and the slave-auction 
 
 he saw there. 
 
 4. What did Lincoln mean when he said: "A house divided 
 
 against itself cannot stand"? 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 179 
 
 5. What did he say about slavery m its bearing upon the 
 
 saving of the Union ? 
 
 6. What reason had he for issuing the Emancipation Procla- 
 
 mation ? What was this great state paper ? 
 
 7. The Gettysburg address is a wonderful speech. Would 
 
 you like to learn it by heart? 
 
 8. Why did the "Boys m Blue," call Lincoln "Father 
 
 Abraham"? 
 
 9. Tell the story of the two women who begged Lincoln to 
 
 release two men in jail for resisting the draft. 
 10. In what ways was Lincoln a true patriot? 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 HOW WE MAY BE PATRIOTS 
 
 As you have read these pages, you have 
 seen that our country has a long hue of noble 
 men and women who unselfishly gave time and 
 strength and often life itself in her service. 
 
 In the early days of the colonies, the foun- 
 ders of our nation endured great hardship that 
 they might establish a free land. 
 
 The brave men of Revolutionary days 
 fought against a great nation, and with little 
 but their resolute spirits to encourage them, 
 to keep this country free. 
 
 In the Civil War, thousands of young men, 
 to whom life was bright and dear, cheerfully 
 laid it down to preserve the Union, and make 
 it a nation of free people. 
 
 The memory of these heroes, many of them 
 unknown to us by name, is a precious inheri- 
 tance. What has cost so much we cannot but 
 value highly. 
 
 180 
 
HOW WE MAY BE PATRIOTS 181 
 
 We know that to this land have come mil- 
 lions of people from foreign countries — some 
 in earlier days, some but recently — among them 
 your ancestors and mine, the ancestors of us 
 all. 
 
 AMERICA A LAND OF LIBERTY AND OPPORTUNITY 
 
 We ask, Wliy have they come? For what 
 has America stood that she has drawn so 
 many millions of people from their far-distant 
 homes across the seas? Why have they left 
 their relatives and friends, to take the long, 
 hard ocean journey to a land that is new and 
 strange, and where perhaps their own language 
 is not spoken? Why have they chosen this as 
 their home? Why do they wish to become 
 American citizens? 
 
 In many cases, it is the love of freedom 
 which has drawn them — the same spirit which 
 brought the Pilgrims and other colonists across 
 the seas to these shores back in the days when 
 life here was a hard and perilous struggle. 
 
 To others it has meant the land of oppor- 
 tunity — better wages, better homes, better 
 chances for their children. 
 
182 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 Others have come for different reasons, but 
 all because America had offered them something 
 they could not get in their own country. 
 
 And to all America has stood as the land 
 of liberty and opportunity. As the newcomers 
 approach the great port of New York, the first 
 glimpse they catch of their new country is the 
 beautiful Statue of Liberty in the harbor. Free 
 and noble she stands as the spirit of our 
 America, holding aloft the torch of liberty. 
 Here men may live and work and breathe the 
 glorious air of freedom and hope. 
 
 The brave people of the early days of our 
 nation were so grateful for the privileges of a 
 free land that they were willing to give much 
 of sacrifice and service in return. 
 
 It has fallen to us to live in easier times. 
 Not one of us probably has known hunger and 
 cold and discomfort such as these people bore 
 without complaint in their joy to be free and 
 their desire to pass on a free country to their 
 children. 
 
 Perhaps we have taken our blessings too 
 much as a matter of course, not realizing with 
 what price of suffering and sacrifice they have 
 
HOW WE MAY BE PATRIOTS 183 
 
 been bought. But if we think for a moment 
 of what Hfe would be without them, we know 
 how much we prize them. And I hope down 
 deep in our hearts is the willingness to bear 
 and sacrifice, if need be, in the same spirit as 
 those people of earlier times. None of us is 
 so unfair as to take all and give nothing. 
 
 HOW CAN / HELP MY COUNTRY .^^ 
 
 I hope you are already thinking: "How 
 can I help my country.^" There are many 
 ways. 
 
 First, remembering that you will soon grow 
 up and take upon yourselves the duties of cit- 
 izens, prepare for that time by doing your study 
 and work faithfully each day. You who are 
 children to-day will soon be grown men and 
 women. You must be ready to do your part 
 of the work of the world. You will not be, if 
 you let slip your opportunities now. 
 
 Second, we can save. Even children are 
 asked to save their pennies and buy war stamps. 
 For our country can use these pennies to help 
 our brave soldiers overseas. We can also save 
 food and other materials. Care of our books 
 
184 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 and our clothing, and of all property is to-day 
 real patriotism. 
 
 Third, we cannot only save food, but help 
 produce it. Boys and girls who are willing to 
 give up some hours of play to work in gardens 
 — even perhaps when the sun is hot and the 
 muscles ache — in order to help feed those who 
 are fighting to win victory in this awful war 
 are showing some of the brave spirit of good 
 soldiers. 
 
 Fourth, we can all have the spirit of help- 
 fulness. We all see each day some chance to 
 serve or help another. And we shall find that 
 the more we do these little services, the happier 
 we shall be. For you and I know that making 
 others happy makes us happy. 
 
 And, of course, if we have this helpful spirit, 
 we shall work loyally with our parents and 
 teachers. What kind of soldier would he be 
 who would not obey orders, but tried to add 
 to his commander's difficulties.^ Loyalty to 
 home and school is a part of loyalty to our 
 country. 
 
HOW WE MAY BE PATRIOTS 185 
 
 OUR GREAT PURPOSE IN ENTERING THIS WAR 
 
 President Wilson has spoken for us in noble 
 words our great purpose in entering this war. 
 We desire to see the right cause triumph and 
 a just peace established, so that even the smaller 
 and weaker nations may live safe and unharmed, 
 and so that we, and the children that come 
 after us, may know the joy of freedom. With 
 all that the war is costing and will cost in lives 
 and sorrows and money, we are happier than 
 in the days when we were only onlookers in 
 the struggle. For we are doing our duty, and 
 taking our part, whatever the cost. 
 
 And we do not fight alone. The brave and 
 good of other days are by our side. We have 
 as comrades a n6ble army of great and unselfish 
 patriots. 
 
 We love our beautiful country and are 
 proud of her glorious history. In loving her 
 and serving her, we strive to serve all the na- 
 tions. For in a sense all the nations of the world 
 are one great family. One nation cannot fail 
 in justice and honor without all nations bearing 
 the consequences. One nation cannot suffer 
 
186 OUR PATRIOTS 
 
 from wrong or injustice without all nations 
 suffering with it. 
 
 Let us, therefore, earnestly resolve that we 
 will each do our part to keep the nation to which 
 we belong strong and true in her inner life, and 
 in her relations toward all other nations. 
 
 If we keep our country's good ever before 
 us, making such sacrifices as we are called upon 
 to make for her, we belong to the noble com- 
 pany of patriots as truly as did Washington 
 or Lincoln. Are you a patriot? 
 
 SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
 
 1. Why have so many million people come from foreign coim- 
 
 tries to make their homes in America? 
 
 2. Why were the brave people of the early days of our nation 
 
 willing to give much of sacrifice and service? 
 
 3. In what four ways can you help your country? 
 
 4. What was our great purpose in entering this war? Why 
 
 was it our duty to do so? 
 
 5. Make a list of the patriots you have come to know in this 
 
 book. 
 
 6. Do you clearly understand what it is to be patriotic ? Have 
 
 you a strong desire to be a patriot? 
 
INDEX 
 
 Adams, John, 85 
 
 Adams, Samuel, 69-76, 78, 79, 81, 
 
 83, 85, 112 
 Amsterdam, New, 47 
 
 Baltimore, Lord, 39, 42 
 Barton, Clara, 154-162 
 Bon Homme Richard (bo-nom're- 
 
 shar'), 116-118 
 Boston, 14, 18, 93 
 "Boston Tea Party," 71-76 
 Brewster, Elder, 9 
 Brooklyn Heights, 95 
 Burke, Edmund, 65 
 
 Calvert, George, 39 
 
 Canonicus, 22 
 
 Catholics, 39-43 
 
 Charles I, 39 
 
 Charles II, 50 
 
 Charlestown, 14 
 
 Church, St. John's, 66 
 
 Civil War, 170-177 
 
 Clark, George Rogers, 120-126 
 
 Continental Army, 88, 92 
 
 Continental Congress, 84-89 
 
 Cornwallis, General, 103, 107, 108 
 
 Cotton-gin, 139 
 
 Creoles, 123 
 
 Creek Indians, 136, 137 
 
 Dartmouth, the, 72, 74 
 Dawes, William, 79, 81, 83 
 Declaration of Independence, 84- 
 
 90 
 Dorchester Heights, 94 
 Douglas, Stephen A., 169 
 Drake, the, 116 
 
 Emancipation Proclamation, 171- 
 173 
 
 Fox, Charles, 65 
 
 Franklin, Benjamin, 85, 90, 103, 
 
 116 
 French War, last, 58 
 Friends, 49, 50 
 
 Gage, General, 77, 78, 79 
 
 Gates, General, 112 
 
 George III, 58, 64, 65, 71-72, 88 
 
 Georgia, 55 
 
 Gettysburg Speech, 173-175 
 
 Hale, Nathan, 98-100 
 
 Half Moon, 45 
 
 Hamilton, Colonel, 120. 125 
 
 Hancock, John, 77, 78, 79, 81, 83, 
 
 85, 89 
 Hartford, 25-27 
 Hayne, Senator, 146, 147 
 Henry, Patrick, 58-68, 86, 122 
 Hessians, 88, 106 
 Hooker, Thomas, 25-29 
 Howe, General, 95, 98, 103 
 Hudson, Henry, 44-48 
 Hudson River, 46, 94 
 Hutchinson, Governor, 73 
 
 Independence of the United States, 
 
 84-90 
 Indians, 41, 42, 46, 52, 55, 56, 121 
 
 Jackson, Andrew, 136-142 
 James, King, 39 
 Jamestown, 31, 33 
 Jefferson, Thomas, 64, 86, 89 
 Jones, John Paul, 115-119 
 
 187 
 
188 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Kaskaskia, 123 
 Knox, General, 105 
 
 Lee, Charles, 101, 102 
 Lee, Richard Henry, 89 
 Lincoln, Abraham, 163-178 
 London Company, 30-32, 37 
 
 Manhattan Island, 47 
 Marion, Francis, 127-131 
 Maryland, 40 
 Massasoit, 21, 22 
 Mayflower, 6, 9, 10 
 Minutemen, 78 
 
 Napoleon, 137 
 Navy, American, 115, 132 
 New Amsterdam, 47 
 New Netherlands, 47, 48 
 New York, 45, 47, 95 
 Northwest Passage, 45, 47 
 Nullification, 138, 140 
 
 Oglethorpe, James, 54-57 
 Old North Church, 79 
 Old South Church, 73, 74 
 
 Parliament, 58, 59, 61, 71 
 Partisan warfare, 127 
 Penn, William, 49-53 
 Pennsylvania, 51, 53 
 Perry ,"^ Oliver H., 132-135 
 Philadelphia, 51 
 Pilgrims, 6-12 
 ■Pitcairn, Major, 82 
 Pitt, William, 64 
 Plymouth, 7, 21 
 Pocahontas, 34, 36 
 Powhatan, 34-36 
 Prescott, Doctor, 81 
 Princeton, victory at, 108 
 Protective tariff, 139-142 
 Providence, 23 
 
 Provincial Congress, 77 
 Puritans, 13-22 
 Putnam, General, 95 
 
 Quakers, 49, 51 
 
 Ranger, the, 116 
 
 Red Cross, 154, 159, 160, 161 
 
 Revere, Paul, 77-83 
 
 Rhode Island, 23 
 
 Rotch, Benjamin, 72, 73, 74 
 
 Rowe, John, 74 
 
 Saint Mary's, 41 
 Salem, 14,' 20 
 Savannah, 55 
 Scott, General, 141 
 Sera-pis (se-ra-pis), 117-118 
 Slavery, 141, 167, 169, 170 
 Smith, Colonel, 82 
 Smith, John, 30-38 
 Stamp Act, 59, 60 
 Standish, Captain, 9 
 Stuyvesant, Governor, 47 
 Sullivan, General, 106 
 
 Tariff, 139-142 
 Tea, tax on, 71-76 
 Trenton, victory at, 104-106 
 
 Valley Forge, 108-111 
 Vincennes, 123, 125 
 
 Warren, Joseph, 78, 79 
 Washington, George, 86, 91-113 
 Webster, Daniel, 143-148 
 Willard, Frances E., 150-153 
 W'illiams, Roger, 19-23 
 Williamsburg, 60, 61, 65, 122 
 Wilson, President, 185 
 Winthrop, John, 13-18, 22 
 Woman's Christian Temperance 
 Union, 150, 151 
 
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