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The Story of the War of 1812 for Young Readers

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Edward Eggleston

The Story of the War of 1812 for Young Readers

language (A. J. Cornell Publications June 24, 2011) , Edward Eggleston edition
Originally published in 1888 as a section of the author’s larger “A History of the United States and Its People,” this Kindle edition, equivalent in length to a physical book of approximately 12 pages, recounts, in simple language for young readers, the story of the 1812-1814 war between the United States and Great Britain.

Sample passage:
During Jefferson’s administration the English government was involved in a long war with Napoleon, who had made himself Emperor of the French, and had conquered a great part of western Europe. During this war England was in need of seamen for the navy. The officers of the English navy were allowed to “impress” British seamen from merchant-vessels; that is, to force them to serve on men-of-war (armed sailing ships). But England had also long claimed the right to impress her own subjects when found on ships of other nations. Every man born in Great Britain who sailed before the mast in an American vessel was liable to be seized by an English man-of-war. More than this, English naval officers were allowed to judge whether a man was a native of England or not, and thousands of natives of America were impressed on British ships. It was very exasperating to Americans to have their ships stopped on the high seas and searched, and their citizens forced to serve in the navy of a foreign power. But England was all-powerful on the sea, and the United States had to bear with such insults or give up sailing ships.

During this war between England and France, which shook the whole civilized world, our country (the United States) tried to be neutral. But England wished to interrupt our trade with the countries under control of France, while Napoleon issued orders to check our trade with England. The decrees which these two powers issued one after the other became so severe at last that our ships could not sail to any port without the greatest danger of being seized by the cruisers of one or the other power. As the English were much stronger at sea than the French, they did us the more harm.

About the Author:
Edward Eggleston (1837-1902) discovered a gift for writing when he was a high school student in Indiana. His militant opposition to slavery, however, caused him to refuse an offer to attend the University of Virginia. In 1871 he began a career as a popular novelist, but eventually his interest shifted from fiction to history. As president of the American History Association in 1900, he set forth his conception of the ideal history as primarily a record of the culture of a people, not merely or even chiefly a record of politics and war.
Pages
8

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