“Yes, our regular army is small, I know,” admitted Max; “but we have a great army of militia, and all so devoted to their country that they make splendid fighters when called on to defend her. Our navy’s small, too, but compares better in size with yours than it did at the beginning of the war of 1812–14, and it came out of that with flying colors.”
“Really, I don’t remember what was the difference then, or just what the fight was about,” acknowledged Albert modestly.
“Don’t you?” asked Max, in some surprise. “Well, I shouldn’t either, if papa hadn’t turned my attention to such subjects and talked with us about them in such an interesting way. He says he wants his children to be well acquainted with history, especially that of their own country. That’s how I happen to be posted on those questions.
“When the United States declared war against England in 1812, our navy consisted of twenty vessels, the largest carrying forty-four guns, most of the others rating under thirty, while England had over a thousand ships on the rolls of her navy, two hundred and fifty-four of them ships of the line, mounting over seventy-four guns each.
“It really wasn’t much wonder the British laughed at the idea of our attempting to fight them; especially as Britannia had ruled the wave up to that time.”
“Yes; the Americans must have been a plucky little nation to try it,” laughed Albert, “they must have been desperately angry about something.”
“They were, and with good reason,” returned Max. “Oh, such wrongs as our poor sailors had endured for years from British naval officers! It makes my blood boil just to read, at this late day, of their arrogance and injustice, and the dreadful cruelties they were guilty of toward Americans they kidnapped from our vessels.”
“Kidnapped?” repeated Albert.
“Yes; what else could you call it when a British man-of-war would stop an American merchant-vessel on the high seas—in time of peace—board her, order the crew mustered aft, pick out any man they chose to say was an Englishman, and carry him off to their own vessel against his will?”
“Oh yes, I see you refer to the right of search.”