Commodore Barney's Young Spies Read online

  Produced by David Edwards, Odessa Paige Turner and theOnline Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net(This file was produced from images generously madeavailable by The Internet Archive)

  Transcriber's Notes: Obvious errors have been corrected. Italic textin the original has been enclosed by '_' and bold text by '='.

  Darius cried out in my ear; but I heard him not, I wasinsane with the scene of carnage. Page 272.]

  COMMODORE BARNEY'S YOUNG SPIES

  A Boy's Story of the Burning of the City of Washington

  By JAMES OTIS

  Author of "Across the Delaware," "At the Siege of Havana," "Life of John Paul Jones," "With Warren at Bunker Hill," etc., etc.

 

  With six page illustrations By J. WATSON DAVIS

  A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

  Copyright 1907 By A. L. BURT COMPANY

  COMMODORE BARNEY'S YOUNG SPIES

  CONTENTS.

  CHAPTER PAGE

  I. Captain Joshua Barney 1

  II. At Benedict 20

  III. Elias Macomber 39

  IV. A Lively Tussle 58

  V. With the Fleet 77

  VI. Feeding the Enemy 96

  VII. An Old Acquaintance 115

  VIII. The Deserter 133

  IX. An Unexpected Meeting 151

  X. A Change of Base 169

  XI. The British Forces 188

  XII. Suspense 207

  XIII. Burning the Vessels 226

  XIV. At Washington 245

  XV. Bladensburg 263

  XVI. In Hiding 282

  XVII. Missing 300

  XVIII. The Escape 318

  XIX. The Unexpected 336

  XX. Dodging the Enemy 354

  XXI. In Port 372

  LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

  Darius cried out in my ear; but I heard him not, I was insane with the scene of carnage Frontispiece

  PAGE

  "Pass up your painter, or I'll shoot!" Cried Darius 56

  With the lantern in my left hand I thrust forward the barrel of my musket full in the face of the miller 72

  "I remember your face, my man;" said the Commodore. "Come aboard at once." 153

  As we pulled away I glanced back at our fleet and saw that the vessels were well on fire 233

  As soon as the line was made fast, a man slipped down, quickly followed by another 335

  FROM LOSSING'S "WAR OF 1812."

  "Evidently ashamed of the barbarism committed by British hands,Vice-Admiral Cochrane attempted to palliate it by a pitiful trick.After the destruction of the capital, and the invaders were safelyback on their vessels in the Patuxent, Cochrane wrote a letter toSecretary Monroe, in which he said to him, 'Having been called uponby the Governor-General of the Canadas to aid him in carrying intoeffect measures of retaliation against the inhabitants of the UnitedStates for the wanton destruction committed by their army in UpperCanada, it has become imperiously my duty, conformably with theGovernor-General's application, to issue to the naval force under mycommand an order to destroy and lay waste such towns and districtsupon the coast as may be found assailable.' Cochrane then expressed ahope that the 'conduct of the executive of the United States wouldauthorize him in staying such proceedings, by making reparation to thesuffering inhabitants of Upper Canada,' etc. This letter was antedatedAugust 18, or six days before the battle of Bladensburg, so as toappear like a humane suggestion, in the noncompliance with which mightbe found an excuse for the destruction of the national capital. It didnot reach Mr. Monroe until the morning of the 31st of August, a weekafter Washington was devastated, when that officer, in a dignifiedreply, reminded the vice-admiral that the wanton destruction by theBritish of Frenchtown, Frederick, Georgetown, and Havre de Grace, andthe outrages at Hampton by the same people, had occurred long beforethe destruction of Newark."

  COMMODORE BARNEY'S YOUNG SPIES.