e weeks, General Lambert skillfully retreated to the
ships, and, soon afterwards, the entire army sailed for England.

Such was the glorious but dreadful battle of New Orleans, the
anniversary of which is still celebrated.

{198} Honors fell thick and fast upon "Old Hickory." Fourteen years
later, he became the seventh President of the United States.

The sad part of this astounding victory is that peace had been
declared about two weeks before the battle was fought. A "cablegram,"
or even an ocean greyhound, could have saved the lives of many brave
men.

When peace was made, nothing was said about impressing our sailors,
or about the rights of our merchantmen. From that day to this,
however, no American citizen has been forced to serve on a British
war ship, and no American vessel has ever been searched on the high
seas.

The war of 1812 was not fought in vain. The nations of the world saw
that we would fight to maintain our rights. Best of all, perhaps,
this war served to strengthen the feeling of nationality among our
own people.

{199}

CHAPTER XIV
A HERO'S WELCOME

Rarely has the benefactor of a people been awarded such measure of
gratitude as we gave Lafayette, in 1824. Eager crowds flocked into
the cities and the villages to welcome this hero. Thousands of
children, the boys in blue jackets and the girls in white dresses,
scattered flowers before him. If you could get your grandfather or
your grandmother to tell you of this visit, it would be as
interesting as a storybook.

The conditions in the United States were just right for such an
outburst of feeling. Everybody knew the story of the rich French
nobleman, who, at the age of nineteen, had left friends, wife, home,
and native land, to cast his lot with strange people, three thousand
miles away, engaged in fighting for freedom.

It was not until after the battle of Bunker Hill that, at a grand
dinner party, the young marquis heard of our struggle for
independence. He knew neither our country nor our people, and he did
not speak our language; but his sympathies were at once awakened, and
he made up his mind to fight for us.

In the spring of 1777, at his own expense, he bought and fitted out a
vessel with military supplies, and sailed {200} for America. Seven
weeks later, he landed in South Carolina, and at once went to
Philadelphia to offer his services to Congress.

He wrote a note to a member of Congress, in which he said, "After the