thusiasm. "I for
one would like greatly to see Mobile Bay with its fort. Morgan is the
name?"

"Yes; Fort Morgan is at the extremity of Mobile Point, where Fort Bowyer
stood in the War of 1812-14. You remember what happened there at that
time?"

"It was attacked by the British, wasn't it, sir?"

"Yes; in September, 1814, by a British squadron of two brigs and two
sloops of war, aided by a land force of one hundred and thirty marines
and six hundred Indians, led by Captain Woodbine, who had been trying to
drill them at Pensacola.

"Florida did not belong to us at that time; the Spaniards had made a
settlement at Pensacola in 1696, were still there at the time of our
last war with England, and favored the British, who there, as well as in
other parts of Florida, organized expeditions against the United States,
the Spanish governor, though professing neutrality, evidently siding
with and giving them aid and comfort."

"And when then did we get possession of Florida, sir?" asked Walter.

"In July of 1821," answered the captain.

"Didn't Jackson capture Pensacola at one time during that war with
England, Captain?" asked Evelyn.

"Yes; in the attack about which Walter was just asking, before Lafitte
forwarded to New Orleans those documents showing how the British were
trying to get him into their service, Jackson had perceived that the
Spaniards were, as I have said, secretly siding with the British, and
now, with the positive proof furnished by those papers before him, he
squarely accused Manrequez, the Spanish governor at Pensacola, of bad
faith.

"Then followed a spicy correspondence, which Jackson closed by writing
to the governor, 'In future I beg you to withhold your insulting charges
against my government for one more inclined to listen to slander than I
am; nor consider me any more a diplomatic character unless so proclaimed
from the mouth of my cannon.'

"Then he set to work to raise troops, and in a very short time had two
thousand sturdy young Tennesseeans ready for the field.

"But before these reached Mobile, hostilities had begun. Jackson himself
went there early in August, and on his arrival perceived that an attempt
would be made by the British to seize it as soon as their talked of
great expedition should be ready to move.

"Fort Bowyer was but a small and weak fortification; had no bomb-proofs,
and but twenty guns, only two of them larger than twelve pounders, some
still smaller in size.

"