Caroline's father has just returned when they receive frightening news--British warships are sailing to attack Sackets Harbor. Every grown man, including Papa, has been called to defend the village. Mama and Caroline are left alone to guard Abbott's Shipyard as the battlefront draws ever closer. Caroline knows she must be brave to keep Papa's shipyard safe. But when the battle seems lost, Mama gives her a terrible order: burn the shipyard to the ground....

"In 1814, redcoats burned the White House to the ground. In 1889, Harry Houdini discovered a trick that would save his life. In 1955, the U.S. launched the world's first nuclear submarine. And one family pulled the strings behind the scenes at each of these events: the Cahills--the most powerful family the world has ever known. Now the Cahills have opened their vault and dangerous secrets are pouring out. This book contains three of them--three stories...

Caroline and her mother make a dangerous journey across Lake Ontario to the British fort where Papa is being held prisoner. When Mama isn't allowed to see Papa, it's up to Caroline to pass a secret message to him--right under the nose of a British guard! She hopes desperately that Papa will understand her message and make an escape. But can she get to him in time? The illustrated "Looking Back" section explores how the War of 1812 affected women and...

During the War of 1812, when settlers at Fort Cooper, Missouri, are besieged by a coalition of Indian nations allied with the British, twelve-year-old Millie volunteers to ride to nearby Fort Hempstead for reinforcements.

In 1814, when their father leaves them in charge of the Scituate lighthouse outside of Boston, two teenaged sisters devise a clever way to avert an attack by a British warship patrolling the Massachusetts coast.

On August 10, 1813, with the British navy advancing up the Chesapeake Bay to destroy the shipyards in St. Michaels, Maryland, young Henry Middle thinks of a way to save his home town from British cannons.

While Caroline is out fishing one spring day, she sees a British warship about to capture an American boat. With only an instant to decide what to do, Caroline takes a daring risk to try to save the day. She's been trying to be brave, like she promised Papa, but would he be proud of her now? Missing him terribly, Caroline visits their special fishing spot on the shore of Lake Ontario. She hopes to find comfort there--but instead she makes a startling...

The story of the burning of Washington by the British during the Revolution, told from the viewpoint of Paul Jennings, a fifteen-year-old slave belonging to President Madison and his wife, Dolley.