Fernando Stevens with over one hundred men reached Philadelphia, where he found two regiments of regulars marching to Washington.  He accompanied them.  The second day’s march from Philadelphia, they were overtaken by two mounted men dressed in citizen’s clothes, who inquired for Captain Stevens.  They proved to be Sukey and Terrence.

“I’ve been runnin’ all over creation looking for you,” Sukey declared.  “How can you skip from one side o’ the earth to the other as easily as a flea can cross a hammock?  I went within sixty miles of Fort Erie the day after the fight,—­lost you;—­heard you were in New York,—­went after you,—­lost you; heard you were in Philadelphia,—­went there,—­lost you and found Terrence.  We supposed you were with the soldiers and came after you.”

Terrence had just returned from a cruise; and his ship Privateer Tom had been so badly damaged in a gale, that it would take weeks to repair her, so he came with Sukey.

Sukey had a terrible story to tell of captivity and service on the Macedonian, which we reserve for the next chapter.

CHAPTER XVI.

ON WATER.

The English navy was the pride of that great nation in 1812, as it is now.  When war with the United States was discussed, the idea that America without a navy, and with but few if any trained naval officers could cope with England, caused the Briton to smile; but a great surprise was in store.  The first American victories were on the high seas.  Tradition, discipline, ships and training seemed all of no avail.  While the English were carrying everything on land, where it was supposed they were weakest, they were losing everything on water, where thought to be strongest.  Everybody was surprised.  They supposed the first three or four American victories were accidents; but as success after success continued to follow the American arms at sea, they were dumfounded.  England’s boasted navy had lost its power.

The first naval engagement of any consequence was on August 19, 1812.  Captain Hull of the United States frigate Constitution captured an English frigate, The Guerriere, after a hard fought battle. The Guerriere had made herself very obnoxious in her way of challenging American vessels.  In this engagement she lost seventy-nine killed and wounded, while the Constitution lost but thirteen.  There were ten impressed Americans on The Guerriere.  On the 7th of September, the United States frigate Essex captured the Alert in a fight of eight minutes.  The American sloop-of-war Wasp, on the 18th of October, encountered the British sloop-of-war Frolic, a much larger and stronger ship.  The fight was terrible, and only three officers and one seaman on the Frolic remained unhurt; almost a hundred were killed and wounded, while the Americans lost but ten.  The Wasp did not long enjoy her triumph, however.  On that same evening the British man-of-war Poicters, Captain Beresford, captured the Wasp and her prize.