Warden - American Courage

T HE P ILGRIMS F AREWELL * from William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 16201647

T HE D ECIMATION AND S URVIVAL OF P LYMOUTH C OLONY * from William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 16201647

M RS . R OWLANDSON S C APTIVITY from Mary Rowlandson, The Soveraignty & Goodness of God, Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, 1682

B EN F RANKLIN O N THE L AM AT A GE 17, H OMELESS , J OBLESS , AND N IGH P ENNILESS from Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 1789

G EORGE W ASHINGTON S W INTER J OURNEY TO W ARN THE F RENCH from George Washington, The Journal of Major George Washington, 1754

D ANIEL B OONE D ISCOVERS K ENTUCKY AND I NCESSANT W ARFARE from Daniel Boone, The Adventures of Daniel Boone in The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke by John Filson, 1784

T HE B OSTON T EA P ARTY from George Hewes, eyewitness account in Yankee Life by Those Who Lived It edited by June Barrows Mussey

S URRENDER I N THE N AME OF THE G REAT J EHOVAH AND THE C ONTINENTAL C ONGRESS from Ethan Allen, A Narrative of Col. Ethan Allens Captivity, 1779

T HE D ECLARATION OF I NDEPENDENCE W E M UST A LL H ANG T OGETHER , OR A SSUREDLY W E S HALL A LL H ANG S EPARATELY from the Reverend Charles A. Goodrich, Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, 1832

W ASHINGTON C ROSSES THE D ELAWARE V ICTORY OR D EATH from Henry Cabot Lodge, American Statesmen: George Washington, 1890

C LARK S S ECRET M ARCH ON V INCENNES , 1778 from Walter Havighurst, George Rogers ClarkSoldier in the West

A P IONEER S ETTLER S H ARDSHIPS from Mr. Hubbell, public document, 1824

W ILLIAM C OOPER S AVES A T OWN from William Cooper, A Guide in the Wilderness: Or the History of the First Settlement in the Western Counties of New York, 1810

T HE H AZARDS OF F LOATING D OWN THE O HIO R IVER from John MClung, Sketches of Western Adventure, Containing an Account of the Most Interesting Incidents Connected with the Settlement of the West from 17551794, 1832

A MERICAN P RIVATEER AND B RITISH M AN - OF - W AR C LASH from A.B.C. Whipple, Tall Ships and Great Captains

D AVY C ROCKETT R EPORTS FROM I NSIDE THE A LAMO from Davy Crockett, Col. Crocketts Exploits and Adventures in Texas, 1839

S AM H OUSTON , WITH S EVEN H UNDRED H ALF -F ED , H ALF -C LAD , H ALF -A RMED M EN , D ECLARES , W E G OTO C ONQUER T EXAS ! from General Sam Houston, speech before the U.S. Senate, February 28, 1859

A NDREW J ACKSON S D UEL TO THE D EATH from James Parton, General Jackson, 1892

F IGHTING B ELLY TO B ELLY WITH A G RIZZLY B EAR from George Ruxton, Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains, 1847

A LL H ELL B ROKE L OOSE R IGHT U NDER THE P ARSON S N OSE from Reverend Peter Cartwright, Autobiography of Peter Cartwright, the Backwoods Preacher, 1857

T HE F ORTY - NINERS : B ROKEN H EARTS AND E MPTY P OCKETS from Jim Nevins, Letter from J. M. Nevins to Russell Nevins in Wisconsin, Sacramento City, Dec. 2, 1849

M ARK T WAIN ON THE D ARING OF A M ISSISSIPPI P ILOT from Mark Twain, Old Times on the Mississippi, 1875

A F OURTEEN -Y EAR -O LD B OY R IDES FOR THE P ONY E XPRESS from Gladys Shaw Erskine, Broncho CharlieA Saga of the Saddle

T HE E SCAPE OF A F EMALE S LAVE from Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, 1861

Q UICK -W ITTED M RS . F ISHER S AVES H ER H USBAND FROM Q UANTRILL S R AIDERS from Reverend H. D. Fisher, The Gun and the Gospel: Early Kansas and Chaplain Fisher, 1899

P ICKETT S C HARGE AT G ETTYSBURG from General James Longstreet, From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America, 1896

S AVING THE R EGIMENTAL C OLORS from Henry CabotLodge and Theodore Roosevelt, The Flag Bearer in Hero Tales from American History, 1901

T ELL H IM H E M UST D IE : A RMY N URSE L OUISA M AY A LCOTT C OMFORTS A D YING S OLDIER from Louisa May Alcott, Hospital Sketches and Camp and Fireside Stories, 1892

P ORTUGEE P HILLIPS S D ESPERATE R IDE from Paul I. Wellman, Death on Horseback: Seventy Years of War for the American West

D ULL K NIFE S L AST F IGHT from Paul I. Wellman, Death on Horseback: Seventy Years of War for the American West

N IGHTTIME S TAMPEDE from James H. Cook, Fifty Years on the Old Frontier, 1923

D ESPERADO WITH T WO C OCKED , S MOKING P ISTOLS T HREATENS T EDDY R OOSEVELT from Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore RooseveltAn Autobiography, 1913

S HOOT - OUT WITH THE M ARSHAL from Fred A. Stone,Flowers for Charley McDaniels

S AVED BY C OWBOYS from Philip Rollins, A Conversation with Mr. Rollins

E ARTHQUAKE P ULVERIZES S AN F RANCISCO ; F IRES S PREAD ; B ANKER S TRUGGLES TO S URVIVE from Paul Rink, A. P. Giannini: Building the Bank of America

S ERGEANT Y ORK T HE T ERMINATOR IN W ORLD W AR I from Alvin C. York, Sergeant York: His Life Story and War Diary, 1928

F IVE A VIATORS D IE T RYING TO C ROSS THE A TLANTIC O CEAN T HEN C AME C HARLES L INDBERGH from Charles Lindbergh, We, 1927

J IMMY D OOLITTLE S D AYLIGHT R AID O VER T OKYO from Carroll V. Glines, The Doolittle Raid: Americas Daring First Strike Against Japan

W ANTED : A N E LEGANT F EMALE S PY TO B RIBE OR S EDUCE T OP O FFICIALS AT N AZI - C ONTROLLED , V ICHY F RENCH E MBASSY from H. Montgomery Hyde, Cynthia

MIGR P HYSICIST E NRICO F ERMI T ESTS THE P RECURSOR TO THE A TOMIC B OMB IN A C HICAGO S QUASH C OURT from Richard Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb

D-D AY : W ORLD W AR II from Cornelius Ryan, The Longest DayJune 6, 1944

S NIPER F IGHT ON O KINAWA from William Manchester, Goodbye, DarknessA Memoir of the Pacific War

T HE P ERILS OF C IVIL R IGHTS FOR N INE L ITTLE R OCK S TUDENTS from Henry Hampton and Steve Fayer with Sarah Flynn, Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s through the 1980s

R OY B ENAVIDEZ , V IETNAM S UPERMAN from Roy Benavidez, Medal of Honor: One Mans Journey from Poverty and Prejudice

A STRONAUTS R OCKET TO THE M OON from Buzz Aldrin and Malcolm McConnell, Men from Earth

S EPTEMBER 11, 2001: T HE P ASSENGERS C OUNTERATTACK THE H IJACKERS ON U NITED F LIGHT from Jere Longman, Among the Heroes: United Flight 93 and the Passengers and Crew Who Fought Back

T HEODORE ROOSEVELT proclaimed that the true hallmarks of the American character were courage, vitality, perseverance, clean living, sturdy good sense, and an inflexible rectitude of soul. All of this is true, but the presidents first word courage seems to capture the enduring quality of Americans that has been expressed throughout our history, whether fighting for liberty or seeking a better life in the face of physical hardship. It signals an indomitable spirit that has allowed us as a nation to stand tall when challenged, without fear or trepidation. Indeed, courage is not just the absence of fear; on the contrary, it is the ability to act in the face of ones fears.

The stories in American Courage, which span almost four centuries, represent the best that Americans can be in times of crisis or when confronted with adversity. I began collecting these stories thirty years ago, and I still marvel that these splendid examples of courage are fact, not fiction. I have taken the selections from autobiographies, eyewitness reports, and historical accounts; each is a good story well told, be it by the participant or a historian. At times I have edited the prose; each chapter has an introduction to set the scene historically. Though the collection does not aspire to be comprehensive, the writings are the voice of Americas remarkable history, marking our passage in world history as we fought, sometimes with ourselves, to build a free nation from scratch.