A Herald of the West: an American Story of 1811-1815

Joseph A. Altsheler (1862-1919) wrote popular juvenile historical fiction. A Herald of the West begins with the 1811 "War Hawk" speech Speaker of the House Henry Clay and ends with the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Altsheler follows the adventures of Kentuckian Phillip Ten Broeck, a 24-year-old clerk at the Treasury Department and engagingly illustrates details of political and personal life in early 19th century America and the War of 1812.