It did not take very long to look at all they cared to see; then they
returned to their vessel, weighed anchor, and passed through the narrow
channel of the Rip Raps into the spacious harbor of Hampton Roads.

It was a lovely day and all were on deck, enjoying the breeze and the
prospect on both land and water.

"Papa," said Lulu, "you haven't told us yet what happened here in the
last war with England."

"No," he said. "They attacked Hampton by both land and water, a force of
two thousand five hundred men under General Beckwith landing at Old
Point Comfort, and marching from there against the town, while at the
same time Admiral Cockburn assailed it from the water.

"The fortification at Hampton was but slight and guarded by only four
hundred and fifty militiamen. Feeling themselves too weak to repel an
attack by such overwhelming odds, they retired, and the town was given
up to pillage."

"Didn't they do any fighting at all, papa?" asked Lulu in a tone of
regret and mortification. "I know Americans often did fight when their
numbers were very much smaller than those of the enemy."

"That is quite true," he said, with a gleam of patriotic pride in his
eye, "and sometimes won the victory in spite of the odds against them.
That thing had happened only a few days previously at Craney Island, and
the British were doubtless smarting under a sense of humiliating defeat
when they proceeded to the attack of Hampton."