Leopard's Prey

In this first of a trilogy we see the War of 1812 and the events leading up to it through the eyes of twelve year old Manly Treegate, an orphan growing up in the home of his uncle Peter Treegate in Salem, Massachusetts. Manly, an American citizen, is impressed against his will to serve on the British frigate Leopard in 1807. He experiences the cruelties of life in the British navy and sees action in several battles as a powder boy before falling overboard during a battle against a French warship off the coast of Haiti. Peter is rescued by Haitian pirates and finally finds his way home to Boston.