Take Command, Captain Farragut!
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
The story of the ten-year-old boy who becomes captain of a ship
After his mother’s death, young David Glasgow Farragut is forced to leave home to live with Captain Porter and his wife. During the War of 1812, Captain Porter is posted to the Essex, and he chooses to bring David with him to fight the British Navy. At ten years old, David is the youngest midshipman ever assigned to a warship in the US Navy. On board, Farragut must not only learn about life at sea, he must establish his authority over seamen twice his age.
Farragut proves his worth as the Essex first sails the Atlantic and then travels “around the Horn” to the Pacific, where it engages in battle. After taking control of a captured ship near Valparaíso, Chile, Farragut, only twelve years old, is assigned his first position as full captain and given the captain’s sword he has coveted from the start.
Told through fictional letters that Farragut wrote to his father from prison after his capture, Take Command, Captain Farragut! gives young readers an extraordinary view into the life of an adventurer who today would be a classmate.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kids Who Made History A pair of books chronicle young people's impact on history. The first, Take Command, Captain Farragut! by Peter Roop and Connie Roop, illus. by Michael McCurdy, presents the true story of 10-year-old David Glasgow Farragut, who ascended the ranks from midshipman to captain (at age 12) aboard a U.S. naval ship during the War of 1812. His rise unfolds through a series of fictional letters to his father; framed scratchboard illustrations depict the child's days at sea and eventual imprisonment by the British.
