"France and England were at war, and the French government took offense at a treaty we had made with Great Britain. They issued a secret order authorizing French ships-of-war to capture neutral ships in the West Indies, if they were found carrying supplies to British ports. The French cruisers, under this authority, began to seize American ships, and treated their crews with great cruelty. We had felt very friendly to the French down to that time, owing to the way they helped us during the Revolution, but they acted so badly that we didn't feel so well afterward. Next they issued a decree which almost amounted to a declaration of war, and I don't believe you can guess what it was." "I have read somewhere," I said, "that the French not only authorized the capture of American ships trading between the United States and Great Britain and its colonies, but declared further that any American found on board of a hostile ship, though placed there without his consent by impressment, should be hanged as a pirate! Wasn't that it?" "Yes, it was," said Haines; "just think of it! British ships were constantly impressing American seamen. Suppose an English war-ship with impressed Americans on board should be captured by a French cruiser; those Americans were liable to be hanged as pirates! Did you ever hear of anything so outrageous?" "Certainly I never did," I answered; "it's difficult to believe that such an order was possible. Did the United States declare war against France after that?" "They didn't do it in the regular form of a declaration," said Haines; "but they sent out war-ships as fast as they could get them ready, with orders to capture French ships, and at the same time they passed a law for raising a land-force to defend our seaports. A good many French privateers were fitted out to capture American ships, and American privateers to capture French ships. As fast as we could get our war-ships ready we sent them out, and the fighting very soon became lively. The frigates United States, Constitution, and Constellation were the first to get to sea, and the Constellation captured a French cruiser a few days after she sailed. She was the first vessel captured in the war, and, in fact, the first ever captured by the navy of the United States. "There's a funny thing about that cruiser," continued Haines, and I listened attentively to hear what he was saying; "she was called Le Croyable, that's what I think it was, and carried fourteen guns; she was taken into port, where she was condemned by a prize-court, and added to the United States navy. They named her the Retaliation, and sent her out with two other small ships to cruise in the West Indies.