In 1895, two young men destined to make their mark on American life, Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge, discovered they shared a common interest in the remarkable way ordinary Americans demonstrated the real character of the young nation. They were convinced that the brilliance of American liberty could best be found in the lives of everyday heroes.

These two men researched and wrote the twenty-six inspiring stories in Hero Tales. From great battles of the War for Independence to the intrepid explorations that opened up the western frontier, from the struggles of the early pioneers to the tragedies of the Civil War, these stories capture the essence of the American spirit.

Especially moving is the last chapter, on Abraham Lincoln, in which narrator Patrick Cullen reads Walt Whitman’s poem for Lincoln, “O Captain, My Captain,” as well as two of Lincoln’s speeches, the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address.

1. “Washington” by Henry Cabot Lodge
2. “Daniel Boone and the Founding of Kentucky” by Theodore Roosevelt
3. “George Rogers Clark and the Conquest of the Northwest” by Theodore Roosevelt
4. “The Battle of Trenton” by Henry Cabot Lodge
5. “Bennington” by Henry Cabot Lodge
6. “King’s Mountain” by Theodore Roosevelt
7. “The Storming of Stony Point” by Theodore Roosevelt
8. “Gouverneur Morris” by Henry Cabot Lodge
9. “The Burning of the Philadelphiai” by Henry Cabot Lodge
10. “The Cruise of the Wasp” by Theodore Roosevelt
11. “The General Armstrong Privateer” by Theodore Roosevelt
12. “The Battle of New Orleans” by Theodore Roosevelt
13. “John Quincy Adams and the Right of Petition” by Henry Cabot Lodge
14. “Francis Parkman” by Henry Cabot Lodge
15. “Remember the Alamo” by Theodore Roosevelt
16. “Hampton Roads” by Theodore Roosevelt
17. “The Flag-Bearer” by Theodore Roosevelt
18. “The Death of Stonewall Jackson” by Theodore Roosevelt
19. “The Charge at Gettysburg” by Theodore Roosevelt
20. “General Grant and the Vicksburg Campaign” by Henry Cabot Lodge
21. “Robert Gould Shaw” by Henry Cabot Lodge
22. “Charles Russell Lowell” by Henry Cabot Lodge
23. “Sheridan at Cedar Creek” by Henry Cabot Lodge
24. “Lieutenant Cushing and the Ram Albermarle” by Theodore Roosevelt
25. “Farragut at Mobile Bay” by Theodore Roosevelt
26. “Lincoln” by Henry Cabot Lodge