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Caroline's Secret Message is the second book in the Caroline series.

Characters[]

Introduced[]

Only in Caroline's Secret Message[]

Chapter by Chapter Summary[]

Chapter One: Home Again[]

Chapter Two: The Hathaways[]

Chapter Three: On Enemy Ground[]

Chapter Four: Papa[]

Chapter Five: Happy Birthday, Caroline[]

Looking Back: Wartime in 1812[]

Discusses how the War of 1812 affected women and children. Topics covered:

  • The War of 1812 as "the war that almost no one wanted" due to opposition by many of the New England states
  • The waterways around Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and the Saint Lawrence River as major supply routes affected by the War of 1812
  • Turmoil among families due to the presence of army troops, regardless of friend or foe
  • Political divisions between families and friends due to the war
  • Military and naval separation between men and their families, with the US Army offering cash incentives and free land for men to join the fight
  • Other forms of separation between men and their families, such as volunteer militia groups and men imprisoned by the British
  • The increase in workload for women and children, especially for women forced to look after their husbands' businesses in their husbands' absence
  • Betsy Doyle, who took over her husband's position at Fort Niagara following his capture by the British [1]
  • Handmade items, such as samplers stitched by girls as a way to practice reading, arithmetic, and geography
  • Ways prisoners of war found to occupy their time, such as making boxes, model ships, and other crafts

Items associated with Caroline's Secret Message[]

References and Footnotes[]

  1. The Looking Back section refers to Betsy Doyle as Fanny Doyle; this is incorrect and was due to an 1845 publication about the early years of the Niagara frontier that was only clarified in 2011. A War of 1812 Mystery Has Been Solved, buffalonews.com; article written November 20, 2011 and accessed October 29th, 2020.
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