In those three years of willing servitude
to his parents, Cornelius Vanderbilt added to the family's common stock
of wealth, and gained for himself three things--a perfect knowledge of
his business, habits of industry and self-control, and the best boat in
the harbor."
During the War of 1812, young Vanderbilt was kept very busy. All the
harbor defenses were fully manned, and a number of war vessels were in
port all the time. The travel between these and the city was very great,
and boatmen were in demand.
In September, 1813, a British fleet attempted to run past Fort Richmond,
during a heavy gale. The commanding officer was anxious to send to New
York for reinforcements, but it was blowing so hard that none of the old
boatmen were willing to venture upon the bay. They all declared that if
the voyage could be made at all, Cornelius Vanderbilt was the only man
who could make it. The commandant at once sent for the young man, who,
upon learning the urgency of the case, expressed his belief that he
could carry the messengers to the city. "But," said he, "I shall have to
carry them part of the way under water.
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