POEMS OF JAMES RYDER RANDALL
There was scant glory in our overthrow—
Not Valor did it, but a brutal blow.
Five hundred thousand Hessians and a horde
Of blacks and Tories broke the Southern Sword.
Shut from the sea, o’erwhelmed upon the land,
We fought the battle to a final stand.
But the Great Cause, outlasting all debates,
Lives in free union of unfettered States.
Now, let our Banner, symbol of the Right,
Kiss every wind in its unconquered might;
Let the glad spirit of the poet-priest
Hover above this grand Reunion feast
To watch our Banner, from the grave of strife
Rise with the glory of a new-born life;
Twined with the ancient flag, o’er land and main,
And wed to deathless liberty again.
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