INTRODUCTION
Reading edition
The poetry relating to American history falls naturally into two classes: that written, so to speak, from the inside, on the spot, and that written from the outside, long afterwards. Of the first class, "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the most famous example, as well as perhaps the best. Even at this distant day, reading it with a knowledge of the circumstances which produced it, it has a power of touching the heart and gripping the imagination which goes far toward proving the genuineness of its art. Of the second class, "Paul Revere's Ride" is probably the most widely known, though Mr. Longfellow's own "Ballad of the French Fleet" is a better poem.
It is evident that, in compiling an anthology such as this, different standards must be used in judging these two classes. The first, aside from any quality as poetry which it may have, is of value because of its historical or political interest, because it is an expression and an interpretation of the hour which gave it birth. With it, poetic merit is not the first consideration, which is, perhaps, as well. Yet, however slight their merit as poetry may be, many of the early ballads possess an admirable energy, directness, and aptness of phrase, and there is about them a childlike simplicity impossible of reproduction in this sophisticated age—as where Stephen Tilden, in his epitaph on Braddock, requests the great commanders who have preceded that unfortunate soldier to the grave to
"Edge close and give him room."
With the retrospective ballad, on the other hand, poetic merit is a sine qua non. It has little value historically, however accurate its facts. It differs from the contemporary ballad in the same way that the "New Canterbury Tales" differ from Froissart; or as the "Idylls of the King" differ from "Le Morte Arthur." It is less authentic, less convincing, less vital. It may have atmosphere, but there is no infallible way of telling whether the atmosphere is right. Unless it is something more, then, than mere metrical history, the modern ballad has little claim to consideration.
These are the two principles which the present compiler has had constantly in mind. Yet the second principle has been violated more than once, since, in a collection such as this, one must cut one's coat according to the cloth; or, rather, one must make sure that one is decently covered, though the covering may here and there be somewhat inferior in quality. So it has been necessary, in order to keep the thread of history unbroken, to admit some strands anything but silken; and if the choice has sometimes been of ills, rather than of goods, the compiler can only hope that he chose wisely.
The most difficult and trying portion of his task has been, not to get his material together, but to compress it into reasonable limits. Especially in the colonial period was the temptation great to include more early American verse. Peter Folger's "A Looking-Glass for the Times," Benjamin Tompson's "New England's Crisis," Michael Wigglesworth's "God's Controversy with New England," the "Sot-Weed Factor," and many others, which it is recalling an old sorrow to name here, were excluded only after long and bitter debate. No doubt other exclusions will be noticed by nearly every reader of the volume—and it may interest him to know that the material gathered together would have made four such books as this.
The thread of narrative upon which the poems have been strung together has been made as slight as possible, just strong enough to carry the reader understandingly from one poem to the next. The notes, too, have been limited to the explanation of such allusions as are not likely to be found in the ordinary works of reference, with here and there an account of the circumstances which caused the lines to be written, or an indication of source, where the source is unusual. Every available source has been drawn upon—the works of all the better known and many of the minor American and English poets, anthologies, newspaper collections, magazines, collections of Americana and especially of broadsides—in a word, American and English poetry generally.
In this connection, the compiler wishes to make grateful acknowledgment of the assistance he has received on every hand, especially from Mr. Herbert Putnam and Miss Margaret McGuffey, of the Library of Congress; Mr. N. D. C. Hodges, librarian of the Cincinnati, Ohio, Public Library; Mr. C. B. Galbreath, librarian of the Ohio State Library; Mr. Charles F. Lummis, librarian of the Los Angeles, California, Public Library; Dr. Edward Everett Hale, Mr. William Henry Venable, Mr. Isaac R. Pennypacker, Mr. Arthur Guiterman, and Mr. Wallace Rice. He might add that it is a matter of deep personal gratification to him that in no instance has any author refused to permit the use of his work in this collection. On the contrary, many of them have been most helpful in suggestions.
A special effort has been made to secure accuracy of text,—no light task, especially with the early ballads. Where the text varied, as was often the case, that has been followed which seemed to have the greater authority, except that obvious misprints have been corrected. In this, the compiler has had the coöperation of The Riverside Press, and has had frequent occasion to admire the care and knowledge of the corrector and his assistants.
B. E. S.
Chillicothe, Ohio, July 23, 1908.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I
THE COLONIAL PERIOD
America, Arthur Cleveland Coxe 2
CHAPTER I
The Discovery of America
The Story of Vinland, Sidney Lanier 3
The Norsemen, John Greenleaf Whittier 4
The Skeleton in Armor, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 6
Prophecy, Luigi Pulci 7
The Inspiration, James Montgomery 8
Columbus, Lydia Huntley Sigourney 9
Columbus to Ferdinand, Philip Freneau 9
Columbus at the Convent, John T. Trowbridge 10
The Final Struggle, Louis James Block 11
Steer, Bold Mariner, On, Friedrich von Schiller 12
The Triumph, Sidney Lanier 12
Columbus, Joaquin Miller 14
The Thanksgiving for America, Hezekiah Butterworth 15
Columbus in Chains, Philip Freneau 17
Columbus Dying, Edna Dean Proctor 18
Columbus, Edward Everett Hale 18
Columbus and the Mayflower, Lord Houghton 18
CHAPTER II
In the Wake of Columbus
The First Voyage of John Cabot, Unknown 19
The Legend of Waukulla, Hezekiah Butterworth 19
The Fountain of Youth, Hezekiah Butterworth 21
Ponce de Leon, Edith M. Thomas 22
Balboa, Nora Perry 23
With Cortez in Mexico, W. W. Campbell 24
The Lust of Gold, James Montgomery 24
Verazzano, Hezekiah Butterworth 25
Ortiz, Hezekiah Butterworth 26
The Fall of Maubila, Thomas Dunn English 27
Quivíra, Arthur Guiterman 31
Norembega, John Greenleaf Whittier 32
Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 34
The First American Sailors, Wallace Rice 34
CHAPTER III
The Settlement of Virginia
The Mystery of Cro-a-tàn, Margaret Junkin Preston 36
John Smith's Approach to Jamestown, James Barron Hope 38
Pocahontas, William Makepeace Thackeray 38
Pocahontas, George Pope Morris 39
Bermudas, Andrew Marvell 39
Newes from Virginia, Richard Rich 40
To the Virginian Voyage, Michael Drayton 42
The Marriage of Pocahontas, Mrs. M. M. Webster 43
The Last Meeting of Pocahontas and the Great Captain, Margaret Junkin Preston 43
The Burning of Jamestown, Thomas Dunn English 44
Bacon's Epitaph, Unknown 45
Ode to Jamestown, James Kirke Paulding 46
The Downfall of Piracy, Benjamin Franklin 48
From Potomac to Merrimac, Edward Everett Hale 49
CHAPTER IV
The Dutch at New Amsterdam
Henry Hudson's Quest, Burton Egbert Stevenson 50
The Death of Colman, Thomas Frost 50
Adrian Block's Song, Edward Everett Hale 51
The Praise of New Netherland, Jacob Steendam 52
The Complaint of New Amsterdam, Jacob Steendam 53
Peter Stuyvesant's New Year's Call, Edmund Clarence Stedman 54
CHAPTER V
The Settlement of New England
The Word of God to Leyden came, Jeremiah Eames Rankin 56
Song of the Pilgrims, Thomas Cogswell Upham 57
Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, Felicia Hemans 57
The First Proclamation of Miles Standish, Margaret Junkin Preston 58
The Mayflower, Erastus Wolcott Ellsworth 59
The Peace Message, Burton Egbert Stevenson 60
The First Thanksgiving Day, Margaret Junkin Preston 60
The War-Token, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 61
Five Kernels of Corn, Hezekiah Butterworth 62
The Expedition to Wessagusset, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 63
New England's Annoyances, Unknown 65
The Pilgrim Fathers, William Wordsworth 66
The Pilgrim Fathers, John Pierpont 66
The Thanksgiving in Boston Harbor, Hezekiah Butterworth 67
The First Thanksgiving, Clinton Scollard 68
New England's Growth, William Bradford 69
The Assault on the Fortress, Timothy Dwight 70
Death Song, Alonzo Lewis 70
Our Country, Julia Ward Howe 71
CHAPTER VI
Religious Persecutions in New England
Prologue, from "John Endicott," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 71
Roger Williams, Hezekiah Butterworth 72
God makes a Path, Roger Williams 72
Canonicus and Roger Williams, Unknown 73
Anne Hutchinson's Exile, Edward Everett Hale 73
John Underhill, John Greenleaf Whittier 74
The Proclamation, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 76
Cassandra Southwick, John Greenleaf Whittier 77
The King's Missive, John Greenleaf Whittier 80
CHAPTER VII
King Philip's War and the Witchcraft Delusion
The Lamentable Ballad of the Bloody Brook, Edward Everett Hale 82
The Great Swamp Fight, Caroline Hazard 83
On a Fortification at Boston begun by Women, Benjamin Tompson 85
The Sudbury Fight, Wallace Rice 85
King Philip's Last Stand, Clinton Scollard 88
Prologue, from "Giles Corey of the Salem Farms," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 88
Salem, Edmund Clarence Stedman 89
The Death of Goody Nurse, Rose Terry Cooke 90
A Salem Witch, Ednah Proctor Clarke 91
The Trial, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 92
Giles Corey, Unknown 96
Mistress Hale of Beverly, Lucy Larcom 97
CHAPTER VIII
The Struggle for the Continent
St. John, John Greenleaf Whittier 99
The Battle of La Prairie, William Douw Schuyler-Lighthall 101
The Sack of Deerfield, Thomas Dunn English 102
Pentucket, John Greenleaf Whittier 105
Lovewell's Fight, Unknown 106
Lovewell's Fight, Unknown 108
The Battle of Lovell's Pond, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 109
Louisburg, Unknown 110
A Ballad of the French Fleet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 110
The British Lyon roused, Stephen Tilden 111
The Song of Braddock's Men, Unknown 112
Braddock's Fate, Stephen Tilden 112
Ned Braddock, John Williamson Palmer 114
Ode to the Inhabitants of Pennsylvania, Unknown 114
The Embarkation, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 115
On the Defeat at Ticonderoga or Carilong, Unknown 117
On the Late Successful Expedition against Louisbourg, Francis Hopkinson 118
Fort Duquesne, Florus B. Plimpton 119
Hot stuff, Edward Botwood 121
How Stands the Glass around, James Wolfe 121
Brave Wolfe, Unknown 122
The Death of Wolfe, Unknown 123
The Captive's Hymn, Edna Dean Proctor 123
A Prophecy, Arthur Lee 125
PART II
THE REVOLUTION
Flawless his Heart, James Russell Lowell 128
CHAPTER I
The Coming of Discontent
The Virginia Song, Unknown 129
The World turned Upside Down, Unknown 130
A Song, Unknown 130
The Liberty Pole, Unknown 131
The British Grenadier, Unknown 132
Crispus Attucks, John Boyle O'Reilly 132
Unhappy Boston, Paul Revere 134
Alamance, Seymour W. Whiting 135
A New Song called the Gaspee, Unknown 135
A Ballad of the Boston Tea-Party, Oliver Wendell Holmes 136
A New Song, Unknown 137
How we became a Nation, Harriet Prescott Spofford 138
A Proclamation, Unknown 138
The Blasted Herb, Mesech Weare 139
Epigram, Unknown 140
The Daughter's Rebellion, Francis Hopkinson 140
On the Snake depicted at the Head of Some American Newspapers, Unknown 140
Free America, Joseph Warren 140
Liberty Tree, Thomas Paine 141
The Mother Country, Benjamin Franklin 142
Pennsylvania Song, Unknown 142
Maryland Resolves, Unknown 142
Massachusetts Song of Liberty, Mercy Warren 143
Epigram, Unknown 144
To the Boston Women, Unknown 144
Prophecy, Gulian Verplanck 144
CHAPTER II
The Bursting of the Storm
Paul Revere's Ride, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 144
What's in a Name, Helen F. More 146
Lexington, Sidney Lanier 146
Lexington, Oliver Wendell Holmes 147
New England's Chevy Chase, Edward Everett Hale 148
The King's Own Regulars, Unknown 150
Morgan Stanwood, Hiram Rich 151
The Minute-Men of Northboro, Wallace Rice 152
Lexington, John Greenleaf Whittier 153
The Rising, Thomas Buchanan Read 154
The Prize of the Margaretta, Will Carleton 155
The Mecklenburg Declaration, William C. Elam 156
A Song, Unknown 157
CHAPTER III
The Colonists take the Offensive
The Green Mountain Boys, William Cullen Bryant 157
The Surprise at Ticonderoga, Mary A. P. Stansbury 157
The Yankee's Return from Camp, Edward Bangs 159
Tom Gage's Proclamation, Unknown 160
The Eve of Bunker Hill, Clinton Scollard 161
Warren's Address to the American Soldiers, John Pierpont 161
The Ballad of Bunker Hill, Edward Everett Hale 162
Bunker Hill, George H. Calvert 162
Grandmother's Story of Bunker-Hill Battle, Oliver Wendell Holmes 163
The Death of Warren, Epes Sargent 166
The Battle of Bunker Hill, Unknown 167
The New-Come Chief, James Russell Lowell 168
The Trip to Cambridge, Unknown 169
War and Washington, Jonathan Mitchell Sewall 170
The Bombardment of Bristol, Unknown 171
Montgomery at Quebec, Clinton Scollard 171
A Song, Unknown 172
A Poem containing Some Remarks on the Present War, Unknown 173
Mugford's Victory, John White Chadwick 174
Off from Boston, Unknown 176
CHAPTER IV
Independence
Emancipation from British Dependence, Philip Freneau 176
Rodney's Ride, Unknown 177
American Independence, Francis Hopkinson 178
The Fourth of July, John Pierpont 179
Independence Day, Royall Tyler 179
On Independence, Jonathan Mitchell Sewall 179
The American Patriot's Prayer, Unknown 180
Columbia, Timothy Dwight 180
CHAPTER V
The First Campaign
The Boasting of Sir Peter Parker, Clinton Scollard 181
A New War Song by Sir Peter Parker, Unknown 182
The Maryland Battalion, John Williamson Palmer 183
Haarlem Heights, Arthur Guiterman 183
Nathan Hale, Unknown 185
Nathan Hale, Francis Miles Finch 186
The Ballad of Sweet P, Virginia Woodward Cloud 186
Across the Delaware, Will Carleton 188
The Battle of Trenton, Unknown 188
Trenton and Princeton, Unknown 188
Assunpink and Princeton, Thomas Dunn English 189
Seventy-Six, William Cullen Bryant 191
Betsy's Battle Flag, Minna Irving 191
The American Flag, Joseph Rodman Drake 192
CHAPTER VI
"The Fate of Sir Jack Brag"
The Rifleman's Song at Bennington, Unknown 193
The Marching Song of Stark's Men, Edward Everett Hale 193
Parson Allen's Ride, Wallace Bruce 194
The Battle of Bennington, Thomas P. Rodman 195
Bennington, W. H. Babcock 196
The Battle of Oriskany, Charles D. Helmer 198
Saint Leger, Clinton Scollard 199
The Progress of Sir Jack Brag, Unknown 200
Arnold at Stillwater, Thomas Dunn English 200
The Fate of John Burgoyne, Unknown 202
Saratoga's Song, Unknown 202
CHAPTER VII
The Second Stage
Lord North's Recantation, Unknown 204
A New Ballad, Unknown 205
General Howe's Letter, Unknown 205
Carmen Bellicosum, Guy Humphreys McMaster 206
Valley Forge, Thomas Buchanan Read 207
British Valor displayed; or, The Battle of the Kegs, Francis Hopkinson 208
The Little Black-Eyed Rebel, Will Carleton 209
The Battle of Monmouth, Unknown 210
The Battle of Monmouth, Thomas Dunn English 211
Molly Pitcher, Kate Brownlee Sherwood 213
Molly Pitcher, Laura E. Richards 213
Yankee Doodle's Expedition to Rhode Island, Unknown 214
Running the Blockade, Nora Perry 215
Betty Zane, Thomas Dunn English 216
The Wyoming Massacre, Uriah Terry 217
CHAPTER VIII
The War on the Water
The Cruise of the Fair American, Unknown 219
On the Death of Captain Nicholas Biddle, Philip Freneau 220
The Yankee Privateer, Arthur Hale 221
Paul Jones, Unknown 222
The Yankee Man-of-War, Unknown 223
Paul Jones—A New Song, Unknown 224
Paul Jones, Unknown 224
The Bonhomme Richard and Serapis, Philip Freneau 225
Barney's Invitation, Philip Freneau 226
Song on Captain Barney's Victory, Philip Freneau 227
The South Carolina, Unknown 228
CHAPTER IX
New York and the "Neutral Ground"
Sir Henry Clinton's Invitation to the Refugees, Philip Freneau 229
The Storm of Stony Point, Arthur Guiterman 230
Wayne at Stony Point, Clinton Scollard 230
Aaron Burr's Wooing, Edmund Clarence Stedman 231
The Modern Jonas, Unknown 232
Caldwell of Springfield, Bret Harte 232
The Cow-Chace, John André 233
Brave Paulding and the Spy, Unknown 237
Arnold the Vile Traitor, Unknown 238
Epigram, Unknown 238
André's Request to Washington, Nathaniel Parker Willis 238
André, Charlotte Fiske Bates 239
Sergeant Champe, Unknown 239
A New Song, Joseph Stansbury 240
The Lords of the Main, Joseph Stansbury 241
The Royal Adventurer, Philip Freneau 241
The Descent on Middlesex, Peter St. John 242
CHAPTER X
The War in the South
Hymns of the Moravian Nuns of Bethlehem, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 245
About Savannah, Unknown 245
A Song about Charleston, Unknown 246
The Swamp Fox, William Gilmore Simms 247
Song of Marion's Men, William Cullen Bryant 248
Macdonald's Raid, Paul Hamilton Hayne 248
Sumter's Band, J. W. Simmons 250
The Battle of King's Mountain, Unknown 251
The Battle of the Cowpens, Thomas Dunn English 252
The Battle of Eutaw, William Gilmore Simms 254
Eutaw Springs, Philip Freneau 255
The Dance, Unknown 256
Cornwallis's Surrender, Unknown 256
The Surrender of Cornwallis, Unknown 257
News From Yorktown, Lewis Worthington Smith 257
An Ancient Prophecy, Philip Freneau 258
CHAPTER XI
Peace
On Sir Henry Clinton's Recall, Unknown 259
On the Departure of the British from Charleston, Philip Freneau 260
On the British King's Speech, Philip Freneau 261
England and America in 1782, Alfred Tennyson 262
On Disbanding the Army, David Humphreys 262
Evacuation of New York by the British, Unknown 262
Occasioned by General Washington's Arrival in Philadelphia, on his Way to his Residence in Virginia, Philip Freneau 263
The American Soldier's Hymn, Unknown 264
Thanksgiving Hymn, Unknown 264
Land of the Wilful Gospel, Sidney Lanier 265
PART III
THE PERIOD OF GROWTH
"Oh Mother of a Mighty Race," William Cullen Bryant 268
CHAPTER I
The New Nation
A Radical Song of 1786, St. John Honeywood 269
The Federal Convention, Unknown 269
To the Federal Convention, Timothy Dwight 270
The New Roof, Francis Hopkinson 270
Convention Song, Unknown 271
The Federal Constitution, William Milns 272
The First American Congress, Joel Barlow 273
Washington, James Jeffrey Roche 274
The Vow of Washington, John Greenleaf Whittier 274
On the Death of Benjamin Franklin, Philip Freneau 275
George Washington, John Hall Ingham 275
Washington, Lord Byron 276
Adams and Liberty, Robert Treat Paine 276
Hail Columbia, Joseph Hopkinson 277
Ye Sons of Columbia, Thomas Green Fessenden 278
Truxton's Victory, Unknown 279
The Constellation and the Insurgente, Unknown 280
Washington's Monument, Unknown 280
How we burned the Philadelphia, Barrett Eastman 281
Reuben James, James Jeffrey Roche 282
Skipper Ireson's Ride, John Greenleaf Whittier 283
A Plea for Flood Ireson, Charles Timothy Brooks 284
CHAPTER II
The Second War with England
The Times, Unknown 285
Reparation or War, Unknown 286
Terrapin War, Unknown 286
Farewell, Peace, Unknown 287
Come, ye Lads, who wish to shine, Unknown 287
Hull's Surrender, Unknown 287
The Constitution and the Guerrière, Unknown 288
Halifax Station, Unknown 289
On the Capture of the Guerrière, Philip Freneau 290
Firstfruits in 1812, Wallace Rice 291
The Battle of Queenstown, William Banker, Jr. 292
The Wasp's Frolic, Unknown 293
The United States and Macedonian, Unknown 293
The United States and Macedonian, Unknown 294
Jack Creamer, James Jeffrey Roche 295
Yankee Thunders, Unknown 296
The General Armstrong, Unknown 296
Capture of Little York, Unknown 298
The Death of General Pike, Laughton Osborn 299
Old Fort Meigs, Unknown 300
The Shannon and the Chesapeake, Thomas Tracy Bouvé 300
Chesapeake and Shannon, Unknown 301
Defeat and Victory, Wallace Rice 302
Enterprise and Boxer, Unknown 302
Perry's Victory, Unknown 303
The Battle of Erie, Unknown 303
Perry's Victory—A Song, Unknown 305
The Fall of Tecumseh, Unknown 305
The Legend of Walbach Tower, George Houghton 306
The Battle of Valparaiso, Unknown 307
The Battle of Bridgewater, Unknown 308
The Hero of Bridgewater, Charles L. S. Jones 309
The Battle of Stonington, Philip Freneau 309
The Ocean-Fight, Unknown 310
The Lost War-Sloop, Edna Dean Proctor 311
On the British Invasion, Philip Freneau 312
The Battle of Lake Champlain, Philip Freneau 312
The Battle of Plattsburg Bay, Clinton Scollard 313
The Battle of Plattsburg, Unknown 314
The Battle of Baltimore, Unknown 315
Fort McHenry, Unknown 316
The Star-Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key 317
Ye Parliament of England, Unknown 318
The Bower of Peace, Robert Southey 318
Reid at Fayal, John Williamson Palmer 319
The Fight of the Armstrong Privateer, James Jeffrey Roche 319
The Armstrong at Fayal, Wallace Rice 321
Fort Bowyer, Charles L. S. Jones 323
The Battle of New Orleans, Thomas Dunn English 323
Jackson at New Orleans, Wallace Rice 325
To the Defenders of New Orleans, Joseph Rodman Drake 326
The Hunters of Kentucky, Unknown 326
The Constitution's Last Fight, James Jeffrey Roche 327
Sea and Land Victories, Unknown 328
Ode to Peace, Unknown 329
CHAPTER III
The West
The Settler, Alfred B. Street 329
The Mothers of the West, William Davis Gallagher 330
On the Emigration to America, Philip Freneau 331
John Filson, William Henry Venable 331
Sainclaire's Defeat, Unknown 332
Johnny Appleseed, William Henry Venable 334
The Founders of Ohio, William Henry Venable 335
Blennerhassett's Island, Thomas Buchanan Read 335
The Battle of Muskingum, William Harrison Safford 337
To Aaron Burr, under Trial for High Treason, Sarah Wentworth Morton 338
The Battle of Tippecanoe, Unknown 339
The Tomb of the Brave, Joseph Hutton 339
Sa-cá-ga-we-a, Edna Dean Proctor 340
On the Discoveries of Captain Lewis, Joel Barlow 341
Whitman's Ride for Oregon, Hezekiah Butterworth 342
Discovery of San Francisco Bay, Richard Edward White 343
John Charles Frémont, Charles F. Lummis 345
"The Days of 'Forty-Nine," Unknown 345
The Old Santa Fé Trail, Richard Burton 346
California, Lydia Huntley Sigourney 346
CHAPTER IV
Through Five Administrations
Theodosia Burr, John Williamson Palmer 346
On the Death of Commodore Oliver H. Perry, John G. C. Brainard 347
On the Death of Joseph Rodman Drake, Fitz-Greene Halleck 348
On Laying the Corner-Stone of the Bunker Hill Monument, John Pierpont 348
La Fayette, Dolly Madison 349
The Death of Jefferson, Hezekiah Butterworth 349
Old Ironsides, Oliver Wendell Holmes 351
Concord Hymn, Ralph Waldo Emerson 351
The Wreck of the Hesperus, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 351
Old Tippecanoe, Unknown 353
The Death of Harrison, Nathaniel Parker Willis 353
CHAPTER V
The War with Mexico
The Valor of Ben Milam, Clinton Scollard 354
Ben Milam, William H. Wharton 355
The Men of the Alamo, James Jeffrey Roche 355
The Defence of the Alamo, Joaquin Miller 357
The Fight at San Jacinto, John Williamson Palmer 357
Song of Texas, William Henry Cuyler Hosmer 358
Texas, John Greenleaf Whittier 358
Mr. Hosea Biglow speaks, James Russell Lowell 360
The Guns in the Grass, Thomas Frost 361
Rio Bravo—A Mexican Lament, Charles Fenno Hoffman 362
To Arms, Park Benjamin 363
Monterey, Charles Fenno Hoffman 363
Victor Galbraith, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 364
Buena Vista, Albert Pike 364
The Angels of Buena Vista, John Greenleaf Whittier 366
The Bivouac of the Dead, Theodore O'Hara 368
What Mr. Robinson thinks, James Russell Lowell 369
Battle of the King's Mill, Thomas Dunn English 370
The Siege of Chapultepec, William Haines Lytle 371
Illumination for Victories in Mexico, Grace Greenwood 371
The Crisis, John Greenleaf Whittier 372
The Volunteers, William Haines Lytle 374
CHAPTER VI
Fourteen Years of Peace
The Ship Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific, Francis Lieber 374
The War Ship of Peace, Samuel Lover 375
On the Defeat of Henry Clay, William Wilberforce Lord 376
On the Death of M. D'Ossoli and his Wife, Margaret Fuller, Walter Savage Landor 376
The Last Appendix to "Yankee Doodle," Unknown 376
Daniel Webster, Oliver Wendell Holmes 377
The Flag, James Jeffrey Roche 378
Kane, Fitz-James O'Brien 379
Herndon, S. Weir Mitchell 380
Blood is Thicker than Water, Wallace Rice 380
Baron Renfrew's Ball, Charles Graham Halpine 382
PART IV
THE CIVIL WAR
Battle-Hymn of the Republic, Julia Ward Howe 384
CHAPTER I
The Slavery Question
To William Lloyd Garrison, John Greenleaf Whittier 385
Clerical Oppressors, John Greenleaf Whittier 385
The Debate in the Sennit, James Russell Lowell 386
Ichabod, John Greenleaf Whittier 388
The Kidnapping of Sims, John Pierpont 388
The Kansas Emigrants, John Greenleaf Whittier 389
Burial of Barber, John Greenleaf Whittier 389
The Defence of Lawrence, Richard Realf 390
The Fight over the Body of Keitt, Unknown 391
Le Marais du Cygne, John Greenleaf Whittier 392
How Old Brown took Harper's Ferry, Edmund Clarence Stedman 393
The Battle of Charlestown, Henry Howard Brownell 395
Brown of Ossawatomie, John Greenleaf Whittier 396
Glory Hallelujah! or John Brown's Body, Charles Sprague Hall 397
John Brown, Edna Dean Proctor 397
John Brown: a Paradox, Louise Imogen Guiney 397
Lecompton's Black Brigade, Charles Graham Halpine 398
Lincoln, the Man of the People, Edwin Markham 399
Brother Jonathan's Lament for Sister Caroline, Oliver Wendell Holmes 400
Jefferson D., H. S. Cornwell 401
The Old Cove, Henry Howard Brownell 401
A Spool of Thread, Sophie E. Eastman 402
God save Our President, Francis DeHaes Janvier 403
CHAPTER II
The Gauntlet
Bob Anderson, my Beau, Unknown 403
On Fort Sumter, Unknown 403
Sumter, Edmund Clarence Stedman 404
The Battle of Morris' Island, Unknown 404
Sumter—A Ballad of 1861, Unknown 405
The Fight at Sumter, Unknown 407
Sumter, Henry Howard Brownell 408
The Great Bell Roland, Theodore Tilton 408
Men of the North and West, Richard Henry Stoddard 409
Out and Fight, Charles Godfrey Leland 409
No More Words, Franklin Lushington 410
Our Country's Call, William Cullen Bryant 410
Dixie, Albert Pike 411
A Cry to Arms, Henry Timrod 411
"We Conquer or Die," James Pierpont 412
"Call All," Unknown 412
The Bonnie Blue Flag, Annie Chambers Ketchum 413
I give my Soldier Boy a Blade, Unknown 413
CHAPTER III
The North gets its Lesson
The Nineteenth of April, Lucy Larcom 414
Through Baltimore, Bayard Taylor 414
My Maryland, James Ryder Randall 415
Ellsworth, Unknown 416
Colonel Ellsworth, Richard Henry Stoddard 416
On the Death of "Jackson," Unknown 417
The Virginians of the Valley, Francis Orrery Ticknor 417
Bethel, A. J. H. Duganne 417
Dirge, Thomas William Parsons 419
Wait for the Wagon, Unknown 419
Upon the Hill before Centreville, George Henry Boker 420
Manassas, Catherine M. Warfield 423
A Battle Ballad, Francis Orrery Ticknor 424
The Run from Manassas Junction, Unknown 425
On to Richmond, John R. Thompson 426
Cast Down, but not Destroyed, Unknown 427
Shop and Freedom, Unknown 428
The C. S. A. Commissioners, Unknown 428
Death of the Lincoln Despotism, Unknown 429
Jonathan to John, James Russell Lowell 430
A New Song to an Old Tune, Unknown 432
CHAPTER IV
The Grand Army of the Potomac
Civil War, Charles Dawson Shanly 432
The Picket-Guard, Ethel Lynn Beers 433
Tardy George, Unknown 433
How McClellan took Manassas, Unknown 434
Wanted—A Man, Edmund Clarence Stedman 435
The Gallant Fighting "Joe," James Stevenson 436
Kearny at Seven Pines, Edmund Clarence Stedman 437
The Burial of Latané, John R. Thompson 437
The Charge by the Ford, Thomas Dunn English 438
Dirge for Ashby, Margaret Junkin Preston 439
Malvern Hill, Herman Melville 439
A Message, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps 440
Three Hundred Thousand More, James Sloan Gibbons 440
Cedar Mountain, Annie Fields 441
"Our Left," Francis Orrery Ticknor 441
Dirge for a Soldier, George Henry Boker 442
The Reveille, Bret Harte 442
Beyond the Potomac, Paul Hamilton Hayne 443
Barbara Frietchie, John Greenleaf Whittier 444
Marthy Virginia's Hand, George Parsons Lathrop 445
The Victor of Antietam, Herman Melville 445
The Crossing at Fredericksburg, George Henry Boker 446
At Fredericksburg, John Boyle O'Reilly 447
Fredericksburg, Thomas Bailey Aldrich 449
By the Potomac, Thomas Bailey Aldrich 449
The Washers of the Shroud, James Russell Lowell 450
CHAPTER V
The War in the West
The Little Drummer, Richard Henry Stoddard 451
The Death of Lyon, Henry Peterson 453
Zagonyi, George Henry Boker 453
Battle of Somerset, Cornelius C. Cullen 454
Zollicoffer, Henry Lynden Flash 454
Boy Brittan, Forceythe Willson 455
Albert Sidney Johnston, Kate Brownlee Sherwood 456
Albert Sidney Johnston, Francis Orrery Ticknor 457
Beauregard, Mrs. C. A. Warfield 457
The Eagle of Corinth, Henry Howard Brownell 458
The Battle of Murfreesboro, Kinahan Cornwallis 459
Little Giffen, Francis Orrery Ticknor 460
The Battle Autumn of 1862, John Greenleaf Whittier 460
CHAPTER VI
The Coast and the River
At Port Royal, John Greenleaf Whittier 461
Ready, Phœbe Cary 461
The Daughter of the Regiment, Clinton Scollard 462
The Turtle, Unknown 462
The Attack, Thomas Buchanan Read 463
The Cumberland, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 464
On Board the Cumberland, George Henry Boker 464
The Cumberland, Herman Melville 466
How the Cumberland went down, S. Weir Mitchell 466
The Cruise of the Monitor, George Henry Boker 467
The Sinking of the Merrimack, Lucy Larcom 468
The River Fight, Henry Howard Brownell 468
The Ballad of New Orleans, George Henry Boker 472
The Varuna, George Henry Boker 474
The Surrender of New Orleans, Marion Manville 475
Mumford, Ina M. Porter 476
Butler's Proclamation, Paul Hamilton Hayne 476
CHAPTER VII
Emancipation
To John C. Frémont, John Greenleaf Whittier 477
Astræa at the Capitol, John Greenleaf Whittier 478
Boston Hymn, Ralph Waldo Emerson 478
The Proclamation, John Greenleaf Whittier 480
Treason's Last Device, Edmund Clarence Stedman 480
Laus Deo, John Greenleaf Whittier 481
CHAPTER VIII
The "Grand Army's" Second Campaign
Mosby at Hamilton, Madison Cawein 482
John Pelham, James Ryder Randall 482
Hooker's Across, George Henry Boker 483
Stonewall Jackson's Way, John Williamson Palmer 483
Keenan's Charge, George Parsons Lathrop 484
"The Brigade must not know, Sir," Unknown 485
Stonewall Jackson, Henry Lynden Flash 486
The Dying Words of Stonewall Jackson, Sidney Lanier 486
Under the Shade of the Trees, Margaret Junkin Preston 486
The Ballad of Ishmael Day, Unknown 487
Riding with Kilpatrick, Clinton Scollard 488
Gettysburg, Edmund Clarence Stedman 489
The High Tide at Gettysburg, Will Henry Thompson 491
Gettysburg, James Jeffrey Roche 492
The Battle-Field, Lloyd Mifflin 492
John Burns of Gettysburg, Bret Harte 493
Kentucky Belle, Constance Fenimore Woolson 494
The Draft Riot, Charles de Kay 496
Lincoln at Gettysburg, Bayard Taylor 497
CHAPTER IX
With Grant on the Mississippi
Running the Batteries, Herman Melville 498
Before Vicksburg, George Henry Boker 499
Vicksburg, Paul Hamilton Hayne 499
The Battle-Cry of Freedom, George Frederick Root 500
The Black Regiment, George Henry Boker 500
The Ballad of Chickamauga, Maurice Thompson 501
Thomas at Chickamauga, Kate Brownlee Sherwood 502
Garfield's Ride at Chickamauga, Hezekiah Butterworth 503
The Battle of Lookout Mountain, George Henry Boker 505
The Battle in the Clouds, William Dean Howells 506
Charleston, Henry Timrod 507
The Battle of Charleston Harbor, Paul Hamilton Hayne 507
Bury Them, Henry Howard Brownell 508
Twilight on Sumter, Richard Henry Stoddard 509
CHAPTER X
The Final Struggle
Put it Through, Edward Everett Hale 509
Logan at Peach Tree Creek, Hamlin Garland 510
A Dirge for McPherson, Herman Melville 511
With Corse at Allatoona, Samuel H. M. Byers 511
Allatoona, Unknown 512
Sherman's March to the Sea, Samuel H. M. Byers 512
The Song of Sherman's Army, Charles Graham Halpine 513
Marching through Georgia, Henry Clay Work 513
Ethiopia Saluting the Colors, Walt Whitman 514
Sherman's in Savannah, Oliver Wendell Holmes 514
Savannah, Alethea S. Burroughs 514
Carolina, Henry Timrod 515
Charleston, Paul Hamilton Hayne 515
Romance, William Ernest Henley 516
The Foe at the Gates, John Dickson Bruns 516
Ulric Dahlgren, Kate Brownlee Sherwood 517
Lee to the Rear, John Randolph Thompson 518
Can't, Harriet Prescott Spofford 519
Obsequies of Stuart, John Randolph Thompson 519
A Christopher of the Shenandoah, Edith M. Thomas 520
Sheridan at Cedar Creek, Herman Melville 521
Sheridan's Ride, Thomas Buchanan Read 521
The Year of Jubilee, Henry Clay Work 522
Virginia Capta, Margaret Junkin Preston 523
The Fall of Richmond, Herman Melville 523
The Surrender at Appomattox, Herman Melville 524
Lee's Parole, Marion Manville 524
Robert E. Lee, Julia Ward Howe 524
CHAPTER XI
Winslow and Farragut
The Eagle and Vulture, Thomas Buchanan Read 525
Kearsarge and Alabama, Unknown 526
Kearsarge, S. Weir Mitchell 526
The Alabama, Maurice Bell 527
Craven, Henry Newbolt 527
Farragut, William Tuckey Meredith 528
Through Fire in Mobile Bay, Unknown 529
The Bay Fight, Henry Howard Brownell 530
"Albemarle" Cushing, James Jeffrey Roche 535
At the Cannon's Mouth, Herman Melville 537
CHAPTER XII
The Martyr President
Lincoln, S. Weir Mitchell 537
O Captain! My Captain! Walt Whitman 537
The Dead President, Edward Rowland Sill 538
Abraham Lincoln, Edmund Clarence Stedman 538
Pardon, Julia Ward Howe 539
The Dear President, John James Piatt 539
Abraham Lincoln, William Cullen Bryant 540
Abraham Lincoln, Richard Henry Stoddard 540
Parricide, Julia Ward Howe 542
Abraham Lincoln, Tom Taylor 543
CHAPTER XIII
Peace
"Stack Arms," Joseph Blynth Alston 545
Jefferson Davis, Walker Meriwether Bell 545
In the Land where we were Dreaming, Daniel B. Lucas 546
Acceptation, Margaret Junkin Preston 547
The Conquered Banner, Abram J. Ryan 547
Peace, Adeline D. T. Whitney 547
Peace, Phœbe Cary 548
A Second Review of the Grand Army, Bret Harte 548
When Johnny comes marching Home, Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore 549
Driving Home the Cows, Kate Putnam Osgood 550
Ode recited at the Harvard Commemoration, James Russell Lowell 550
PART V
THE PERIOD OF EXPANSION
The Eagle's Song, Richard Mansfield 558
CHAPTER I
Reconstruction and After
To the Thirty-Ninth Congress, John Greenleaf Whittier 559
"Mr. Johnson's Policy of Reconstruction," Charles Graham Halpine 559
Thaddeus Stevens, Phœbe Cary 560
South Carolina to the States of the North, Paul Hamilton Hayne 561
Ku-Klux, Madison Cawein 562
The Rear Guard, Irene Fowler Brown 562
The Blue and the Gray, Francis Miles Finch 563
The Stricken South to the North, Paul Hamilton Hayne 564
How Cyrus laid the Cable, John Godfrey Saxe 565
The Cable Hymn, John Greenleaf Whittier 565
An Arctic Vision, Bret Harte 566
Alaska, Joaquin Miller 567
Israel Freyer's Bid for Gold, Edmund Clarence Stedman 567
Chicago, John Greenleaf Whittier 568
Chicago, Bret Harte 569
Chicago, John Boyle O'Reilly 569
Boston, John Boyle O'Reilly 570
The Church of the Revolution, Hezekiah Butterworth 570
After the Fire, Oliver Wendell Holmes 571
The Ride of Collins Graves, John Boyle O'Reilly 571
CHAPTER II
The Year of a Hundred Years
Our First Century, George Edward Woodberry 572
Centennial Hymn, John Greenleaf Whittier 573
The Centennial Meditation of Columbia, Sidney Lanier 573
Centennial Hymn, William Cullen Bryant 574
Welcome to the Nations, Oliver Wendell Holmes 574
The National Ode, Bayard Taylor 575
Our National Banner, Dexter Smith 578
After the Centennial, Christopher Pearse Cranch 578
CHAPTER III
The Conquest of the Plains
The Pacific Railway, C. R. Ballard 579
After the Comanches, Unknown 579
Down the Little Big Horn, Francis Brooks 580
Little Big Horn, Ernest McGaffey 581
Custer's Last Charge, Frederick Whittaker 582
Custer, Edmund Clarence Stedman 583
The Revenge of Rain-in-the-Face, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 583
Miles Keogh's Horse, John Hay 584
On the Big Horn, John Greenleaf Whittier 585
The "Grey Horse Troop," Robert W. Chambers 585
Geronimo, Ernest McGaffey 586
The Last Reservation, Walter Learned 586
Indian Names, Lydia Huntley Sigourney 587
CHAPTER IV
The Second Assassination
Rejoice, Joaquin Miller 587
The Bells at Midnight, Thomas Bailey Aldrich 588
J. A. G., Julia Ward Howe 589
Midnight—September 19, 1881, John Boyle O'Reilly 589
At the President's Grave, Richard Watson Gilder 590
On the Death of President Garfield, Oliver Wendell Holmes 590
President Garfield, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 591
Yorktown Centennial Lyric, Paul Hamilton Hayne 592
The Brooklyn Bridge, Edna Dean Proctor 593
Brooklyn Bridge, Charles George Douglas Roberts 593
Charleston, Richard Watson Gilder 594
Mayflower, John Boyle O'Reilly 594
Fairest of Freedom's Daughters, Jeremiah Eames Rankin 594
Liberty Enlightening the World, Edmund Clarence Stedman 595
The Bartholdi Statue, John Greenleaf Whittier 595
Additional Verses to Hail Columbia, Oliver Wendell Holmes 596
New National Hymn, Francis Marion Crawford 596
In Apia Bay, Charles George Douglas Roberts 597
An International Episode, Caroline T. Duer 598
By the Conemaugh, Florence Earle Coates 599
The Man who rode to Conemaugh, John Eliot Bowen 599
A Ballad of the Conemaugh Flood, Hardwick Drummond Rawnsley 600
Conemaugh, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward 601
"The White City," Richard Watson Gilder 602
The Kearsarge, James Jeffrey Roche 602
Tennessee, Virginia Fraser Boyle 603
An Ode on the Unveiling of the Shaw Memorial, Thomas Bailey Aldrich 603
The Klondike, Edwin Arlington Robinson 604
CHAPTER V
The War with Spain
Apostrophe to the Island of Cuba, James Gates Percival 606
The Gallant Fifty-One, Henry Lynden Flash 606
Cuba, Edmund Clarence Stedman 607
The Gospel of Peace, James Jeffrey Roche 607
Cuba, Harvey Rice 608
Cuba to Columbia, Will Carleton 608
Cuba Libre, Joaquin Miller 609
The Parting of the Ways, Joseph B. Gilder 609
The Men of the Maine, Clinton Scollard 609
The Word of the Lord from Havana, Richard Hovey 610
Half-Mast, Lloyd Mifflin 611
The Fighting Race, Joseph I. C. Clarke 611
On the Eve of War, Danske Dandridge 612
To Spain—A Last Word, Edith M. Thomas 612
The Martyrs of the Maine, Rupert Hughes 612
El Emplazado, William Henry Venable 613
Battle Song, Robert Burns Wilson 613
Greeting from England, Unknown 614
Battle Cry, William Henry Venable 614
Just One Signal, Unknown 614
Dewey at Manila, Robert Underwood Johnson 615
Dewey and his Men, Wallace Rice 617
"Off Manilly," Edmund Vance Cooke 618
Manila Bay, Arthur Hale 618
A Ballad of Manila Bay, Charles George Douglas Roberts 618
The Battle of Manila, Richard Hovey 619
Dewey in Manila Bay, R. V. Risley 620
"Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin," Madison Cawein 620
The Spirit of the Maine, Tudor Jenks 621
The Dragon of the Seas, Thomas Nelson Page 621
The Sailing of the Fleet, Unknown 622
"Cut the Cables," Robert Burns Wilson 622
The Race of the Oregon, John James Meehan 624
Battle-Song of the Oregon, Wallace Rice 624
Strike the Blow, Unknown 625
Eight Volunteers, Lansing C. Bailey 626
The Men of the Merrimac, Clinton Scollard 626
The Victory-Wreck, Will Carleton 627
Hobson and his Men, Robert Loveman 627
The Call to the Colors, Arthur Guiterman 627
Essex Regiment March, George Edward Woodberry 628
The Gathering, Herbert B. Swett 629
Comrades, Henry R. Dorr 629
Wheeler's Brigade at Santiago, Wallace Rice 629
Deeds of Valor at Santiago, Clinton Scollard 630
The Charge at Santiago, William Hamilton Hayne 630
Private Blair of the Regulars, Clinton Scollard 631
Wheeler at Santiago, James Lindsay Gordon 631
Spain's Last Armada, Wallace Rice 632
Santiago, Thomas A. Janvier 633
The Fleet at Santiago, Charles E. Russell 634
The Destroyer of Destroyers, Wallace Rice 635
The Brooklyn at Santiago, Wallace Rice 636
The Rush of the Oregon, Arthur Guiterman 637
The Men behind the Guns, John Jerome Rooney 637
Cervera, Bertrand Shadwell 638
McIlrath of Malate, John Jerome Rooney 639
When the Great Gray Ships come in, Guy Wetmore Carryl 640
Full Cycle, John White Chadwick 640
Breath on the Oat, Joseph Russell Taylor 641
The Islands of the Sea, George Edward Woodberry 641
Ballade of Expansion, Hilda Johnson 642
"Rebels," Ernest Crosby 643
On a Soldier fallen in the Philippines, William Vaughn Moody 643
The Ballad of Paco Town, Clinton Scollard 644
The Deed of Lieutenant Miles, Clinton Scollard 644
Aguinaldo, Bertrand Shadwell 645
The Fight at Dajo, Alfred E. Wood 645
An Ode in Time of Hesitation, William Vaughn Moody 646
CHAPTER VI
The New Century
A Toast to Our Native Land, Robert Bridges 649
Buffalo, Florence Earle Coates 649
McKinley, Unknown 649
Faithful unto Death, Richard Handfield Titherington 650
The Comfort of the Trees, Richard Watson Gilder 650
Outward Bound, Edward Sydney Tylee 650
Panama, James Jeffrey Roche 651
Darien, Edwin Arnold 651
Panama, Amanda T. Jones 652
A Song of Panama, Alfred Damon Runyon 652
Hymn of the West, Edmund Clarence Stedman 653
Britannia to Columbia, Alfred Austin 654
Those Rebel Flags, John H. Jewett 654
The Song of the Flags, S. Weir Mitchell 655
Arizona, Sharlot M. Hall 655
San Francisco, Joaquin Miller 657
San Francisco, John Vance Cheney 657
To San Francisco, S. J. Alexander 657
Resurge San Francisco, Joaquin Miller 658
Grover Cleveland, Joel Benton 658
Unguarded Gates, Thomas Bailey Aldrich 659
National Song, William Henry Venable 659
Ad Patriam, Clinton Scollard 660
O Land Beloved, George Edward Woodberry 660
The Republic, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 660
CHAPTER VII
The World War
Sonnets written in the Fall of 1914, George Edward Woodberry 661
Abraham Lincoln walks at Midnight, Vachel Lindsay 661
The "William P. Frye," Jeanne Robert Foster 662
The White Ships and the Red, Joyce Kilmer 663
Mare Liberum, Henry van Dyke 664
Ode in Memory of the American Volunteers fallen for France, Alan Seeger 664
Republic to Republic, Witter Bynner 666
To the United States of America, Robert Bridges 666
The Captive Ships at Manila, Dorothy Paul 666
The Road to France, Daniel Henderson 667
Pershing at the Tomb of Lafayette, Amelia Josephine Burr 667
Your Lad, and my Lad, Randall Parrish 668
A Call to Arms, Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews 668
The First Three, Clinton Scollard 669
To America, on her First Sons fallen in the Great War, E. M. Walker 670
Rouge Bouquet, Joyce Kilmer 670
Marching Song, Dana Burnet 671
Our Modest Doughboys, Charlton Andrews 671
Seicheprey 672
A Ballad of Redhead's Day, Richard Butler Glaenzer 672
Victory Bells, Grace Hazard Conkling 673
Epicedium, J. Corson Miller 673
The Dead, David Morton 674
The Unreturning, Clinton Scollard 674
The Star, Marion Couthouy Smith 674
Brest left behind, John Chipman Farrar 674
To the Returning Brave, Robert Underwood Johnson 675
The Return, Eleanor Rogers Cox 676
King of the Belgians, Marion Couthouy Smith 676
The Family of Nations, Willard Wattles 677
The League of Nations, Mary Siegrist 677
Beyond Wars, David Morton 678
"When there is Peace," Austin Dobson 678
After the War, Richard Le Gallienne 678
NOTES 681
INDEX OF AUTHORS 699
INDEX OF FIRST LINES 705
INDEX OF TITLES 713