Part 6 (1/2)

Their blood hath washed out their foul footsteps' pollution; No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved home and the war's desolation; Blessed with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just, And this be our motto, ”In G.o.d is our trust”: And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS

THOMAS DUNN ENGLISH

[Sidenote: Jan. 8 1815]

_The treaty of peace between Great Britain and the United States was signed at Ghent, December 14, 1814; but before the news crossed the ocean, Pakenham, with twelve thousand British veterans, attacked New Orleans, defended by Andrew Jackson with five thousand Americans, mostly militia. The British were repulsed with a loss of two thousand; the American loss was trifling._

Here, in my rude log cabin, Few poorer men there be Among the mountain ranges Of Eastern Tennessee.

My limbs are weak and shrunken, White hairs upon my brow, My dog--lie still, old fellow!-- My sole companion now.

Yet I, when young and l.u.s.ty, Have gone through stirring scenes, For I went down with Carroll To fight at New Orleans.

You say you'd like to hear me The stirring story tell Of those who stood the battle And those who fighting fell.

Short work to count our losses-- We stood and dropp'd the foe As easily as by firelight Men shoot the buck or doe.

And while they fell by hundreds Upon the b.l.o.o.d.y plain, Of us, fourteen were wounded, And only eight were slain.

The eighth of January, Before the break of day, Our raw and hasty levies Were brought into array.

No cotton-bales before us-- Some fool that falsehood told; Before us was an earthwork, Built from the swampy mould.

And there we stood in silence, And waited with a frown, To greet with b.l.o.o.d.y welcome The bulldogs of the Crown.

The heavy fog of morning Still hid the plain from sight, When came a thread of scarlet Marked faintly in the white.

We fired a single cannon, And as its thunders roll'd The mist before us lifted In many a heavy fold.

The mist before us lifted, And in their bravery fine Came rus.h.i.+ng to their ruin The fearless British line.

Then from our waiting cannons Leap'd forth the deadly flame, To meet the advancing columns That swift and steady came.

The thirty-twos of Crowley And Bluchi's twenty-four, To Spotts's eighteen-pounders Responded with their roar, Sending the grape-shot deadly That marked its pathway plain, And paved the road it travell'd With corpses of the slain.

Our rifles firmly grasping, And heedless of the din, We stood in silence waiting For orders to begin.

Our fingers on the triggers, Our hearts, with anger stirr'd, Grew still more fierce and eager As Jackson's voice was heard: ”Stand steady! Waste no powder Wait till your shots will tell!

To-day the work you finish-- See that you do it well!”

Their columns drawing nearer, We felt our patience tire, When came the voice of Carroll, Distinct and measured, ”Fire!”

Oh! then you should have mark'd us Our volleys on them pour Have heard our joyous rifles Ring sharply through the roar, And seen their foremost columns Melt hastily away As snow in mountain gorges Before the floods of May.

They soon reform'd their columns, And 'mid the fatal rain We never ceased to hurtle Came to their work again.

The Forty-fourth is with them, That first its laurels won With stout old Abercrombie Beneath an eastern sun.

It rushes to the battle, And, though within the rear Its leader is a laggard, It shows no signs of fear.

It did not need its colonel, For soon there came instead An eagle-eyed commander, And on its march he led.

'Twas Pakenham, in person, The leader of the field; I knew it by the cheering That loudly round him peal'd; And by his quick, sharp movement, We felt his heart was stirr'd, As when at Salamanca, He led the fighting Third.

I raised my rifle quickly, I sighted at his breast, G.o.d save the gallant leader And take him to his rest!

I did not draw the trigger, I could not for my life.