Friday, December 30, 2011

Island No. 10

( For The Gazette. )

Some noted places on earth
Are deemed of special praise and worth,
For what they are, or what they’ve done,
For battles lost, or victories won.

A bridge, a stream, a hill or vale
Will tell of many a stirring tale, –
Of empires ruined, numbers slain,
And all that followed in the train.

What memories crowd around us still
Of Lexington and Bunker Hill,–
The Cowpens, Saratoga, Thames,
And others, of a hundred names.

Nor shall we easily forget
The fame our gallant navy met;
The wisdom shown, the art, the skill
The unconquerable heart and will; –

The deeds of valor, caution, care,
The intrepid soul, to do and dare;
The heroism, bold and high, –
Our Greeks, who held Thermopylae!

That passage through a storm of fire
Safe and unharmed, ‘midst all its ire;
What gallant ship has ever met
The fortunes of CARONDELET?

All honor to the good and brave
Who came a country’s flag to save;
Who fought like heroes, fought like men,
And rendered famous, No. TEN!


DAVENPORT, April 10th.  UNION.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, April 11, 1862, p. 1

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