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 10^th.  UNION.

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