A Beam of light, from the infinite depths of the midnight sky,
Painted with infinite love a star in a convict’s eye;
When, lo! the ghosts of his sins were afraid and fled with a curse,
And the soul of the man walked free in the fields of the universe!
[The Spanish-American War, 1898]
A CHEER and salute for the Admiral, and here ’s to the Captain bold,
And never forget the Commodore’s debt when the deeds of might are told! …
Says stonewall Jackson to “Little Phil:” “Phil, have you heard the news?
Why, our ‘Joe’ Wheeler—‘Fighting Joe’—has gone and joined the blues.
“Ay, no mistake—I saw him come—I heard the oath he took— …
A Cheer and salute for the Admiral, and here ’s to the Captain bold,
And never forget the Commodore’s debt when the deeds of might are told!
They stand to the deck through the battle’s wreck when the great shells roar and screech— …