[March 25, 1861, South Carolina having adopted the Ordinance of Secession]
SHE has gone,—she has left us in passion and pride—
Our stormy-browed sister, so long at our side!
She has torn her own star from our firmament’s glow,
And turned on her brother the face of a foe!
O Caroline, Caroline, child of the sun,
We can never forget that our...
It don’t seem hardly right, John,
When both my hands was full,
To stump me to a fight, John,—
Your cousin, tu, John Bull!
Old Uncle S., sez he, “I guess
We know it now,” sez he,
“The Lion’s paw is all the law,
Accordin’ to J. B.,
Thet ’s fit for you and me!”
You wonder why we ’re hot, John?
Your mark...
“all quiet along the Potomac,” they say,
“Except now and then a stray picket
Is shot, as he walks on his beat, to and fro,
By a rifleman hid in the thicket.
’T is nothing: a private or two, now and then,
Will not count in the news of the battle;
Not an officer lost,—only one of the men,
Moaning out, all alone, the death-rattle.”...
Alas! the weary hours pass slow,
The night is very dark and still,
And in the marshes far below
I hear the bearded whippoorwill.
I scarce can see a yard ahead;
My ears are strained to catch each sound;
I hear the leaves about me shed,
And the spring’s bubbling through the ground.
Along the beaten path I pace,
...
“rifleman, shoot me a fancy shot
Straight at the heart of yon prowling vidette;
Ring me a ball in the glittering spot
That shines on his breast like an amulet!”
“Ah, captain! here goes for a fine-drawn bead,
There ’s music around when my barrel ’s in tune!”
Crack! went the rifle, the messenger sped,
And dead from his horse fell...
The Colonel rode by his picket-line
In the pleasant morning sun,
That glanced from him far off to shine
On the crouching rebel picket’s gun.
From his command the captain strode
Out with a grave salute,
And talked with the colonel as he rode:—
The picket levelled his piece to shoot.
The colonel rode and the captain...
[September, 1861]
we are coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more!
From Mississippi’s winding stream and from New England’s shore;
We leave our ploughs and workshops, our wives and children dear,
With hearts too full for utterance, with but a silent tear;
We dare not look behind us, but steadfastly before:
We are coming, Father Abraham...
Old man never had much to say—
’Ceptin’ to Jim,—
And Jim was the wildest boy he had,
And the old man jes’ wrapped up in him!
Never heerd him speak but once
Er twice in my life,—and first time was
When the army broke out, and Jim he went,
The old man backin’ him, fer three months;
And all ’at I heerd the old man say
Was...
Come, stack arms, men; pile on the rails;
Stir up the camp-fire bright!
No growling if the canteen fails:
We ’ll make a roaring night.
Here Shenandoah brawls along,
There burly Blue Ridge echoes strong,
To swell the Brigade’s rousing song,
Of Stonewall Jackson’s Way.
We see him now—the queer slouched hat,
Cocked...
Up from the meadows rich with corn,
Clear in the cool September morn,
The clustered spires of Frederick stand
Green-walled by the hills of Maryland.
Round about them orchards sweep,
Apple and peach trees fruited deep,
Fair as a garden of the Lord
To the eyes of the famished rebel horde,
On that pleasant morn of the early...
