 | The battle of Bunker Hill, or the temple of liberty |  |
Now when the sun was seated on his throne,
And with effulgence his full splendor shone,
From Boston in array the foe advanced,
While on the breeze their flickering standards danced.
They in appearance look'd a cloud of gold,
When crimson fringes lave each misty fold.
The music fill'd the element profound,
And made the heart triumphantly to bound.
Howe led the van with royal star array'd—
Leslie and Pitcarn, next in martial grade;
Richardson, Abercrombie, Williams, Clark,
Percy and Rawdon with a lordly mark;
Bruce, Jordon, Spendlove, Mitchell, Butler, Small,
With whom had Putnam wing'd the deadly ball,
When they contended 'gainst the flag of Gaul.
And with effulgence his full splendor shone,
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While on the breeze their flickering standards danced.
They in appearance look'd a cloud of gold,
When crimson fringes lave each misty fold.
The music fill'd the element profound,
And made the heart triumphantly to bound.
Howe led the van with royal star array'd—
Leslie and Pitcarn, next in martial grade;
Richardson, Abercrombie, Williams, Clark,
Percy and Rawdon with a lordly mark;
Bruce, Jordon, Spendlove, Mitchell, Butler, Small,
With whom had Putnam wing'd the deadly ball,
When they contended 'gainst the flag of Gaul.
Percy the columns on the rear sustain'd—
Soon they the beach of shining pebbles gain'd.
The decorated barges seem'd to feel
A conscious pride to bear the burnish'd steel;
Slow as the music beat the measured key,
They in their motion kept the harmony.
Charles, from the depths of his translucent wave,
Back on the sight their gilded trappings gave.
They soon the narrow channel glided o'er,
And stood in all their strength upon the shore.
Soon they the beach of shining pebbles gain'd.
The decorated barges seem'd to feel
A conscious pride to bear the burnish'd steel;
Slow as the music beat the measured key,
They in their motion kept the harmony.
Charles, from the depths of his translucent wave,
Back on the sight their gilded trappings gave.
They soon the narrow channel glided o'er,
And stood in all their strength upon the shore.
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Gage in the mean time gloried in his pride,
To see the army buoyant on the tide.
He held the battery ready to explode,
And Charlestown conflagrate in royal mode,
When Howe majestic to th' attack should move,
And his train'd discipline victorious prove—
He at the prospect feels an inward glow,
Which gives his utterance an effusive flow:
To see the army buoyant on the tide.
He held the battery ready to explode,
And Charlestown conflagrate in royal mode,
When Howe majestic to th' attack should move,
And his train'd discipline victorious prove—
He at the prospect feels an inward glow,
Which gives his utterance an effusive flow:
“How it must pall their nerves on yonder height
“To mark the dazzling splendor of the sight!
“How terrible the helmets, bayonets, gleam,
“Awe to impress and rule the land supreme!
“See how the Glasgow rakes the defile o'er,
“Preventing all accession to their power;
“And likewise them, debarring from retreat,
“When Howe shall them like scatter'd herds defeat.
“To mark the dazzling splendor of the sight!
“How terrible the helmets, bayonets, gleam,
“Awe to impress and rule the land supreme!
“See how the Glasgow rakes the defile o'er,
“Preventing all accession to their power;
“And likewise them, debarring from retreat,
“When Howe shall them like scatter'd herds defeat.
“Pigot, the match, stand instant to apply,
“To cause the shells to leap along the sky.
“This day a finish of the war will be,
“For every rebel will make bare his knee,
“And kings will hail it as their jubilee—
“Hush'd th' obstreperous rant of Freedom's tongue,
“And o'er her grave a royal peal be rung.
“To cause the shells to leap along the sky.
“This day a finish of the war will be,
“For every rebel will make bare his knee,
“And kings will hail it as their jubilee—
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“And o'er her grave a royal peal be rung.
“Gaze, gaze ye hills—ye steeples, gaze—behold
“The scene the first, the last that ever will unfold.
“Behold the terrors of a throne incensed,
“And let its fear be deeply evidenced.”
“The scene the first, the last that ever will unfold.
“Behold the terrors of a throne incensed,
“And let its fear be deeply evidenced.”
He ceased. A bomb disploded from the steep,
Which show'd him ready on the town to leap
With raining fire to scath it from the earth,
To give his myrmidons demoniac mirth.
Which show'd him ready on the town to leap
With raining fire to scath it from the earth,
To give his myrmidons demoniac mirth.
| The battle of Bunker Hill, or the temple of liberty | |