[Poems by Smith in] The Wide-Awake Gift a know-nothing token for 1855 |
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WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE. |
 | [Poems by Smith in] The Wide-Awake Gift |  |
274
WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE.
Dark and gloomy was the hour,
And Freedom's fires burnt low,
For twenty days had Washington
Retreated from the foe;
And his weary soldiers' feet were bare
As he fled across the Delaware.
And Freedom's fires burnt low,
For twenty days had Washington
Retreated from the foe;
And his weary soldiers' feet were bare
As he fled across the Delaware.
Hearts were fainting through the land,
And patriot-blood ran cold;
The stricken army scarce retain'd
Two thousand men, all told;
While the British arms gleam'd everywhere,
From the Hudson to the Delaware.
And patriot-blood ran cold;
The stricken army scarce retain'd
Two thousand men, all told;
While the British arms gleam'd everywhere,
From the Hudson to the Delaware.
Cold and stormy came the night;
The great Chief roused his men;
“Now, up, brave comrades, up and strike
For Freedom once again;
For the Lion sleepeth in his lair,
On the left bank of Delaware.
The great Chief roused his men;
“Now, up, brave comrades, up and strike
For Freedom once again;
For the Lion sleepeth in his lair,
On the left bank of Delaware.
275
How the strong oars dash the ice
Amid the tempest's roar!
And how the trumpet-voice of Knox
Still cheers them to the shore!
Thus, in the freezing midnight air,
Those brave hearts cross'd the Delaware.
Amid the tempest's roar!
And how the trumpet-voice of Knox
Still cheers them to the shore!
Thus, in the freezing midnight air,
Those brave hearts cross'd the Delaware.
In the morning, grey and dim,
The shout of battle rose,
And the Chief led back his valiant men
With a thousand captive foes,
While Tronton shook with the cannon's blare,
That told the news o'er the Delaware.
The shout of battle rose,
And the Chief led back his valiant men
With a thousand captive foes,
While Tronton shook with the cannon's blare,
That told the news o'er the Delaware.
| [Poems by Smith in] The Wide-Awake Gift | |