The poetical works of John Trumbull . :: :: University of Virginia Library

THE GENIUS OF AMERICA;

AN ODE.

I.

When Discord high her sable flag unveil'd,
And British fury drew the fatal sword,
Wide o'er the plains, from Concord's deadly field,
The conflict raged with many an inroad gored:
Till now the Sun, declining to the main,
Forsook the circuit of the ethereal way,
And slow evolving o'er the carnaged plain,
Sulphureous vapors dimm'd the falling day;
Th' encrimson'd rays in mournful splendor rise,
And tinged with blood ascend the curtains of the skies.

II.

The savage tumult of the battle o'er,
On that fair hill, near Boston's fated strand,
That rears her beacon in th' aerial tower,
Rose the sad Genius of the Western land.
Torn were the sacred laurels on his head;
His purple robes waved careless to the wind;
Aloft his arm the glittering sword display'd,
For slaughter'd fields in just revenge design'd;
His breast in anguish heaved the heart-felt sigh,
And tears of vengeance burst, and lighten'd in his eye.

III.

“'Tis done, he cried—in vain for human weal,
With suppliant hand the palm of peace to rear!
Hear then, oh Britain, hear my last appeal
To heaven's dread justice and the flames of war.
Then come in all the terrors of thy power,
Stretch the long line and darken o'er the main,
Bid the hoarse tempest of the combat roar,
And hosts infuriate shake the shuddering plain;
League in thy savage cause the foes of life,
The Hessian's barb'rous blade, the Indian's murdering knife.

IV.

I see my hills with banded warriors spread;
On every brow the lines of battle rise;
Terrific lightnings strew the fields with dead,
And adverse thunders echo through the skies.
The vales of Charlestown, sooth'd in bliss no more,
Sad wars affright and groans of parting breath;
Their grass shall wither in the streams of gore,
And flow'rs bloom sicklied with the dews of death;
O'er all her domes the bursting flames aspire,
Wrap the wide walls in smoke and streak the heavens with fire.

V.

And thou, while Glory on thy youthful bier
Lights her pale lamp, in robes funereal dress'd,
And cold sods, wet with many a falling tear,
Enclose the tomb, where patriot honors rest;
Thou too, my Warren, from thy ghastly wound,
With life's last stream thy native soil shalt lave;
Enough, thy years that every virtue crown'd,
That every muse's laurel decks thy grave;

Enough that Liberty resounds thy name,
First martyr in her cause, and heir of deathless fame!

VI.

Nor fall my sons in vain! with awful sound
Fraternal blood invokes th' attentive skies.
Their shades shall wake, and from the gory ground,
Avenging guardians of my rights, arise;
Shall guide the gallant hero to the field,
With pale affright the haughty foe appal,
Stretch o'er my banner'd hosts the viewless shield,
Edge the keen sword and wing th' unerring ball.
What piles of hostile chiefs, in slaughter drown'd,
Fill the wide scenes of death and purple all the ground.

VII.

In vain rude nature spread th' impervious wood,
And rear'd th' eternal barriers of the hills,

Wove the wild thicket, pour'd the pathless flood
Through marshes, deep with congregated rills!
My ardent warriors pierce the desperate lair,
Where prowls the savage panther for his prey;
Now o'er the mounds, and lessening into air,
The daring wand'rers scale th' adventurous way;
Toil, famine, danger, bar their course in vain
To proud Quebec's high walls, and Abraham's hapless plain.

VIII.

Ye plains, renown'd by many a hero's tomb,
Whence Wolf's immortal spirit took its flight,
A soul as brave, with like relentless doom,
Speeds to the attack and tempts the embattled height!
Ah, stay, Montgomery! In the frowning wall
Grim Death lies ambush'd! Stay thy course and spare
That sacred life, too valued yet to fall;
Enough thy sword has lighten'd in the war,
When famed St. John's beheld thy banners rise,
Wave o'er his subject vales and wanton in the skies.

IX.

Boast not, proud Albion! awed by no dismay,
My warriors crowd the fierce conflicting scene.
What dreadless chieftains lead their long array,
Death-daring Putnam and unconquer'd Greene.
And is my Washington unknown to thee,
Whose early footsteps traced the paths of fame,
Shielded, from fate, thy routed bands to flee,
And screen'd thy Gage, to future deeds of shame!
Heav'n calls his sword t' assert my injured cause,
Avenger of my wrongs and guardian of my laws.

X.

Oh, born thy country and her rights to save,
Arise! the thunders of the war to wield;
And through the night and ocean's awful wave,
Guide the frail bark and teach the storm to yield.
When terror through each coward breast shall roll,
And half my boasting champions woo despair,

Thy daring genius and unvanquish'd soul
Sustain my triumphs and inspire the war;
Thy single sword, like Moses' lifted hand,
Sheds conquest on my cause and guards the sinking land.

XI.

And lo, where Victory spreads her eagle wings,
O'er Trenton's stream and Princeton's classic plain;
With warlike shouts th' aerial concave rings,
O'er legions captived and the piles of slain!
Through varying dangers, with unequal force,
The godlike hero guides the dubious day,
Foils the proud Howe, and checks his haughty course,
With Fabian art, victorious by delay.
O'er loss, o'er fortune and th' insulting foes,
His innate virtue shines, his conq'ring courage glows.

XII.

Lo, from the north, what countless myriads roll,
Nations of war and legions of the brave,

100

With all the sable tribes of savage soul,
From frozen climes and Huron's wintry wave!
The fierce Burgoyne drives on th' infuriate train,
Sounds the dire death-song through the frowning wood.
Vain threat! my gath'ring sons thy pomp disdain,
Thy tongue of thunder and thy hands of blood;
Of small avail, when doom'd in arms t' engage
My Gates's caution calm, my Lincoln's noble rage .

XIII.

Dig deep in earth (nor fated yet to fall)
Stretch thy huge ramparts in opposing line:
My daring bands with heav'n-born ardor join,
Dive the low trench and climb the baffled wall.
Thy troops in wild confusion through the field,
Sustain no more the victor's angry face;
Nor force nor art avail. They fall, they yield,
Or wing with coward flight the hasty race.
On every side my hardy yeomen rise,
And lead thy captive host, vain Albion's pride, their prize.

101

XIV.

Hark, from th' embattled South what new alarms!
What streaming ensigns paint the troubled air!
On Monmouth plains the boasting Clinton arms,
And leads to fate the whole collected war.
Hast thou forgot how once thy warriors fled,
Thine early shame on Charleston's fatal wave,
When terror bade thy shatter'd ships recede,
And call the winds to waft thee from the grave?
Beat not thy pulses with accustom'd fear,
And dread'st thou not thy foe? for Washington is there.

XV.

The deep artillery, with tremendous roar,
The sky's blue vault in deathful prelude rend.
What clouds of smoke involve the darken'd shore!
Through the stunn'd air what flaky flames ascend!
Conflicting thousands shake the shuddering ground,
Keen vollies echoing rock the mountains wide,
Afar the startled Del'ware hears the sound,
And Hudson trembles with recoiling tide.

102

Scarce the dire shock my fainting van sustain,
And Lee appall'd retires, and yields the dubious plain.

XVI.

When lo, my favor'd Chief appears to save
From fell destruction's all-devouring sweep;
As the sun rising o'er the turbid wave,
When night with storms hath vex'd the angry deep.
Th' astonish'd foes maintain the fight no more,
Fierce on their rear my rushing host impends,
Their falling legions dye the fields with gore,
Till dusky eve, their better hope, descends;
Through fav'ring darkness fly the broken train,
Steal trembling to their ships, and hide behind the main.

At the battle of Lexington.

------ the battle swerved
With many an inroad gored.—
Milton.

Battle at Bunker-hill.

Major General Joseph Warren of Boston, who fell at the head of the Massachusetts troops. In him were united the gentleman, the scholar, the patriot and the hero. There were few from whose courage and talents more was expected, none whose loss was more universally lamented.

March of the American army through the wilderness to Quebec —Repulse and death of General Montgomery.

------ opposuit Natura Alpemq; nivemq;
Diducit scopulos &c.
Juvenal, satir. 10.

A British fortress in Canada, north of Lake Champlain.

At the battle of Monongahela, where General Braddock was defeated and slain. Washington, then a Colonel, had the principal merit of conducting the retreat and saving the remains of the British army.

Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, and of a detachment of the British at Princeton.

Capture of General Burgoyne and his army.

See Burgoyne's proclamation at the commencement of his northern invasion—a compound of sanguinary threats and ostentatious bombast.

Battle of Monmouth.

Defeat of the British under General Clinton, and repulse of their fleet under Admiral Parker, in their attempt on Charleston in South Carolina, in 1776.

General Charles Lee, a British adventurer, who had joined the Americans, and commanded the front division in this action. For his conduct on that occasion, he was suspended for a year from command, and never afterward employed in the service.