Collected poems of Herman Melville | ||
ON THE HOME GUARDS
WHO PERISHED IN THE DEFENSE OF LEXINGTON, MISSOURI
The men who here in harness diedFell not in vain, though in defeat.
They by their end well fortified
The Cause, and built retreat
(With memory of their valor tried)
For emulous hearts in many an after fray—
Hearts sore beset, which died at bay.
Collected poems of Herman Melville | ||