Part 2 (1/2)

Snow-girdled crags where the hoa.r.s.e wind is raving, Rocks where the weary floods murmur and wail, Wilds where the fern by the furrow is waving, Reeled with the echoes that rode on the gale; Far as the tempest thrills Over the darkened hills Far as the suns.h.i.+ne streams over the plain, Roused by the tyrant band, Woke all the mighty land, Girded for battle, from mountain to main.

Green be the graves where her martyrs are lying!

Shroudless and tombless they sank to their rest, While o'er their ashes the starry fold flying Wraps the proud eagle they roused from his nest!

Borne on her Northern pine, Long o'er the foaming brine, Spread her broad banner to storm and to sun; Heaven keep her ever free, Wide as o'er land and sea, Floats the fair emblem her heroes have won!

O. W. HOLMES.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL.]

ON THE EVE OF BUNKER HILL

The consequences of the battle of Bunker Hill were greater than those of any ordinary conflict. It was the first great battle of the Revolution, and not only the first blow, but the blow which determined the contest. When the sun of that day went down, the event of independence was no longer doubtful.

WEBSTER.

June 16, 1775

'TWAS June on the face of the earth, June with the rose's breath, When life is a gladsome thing, and a distant dream is death; There was gossip of birds in the air, and the lowing of herds by the wood, And a sunset gleam in the sky that the heart of a man holds good; Then the nun-like Twilight came, violet vestured and still, And the night's first star outshone afar on the eve of Bunker Hill:

There rang a cry through the camp, with its word upon rousing word; There was never a faltering foot in the ranks of those that heard.

Lads from the Hamps.h.i.+re hills and the rich Connecticut vales, Sons of the old Bay Colony, from its sh.o.r.es and its inland dales; Swiftly they fell in line; no fear could their valor chill; Ah, brave the show as they ranged a-row on the eve of Bunker Hill.

Then a deep voice lifted a prayer to G.o.d of the brave and the true And the heads of the men were bare in the gathering dusk and dew; The heads of a thousand men were bowed as the pleading rose,-- Smite Thou, Lord, as of old Thou smotest Thy people's foes!

Oh, nerve Thy Servants' arms to work with a mighty will!

A hush, and then a loud Amen! on the eve of Bunker Hill!

Now they are gone through the night with never a thought of fame, Gone to the field of a fight that shall win them deathless name; Some shall never again behold the set of the sun, But lie like the Concord slain, and the slain of Lexington, Martyrs to Freedom's cause. Ah, how at their deeds we thrill, The men whose might made strong the height on the eve of Bunker Hill.

CLINTON SCOLLARD.

THE FLAG OF FORT STANWIX

TRITE but true is the old adage that necessity is the mother of invention. The first flag that flew over an American fort was constructed from an ”ammunition s.h.i.+rt, a blue jacket captured from the British, and a woman's red petticoat.”

The garrison at Fort Stanwix (Fort Schuyler) had no flag; but it had possession of the fort despite the siege of twenty days against it by the British; and it had five British standards taken from the enemy. So it improvised a flag and, with cheers and yells befitting the occasion, ran the British standards upside down upon the flag mast and swung the Stars and Stripes above them. The redcoats looked, and, it is safe to a.s.sert, laughed not, as to them the humor of the situation was not appealing. But if they were lacking in the sense of humor, these sons of Old England were not lacking in persistence, and they besieged the fort with steady determination.

Fort Stanwix stood at the head of navigation of the Mohawk River and was an important feature in the plan of General Burgoyne to cut off New England from the southern colonies and thus control the whole country.

Embarking upon this expedition, he had instructed his army: ”The services required are critical and conspicuous. Difficulty, nor labor, nor life are to be regarded. The army must not retreat.” As he advanced down the Hudson he swept everything before him. Ticonderoga, Mount Defiance, Whitehall, Fort Edward, each in turn fell: and he now antic.i.p.ated no successful resistance to his forces.

At the beginning of General Burgoyne's invasion a force of Canadians, Hessians, New York Tories, and Indians commanded by General St. Leger had been sent against Fort Stanwix. The post was held by General Gansevoort with some seven hundred and fifty men. They were ill supplied with ammunition and had few provisions. To Burgoyne defeat seemed here impossible. The siege had, however, been antic.i.p.ated by the garrison, and the men had determined to hold out to the last extremity.