47. Sumter.
I thought of Sumter all the night;Of those beleaguered few
Who stood up nobly in the fight
For loyalty and freedom's right,
Against that recreant crew.
I saw that chain of rebel bands
Surround the sacred fort;
I saw five thousand traitors' hands,
Red with hot hate, their foul demands
With blustering arms support.
I saw five thousand on the shore,
Less than one hundred fight!
I heard the coward cannons roar,
And shot and shell relentless pour
Destruction through the night.
I saw might vanquish right, and then
I heard the miscreants brag
Of “victory,” when those starving men,
Shut up within a fortressed pen,
Were forced to lower their flag!
[34] O State, which patriots once did claim,
How is it with thee now?
False to thy country and thy name;
Henceforward, let the curse of shame
Be branded on thy brow!
an American.
--Evening Post.
