Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE SURRENDER OF NEW ORLEANS, by MARION MANVILLE First Line: All day long the guns at the forts Last Line: A glory for one is another's lost cause. Alternate Author Name(s): Pope, Marion Manville, Mrs. Subject(s): American Civil War; New Orleans, Battle Of (1862); U.s. - History | ||||||||
ALL day long the guns at the forts, With far-off thunders and faint retorts, Had told the city that down the bay The fleet of Farragut's war-ships lay; But now St. Philip and Jackson grim Were black and silent below the rim Of the southern sky, where the river sped Like a war-horse scenting the fight ahead. And we of the city, the women, and men Too old for facing the battle then, Saw all the signs of our weakness there With a patience born of a great despair. The river gnawed its neglected bank, The weeds in the unused streets grew rank, And flood and famine threatened those Who stayed there braving greater woes. Under the raking of shot and shell The river fortresses fighting fell; The Chalmette batteries then boomed forth, But the slim. straight spars of the ships of the North Moved steadily on in their river-road, Like a tide that up from the ocean flowed. Then load after load, and pile upon pile, Lining the wharves for many a mile, Out of the cotton-presses and yards, With a grim industry which naught retards, The bales were carried and swiftly placed By those who knew there was need of haste, And the torch was laid to the cotton so. Up from that bonfire the glare and glow Was seen by the watchers far away, And weeping and wailing those watchers say, "The city is lost! O men at the front, Braving the fortunes of war, and the brunt Of battle bearing with fearful cost, The city you loved and left is lost!" Ah, memories crowding so thick and fast, Ye were the first; is this the last? We gave with clamor our first great gift, With shouts which up to the heavens lift; We gave with silence our last best yield, Our last, best gleaning for Shiloh's field. With mute devotion we saw them go; But when the banners were furled and low, And the solid columns were thinned by war, We wondered what we had given for. And oh, the day when with muffled drum We saw our dear, dead Johnston come! The blood of our slain ones seemed to pour From the eyes that should see them come no more. We measured our grief by each gallant deed; We measured our loss by our direful need; Our dead dreams rose from the vanquished past, And across the future their shadows cast. Our brave young hope, like a fallen tear, We laid on the grave of our Chevalier. And that last wild night! the east was red So long 'fore the day had left its bed. With white, set faces, and smileless lips, We fired our vessels, we fired our ships. We saw the sails of the red flame lift O'er each fire-cargo we set adrift; To Farragut's fleet we sent them down, A warm, warm welcome from the town. But, alas, how quickly came the end! For down the river, below the bend, Like a threatening finger shook each mast Of the Yankee ships as they steamed up fast. Grim and terrible, black with men, Oh, for the Mississippi then! And -- God be merciful! -- there she came A drifting wreck, a ship of flame What a torch to light the stripes and stars That had braved our forts and harbor bars! What a light, by which we saw vainly slip Our hopes to their death in that sinking ship! We shrieked with rage, and defeat, and dread, As down the river that phantom sped; But on the deck of a Yankee ship, One grim old tar, with a smiling lip, Patted the big black breech of his gun, As one who silently says, "Well done!" To-day the graves that were new are old, And a story done is a story told; But we of the city, the women and men, And boys unfitted for fighting then, Remember the day when our flag went down, And the stars and stripes waved over the town. Ah me! the bitter goes with the sweet, And a victory means another defeat; For, bound in Nature's inflexible laws, A glory for one is another's Lost Cause. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...OLD OSAWATOMIE by CARL SANDBURG THE BONNIE BLUE FLAG by HARRY MACARTHY LEE'S PAROLE by MARION MANVILLE THE LITTLE ODYSSEY OF JASON QUINT, OF SCIENCE, DOCTOR by THOMAS MCGRATH A CANTICLE: SIGNIFICANT OF NATIONAL EXALTATION CLOSE OF WAR by HERMAN MELVILLE A GRAVE NEAR PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA by HERMAN MELVILLE A MEDITATION by HERMAN MELVILLE LEE'S PAROLE by MARION MANVILLE GOD AND MY COUNTRY by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: JUDGE SELAH LIVELY by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |
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