Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1843-12-07

dren and On his people. Gfeat 0ou
how dread the punishment,
A crowded populace peopleing Tx
dense towns where the man OF money
thrives, where the laborer starves; Want
stritling among the people in all its
forms Of terror; an ignorant and God-de
flying priesthood chucking over the mis-
! cries Of millions; a proud and mercil.s.
nobility adding wrong to wrong, and
! neaping insult upon robbery and fraud
royalty corrupt to the very heart; arts
! tocracy rotten TO the very core; crime
and want linked hand in hand, and tempt
! ing men to deeds of wo and death
these are part Of the doom and the re-
tribution that shall come upon the Eng
lisn throne and the English people!
| Soldiers i look round upon your ia
miiar faces with q strange INTEREST,"
! Tomorrow morning we will all 90 forth
to battle-tor need tell yea your un-
worthy minister will march with you, in
voking Gods aid in the Egbt?--we will
mach to battle! Need i exhort you to
fight for your homesteads, and for your
wives and children!
My friends, | might urge YOU to fight
by the CALLING memories of British wrong.
WaIton--l might tell you of your father
butchcred in the silence of midnight On
the plains Of Trenton; might picture
his grey hairs dabbIed ip-sbioo4, might
rir@ his death shreak in your ears. Shell
mire, might tell you Of a mother btuch-
cred and sister outrased-the lonely
farm house, the night assault, the roof in
flames, the shout OF Tie troopers as they
despatched their victim;the cries of lner-
cy; the pleadings of innocence for pity.
| might paint this all again, liz the terri
bic coors at the vivid reality, if
thought your courage needed such wild
excitement.
But know you are strong in the
might Of the Lord. You will go forth
to battle on the morrow with light
hearts and determined spirits, though the
solemn duty (the duty Of avenains the
dead, may rest heavily on your souls.
And in the hour of battle. when all a
round is dai kness, lit by the lurId can
non glare, and the piercing musket flash;
when the wounded strew the ground, and
the dead litter your path. then remember,
soldiers, that Gcd is with you-he rides
on the battle cloud, he sweeps on with
the march of the hurricane charge-God,
( the Awful and the Infinite, fights for you
and you will triumph.
They that take the sword shall perish
by the sword
You have taken the sword, but not in
the spirit of wrong and ravase. You
have taken the sword for your homes,
your wives and YOUR little ones. You
have taken the sword for truth, for JUS
tice and right, and to you the promise is,
be Of good cheer, for your foes have ia
ken the sword i'll deiance Of all that man
holds dear. in bIasphemy of God-they
shall perish BY The scord'
And now brethren aud Soldiers. bid
you all farewell: Many of US may fall in
the fight CT to-morrow-God rests the
souls of the fallen-many Of US may live
to tell the story Of the fight to morrow,
and in the memory of all will ever rest
ard Iineer the scene of this autumnal
night.
Solemn twilight advances over the
valley; The woods on the opposite heights
/ ling their long shadows over the green
Of the meadow around US are the tents
/ Of the continental host, the suppressed
hustle of the camp, the hurried tramp
OF the soldiers to and fro among the tents,
the stiffness and silence that marks the
eve of battle.
When we meet again, may the long
shadows of twilight be flung over IA
peaceful land
God in Heaven grant it.
Prayer Of lie Revolution.
! Great Father we bow before thee. We
| invoke thy blessings, we depricate thy
wrath, we return thee thanks for the
past, we ask thy aid for the future. For
we are in times Of trouble, oh Lord and
sore beset by foes, merciIess and multi
plying: the swords CLEAN over our land
and the dust of the soil is danpened with
the blood of our neigbbors and friends
OH God Of mercy. we pray thy bIes-
sing on our Arms. Make the man OF
our hearts strong in thy wisdom: bless,
we beseech thee, with renewed life and
strength, cur hope and Thy instrument,
even General Observation-Disclosures Thy
counsels on the Honorable the Continent
tai Congrsss; visit the tents of our host,
comfort the soldier in bis wounds and
Affections, nerve him for the fight, pre-
pare him for the hour of death.
And in the hour Of defeat, OH God of
Hosts, do thou be our stay, and in the
hour OF triumph be our guide.
Teach ms to be mercifuI. Though the
memory Of CALLING wrongs be at our
hearts, knocking for adrittance that they
may fill us with desires of revenge, yet
let US. oil. Lord, spare the vanquished,
though they never spared US in their
hour Of butchery and bIoodshed. And
in the hour Of death, do thou guide US in
to the abode prepared for the blest; so
shall we return thanks unto thee. through
Christ our Redeemer God prosper the
Cause. ~f11en,