The Gonzales inquirer. [volume] (Gonzales, Tex.) 1853-current, 1853-11-12
Revolutionary Sermon.
They tina. take the sword shall perish /
sword"

They that take the sword shall perish by the
sword"
Tho following interesting document was
found among the papers OF Major John Shacf.
mucr, deceased patriot Of the revolution.
II is discourse delivered on the eve Of the
battle Of Brandywinc, by Rev. Joab Troutc,
to large portion Of the American soldiers, In
presence of Gen. Washington. George Wayne,
and other officers Of the army:
Soldiers and Countrymen We have met
this evening, perhaps for the last time. We
have shared the toll Of tho march, tho peril Of
the fight, and the dismay Of the retreat, alike;
we have endured the cold and hunger, tho
contuncly Of tho eternal foe and courage Of
tho foreign opprcssor. We have sat night
after night beside the campfire; we together
have heard the roll OF the revellc which called
us TO duty, or the beat Of tho tattoo which
gave tho signal for the hardy sleep of the
| soldier, with earth for his bed and the KNAPP
sack for his pillow. 3t
And now, soldiers and brethren, we have
met in this peaceful valley on the eve Of battle
while tho sunlight is dying away bcyond yon-
der heights, the sunlight that tomorrow morn
will gicam OH scenes of blood. We have met
amid the whitening tents of our cncampment;
In the time Of terror and gloom have gathered
together. God grant that il may not be for
tho last time
II is solemn moment Brethren, does not
the solemn voice Of nature, seem to echo the
sympathics of the hourr The flag of our
country droops heavily from yonder staff; tho
breeze has died away along the green plain of
Chadd's Ford, the plain thnt spreads before
us glttering in sunlight; thchcights of Brandy
Wine arises gloomy and grand beyond tho wa
tcrs of yondcr stream; all nature holds u
| pause of solemn silence on the eve OF uproai,
bloodShed and strife of Tomorrow. at
They that take the sword shall perish by the
sword"
And have thty not taken the sworll
Let the dcsolntc plain. the blood .sodden val.
Icy, tho burned farmhouse blackening in the
sun, the sacked village md tho rnyaued town
answer, let tho whtencd bones of the fnrmer
strewn along the fields Of his homestead. an.
swcr; let tho starving mother. with tho babe
clingipr TO the withered hrcsst that can effa,,i
no sustenancc. let her answer with the death
rattle mingling with the murmurinr tones that
marked t6o iast sirnrrio or hsr I;ss. % lot tho
mother and the babe snswcr.
II was but 1sy psst and our lah] slept In
the quiet Of peace. War was not here
Fraud and woe, and want dwclt not among us
From tho ctcri,al solitude OF The green woods
arose the blue smoke Of tho settlcrFs cabin. and
golden fields Of corr looke from tha ,.,.oto NJ
tho wilderness, and tho glad music of human
voices awoke the silence OF tho forest
Now, God of mercy, behold tho change
Under the shadow Of pretcxt, under the
sanctity Of the nalno Of God, invoking the
Redcemcr 70 their aid, do these foreign hire
hngs siay our pcoplcl yfcy throng our towns
they darkcn our plains, and now thcy en-.
compass our post on tho lonely plains o
Chadds Ford ess
q They that take thoi sword shall posIsh ~ tI,s
sword" 3 s. s5sa sss s> sls:s3 No , & 81
Brethren think ma not nm nSwnrshv ~
lief hen tsi Won shst ~, ~ NJ
ish is near Think rs mt vs;n sshsr ! III
YOU that beyond the cloud thaf ,n,v crahror,sa
as, sec gathering thick and faat. the tiarkcr
cloud and thicker storn Of divine retr;bntioni /
They may CONQUER us tomorrow. Might
and wrong may prcynil and we NAV be drisen
from tho field; but tho hour Of Gods ven
gcancc will comel
Ayo, if in the vast solitude Of etcrn.I snoco
there throbs tho being Of an awful God. Quick
to aycnge and sure to punish guilt. thon will
the man, George Brunswick, called King, feel
in his brain and heart the vengeance OF tho
eternal Jehovah A blight will light upon his
iiic--a witherd brain and an accursed intcllcot.
y blight will be upon his children and ON his
people Great God how dread tile punish.
inent,
A crowded populacc pcopliur tho dense
towns where the man OF money ihriyes, whilo
the laborer staryes; want striIinc among the
people in all forms OF terror; an ignorant and
God.defying priesthood chuckline over the
miseries Of millions: proud aud mercless
nobility adding wrong to wrong, aud heaping
insult upon ffa,A and robbery; royalty cor
rupt 10 the very heart, and aristecrscy rotten
TO ,l,o cosci crime aud want linked hand in
arc a part Of the doom and rctribut;op ihas
shall come upon the English throne and The
English people.
SOLDIER ilook around upon ysar familiar