Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-07-09
The Fir.t victory Of Our Flag.
NJ REV. AUSTIN DoDGE.

BT REv. AUSTIN DoDaE.
Tread at The Celebration IN Putncy, July 81, 1888
our flags FIRST victory was won
on the green hills Of Bennington.
The nation In her darkest hour
wrestled against the Briton's power;
From frontier lake to Potomac,
Wars bloodhounds were upon her track.
New York was filled with deep distress;
Vermont was thsn a wilderness;
Gloom, like pail, hung DER tho land;
Despair unnerved the patriots hand.
Howe proudly made his vAuntiug boast,
THE cause OF liberty is lost"
Said John Burgoyne, zone campaign more,
Wen rout the rebs, the var1l be DER"
Down from the north storm descends;
Death to the colonies portends.
On every hand there goes the cry,
''Throw down your arms-submit or diel'
Upon Lake Champlains crystal tide
The British war ships proudly ride;
The blue sky bends above them bright,
Tho waves dance laughing in the light,
All hearts are filed with jollity,
Boosting Of easy victory.
hlhNuB Aut lnuuuAhlub Ilukh u NE9
"Ho, patriots, to the rescue Ayl"
The lonely wood, the silent glcn,
Are startled by the tramp Of men.
where Greylocs throws his shadow deep,
Where Magog's silver waters sleep,
Where old Monadnocf from sfar
Greets lrst the rosy morning star,
Through wild rAvine and deep morASs,
Through the storm -scathed mountain pass,
The sturdy sire and stalwart son
Haste TO the fight at Bennington.
The young bride spoke the parting word,
And buckled on her husbands sword;
Fond mothers dared not grieve that day,
And bade their loved sons haste away.
Men indeed then trod this sod,
Strengthened with the strength Of God;
stauuch men, OF heroic mould,
Lion-hearted, stAlwArt. Souled,
PlAin-mAnnered men, OF no Pretencc,
OF sterling, downright common-sense,
UnleArned in wisdom Of the schools,
UncrAmped by fashions polished rules.
They were not clad in rAiment inS,
They boasted no ancestral line,
Unused were they to luscious ease,
UnpAmpered by soft Injuries,
And yet they were men truly great
These founders OF a mighty state,
With powder-horn and hunting gun,
Flew to the fight At Bennington.
Upon that day Of mastery
The morning sun rose gloriousy,
Blthe sang the birds, Az thor gh the sod
Would not be wet with pat blood,
The flowers ne'er wore 4 IA hue,
The heavens ne'er shone J.. eier blue;
Yet on this day there hangs the fate
or the dear old Green Mountain State.
Yes; here decided now will be
The nations mighty destiny:
The battle lost, savage horde
Will sweep Vermont with fre an d sword.
OF that dread day what tongue can tell,
Lurid and hot with Ares Of helll
Upon the height Of Walloomquick
The smoke clouds gather dark and thick,
The deep-mouthed cannon, peal On peal,
Make the rock-ribbed mountains reel
Brave Stark see, with manly form;
| hear him cry, mid battle storm.
To-day wen have the victory
Or Molly Stark widow1l bel'
Youder / Zee Seth Warner stand,
Leading his brave Green Mountain band.
His men dash through the cannon smoke,
Face bayonet aud saber stroke;
They charge the Hessian grenAdiers,
Drive from the guns the cannoneers,
Fiereely they scale the steep redoubt,
Leap DER the breAstwork with a shout,
Aud now in close encounter met,
BayoHet clashes bayonet.
Iu the last desperate charge he led
The British leader, Baum, fell dead.
The infantry and dragons yield:
Americans have won the ned
Since that eVentful summer day,
A hundred years have passed away.
The days Of bloodshed now are DER,
The savage war-cTy sounds no more;
Gone are the days offoreign strife,
Tho land no longer hghts for life,
The child has to a giant grown,
Old-time customs, too, have hown,
From Northern lake to Southern plain,
How vast the cOuntry's fair domain!
Her cloud-cApped mountains Hiss the skies,
Like magic mighty cities rise!
Her prairies, boundless as the sea,
Teemiug with wild fertility.
Here, the blue lake and mountGin stream!
There, rivers mid the forests gleAmI
The landscapes lovely scenery,
The hum Of busy factory,
Land Of the laundering cataractG foam,
Land where earth's outcasts md home.
Grand her Atlantic surf-beat shorel
Her lullaby, PAcihe's roar
This heritage, these boundless Joys,
We're won by the Green Mountain boys.
We need men now, wise, nobly trained,
OF cleAr-eyed vision, hands unstAined,
whose feet are planted on the rook,
Who fear not storm or tempest shock;
ChivAlrie men, great-hearted, bold,
Whose votes cannot be bought or sold;
Who, for the truth and 'gAinst the lie,
Can face the world and dare to die.
We, too, can fight against the wrong,
Learn how to suffer and be strong;
Peace calls for valiant heroes, too:
The nation needs men, tried aud true.
We need not wish our neighbor's chance.
We need not chsfe st circumstance;
Live not for self-liVe for the right
And life shall radiant be with light.
These heroes bones have changed to dust,
The old kings arm is stained with rust;
But while the mountains greet the sun,
Shall live the deeds our sires have done.
On this glad day we celebrate,
Hail to the old Green Mou ntAln STATED