The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-04
WAR CRIES OF THE NATIONS.
TIE STIRRING wATCHWORDS AND
SONGS USED on HISTORIC
BAT'TLEFEELDS.

been engaged in combat 1t has been found
necessary to increase their zeal and cour-
age by the use of inspiring cries and pa
triotic songs. The war-cry has always
been one of the weapons of war, and like
the spur In the horses flank urges men
to serve their country with all their
strength and with all their might.
In the name of the Lord of Hosts and
of the Great Jehovah, the armies of Is
rael were led onward, and in later days
contending forces invoked their patron
saints. The Indians of North America
had their barbaric war-whoop, which car
ried terror to the souls of helpless women
and children, the early Scots their "slo-
gan" or gathering word of the Highland
clans, and the French their "cri de
guerre."
There was an old cry of the Ashantee
Indian, which ran as follows;
'If I go forward, l die.
eff go back, die.
Better go forward and die"
And in the early wars, which were fought
during the colonization of New England,
one of King Phillips Indian captains call
ed "Iootash, Iootash," urging his war
riors to come on; to "stand and fight"
In the eleventh century, at the battle
of Hastings, the Saxon war-cry Holy
Crosse. God Almighty Holy Crosse, God
Almighty rang out over the field, and
from the Norman ranks came the lnVoca-
ton "Our Lady and God help us, when
led them on to victory In after years,
each party in England had its own cry
NerNar
Percy" "a Warwick, a Warwick while
"A Seton, a SETON" was almost house
hold word.
At Flodden Field the cry was Both
well. Boutwell," and the name OF Bruce
was always an inspiration to his country
men. and was often used to lead on the
clans. The heart of Bruce. worn in sill
yer casket by Sir James Douglas, was
carried into the battle of Salado during
one of the crusades. AS Douglas was sur
rounded by the enemy he flung the casket
before him and cried: why press thou
onward, as thou vert won, and Douglas
will follow thee or die" As ne threw
himself after the casket, he was sur
rounded and slain by his foes, and died
with the talisman in his grasp.
The kings of England were wont to In
yoke Notre Dame and ST. George, as is
described in a poem on the battle OF
Poictiers:
"Thus calling on our Lady's name,
To which the highest host reply
st. George! st. George! Their battle
cry"
AS might be supposed, the Puritans
took Scriptural words as their call 70 the
fray, and in the seventeenth century, the
Scots made use of THE Lord of Hosts is
with u.s." while the Celts shouted, "Alban,
Alban."
From France we get the old cries,
"Guerre, Guerre, "Battons et abattons,
and st. Albert" Philip the Bold cried,
''Moult me tarde," and "Passavant" was
the call of the Counts of Charities.
In the Flemish wars the brave deeds
of Egmont made his name an inspiration
to the whole army, and at the famous
victory of st. Quentin the am rang with
the cry of "Egmont and ST. Quentin" In
the very front of battle the hero himself
dashed on and shouted: Follow me all
who love their fatherland," thus leading
his brave men into the thickest of the
fight. From Holland, too, came the
strange cry: Long live the beggars,"
which was heard in all parts of the
country and above the noise and din of
the battlefield. The ''confederates," as
they were called by Philip the Second
had earned the name of beggars from their
many petitions against abuse and oppres
sion, and at last wild beggars' and
"beggars of the sea" became formidable
words in all the Flemish land.
OF the many cries of Italy, two seem
worthy of special mention-the "Marzoc-
ca Of Florence, a name given to the
Flcrentine lion, which is so much in evi-
dence, and the Venetian call, marco,
Marco" Verdi, the great musician, was
at one time almost as deeply interested
In politics as in composition, and his pa
triotic melodies were dear to the Italian
heart. The letters of his name Verdi
were the initials of Victor Emmanuel
Re d'Italia,' and became a rallying cry
often heard by the Austrian army.
In later times, and in our own country
a few battle cries have come down 10 US
After the cruelties of Santa Anna in Tex
as, and the massacre of those confined in
the old fortress Of the Alamo a spirit of
vengeance filled the hearts of his adver-
saries, and Remember the Alamo" was
heard on every hand, and this cry would
seem to have its counterpart in "Remem-
Der the Maine" which is said to have
called in both our recent victories over
the Spanish fleets. But it is worth re-
Numbering that when Santa Anna was at
last taken prisoner, Remember the
Alamo" was forgotten or put aside, and
vengeance was left to the Power to whom
it alone belongs.
In the FIanco-Prussian war the French,
in their mpauence, cried:"A Berlin, a
Berlin" much as we in our civil war
cried: ITO Richmond, to Richmond" But
no grander words have ever been uttered
in battle than those Of the great English
admiral at Trafalgar: England expects
every man to do his duty"
The inspiration of patriotic song is even
more pow erful than that Of the war cry,
and we can hardly imagine an army with
out its songs and its military music. The
emotions are quickened and the horrors
of war forgotten as the soldiers listen TO
some stirring, weu-known strain.
Long years ago, at Hastings, Norman
poet and soldier advanced TO death before
the army of men singing one of his own
wild battle hymns. which told of the victo-
ries of Charlemagne and Roland at Ron
cesValles.
The German bards and the skalds of
Scandinavia composed war songs which
were sung on many a battlefield, but were
never written down. and 80 have passed
away. Many fierce war songs have come
down TO the SDaniards as an inheritance,
and Lope de Vega, while on board a ship
of the Spanish Armada, wrote one OF his
i