The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1898-06-28
OLD GLORY IN SONG.

forever.
OLD GLORY IN SONG.
The most beautiful monuments ever
erected to commemorate past deeds
are those which, built by the pens of
the poets. are found in the literature of
America.
The hands that grasped the battle
flags in the days which tried mems
SOULS" and the hands that, with the
pen, have glorifed banner and hero
have also been the hands of patriots
patriots with hearts full of love for
liberty, not for conquest; for country,
not self.
Out of the great number of subjects
for literary work offered by American
history no other one has received so
much attention as the flag, Indeed
it has been called a floating piece of
poetry"
1t has been the inspiration of many
a poem from the pens of that group
of New England writer's now SO dear
to American hearts, among whom are
numbered Bryant, Longfellow, Whit
tier. Holmes, Emerson and Lowell;
while the fame of many of our minor
poets, such as Joseph Rodman Drake
and Francis Scott Key, rests especial
ly, if not entirely, on single produc-
ton in honor of the flag.
Naturally a great many patriotic
poems have grouped themselves about
the wars which our history records
The revolutionary war has furnished
considerable material of this charac-
ter, though most of the poems relating
to this period were written long after
the struggle was ended. Probably the
earliest mention of the flag in poetry
is found in can Ancient Prophecy" a
poem written soon after the surrender
of CORVALLIS, and predicting the out
come of the war thus:
90 king, my dear king, you shall be
very sore,
From the stars and stripes you will
mercy implore,
And your lion shall growl, but hardly
bite more"
Later, the first fight in the war for
independence is portrayed by Emer-
son in words familiar to every Ameri-
can:
"By the rude bridge that arched the
flood,
Their flag to Aprils breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the
world
Holmes says, in speaking of the he
roes of the battle of Lexington;
"While DER their ashes the starry fold
flying
Wraps the proud eagle they reused
from his nest"
Thus showing the flag as the en-
blem of the nation which those New
England farmers helped to establish.
In spite of the Ancient Prophecy"
however, the lion, still growing, at
tempted a second bite, and the war OF
1912 ensued Again the poets come
forward, and the flag of glory is borne
irresistlbly along, cheered on and en-
couraged by such words as these:
Comrades! join the flag of glory,
Cheerily tread the deck Of fame,
Earn a place in future story,
Seek, and win warriors name.
May our hammered stars as ever
Splendidly DER freemen burn,
Till the night of war is over,
Till the dawn of peace return
1t was during a battle of this war
also that the "Star Spangled Banner"
was written, one of the most patriotic
and impassioned songs in all literature.
The Mexican war, too, ADDS its con-
tribution A poem relating to that
contest tells how, after an all-day's
fight, the few surviving American sol
diers were able to place the victorious
flag upon the public buildings of Mon
terey:
"Our banner on those turret- wave,