Gaze on this spot! "Tis sacred groundWe tread upon to-day;
The mould that forms each sacred mound
For here within its breast reclines
The dust of those who died,---
who met the foe in serried lines
On many a green hill-side.
Gaze on this spot! "Tis sacred ground
We tread upon to-day;
The mould that forms each sacred mound
For here within its breast reclines
The dust of those who died,---
who met the foe in serried lines
On many a green hill-side.
Pause! for the brave are sleeping here.
And war's wild trumpet roar
Can wake them not with hope or fear;
The battle's strife is o'er
The tumult and the fight have passed,
And brothers, we, to-day
Unmindful of the gory past,
All hail the blue and grey!
We raise a column o'er the brave
Who died that we might be
A ransomed people, and the slave
Might bask in liberty.
We honor those who fought and bled,
The first in Freedom's van,
When Tammany to glory led
Its great and fearless clan.
"On to the front!" the order came;
They echoed prompt the battle-cry
And each walked forth with heart aflame
In battle line to fight or die!
"On to the front!" and every man
Leaped to his post as freeman should,
Careless of race, or creed or clan,
And only as a freeman could.
"On the front!" They met the foe--
What reck we now-- the past is gone;
In every heart a burning glow
Flames for the flag of Washington!
"On to the front!" That shout no more
Can rouse the soldier from his sleep;
His toil, his pain, and strife are o'er;
And by his grave his comrades weep.
Down where the rolling river
Runs out to meet the sea,
Where willows and the aspens quiver,
And daisies deck the lea;
Where mountains frown in glory
Above the eddying wave,
there, shrined in song and story,
Repose our patriot brave!
As onward the river dashes
Resistless to the sea,
As deep in the soul there flashes
The fire of the brave and free,
Of those whose fearless daring
Shone bright as the summer sun,
Who of life and fame uncaring,
Remember Washington, ---
They died for the cause of Freedom,
In field, on mount, in glen,
With Tammany men to lead them,
And all were Tammany men!
Raise high the storied column
Above the patriot dead!
It tells in silence solemn
How well they fought and bled.
And let it tell that when the foe
to shreds our flag would tear,
To guard its fold through weal and woe
The Tammany men were there.
Our buried braves in slumber rest;
Peace to their souls to-day!
they are commingled with the blest,
Though they have passed away.
Their patriot spirits move each heart
With hope, and joy and pride,
To act, like them, a brave man's part,
And die as they have died.