“DELENDA EST CARTHAGO.”
When Rome’s great rival in the past,
The mighty Carthage, reared her head,
And o’er the earth her poison spread,
Man’s brightest hopes to blast;
The Patriot raised this earnest cry,
Pleading for right and Liberty,
“Delenda est Carthago.”
When Hannibal the Alpine height
O’erleapt, and swept the Italian plain,
And gained the field of Thrasymene,
And Cannæ’s dreadful fight;
Undaunted midst the wild uproar,
That voice rose louder than before,
“Delenda est Carthago.”
This was the watchword of our sires,
When Britain, modern Carthage, tried
To drown them in a crimson tide,
Midst tribulation’s fires:
Threats, tortures, blood, were all in vain,
For still they cried unmoved by pain,
“Delenda est Carthago.”
At Lexington and Bunker Hill,
Quebec, Long Island, Valley Forge,
They bravely bore the brunt and scourge,
Nor shrank beneath the ill;
Firm in the path of right they trod,
Nor vainly vowed to Freedom’s God,
“Delenda est Carthago.”
For this our chieftains drew the sword,
Our glorious heroes bled and died,
For this men’s souls were sorely tried;
The Nation pledged its word,
That wheresoe’er our flag unfurled
The hope of freedom to the world,
“Delenda est Carthago.”
What though one foe was prostrate laid,
Another lifts its snaky head
Which slept but was not dead;
Sheer weakness its assault delayed,
Till warmed by the breath of Liberty
It coils to strike—Its sentence be
“Delenda est Carthago.”
Yes! “Carthage must be swept away,”
That stronghold of the tyrant race,
And Freedom must resume her place
We, modern Romans, say;
Let echo waft this cry afar,
Whate’er the price in peace or war,
“Delenda est Carthago.”
The fiat has gone forth—the storm
Evokes the millions with its sound,
Who yon dear Union flag surround,
And point to slavery’s form;
Then, drowning the deep thunder’s roar,
They swell the cry from shore to shore,
“Delenda est Carthago.”
What strongholds ’neath their torrent fell,
Let Donelson and Henry tell;
In Roanoake, Orleans, Newberne,
The rebels may a lesson learn;
Where Butler, Farragut, Burnside,
Cut short Secessia’s regal pride:
And they must gnash their teeth and wail,
When Shiloh, Corinth, tell their tale.
Their hordes to meet our few how weak
At Pea Ridge, and at Wilson’s Creek;
Where Curtis and brave Siegel taught
A lesson with much wisdom fraught.
But Springfield gave us cause to weep;
There Lyon laid him down to sleep.
The rebels how unfit to cope,
At Island Number Ten, with Pope!
Their “chivalry” how much at fault,
When Foote joined in the fierce assault!
Nor can the treachery and shame
Of others tarnish Pope’s fair name;
Since he was left almost alone,
To cope with Lee at famed Bull Run,
Where “Mac” and Porter checked his speed,
Withheld their aid in time of need,
And dashed the victory from his lips,
To save their rushlight from eclipse.
At Champion Hill we thinned their host,
When we had won Arkansas Post;
Where brave McClernand dealt the foe
Their great rebuff—most fatal blow;
To whom the Country should accord
Fair play at least,—a cheap reward,—
Discard ingratitude, mistrust,
Be noble, generous, and just.
At Antietam “brave little Mac”
The rebels swept; but, being slack
To follow up the hot pursuit,
The foe had leisure to recruit.
“Mac” might have cut them off with ease;
But “that was not his game,” quoth Keys.[h]
Let Hudson Port and Vicksburg heights
Be, henceforth, safety’s beacon lights,
To warn the prudent off the rocks,
Where rebel craft have met such shocks:
And, most tremendous of them all,
Let Gettysburg their souls appal;
Where rebel hordes, misled by Lee,
Were forced by Meade to turn and flee;
And where by right their routed mass
Should have received their “coup de grace.”
But this great glory was in store
For those who triumphed oft before.
From Winchester and Fisher’s Hill
Brave Sheridan (our glorious Phil.)
The Shenandoah swept like fate,
Where Early found himself too late;
And whence his successor, Longstreet,
Was forced to beat a long retreat,
Sans guns, sans baggage, and sans breath,
Glad to escape pursuing Death!
Then, at Five Forks, he dealt the blow
That laid the rebel squadrons low;
Bearded the lion in his den,
Defeating Lee and all his men;
Whose skill and courage could not save
His cause from its predestined grave;
Who fought till, overpowered at length,
He yielded to superior strength.
And at Atlanta, Sherman’s steel
The rebels swept and made them reel;
Annihilated boastful Hood,
And drowned his hordes in seas of blood.
He swept Savannah on his way,
Till Charleston became his prey,
(That den of rattlesnakes and Copps,)
Nor even there the torrent stops!
It rolls along the Southern plain,
Till all resistance is in vain;
Holds Johnston’s barbarous hordes at bay,
Till Grant, at Richmond, wins the day;
Which ’neath his strokes is forced to yield,
And Lee and Davis quit the field:
Then Johnston too capitulates,
And bows to justice and the fates;
Rebellion’s suns thus set in night
Extinguish every lesser light!
Grant, Sheridan, and Sherman pause
Then only when the Union cause
Is crowned with victory’s success:
Grant promised and would give no less,
Should he be forced, in reason’s spite,
“All summer on this line to fight.”
All honor to the glorious three
Who conquered Johnston, Hood, and Lee,
And to that brave,—that patriot band,
Which quelled rebellion in our land!
Hail to the chief whose master-mind
The moves strategic so combined
That every check was big with fate,
Foreshadowing the grand checkmate!
And hark! the fearful struggle o’er,
Their praise resounds from shore to shore;
The bells ring out a merry peal,
All hearts the inspiration feel;
The drums and cymbals joyful sound,
Flags wave, and banners stream around;
The fair their pathway strew with flowers,
And bouquets rain in fragrant showers;
Where’er they go the bonfires blaze,
And cannon thunder in their praise:
A grateful people everywhere
Extol their deeds, their worth declare;
And bless them for this sweet release
From war, and for a glimpse of peace.
And chief our noble Illinois
Is frantic with delight and joy;
She hails her son, a welcome guest,
Returning to his own dear West;
And, with his glorious patriot band,
Thus bids him welcome to her strand: