THE SONG OF THE CAMP
By Bayard Taylor
This is a song of the Crimean War, a war between Russia on one side and Turkey, Great Britain, France, and Sardinia on the other. Guarding Sebastopol (the chief city of the Crimea) were several forts among which were the Redan and the Malakoff, mentioned herein. These, as well as the works of Balaklava, were held by the Russians. It was at Balaklava, you will recall, that the "Charge of the Light Brigade" was made, a charge made famous by Tennyson's poem.
"Give us a song!" the soldiers cried,
The outer trenches guarding,
When the heated guns of the camps allied
Grew weary of bombarding.
The dark Redan, in silent scoff, 5
Lay grim and threatening under;
And the tawny mound of the Malakoff
No longer belched its thunder.
There was a pause. A guardsman said,
"We storm the forts to-morrow:10
Sing while we may; another day
Will bring enough of sorrow."
They lay along the battery's side,
Below the smoking cannon—
Brave hearts from Severn and from Clyde 15
And from the banks of Shannon.
They sang of love and not of fame;
Forgot was Britain's glory;
Each heart recalled a different name,
But all sang Annie Laurie.
Voice after voice caught up the song, 5
Until its tender passion
Rose like an anthem, rich and strong—
Their battle-eve confession.
Dear girl, her name he dared not speak,
But as the song grew louder,10
Something upon the soldier's cheek
Washed off the stains of powder.
Beyond the darkening ocean burned
The bloody sunset's embers,
While the Crimean valleys learned 15
How English love remembers.
And once again a fire of hell
Rained on the Russian quarters,
With scream of shot, and burst of shell,
And bellowing of the mortars!20
And Irish Nora's eyes are dim
For a singer dumb and gory;
And English Mary mourns for him
Who sang of Annie Laurie.
Sleep, soldiers! Still in honored rest
Your truth and valor wearing;
The bravest are the tenderest—
The loving are the daring.
1. At what time of day did the singing take place? Why, do you suppose, did the British soldiers sing Annie Laurie? Repeat some of the lines of that song.
2. What and where are the Severn, the Clyde, and the Shannon?
3. Who was Florence Nightingale? How was she connected with the Crimean War?