He gaged his countrymen right well,
And left his mother in their hands;
No mortgagee could ever sell,
A nation’s hero’s mother’s lands.
Seven brave men composed his crew,
All volunteers from Sampson’s fleet,
And ev’ry man a hero true,
Knowing the danger he must meet.
His ship was called the Merrimac,
A noted name in history.
And soon she’ll sink and block a track,
A sacrifice to victory.
At morning dawn the start was made,
And quick he reached the chosen spot,
’Mid storms of shell from hill and glade,
And hundreds of death dealing shot.
The cannons roared, the engine stop’d,
The anchor then was quickly dumped,
All hands ran aft, a float was drop’d,
And onto it eight heroes jumped.
The fuse was lit, the ship blew up,
And sank upon the proper site,
Cervera’s fleet was bottled up,
And lost all chance to win the fight.
A braver deed was never done,
In all the ages of mankind,
Since Adam faced the morning sun,
Or Christ inspired the human mind.
Their duty done, no longer use
To risk their lives upon that trip,
And hoisting up a flag of truce
Were taken to Cervera’s ship.
The Admiral, a gallant man,
As ever storm of battle braved,
Altho he did not like the plan,
Rejoiced that our brave men were saved.
And then he did a noble act,
As human ear has ever heard,
By telling us the joyful fact,
And sending our brave Sampson word.