Then Brevard, Balch, and Kennon spoke
The wise bold words that aye invoke
Men to defend the right
And scorn the despot's might;
Until from all there rose the answering cry:
"We will be independent, or we die."
When Alexander called the vote,
No dastard "nay's" discordant note
Broke on that holy air—
For dastard none was there!
But in prompt answer to their country's call,
They pledged life, fortune, sacred honor—all!
In solemn hush the people heard;
With shout and cheer they caught the word:
Independence! In that sign
We grasp our right divine;
For the tyrant's might and the traitor's hate
Must yield to men who fight for God and State!
The hero shout flew on the breeze;
Rushed from the mountains to the seas;
Till all the land uprose,
Their faces to their foes,
Shook off the thraldom they so long had borne,
And swore the oath that Mecklenburg had sworn!
And well those men maintained the right;
They kept the faith, and fought the fight;
Till Might and Treason both
Fled fast before the oath
Which brought the God of Freedom's battles down
To place on patriot brows the victor's crown!
William C. Elam.
Up and down the land, in every city, town, and hamlet, men were drilling—with brooms and corn-stalks, when no muskets were available. The storm, which had been gathering for years, had burst at last.
A SONG
Hark! 'tis Freedom that calls, come, patriots, awake!
To arms, my brave boys, and away:
'Tis Honor, 'tis Virtue, 'tis Liberty calls,
And upbraids the too tedious delay.
What pleasure we find in pursuing our foes,
Thro' blood and thro' carnage we'll fly;
Then follow, we'll soon overtake them, huzza!
The tyrants are seized on, they die!