“The ranks are broken! charge! the cowards yield!
My little orphans, Oh my Country! shield.”
And You! in whose unconquerable mind
The wide-expanded wish to serve Mankind
Ruled as a master-passion; whether laid
At ease, you wooed Mount Vernon’s pleasant shade,
And the pure luxury of rural life;
Or plunged, reluctant, into desperate strife,
To breast the weight of tyrannous command.
And stamp the badge of Freedom on your Land;