And silently, but earnestly, we marched from dawn till night,
And then laid down in silence till the breaking of the light:
No fires disturbed the darkness, no sound betrayed our camp,
Save, at intervals the countersign, with the sentinel’s measured tramp.
Next morning we pursued our march: it was a sultry day;
The sunlight flickered like a flame along our sandy way;
But no one lingered, for we knew our foemen were before,
And, like blood-hounds howling on the scent, we trailed the distant gore;
For we thought of our associates, and the thought had power to drown
All human feelings, for we heard the cannon at Fort Brown.