Which gave him to his country with many a mimic fray,
And now the thought ran through our souls that this, henceforth, should be
One which our children after us should hail with songs of glee;
And we gazed in one another’s eyes, and silently we swore
To do such deeds as history had never heard before.
We stood, each in our places, when, on our left, arose
The rattling roll of musketry from our advancing foes; —
They were mounting, troop by troop, the steep sierra’s side:
A moment! and our comrades, with hearty cheers, replied; —
Shot after shot, peal after peal, and we saw their scattered men