Guy Humphrey McMaster

[Sidenote: 1775--1783]
The nucleus of the Continental Army was the New England force gathered before Boston, to the command of which Washington had been appointed two days before the battle of Bunker Hill, although he arrived too late to take part in that fight.

  In their ragged regimentals
  Stood the old continentals,
    Yielding not,
  When the grenadiers were lunging,
  And like hail fell the plunging
    Cannon-shot;
    When the files
    Of the isles
  From the smoky night encampment, bore the banner of the rampant
      Unicorn,
  And grummer, grummer, grummer rolled the roll of the drummer,
    Through the morn!
  Then with eyes to the front all,
  And with guns horizontal,
    Stood our sires;

    And the balls whistled deadly,
    And in streams flashing redly
      Blazed the fires;
      As the roar
      On the shore,
  Swept the strong battle-breakers o'er the green-sodded acres
      Of the plain;
  And louder, louder, louder cracked the black gunpowder,
      Cracking amain!

    Now like smiths at their forges
    Worked the red St. George's
      Cannoneers;
    And the "villainous saltpetre"
    Rung a fierce, discordant metre
      Round their ears;
      As the swift
      Storm-drift,
  With hot sweeping anger, came the horse-guards' clangor
      On our flanks.
  Then higher, higher, higher burned the old-fashioned fire
      Through the ranks!

    Then the old-fashioned colonel
    Galloped through the white infernal
      Powder-cloud;
    And his broad-sword was swinging,
    And his brazen throat was ringing
      Trumpet loud.
     Then the blue
     Bullets flew,
  And the trooper-jackets redden at the touch of the leaden
      Rifle-breath;
  And rounder, rounder, rounder roared the iron six pounder,
      Hurling death!