THE AMERICAN SWORD.
Sword of our gallant fathers, defender of the brave,
Of Washington upon the field and Perry on the wave!
Well might Columbia's foemen beneath thy death-strokes reel,
For each hand was firm that drew thee, and each heart as true as steel;
There's not a tarnish on thy sheen, a rust upon thy blade;
Though the noble hands that drew thee are in dust and ashes laid,
Thou'rt still the scourge of tyrants, the safeguard of the free,
And may God desert our banner when we surrender thee!
Of Washington upon the field and Perry on the wave!
Well might Columbia's foemen beneath thy death-strokes reel,
For each hand was firm that drew thee, and each heart as true as steel;
There's not a tarnish on thy sheen, a rust upon thy blade;
Though the noble hands that drew thee are in dust and ashes laid,
Thou'rt still the scourge of tyrants, the safeguard of the free,
And may God desert our banner when we surrender thee!
Sword of a thousand victories! thy splendors led the way,
When our warriors trod the battle-field in terrible array;
Thou wert seen amid the carnage, like an angel in thy wrath;
The vanquished and the vanquisher bestrewed thy gory path;
The life-blood of the haughty foe made red the slippery sod
Where thy crimson blade descended like the lightning glance of God!
They poured their ranks like autumn leaves, their life-blood as the sea,
But they battled for a tyrant—we battled to be free!
When our warriors trod the battle-field in terrible array;
Thou wert seen amid the carnage, like an angel in thy wrath;
The vanquished and the vanquisher bestrewed thy gory path;
The life-blood of the haughty foe made red the slippery sod
Where thy crimson blade descended like the lightning glance of God!
They poured their ranks like autumn leaves, their life-blood as the sea,
But they battled for a tyrant—we battled to be free!
