Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/How "Fighting Joe" Hooker took Lookout Mountain
For other versions of this work, see How "Fighting Joe Hooker" Took Lookout Mountain.
POEMS OF WAR AND PATRIOTISM
HOW "FIGHTING JOE HOOKER" TOOK LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN
Know you the tale of a battle won
Some thirty years ago,
On a mountain top, when the Autumn sun
In the west was sinking low?
Some thirty years ago,
On a mountain top, when the Autumn sun
In the west was sinking low?
It was a fight that the watching throng
Were destined not to see,
For the men went up five thousand strong
Under the canopy
Were destined not to see,
For the men went up five thousand strong
Under the canopy
Of God's free sky, through the fleecy clouds
That overhung the plain,
And the eager eyes of the watchful crowds
Strained after them in vain.
That overhung the plain,
And the eager eyes of the watchful crowds
Strained after them in vain.
'Twas like a storm on a darksome night—
This battle in the clouds,
With the thunder's roll and the leven's light
Among the mountain's shrouds.
This battle in the clouds,
With the thunder's roll and the leven's light
Among the mountain's shrouds.
The sky was dark on that Autumn day
The air was damp and cold,
But the fields and woods in their mantle lay
Of crimson and of gold;
The air was damp and cold,
But the fields and woods in their mantle lay
Of crimson and of gold;
Fresh laurel grew on the mountain's side
Among the evergreen
And the granite rocks with the verdure vied
To beautify the scene.
Among the evergreen
And the granite rocks with the verdure vied
To beautify the scene.
They come—they come o'er the verdant plain
With flags but not with drum,
By the broad highway and the narrow lane,
They come, they come, they come!
With flags but not with drum,
By the broad highway and the narrow lane,
They come, they come, they come!
They round the base of the mountain tall,
Unnoticed by the foe,
On the southern side of its rugged wall
They stand to strike the blow.
Unnoticed by the foe,
On the southern side of its rugged wall
They stand to strike the blow.
"Advance! my boys," is the clear command
It comes from "Fighting Joe,"
And the men go up to the Rebels' stand,
As only patriots go.
It comes from "Fighting Joe,"
And the men go up to the Rebels' stand,
As only patriots go.
They climb the rocks and the frowning cliffs
Like Sparta's patriotic sons,
And they scale the steep through the friendly rifts
Up to the Rebel guns.
Like Sparta's patriotic sons,
And they scale the steep through the friendly rifts
Up to the Rebel guns.
Then fell a blight like the breath of Hell,
Out of the mountain banks,
With a storm of lead and a Rebel yell
They fell upon our ranks;
Out of the mountain banks,
With a storm of lead and a Rebel yell
They fell upon our ranks;
We drove them back up the mountain walls,
And gave them shot for shot,
Till the air was filled with our shrieking balls
And e'en the winds were hot.
And gave them shot for shot,
Till the air was filled with our shrieking balls
And e'en the winds were hot.
The battle raged for a bloody hour,
And neither had the best,
Till just as the night was beginning to lower,
When Hooker gained the crest.
And neither had the best,
Till just as the night was beginning to lower,
When Hooker gained the crest.
He swept the foe from the mountain's crown,
And on its utmost crag,
Just as the radiant sun went down,
Planted the starry flag.
And on its utmost crag,
Just as the radiant sun went down,
Planted the starry flag.
A moment more and our signal gun
Woke echoes in the glen,
And the army knew that the fight was won
By Hooker's gallant men.
Woke echoes in the glen,
And the army knew that the fight was won
By Hooker's gallant men.