[printed poem written by George Boweryem]
THE BRITISH VOLUNTEERS.
I.
We are One Thousand strong,
To battle for the Right;
And this shall be our song,
As we march into the fight:
With Columbia s banner o er us,
And the traitor-ranks before us,
Let Freedom be the chorus
Of the British Volunteers!
Now hearken to the cheers
Of the British Volunteers!
{Chorus of cheering.}
II.
True, loyal sons are we
Of Britain s sea-girt isle,
The refuge of the free,
The terror of the vile.
Tremble, traitors, at the beaming
Of our starry banner, gleaming,
When, like a torrent streaming,
Come the British Volunteers!
Dealing death amid their cheers,
Come the British Volunteers!
III.
When the British brave unite,
Heart to heart and hand to hand,
For Freedom s cause to fight,
Shall Wrong the Right withstand?
Our sacred banner o er us,
And rebels base before us,
And Liberty the chorus
Of the British Volunteers!
How terrible the cheers
Of the British Volunteers!
IV.
Where Freedom s banner waves,
Over land or over sea,
It shall not cover slaves;
They shall touch it, and be free!
Tremble, tyrants, at the flashing
Of our arms, when onward dashing,
You shall hear the fetters crashing,
Broke by British Volunteers!
And your slaves give back the cheers
Of the British Volunteers!
V.
When the battle rages round,
And the rolling of the drum,
And the trembling of the ground
Tell usurpers that WE COME!
Then the War s deep-rolling thunder
Shall our lightnings cleave asunder,
And our enemies shall wonder
At the British Volunteers;
Shall wonder at the cheers
Of the British Volunteers!
VI.
God of Freedom! give Thy Might
To the spirits of thy sons!
To their bayonets in fight!
To the death within their guns!
Let their deeds in battle gory
Burn and brightly shine in glory
When the World shall read the story
Of the British Volunteers!
And echo back the cheers
Of the British Volunteers!
GEORGE BOWERYEM.
HEADQUARTERS BRITISH VOLUNTEERS,
17 Broadway, New York, April 27th, 1861.
D. HYNE, PRINTER, 162 William Street, N. Y.| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Sixteen: page one hundred and thirty-seven |
| Description: | Printed poem entitled ''The British Volunteers,'' composed by George Boweryem. |
| Subject: | Boweryem, George; Civil War; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Hyne, D.; Military; Poetry; Slavery; Songs |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, [New York] |
| Coverage (Street): | 17 Broadway; 162 William Street |
| Scan Date: | 2010-06-07 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Sixteen |
| Description: | Includes Gunn's descriptions of the scene in New York at the commencement of the Civil War, boarding house living, visits to the Edwards family, Mort Thomson's engagement to Fanny Fern's daughter Grace Eldredge, Frank Cahill's return to New York from London, Frank Bellew's dissatisfaction with living in England, Thomas Nast's engagement to Sally Edwards, the scene in New York during the departure of the 7th New York Regiment for Washington, attending the wedding of Olive Waite and Hamilton Bragg, a visit with Frank Cahill to the camp of the 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers and the 2nd Regiment of New York State Militia on Staten Island, the death of Charles Welden, and his reporting work. |
| Subject: | Boardinghouses; Bohemians; Civil War; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Journalism; Marriage; Military; Publishers and publishing; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York |
| Note: | Thomas Butler Gunn was born February 15, 1826, in Banbury, England, and came to New York in 1849. During the Civil War he worked as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the New York Evening Post. He returned to England in 1863, and died in Birmingham in April 1903. The collection includes twenty-one volumes of his diaries, including newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, sketches, and various other items inserted by Gunn. Diary entries date from July 7, 1849, to April 7, 1863, and include his experiences with the New York publishing and literary world, his descriptions of boarding houses, his travels throughout the United States, and his experiences traveling with the Federal army as a Civil War correspondent. |
| Publisher: | Missouri History Museum |
| Rights: | Copyright 2010 Missouri History Museum. |
| Source: | Page images, transcriptions, and metadata of the Thomas Butler Gunn diaries have been provided by the Missouri History Museum. |
