by Herman Melville (1819 - 1891)
Language: English
The damaged gun boats can't wage fight
For days; so says the Commodore.
Thus no diversion can be had.
Under a sunless sky of lead
Our grim-faced boys in blackened plight
Gaze toward the ground they held before,
And then on Grant. He marks their mood,
And hails it, and will turn the same to good.
Spite all that they have undergone,
Their desperate hearts are set upon
This winter fort, this stubborn fort,
This castle of the last resort,
This Donelson.
Confirmed with Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War by Hermann Melville, New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, Franklin Square, 1866, page 47.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Composition:
- Set to music by Joseph Eidson , "Donelson", 2009 [ baritone, B-flat clarinet, and piano ], from Songs of this War, no. 2
Text Authorship:
- by Herman Melville (1819 - 1891), no title, appears in Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War, in Donelson, excerpt headed "Story of Saturday afternoon / Vicissitudes of the war"
Go to the general single-text view
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-01-10
Line count: 13
Word count: 82