The battle of Big Bethel, near Fortress Monroe, Virginia, was the first action of the Civil War, and was fought June 10, 1861. The Union forces were under the command of a militia brigadier from Massachusetts, General E. W. Pierce, to whose incapacity and inexperience the Confederate success was largely due. Winthrop (Major Theodore, the author of “John Brent” and “Cecil Dreeme”) led an assault upon the rebel works, and was shot dead while standing upon a log, cheering his men to the charge. Says Horace Greeley of him in “The American Conflict,”--“His courage and conduct throughout the fight rendered him conspicuous to, and excited the admiration of, his enemies.” The Duryea mentioned in the poem (Colonel Abram) was in command of a regiment of New York volunteers. Later, he was made a brigadier-general, participated in several important battles, and at the close of the war was breveted major-general. 19. THE CHARGE BY THE FORD. By Thomas Dunn English. Thomas Dunn English. See note on “Arnold at Stillwater.” An incident that occurred in 1861, in the Gauley River region, West Virginia. 20. THE LITTLE DRUMMER. By Richard Henry Stoddard. Richard Henry Stoddard, one of our three most distinguished living poets, (see note on “Kearny at Seven Pines,” by Edmund Clarence Stedman) was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, July 2, 1825. Mr. Stoddard’s long devotion to literature (although he was for some years connected with the New York custom-house and dock department) is too well known to call for extended chronicle. Not only as a poet, but also as an editor and critic, has he won a high place in American letters. Brigadier-General Nathaniel Lyon, a native of Connecticut (1818), a graduate of West Point, and a veteran of the Seminole and Mexican wars, was killed while rallying his troops at the battle of Wilson’s Creek, Missouri, August 10, 1861. 21. THE CUMBERLAND. By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. See note on “Paul Revere.” The battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia, during which the _Cumberland_ was sunk by the Confederate ram _Merrimac_, was fought March 9, 1862. Morris (George Upham, 1830-1875), who was temporarily commanding the _Cumberland_, entered the navy early in life as a midshipman, and served until the year before his death. He took part in a number of engagements during the Rebellion, and was wounded at Fort Darling. An incident of the _Cumberland-Merrimac_ battle is described by George H. Boker (see “The Black Regiment”) in a poem entitled THE SWORD-BEARER Brave Morris saw the day was lost: For nothing now remained Of the wrecked and sinking _Cumberland_ But to save the flag unstained. So he swore an oath in the sight of heaven-- (If he kept it the world can tell!) “Before I strike to a rebel flag, I’ll sink to the gates of hell!