28 Hark to the Tread. Hark! hark! to the tread Of men of olden time, The footsteps of the mighty dead Still sounding on sublime. Our Union’s strong foundations They planted broad and deep, And we, among the nations, Our own proud place will keep! CHORUS. Join hearts! join hands! A wreath of glory twine, Of palm and mountain pine. Strike hands! The Union stands! Now, now is the hour To let foul Treason know, That patriot legions have the power To work its overthrow; That while the conflict rages, And hearts are sorely tried, The HAND that guides the ages Is lifted on our side. Tell, tell to your sons The story of your sires, And that the pledge forever runs To guard their sacred fires. Tell them the great AVENGER Unsheathed his awful sword, When FREEDOM was in danger, And smote the rebel horde! 29 The Old Flag Alone. AIR--_Old Folks at Home._ Strongly the traitors now are banded, Fierce are they grown, By rebel demagogues commanded, Laws overthrown; Cursing the banner of their fathers, Madly they swarm, Hurling against the Rock of Union, Daring Rebellion’s storm. But true hearts can never falter, Now their faith is shown; So we stand by Freedom’s altar, True to the Old Flag alone! Once in the land we all were true men, Joined hand in hand; Now Treason’s madness makes them foemen, Cumbering the land; So we must treat them as we find them, “Enemies in war;” Fighting against the Flag of Union, Friends they can never be, more. Our true hearts shall never falter, Here our faith is shown, Standing now by Freedom’s altar, True to the Old Flag alone! 30 The Birth of Our Banner. BY ROBERT M. HART. AIR--_Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean._ When the dawn of creation was budding, To blossom in bright, balmy day, The Goddess of Light, at her waking, Was shrouded with curtains of spray, That rose as the incense of morning, From valleys resplendent with dew, To deck the broad ocean of distance In tints of the White, Red and Blue. And far in the blue dome of heaven, Were stars with a soft, holy ray, That have shone in an unbroken union While ages have mouldered away; And Freedom, when journeying hither, The earth with its blessings to strew, Has gathered these trophies of glory, As gems for the White, Red and Blue.