When the foe reached AQUA NUEVA—when they found our army gone, They pressed in marshaled masses, in solid thousands, on; And noon beheld that river of human souls, for miles, Like one of their own torrents, sweep through the wild defiles— So, conscious of their strength, they came, while we, in mute surprise, Looked wistfully and earnestly in one another’s eyes. The foe had wedged us in, when a flag approached our ranks, While the hovering enemy pressed on whence they might turn our flanks; ’Twas a summons to surrender—a summons unto men Who had beat their bravest generals, and could do so once again: We laughed in hearty scorn, for the rawest volunteer Had grown so anxious for the fight he never thought of fear. Then came a little pause, and we raised our eyes to heaven, And prayed in silence that our sins and crimes might be forgiven; For well we knew that many a heart which now beat high with pride, Would lie ere night in icy rest along the mountain side. And then we thought of WASHINGTON, whose spirit, from above, Was gazing on his children with looks and eyes of love. In our own green sunny land we were wont to mark the day Which gave him to his country with many a mimic fray, And now the thought ran through our souls that this, henceforth, should be One which our children after us should hail with songs of glee; And we gazed in one another’s eyes, and silently we swore To do such deeds as history had never heard before. We stood, each in our places, when, on our left, arose The rattling roll of musketry from our advancing foes;— They were mounting, troop by troop, the steep sierra’s side: A moment! and our comrades, with hearty cheers, replied;— Shot after shot, peal after peal, and we saw their scattered men Rolling, like leaves before the storm, in terror, down the glen. The night was cold and damp, but we scarcely felt a chill As we lay, beside our arms, on the bleak and naked hill; For our hearts were full of fire at the promise of the fray, Which, we felt, would try our courage on the fast-approaching day, While the murmur of the enemy, whose thousands hedged us round, Came fitfully down the freezing wind, in gusts, along the ground. At last the dawn arrived, and as the sun began To kiss the summits of the hills, a thousand sparkles ran Along the cliffs, like fire-flies on a sultry summer night, And on the instant, every where was heard the din of fight— On, like the sea, wave over wave, the army of our foe Rolled toward our left, and pierced our ranks, and swept the red plateau.