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Proclamation 13
April 1861:
"WHEREAS, the laws of the United States have been and now are opposed
in several of the States by combinations too powerful to be suppressed
in the ordinary way, I, therefore, call forth the militia of the several
States of the Union, to the aggregate number of 75,000, to suppress said
combinations and execute the laws. I appeal to all loyal citizens to facilitate
this effort to maintain the laws, the integrity of the National Union,
and the perpetuity of popular government, and redress wrongs that have
long been endured." 
On the
unstained sward of the gentle slope,
Full of valor and nerved by hope,
The infantry sways like a coming sea;
Why lingers the light artillery?
"Action front!" |
Whirling the Parrotts like children's toys,
The horses strain to the rushing noise;
To right and to left, so fast and free,
They carry the light artillery.
"Drive on!" |
The gunner cries with a tug and a jerk,
The limbers fly, and we bend to our work;
The handspike in, and the implements out--
We wait for the word, and it comes with a shout--
"Load!" |
The foes pour on their billowy line;
Can nothing check their bold design?
With yells and oaths of fiendish glee,
They rush for the light artillery.
"Commence firing!" |
Hurrah! Hurrah! our bulldogs bark,
And the enemy's line is a glorious mark;
Hundreds fall like grain on the lea,
Mowed down by the light artillery. |
"Fire!" and "Load!" are the only cries,
Thundered and rolled to the vaulted skies;
Aha! they falter, they halt, they flee
From the hail of the light artillery.
"Cease firing!" |
 
The battle
is over, the victory won,
Ere the dew is dried by the rising sun;
While the shout bursts out, like a full-voiced sea,
"Hurrah for the light artillery!"
"Hurrah for the light artillery!
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