The Old Bell of Independence | Page 8

advantage of the pervading feeling, he went on:--
"'Soldiers--I look around upon your familiar faces with a strange
interest! To-morrow morning we will all go forth to battle--for need I
tell you that your unworthy minister will march with you, invoking
God's aid in the fight?--we will march forth to battle! Need I exhort you
to fight the good fight, to fight for your homesteads, and for your wives
and children?
'My friends, I might urge you to fight, by the galling memories of
British wrong! Walton--I might tell you of your father butchered in the
silence of midnight on the plains of Trenton; I might picture his grey
hairs dabbled in blood; I might ring his death-shriek in your ears.
Shelmire--I might tell you of a mother butchered, and a sister
outraged--the lonely farm-house, the night assault, the roof in flames,
the shouts of the troopers, as they despatch their victim, the cries for
mercy, the pleadings of innocence for pity. I might paint this all again,
in the terrible colors of the vivid reality, if I thought your courage
needed such wild excitement.
'But I know you are strong in the might of the Lord. You will forth to
battle on the morrow with light hearts and determined spirits, though
the solemn duty--the duty of avenging the dead--may rest heavy on
your souls.
'And in the hour of battle, when all around is darkness, lit by the lurid
cannon glare and the piercing musket flash--when the wounded strew
the ground, and the dead litter your path--then remember, soldiers, that
God is with you. The eternal God fights for you--He rides on the battle
cloud, He sweeps onward with the march of the hurricane charge--God,
the Awful and the Infinite, fights for you, and you will triumph.'
"Roused by this manly and pathetic appeal, a low murmur ran from
man to man, as a heartfelt response; and the chieftains who were near
the speaker, felt proud and happy in the command of such true hearts
and tried blades. But darkness was enveloping all, and he hastened to
conclude.
"'They that take the sword shall perish by the sword.'
'You have taken the sword, but not in the spirit of wrong and ravage.
You have taken the sword for your homes, for your wives, for your
little ones. You have taken the sword for truth, for justice and right, and
to you the promise is, Be of good cheer, for your foes have taken the

sword in defiance of all that man holds dear, in blasphemy of
God--they shall perish by the sword.
'And now, brethren and soldiers, I bid you all farewell. Many of us may
fall in the fight of to-morrow--God rest the souls of the fallen; many of
us may live to tell the story of the fight of to-morrow; and, in the
memory of all, will ever rest and linger the quiet scene of this autumnal
night.
'Solemn twilight advances over the valley; the woods on the opposite
heights fling their long shadows over the green of the meadow; around
us are the tents of the continental host, the suppressed bustle of the
camp, the hurried tramp of the soldiers to and fro among the tents, the
stillness and silence that marks the eve of battle.
'When we meet again, may the long shadows of twilight be flung over a
peaceful land.
'God in heaven grant it.'
"And now the last ray of lingering light had departed, and they were
left in darkness. Presuming it proper to dismiss his auditors, he
proposed a parting prayer, and immediately every head was uncovered
and bowed in reverence, while, with outstretched hands, that sincere
old man in the homespun garb thus addressed the throne of grace.
"'Great Father, we bow before thee. We invoke thy blessing, we
deprecate thy wrath, we return thee thanks for the past, we ask thy aid
for the future. For we are in times of trouble, oh, Lord! and sore beset
by foes, merciless and unpitying; the sword gleams over our land, and
the dust of the soil is dampened with the blood of our neighbors and
friends.
'Oh! God of mercy, we pray thy blessing on the American arms. Make
the man of our hearts strong in thy wisdom; bless, we beseech, with
renewed life and strength, our hope and thy instrument, even GEORGE
WASHINGTON. Shower thy counsels on the honorable, the
Continental Congress. Visit the tents of our host; comfort the soldier in
his wounds and afflictions; nerve him for the hour of fight; prepare him
for the hour of death.
'And in the hour of defeat, oh, God of Hosts, do thou be our stay; and in
the hour of triumph be thou our guide.
'Teach us to be merciful. Though the